Coolant Problem!!!

[Dalejandrino]

I have this problem where I need to fill my car with coolant every couple of days (the coolant comes on in the overhead check engine area). I've ignored it for a while now and I was driving around in my town but I wasn't driving around without any coolant.

There was some coolant left in there which is why I didn't bother to fill it (it gets expensive to buy that much coolant). At the end of the day my buddy and I were in a parking lot and I revved my engine to around 5500 RPMs and 5 minutes later my coolant came spewing out. This isn't the first time it's happened.

I replaced the U-shaped coolant pipe which is where it seemed to be coming out of and it didn't happen again until now. I was wondering what could be happening. I don't want to keep replacing the piping because it'll be annoying and start to become expensive.

I've asked a couple of people and one of those people said that it could be a headgasket leak. I need to know ASAP because I want to fix this problem so I can start driving my car again. I was thinking about getting a hydro-carbon test to see if the coolant is leaking into the combustion chamber from the head gasket.

Does anyone else have a guess at what could be happening?:|

[jlevie]

If the coolant level was low, the engine may have overheated. Which could cuase loss of coolant. Low coolant could be the result of a leak, which a pressure test of the cooling system will reveal. Or it could be from a head gasket leak (or cracked head) that is over pressurizing the cooling system.

[Dalejandrino]

If the coolant level was low, the engine may have overheated. Which could cuase loss of coolant. Low coolant could be the result of a leak, which a pressure test of the cooling system will reveal. Or it could be from a head gasket leak (or cracked head) that is over pressurizing the cooling system.

Thanks for the help. Where's a good place to get the pressure test? any car maintenance shop?

[jlevie]

Most any shop should have the equipment to do a pressure test. Or you could DIY it. To do that you'd need a bit of 1/4" hose, some clamps, a tee a pressure regulator and source of compressed air. Connect the tee in where small hose connects to the reservoir. then raise the pressure to a bit blow the cap's rating (1.2bar or 17.6psi), say 15psi. Then look all over and under for leaking coolant.

[Dalejandrino]

Most any shop should have the equipment to do a pressure test. Or you could DIY it. To do that you'd need a bit of 1/4" hose, some clamps, a tee a pressure regulator and source of compressed air. Connect the tee in where small hose connects to the reservoir. then raise the pressure to a bit blow the cap's rating (1.2bar or 17.6psi), say 15psi. Then look all over and under for leaking coolant.

Thank for the help. I really appreciate it!

[mrgraphics]

My 86 325es started doing this. If I drive it for a while, a lot of pressure builds up in the reservoir tank and then it comes flowing out the relief tube next to the cap. I have a new metal water pump, and my temps never go above half way. Before this happened, I was topping things off and I didn't have coolant, so I used distilled water. I'm wondering if there is too much water and it's simply expanding a lot.

What is weird is all the coolant flows out after I shut the engine off. Then the coolant in the reservoir starts to rise and rise until it gets to the top / cap and then starts percolating like an old style coffee maker until coolant starts flowing out. Then eventually the pressure releases and the coolant level drops and then it's low. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/i/p/2.png Comes out #6.

FYI - No coolant in the oil and no oil in the coolant, exhaust is not sweet, and no running issues / loss of power. So I don't think it's the head.

[jlevie]

My 86 325es started doing this. If I drive it for a while, a lot of pressure builds up in the reservoir tank and then it comes flowing out the relief tube next to the cap. I have a new metal water pump, and my temps never go above half way. Before this happened, I was topping things off and I didn't have coolant, so I used distilled water. I'm wondering if there is too much water and it's simply expanding a lot.

What is weird is all the coolant flows out after I shut the engine off. Then the coolant in the reservoir starts to rise and rise until it gets to the top / cap and then starts percolating like an old style coffee maker until coolant starts flowing out. Then eventually the pressure releases and the coolant level drops and then it's low. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/i/p/2.png Comes out #6.

FYI - No coolant in the oil and no oil in the coolant, exhaust is not sweet, and no running issues / loss of power. So I don't think it's the head.

And you'd be wrong. There is a head gasket leak that is pumping air into the cooling system.

[mrgraphics]

Crap. Just trying to understand . . . if the head gasket is pumping air into the cooling system, wouldn't the pressure build up and push coolant out the #6 tube when it's running? Why does the pressure only build after the car is shut off?

[Dalejandrino]

That's exactly what happens to me. After I park the car and walk start walking away from it it spews coolant out.

[jlevie]

Well you could have a bad cap, but I'll bet the cap is lifting while driving as well as when the engine is shut off. There is a good bit of stored heat in the engine that will raise the temperature of the coolant (and air in the case of a leaking head gasket) when the engine is shut off. That can raise the pressure to the point that cap lifts.

[s14pwd]

^^^^

Do this first, change the cap and see if the problem is corrected.

[Dalejandrino]

^^^^

Do this first, change the cap and see if the problem is corrected.

I have another reservoir that I just going to replace the old one with.

[mrgraphics]

Fixed mine. The fan clutch was bad on the replacement Pick n Pull fan I bought and the car was getting too hot. Also had too much water to antifreeze mixture. Added pure anti-freeze to even out the mixture and put back in my old clutch . . . no more overflowing.

[mrgraphics]

Well, I didn't completely fix it before. Turns out I had a small hole in the lower radiator hose. It was slowly introducing air into the system and that was hopefully where all the air was being introduced, cauing coolant to flow out the reservoir tank when I shut it down.

After replacing the thermostat with a 71 degree and a new lower hose, I bled it 3 times sitting on an incline, engine high. Temps seem to be relatively stable; ranging after reaching operating temp and a highway drive beteen dead 12:00 and halfway between 12:00 and the next higher tick. Is it still running hot or is that a safe range?

[dnguyen1963]

Mine is always a tick below 12:00...does not matter city or hwy.