HELP!!! possible coolant lea!!! (pix)

[xnitromethx]

I recently purchased the car and was driving around for a little showing it off to the guys at work, we popped the hood and I noticed that there is some antifreeze by the cap! Well i figured the cap was just not tight enough soo i just cleaned it up and tightened it. now i just drove around some more and there it is again! I know these cars are known to have many cooling system problems and I do not want to risk damaging anything, so here i have attached a picture of where its leaking. Im not driving it until I get some responses. Please let me know your thoughts on what I need to do and where it might be coming from. the owner said it has a new radiator and water pump, but i am not 100% positive. also he said they just replaced the coolant temp sensor.
any help greatly appreciated!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/xnitromethx/Picture289.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/xnitromethx/Picture287.jpg

[xnitromethx]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/xnitromethx/Picture293.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v106/xnitromethx/Picture292.jpg

[Andryuha]

check the rad neck for cracks. Also, start the car and pop the hood - u might be able to see where it's comming from. At least it's an external leak, meaning that it shouldn't be anything serious.

[xnitromethx]

check the rad neck for cracks. Also, start the car and pop the hood - u might be able to see where it's comming from. At least it's an external leak, meaning that it shouldn't be anything serious.

can it be anything else other than the radiator neck? like the coolant expansion chamber... maybe that has a crack? or possibly even a bad radiator cap?

[SpecRaceM5]

is there any possebility that you put to much fluid in and it over flowed when it got hot?

[xnitromethx]

is there any possebility that you put to much fluid in and it over flowed when it got hot?

that could be a possibility because the owner had the car serviced the day before i got it. which was this friday and they installed the new coolant level sensor. im not sure if they did anything with adding or changing any coolant though? but if it was overfilled... is it common for it to overflow like that? is there anything i shuold do to prevent anything bad from happening?

[SpecRaceM5]

i honestly dont know but it was just a thought i had. anyone on here know for sure?

[m_specs]

nobody can know for sure.. i cant even tell from those pics that theres even a leak.. you might want to check your coolant expansion tank for a crack.. it will expand and leak when the cars on..

time to pull it apart and do some investigating. =/

[k5r]

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[k5r]

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[unesential]

Use pressure tester on system to check for leak. It could just be from service that was performed.

[PingSpike]

Hi...

Just bought a 1997 540i 6 speed w/90,000k miles about 2 1/2 weeks ago. After 2 days of driving the car around (burned a full tank O gas and some uneeded rubber on the rear tires :D ) I noticed a small but steady drip leak coming from the expansion tank :confused

Basically what I did was replaced the complete cooling system (less the A/C unit)

radiator
expansion tank
coolant sensor
upper & lower hoses
water pump
thermo stat
drive & pully belts

Now, she's running like a champ, do it all @ once then your done and can enjoy and drive that great car with confidence that your not burning up your higher mileage engine.

Good luck....

[xnitromethx]

Hi...

Just bought a 1997 540i 6 speed w/90,000k miles about 2 1/2 weeks ago. After 2 days of driving the car around (burned a full tank O gas and some uneeded rubber on the rear tires :D ) I noticed a small but steady drip leak coming from the expansion tank :confused

Basically what I did was replaced the complete cooling system (less the A/C unit)

radiator
expansion tank
coolant sensor
upper & lower hoses
water pump
thermo stat
drive & pully belts

Now, she's running like a champ, do it all @ once then your done and can enjoy and drive that great car with confidence that your not burning up your higher mileage engine.

Good luck....

I dont beat on my car, and im not burning up my higher mileage engine... the rad, coolant sensor, belts, hoses, and water pump has already been taken care of. Im not sure about the t-stat housing or the expansion tank though. Im dont want to spend thousands replacing all those parts again when it could be something minor. It doesnt ever go past the mid temp reading and the car runs fine. the red coolant reading stick pokes all the way up when you take the cap off so im not worried about overheating, just wanted to make sure what that minor leak is from. Im pretty sure it is the coolant expansion tank, but first I will replace the cap and if it doesnt stop, ill take it in for service tom and see what the guys at midwest motorwerks say. hopefully it was just that the stealer might have over filled it when they installed the coolant sensor on friday.

[fabby318]

Why don't you just grab a container of water and pour it over the top of the radiator/expansion tank (while car is not running) and then dry off. Next, start engine and observe where coolant starts to seep from. You should know within a few minutes, and if your still unsure than post some more pics and we will try to help you out some more.

Fabby

[5mall5nail5]

Thats not a leak, its a dribble.

[LJSE34]

Acrually, my car 525i M20, has an overflow outlet underneath the car. It'll barf excess coolant if it's been overfilled a little. I would guess any other car would have some kind of similar system.

[PingSpike]

I dont beat on my car

Not even alittle bit?! :D


and im not burning up my higher mileage engine

sorry bout that, didn't insinuate you were. I was just giving my situation example with my higher milage car and thought it was a good idea to do it all @ once. Don't know the mileage of your ride and didn't know you had most of the cooling system replaced...

Hope ya get it fixed with minimal cost or NONE at all :)

[xnitromethx]

ok guys thanks for all the help and comments... I took it down to midwest today and had them check it out. they are going to replace the coolant expansion tank, they said it will be around $200 with labor. not too bad IMO

[Gunslinger]

ok guys thanks for all the help and comments... I took it down to midwest today and had them check it out. they are going to replace the coolant expansion tank, they said it will be around $200 with labor. not too bad IMO

Except that the tank is $57 at BMA, and not that much more at the dealer, so you're getting hosed for about 1.5-2 hrs. labor depending on their rates.

I wouldn't even considering owning an e34 or an out of warranty e39 if I couldn't work on it myself.

[fabby318]

werd :nono

[NFS]

ok guys thanks for all the help and comments... I took it down to midwest today and had them check it out. they are going to replace the coolant expansion tank, they said it will be around $200 with labor. not too bad IMO


Except that the tank is $57 at BMA, and not that much more at the dealer, so you're getting hosed for about 1.5-2 hrs. labor depending on their rates.

I wouldn't even considering owning an e34 or an out of warranty e39 if I couldn't work on it myself.

Not too bad if you're rich. Like Gunslinger said the tank is only $57 plus an hour of labor max. BTW changing the exanpsion tank is a very EZ DIY. May want to pick up a Bentley Manual for the future.

[xnitromethx]

wow, I didn't know they were that cheap actually I thought they usually were around $100. Anyways I do work on my car most of the time, but the e39 is a new platform for me and I am still learning everything about it... I was just kinda scared to jump into the cooling system myself and I honestly don't have a lot of time to make any errors with having classes and work everyday, it just seems easier to spend a little more and make sure the work is done professionally and that my car wont suffer from any possible mistakes. ;)

I'll just order the tank from bma and find another place to install it for cheaper.
and yes... I did order a bentley manual a few days ago, it hasn't arrived yet

[xnitromethx]

Except that the tank is $57 at BMA, and not that much more at the dealer, so you're getting hosed for about 1.5-2 hrs. labor depending on their rates.

I wouldn't even considering owning an e34 or an out of warranty e39 if I couldn't work on it myself.

Maybe the reason for their higher price is because they are offering a 2 year warrenty on their work and they are also doing a full inspection of the vehicle?

[k5r]

We're not all mechanics . I've gotten myself into fixes before trying to save (like tinting windows)and ended up wishing I'd just paid the pros and having to anyway. You need some experience getting all the air bubbles out of the system. When my cars get problems I can barely sleep until their fixed. I had to pay 300-350.00(I forget)Canadian to get my expansion tank done and I believe I got new coolant at the time but I was just relieved to get the car fixed.