Coolant getting drained quick

hey guys

i recently got the collant yellow light on my 323i so i checked it, and t was completely drained!

i wasted half the coolant bottle filling it.

this was yesterday.

today i checked it again and it wasnt drained all the way but it lost about 1/4 gallon of coolant.

so i filled it.

i also have white spots around the coolant cap.. appear to be spills of some sort.

does anyone have an idea of what the cause might be?

i searched it up and so far i have (water pump, radiator, thermostat, or hoses)

thanks

Sounds like head gasket with loosing coolant, unless there is an obvious leak somewhere in the pipework??

Maybe your expansion tank is leaking. Sometimes it wil break and leak. first tiny bits, but it will be worse.

White spots on the expansion tank means you're leaking coolant at the top once the heat and pressure gets up to the top... Not a head gasket issue, just an issue with leaking at the cap, or somewhere else around that area.

Originally Posted by ModBargains III

White spots on the expansion tank means you're leaking coolant at the top once the heat and pressure gets up to the top... Not a head gasket issue, just an issue with leaking at the cap, or somewhere else around that area.

yea but the spots on the top arent the things that are worrying me..

im losing 1/4 of a gallong of coolant a day...

most people are saying its my expansion tank...

how do i check if its that and if it is, is it easy to replace and shiet?

Check your expansion tank cap. I got a defective one that didn't seal properly and it caused me to lose coolant out the cap. New cap solved that issue. I also got my car back from the dealership yesterday and they didn't bother to tighten the cap all the way down. I lost 3/8ths a gallon with the cap being loose over a 20 mile drive. It left white coolant residue everywhere including on the expansion tank.

Originally Posted by briangl92

Check your expansion tank cap. I got a defective one that didn't seal properly and it caused me to lose coolant out the cap. New cap solved that issue. I also got my car back from the dealership yesterday and they didn't bother to tighten the cap all the way down. I lost 3/8ths a gallon with the cap being loose over a 20 mile drive. It left white coolant residue everywhere including on the expansion tank.

so the cap has to be reallllyyy tight?

like, i cant close it with just my hand?

Originally Posted by tehcbass

so the cap has to be reallllyyy tight?

like, i cant close it with just my hand?

You can tighten it by hand. It needs to be tight but nothing crazy. The dealership only had the threads started and it was loose. If you're leaking coolant from your cap (whether the cap is defective or loose) there'll be coolant on the threads of the tank.

Originally Posted by briangl92

You can tighten it by hand. It needs to be tight but nothing crazy. The dealership only had the threads started and it was loose. If you're leaking coolant from your cap (whether the cap is defective or loose) there'll be coolant on the threads of the tank.

ohh alright thank you bro, im gunna go check it now see whats up

I don't think your cap is not tight closed enough.

Maybe you can put some little pressure on the cooling system, probabely around 1 bar.
You can easily see it when the expansion tank is leaking, because the water will tear out of it.

Originally Posted by Matheeuwissen

I don't think your cap is not tight closed enough.

Maybe you can put some little pressure on the cooling system, probabely around 1 bar.
You can easily see it when the expansion tank is leaking, because the water will tear out of it.

im not familiar with this, 1 bar, you speak of

about 14,5 PSI.

just to set straight you don't put to much pressure on the system to test for leak, otherwise hoses wil burst or you waterpump will start leaking.

Just put a little pressure on to the system.

Originally Posted by tehcbass

im not familiar with this, 1 bar, you speak of

He is saying to pressurize the cooling system to 1bar(14.5psi). there are tools for this.