330 using water...

[siwebster]

Hi,

I've recently (two weeks ago) bought a 330i, having now driven it approximately 400 miles I've had the warning light on twice to top up the coolant. The first time I wasn't worried, and topped it up by half a litre or so. Drove it another 150-200 miles and it came on again - and again I've topped it up by half a litre or so.

This second time has worried me slightly - does anyone know where I might be losing water from? Is it a common fault? What should I be checking?

I was going to flush and change the coolant this weekend ready for winter, but don't want to do it till I've found where the leak is coming from as I'll be using distilled water and don't really want to waste it.

Cheers in advance for your help guys,

Si

[4nonymous]

(typing on mobile)

on friday i had the coolant light on , pulled over and there was no coolant whatsoever in the engine. So out comes rac who top it up and use radweld as a temp fix.

got it to my indy on friday at like 4pm and showed him where leak was, he said its common problem ordered part there and then and came on sat to him at 2pm.

took 1 hr 30 mins of labor , part was 20 odd quid and was ready for me on saturday late afternnoon.

when i get home i will take a picture of the part that was leaking, a piston had apprently shot through causing it to break.

[bazking69]

Check the expansion bottle. It is not unknown for them to split along the seam and leak steam, causing coolant loss. Moisture or even a dried residue on the outside of the tank is a telltale, and it's quite easy to spot as the tank is black as opposed to clear.

I'd then check the stat housing if the tank is OK.

Edited by bazking69 on Tuesday 27th October 14:07

[LMC]

Get the water pump checked, its a common failure on the 330.

[siwebster]

bazking69 said:

Check the expansion bottle. It is not unknown for them to split along the seam and leak steam, causing coolant loss. Moisture or even a dried residue on the outside of the tank is a telltale, and it's quite easy to spot as the tank is black as opposed to clear.

I'd then check the stat housing if the tank is OK.

Edited by bazking69 on Tuesday 27th October 14:07

Thanks guys,

There is residue on the header tank, so i'll have a closer look at that. Are they much money/difficult to replace

[4nonymous]

The part for me was located literally under here at the front. It's a black tube and apparently it's a common fault.

I've drawn the shape of it at the bottom right in black.

[siwebster]

4nonymous said:

The part for me was located literally under here at the front. It's a black tube and apparently it's a common fault.

I've drawn the shape of it at the bottom right in black.

Thanks 4nonymous, just been out and had a look, not 100% sure which part it is you mean, but there's quite clearly some residue here. I've just bought a haynes manual from ebay, but I'd like to get this sorted this weekend if possible and not sure it'll be delivered in time, so any help and pointers will be greatly appreciated.





So, what am I looking at then?

Cheers

Si

[siwebster]

Another question then...

If it's the water pump - how difficult is it to replace and if it is leaking, will I be able to see it. Anyone got any pics?

Cheers

Simon

[BIG BAVARIAN]

My water pump gave up this morning,battery/alternator light came on ,power steering gone,which indicated the waterpump pulley had thrown the belt off,then shortly after the water temp shot past the halfway point, towards red,so pulled over and flipped the bonnet,bearings and steaming coolant everywhere.

Look for play on the water pump pulley and water seepage from the back of the pulley,even a few mm means its toast,like mine was last night ,also check the thermostat housing for possible leaks,if you don't know these items, just google them ,they will link to a few forums,check hoses/joints and not forgetting the headgasket.

The waterpump is straight forward to replace,bmw recommend it is replaced along with the thermostat every 60,000 miles as a matter of course, regardless,my car is 10 years old and on 112,000 miles,so done nearly double its recommended lifespan.

Edited by BIG BAVARIAN on Wednesday 28th October 22:19

[TheEnd]

It could be the thermostat housing, made of a bakelite type cast plastic that is prone to cracks.

The water pump is below this, it's on the other end of the pulley that the fan is on, just under the U of "housing"

[siwebster]

Thanks guys, I'll be checking it this weekend, hopefully get it all sorted.

Cheers

Si

[eliot]

Been leaking quite a bit by the looks of it. If its anything like the E39, check the plastic end tanks on the radiator - especially where the rubber hoses attach, as the plastic cracks.
Presumably you bought this privately, because if trade - i would take it back.

[john_p]

That's splattered coolant all around hasn't it? When my thermostat was leaking it just dribbled out onto the rubber hose but stuck around that area. Could it be a leak on the back half of the radiator that then gets flicked by the fan ?

[siwebster]

john_p said:

That's splattered coolant all around hasn't it? When my thermostat was leaking it just dribbled out onto the rubber hose but stuck around that area. Could it be a leak on the back half of the radiator that then gets flicked by the fan ?

Yep, diagnosis of this is my biggest problem, I'm hoping it's not the radiator as that would be a bit of a pain to sort myself, was hoping it would be a smaller job.

I guess I'll just need to spend Saturday working out where it's coming from first.

I've got a couple of big journeys to do over the next coupe of months so want it all sorted out quite quickly without spending stacks of money at a dealer...

[bluetone]

siwebster said:

john_p said:

That's splattered coolant all around hasn't it? When my thermostat was leaking it just dribbled out onto the rubber hose but stuck around that area. Could it be a leak on the back half of the radiator that then gets flicked by the fan ?

Yep, diagnosis of this is my biggest problem, I'm hoping it's not the radiator as that would be a bit of a pain to sort myself, was hoping it would be a smaller job.

I guess I'll just need to spend Saturday working out where it's coming from first.

I've got a couple of big journeys to do over the next coupe of months so want it all sorted out quite quickly without spending stacks of money at a dealer...

Without wishing to state the obvious, bear in mind you may need to pressurise the system by giving the engine some revs whilst looking for the source of the leak (it may not be apparent at tickover..)

[siwebster]

Good point, I'll see if I can persuade the wife to help...

[Victor101]

A proper pressure test at a garage will show up the leak. It's clear that the coolant (with some white gunk - sealer?) is getting onto the fan and thrown back onto the engine. If it's getting towards 8-9 years old, a new rad is a good plan because by 10 years old, Behr radiators are well past their best. A new rad with expansion bottle on the side and a new steel impeller water pump is a good plan on a 2000-2001 is car. You really don't want to overheat one of those motors.

[siwebster]

You're right. Leaking from the top of the radiator. Going to put some new-fangled radweld plus in it to tide me over and fit a new radiator asap.

Good thing is the radiators seem to be a bit of a bargain for these, GSF has them at about 85 quid plus vat. Doesn't look like too big a job either... (just given that the kiss of death)

[Mario T PhD]

Get a new radiator

EIther fit it yourself or a BMW dealer will do it for around £200 ish

Peace of mind...

[Neil_Sc]

Check the radiator supplied by GSF is up to scratch, alot of these pattern parts can be of pretty poor quality.

I've had good service for genuine parts at lower prices from bmminiparts.com

I've got a 330i and the coolant system is weak on this car, I replaced the water pump, thermostat, two main hoses, temperature sender, belts and expansion tank along with the coolant recently (car has done 90k).

Wasn't a difficult job and cost around £250 in parts.