Coolant consumption

Let me just say as a side note, that, over 6 years of ownership of two e46's, I've never had a cooling issue; ET on my first e46's lasted 127k miles when I totaled the car; Had it @ 61k miles on the odo.

A month ago my coolant light came on, added coolant, all is good.

Couple of days ago, light came on; Checked the level; It was low; Added about .5 ml ( the size of a small bottle of water) All is good!

Or is it?

Should I be loosing coolant in a month period?

I'm in a denial stage right now ... lol

once it starts, it doesnt stop, only gets worse, keep a look out on the usual spots !

ive had coolant problems with all 3 e46's i've had, with new head gaskets on all as well ... !

I'm checking autohaus to order an ET and noticed the ones they have is made by "Uro"; an after market and NON oem supplier.

I think the best place to get this thing is straight from the dealer!

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=914109

I believe you can get OE ET's at places other than dealer...but don't assume it's ET.

Could be anywhere in system, honestly, so best thing to do is clean up residue of coolant leaking...get to op temp, and look for leaking.

See temp sensor 0-ring (jfoj's sig for iat o-ring which is the same size)...radiator where plastic side meets aluminum... therm, wp, any hose might 'seep' for you to lose the amount you have.

All is suspect right now. Either find the leak, replace the whole thing, or hope you get it right and risk going in again.

Don't mess around with cooling system issues...just saying!

Originally Posted by Airborne82id

I think the best place to get this thing is straight from the dealer!

+1

Check your splash gaurd for wet spots and stuff

Originally Posted by dmax

I believe you can get OE ET's at places other than dealer...but don't assume it's ET.

Could be anywhere in system, honestly, so best thing to do is clean up residue of coolant leaking...get to op temp, and look for leaking.

See temp sensor 0-ring (jfoj's sig for iat o-ring which is the same size)...radiator where plastic side meets aluminum... therm, wp, any hose might 'seep' for you to lose the amount you have.

All is suspect right now. Either find the leak, replace the whole thing, or hope you get it right and risk going in again.

Don't mess around with cooling system issues...just saying!

WP (stewart) and hoses were done right before I purchased the car; about 20k miles ago. What I suspect hasn't been done is ET; And I could be wrong. The thing is oddly shaped; no upper lip; but I can see the bmw sticker glued on the side.

The temp O ring usually leaks when disturbed; removed and reinstalled. Haven't touched it.

Is the part of the radiator you mentioned meets the aluminum in the bottom? That could be plausible, I'll keep an eye on it.

Originally Posted by TArse

+1

Check your splash gaurd for wet spots and stuff

Coolant dries out quick; specially with a minuscule leak; I have to spot it in the action ... The only way I can think of otherwise is by the ash-like residue that coolant leaves behind ...

Yea the white ish spots that's how I found out I had a hair line crack in my ET

on the rad...between the plastic side pods and the aluminum, there's a gasket...behind where the aluminum clips to the plastic...that will leak slowly for months...is a pretty stable leak...but anything can leak.

ET is a possible, of course, but not necessarily 'your' leak.

GL