small coolant leak...

[jblaudio06]

i have a 97 328 and it has a coolent leak...it will drive great for awhile then the engine will just get hotter from there...how much will this cost to fix and what do i need 2 replace... anyone here do work on the side...i bought a boush alt and got installed from some guy about two months ago

[SKUNK2GUY]

it depends where it's leaking

[jblaudio06]

what are all the posibilities and the price ranges

[BlkCD5]

You need to get it done asap. I"m having the coolant issue as well. The leak is near the water pump seal and the shop where im at, will charge me about $370 to fix it. Good thing is that i have to do my timing belt anyways and its in the same area. So, the oil and coolant leak will be fixed in one job. :bump:

[jblaudio06]

o thats not bad at all..but if you drive w/ a coolant leak your engine will overheat

[SKUNK2GUY]

couldbe head gasket,water pump, hose with a hole, radiator.

[AnTi-PooN]

my truck was over heating and i replaced the thermostat and hoses before i realized it was the thermostat housing

[Z U L8R]

hehe, i guess the alternator worked out :D. bmw's have plastic radiators, plastic expansion tanks, plastic air bleeder screws, plastic thermostat housings, it's not uncommon for any one of those to leak, and you can't rule out the water pump, a hose, or even the clamps for that matter either.

basically the anti-freeze circulates throughout the engine, heater core, and radiator, if you get low on coolant there's not enough fluid there circulating therefore your car will overheat because it's leaking out. if you continue to drive a car that's overheating you're going to blow the head gasket or cause other very expensive repairs so you need to address the issue before you create a more expensive problem.

basically you'd pressurize the cooling system according to the pressure specification on the radiator/expansion tank cap and then look to see where the coolant is leaking out of, then make the repair.

just think if your WHOOOLE problem was a 99 cent clamp that just needed to get tightened back down or replaced and because you continued to let the car overheat you're forced to spend $1500-3000 to dissassemble the motor and make additional repairs because you didn't just fix the problem....that's just poor judgement.

[BlkCD5]

:stupid:. First car overheated and blew the HG. I ended up getting another motor since the cost of repairing the BHG was as much as one. Imo, change out all those plastic shit coolant pieces, especially the water pump that you mentioned. It puzzles me why Bmw would use that for the coolant system :???: :dunno:

[Z U L8R]

so they can sell you the parts after they sell you the car LOL :D

[BlkCD5]

yea, but I would expect a little more from a company that sells luxury sports cars from 40k+.

[Z U L8R]

LOL look at mercedes.....JUNK!!

[koukis14]

A lot of high end European cars have plastic impeller water pumps. If something fails do you want plastic or metal in your engine. Plus if the water pump becomes loose a plastic impeller wont eat into the block like a metal one will.

[Z U L8R]

you're absolutely right. usually the impellor only fricks up the water pump's housing which ends up getting replaced anyways when you replace the pump, but you're absolutely right.

the diag tech here at my shop refers to them as "Big Money Wasters" (BMW) and or my favorite "Nazi footlockers"

bmw's been using that straight six design forever and a day, the motors are generally pretty decent as long as you use the correct bosch plugs it calls for and change the oil on time (like any car) and as long as you keep the thing from overheating which "if it ain't one thing it's another." after that really the only other common problems are the idler and tensioner pulley's making noise/seizing up, the power steering hoses always start leaking, and then the brake master cylinder goes out because it's friday and there's nothing else to do LOL.

:D

[BlkCD5]

Originally posted by Z U L8R
and then the brake master cylinder goes out because it's friday and there's nothing else to do LOL.

EL OH EL :lmfao:

[koukis14]

When I worked at my independent shop I loved working on Beamers, and hated working on Mercedes. If there is one car I could go without working on the rest of my life it would probably be a Mercedes or Saab.

[jblaudio06]

alright thanks for the help....jw if anyone wants to meet up w/ me in snellville and help me figure out where the leak is comin from....then i can oder the parts from whoever hopefully a mech on here