[kavadarci]

the other day i noticed a puddle of coolant under the passenger side of the engine. no warning lights. i drove for few miles and stopped. another puddle.
I can't trace it exactly.

coolant fluid = ok.
got home no leak.
drove it a while no leak
next day leak again. i can't trace it but it "looks" like it is coming from the passenger side.
i noticed on the coolant cap says turn until it clicks, mine doesn't click, goes all the way but doesn't click.

Today low coolant light came on and i have added about 1/2 liter of coolant.

has anyone seen this problem?
if it leaks, let it leak, i can't figure out why it would leak one time and not other.

I greatly appreciate any suggestions/comments.
Thank you.

OUT OF WARRANTY

[nate5ks]

All if your hoses for the reservoir, thermostat and water pump are on the passenger side of your engine compartment, check connections an look for residue around the coolant cap to rule that out.

[Bat_MobilE90]

Originally Posted by kavadarci

the other day i noticed a puddle of coolant under the passenger side of the engine. no warning lights. i drove for few miles and stopped. another puddle.
I can't trace it exactly.

coolant fluid = ok.
got home no leak.
drove it a while no leak
next day leak again. i can't trace it but it "looks" like it is coming from the passenger side.
i noticed on the coolant cap says turn until it clicks, mine doesn't click, goes all the way but doesn't click.

Today low coolant light came on and i have added about 1/2 liter of coolant.

has anyone seen this problem?
if it leaks, let it leak, i can't figure out why it would leak one time and not other.

I greatly appreciate any suggestions/comments.
Thank you.

OUT OF WARRANTY

I got the same problem. It started about 2 weeks ago the low coolant light came on then noticed a small puddle under where I usually park my car. I topped it off and had no problems until today when I started the car the low coolant light was on again and sure enough another puddle. Im still under warrenty until september but I hate to take all my mods off and bring it in to find out it was a cheap and easy fix. I will be checking the reservoir, water pump and thermostat tomorrow. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms? Or is there anything else I should be looking for?

[kavadarci]

I have not had time to look further and I am driving my other car. The BMW was parked leaned on the left and after adding some coolant today I let it run for few minutes with the hood open
No leak from the cap nor anywhere top but now the puddle is on the left hand side of the because of the angle the car wax parked
All this tells me that the leak is below the mid of the engine
Will bf removing the engine panels tomorrow to see if I can trace the leak.

[nate5ks]

Also check radiator drain plug(s)

[kavadarci]

I have put extra gasket on the coolant cap and i can rule that out now 100%, the leak is not from the cap. the quest continues tonight.
Thank you.

[PINeely]

Common causes of leaks from that area are split hoses and cracked expansion tanks. Radiator end tank or drain plug could also be leaking. See if you can see anything chalky and white in those areas from under the car with the hood open.

[kavadarci]

An update
I have removed the plastic bottom cover and the metal plate.
No leak from the tank nor the side if the air filter. I can not really see where is coming from as it is draining but I am certain it is from another the tank area hoses. Is the pump there too? What can I remove to get closer to that area? Here is a you tube video. The leak starts only after the car gets to hot. Thank you


http://youtu.be/Ugp0ovt0Xt0

[PINeely]

The video isn't working for me, but leaking on heatup only means a small leak so that's good. The pump and t-stat are located on the front passenger corner of the engine, bolted to the bottom of it. There are a couple of hoses there to check. As for removing things to see them, dropping the front sway bar helps a lot and it sits right under the pump and tstat.

Also pay close attention to the hose coming from the bottom of the tank if you haven't inspected it already.

[kavadarci]

I can bet is one of the hoses or the pump but can't see it, it's cramped and i tried from every angle, parts have to be removed.
Is there a DIY of how to remove the pump that might give me some hints of what to remove.
Thank you.

[kavadarci]

Update
I have removed the sway bar and didn't get any further. Whatever leak I have is on the opposite side behind the pump and thermostat
The car is with my mechanic now. I will report on the damage tomorrow but I don't expect to be small
I hate this car for the reliability but love to drive. It's beyond me to understand how / why these components fail so bad
Extremely disappointing

[jzchen]

I hadn't seen this thread earlier. If the leak happens only when it is hot I would check the system paths after the tstats. If you have an oil cooler there are lines that go around there too. It could be leaking from anywhere above and then following a path to the location at the bottom...

[kavadarci]

Here is the latest update.
Water pump is cracked.
I need water pump, thermostat and few hoses as they are worn (great, only on a bmw car of this age that can happen)
so overall i am 1200-1300 bucks in the hole.

This puppy goes on the market for sale. It's a money pit and if I ever buy another bmw would be with full warranty or will be running away like the wind.

So many great advises on this forum but the best I can give and will continue to give is don't touch these cars without warranty.
They WILL break.

Roger and out.

[GoRomeo]

Sorry to hear that... I never heard of a cracked water pump before. I know they fail but not cracked...

[jzchen]

Originally Posted by kavadarci

Here is the latest update.
Water pump is cracked.
I need water pump, thermostat and few hoses as they are worn (great, only on a bmw car of this age that can happen)
so overall i am 1200-1300 bucks in the hole.

This puppy goes on the market for sale. It's a money pit and if I ever buy another bmw would be with full warranty or will be running away like the wind.

So many great advises on this forum but the best I can give and will continue to give is don't touch these cars without warranty.
They WILL break.

Roger and out.

Did you visually verify this "crack." 2nd opinion, but don't tell the 2nd person what the other said? I would try to change it myself. At $100+ an hour labor rate at the dealer I can afford to spend the time to do it myself. My wife's, albeit a 328, doesn't have a warranty, has about 60k miles, and has had very little issues....

It does get cold up there in Canada. Did you use the right coolant/coolant concentration? What's the car's history regarding the coolant? Through my research it doesn't require changing. You do need to check the coolant protection level though....

[arvi-335xi]

I had the same issue with my 2011 BMW 335xi. I would see a puddle of coolant in the parking lot and the amount depended on how hot the coolant got. Cold engine operation would have less of a puddle.
After a thorough diagnosis on the lift, the leak seemed to come from the water pump region. Went ahead and bought a water pump and thermostat from FCP Euro. You might as well change the thermostat while doing the water pump.
After removing the water pump, I found an extremely small hairline crack, it wasn't even visible to the naked eye. If you dry the pump using compressed air, you could see a small amount of residual coolant seeping from the crack.
Changed water pump and thermostat and I do not see leak anymore.

[turbohugh]

Fcpeuro ftw

[muncie21]

Cracked water pump housing is relatively common, unfortunately. Repairs suck, but this platform is a blast to drive, especially with a tune.

A Honda/Toyota is is not. If you want that kind of reliability don’t purchase the E90 platform