Radiator Hose Leak

[Mario T PhD]

Hello everybody

Any advice or thoughts offered would be appreciated

Went to see a a 3litre E39 with 90k on it today

To say it was in very good condition both inside and out, for a 2001 example, would be an understatement

After coming back from the test drive I noticed water vapour coming from under the bonnet close to the headlight on the left side

Opened the bonnect and it looked like it was leaking from the connection of the hose to the top of the radiator (is that the outlet or inlet?)

Anyway, looked under the car and it was making a steady drip, drip, drip - not a flood, but definitely a leak


It was impossible to see the root of the leak but coolant was definitely coming from somewhere under the hose/radiator connection - the spring clip looked in place and there was no perishing of the rubber

There was also a hiss of air when squeezing the rubber hose, suggesting a leak in the rubber, not the ally

This thing had just been serviced in July and overall the engine bay was immaculate

The seller offered either for me to drive it home and get it repaired and he would pay the invoice or for him to repair it and me go collect it later next week

Not wanting to drive home anxious that the thing would run dry I suggested he fix it

My question is, is this sort of thing common?

The seller was a genuinely nice guy and was keen to sort the problem and apologised for my inconvenience

I'm just hoping that it's not a warning of something to come from the cooling system - although he did offer a six month warranty

Any thoughts appreciated

Thanks

m

[obscene]

If it's anything like the E46 the cooling system is most likely on it's way out anywhere from 70-100k so try and see what work he has had done on it. Otherwise have a good look at the radiator, water pump and belts. The water pumps and radiators are especially known for going. Hope that's of some help.

[skeeterm5]

I think this is a fairly common e39 thing - it is the outlet/inlet pipe on the radiator splitting away from the radiator.

It happened to my old 540 - the solution was to fit a new radiator which cured it.

S

[eliot]

Cracked radiator end tanks is a common problem - at least on the 540's it is. New nissens rad is about £150 from ECP. Might as well do the pump and thermostat whilst its in bits if you cant find any evidence of it been done recently - as they will fail sooner or later.

[Fox-]

This is such a common E39 thing it is more a case of WHEN it fails not IF. The radiators split at the plastic end tanks, the waterpumps can go and the header tanks can crack.

Take this opportunity to replace the entire cooling system - rad, top hose, header tank and water pump. Then you don't need to worry about it. If you replace bits as they fail you will spend the next 2 years watching your temp guage and replacing bits of cooling system one by one.

[eliot]

Fox- said:

This is such a common E39 thing it is more a case of WHEN it fails not IF. The radiators split at the plastic end tanks, the waterpumps can go and the header tanks can crack.

Take this opportunity to replace the entire cooling system - rad, top hose, header tank and water pump. Then you don't need to worry about it. If you replace bits as they fail you will spend the next 2 years watching your temp guage and replacing bits of cooling system one by one.

+1

[Mario T PhD]

Oh no!

The dealer claims to take it to a BMW dealership to have it repaired for no charge

How much all in would this be?

g

[Neil_Sc]

Mario T PhD said:

Oh no!

The dealer claims to take it to a BMW dealership to have it repaired for no charge

How much all in would this be?

g

Labour will be the killer. I would have thought a few hours at least, due to the need to drain the coolant and refill.

The parts shouldn't cost too much, I did a coolant system overhaul on my E46 330 recently, new water pump, thermostat, coolant sender, top and bottom hoses, coolant expansion tank and radiator cap with new coolant for about £220 in parts.

[Mario T PhD]

Thanks for the help, everybody

m