Coolant Missing!?

Need technical Q/A then you're in the right place

Moderator: martauto

Post Reply
User avatar
Sligmaaaa
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:18 pm
Location: Greece

Sun Jun 30, 2019 5:43 pm

Hello everyone!
So about a month and a half ago I had some strange temp rise when the car was stuck in traffic.
I even bought a new fan clutch right away thinking that this was the problem, but after checking the coolant level I noticed it was almost at the end of the radiator :o:
Anyway I bought a use-ready mix of antifreeze and water and fulled the radiator to the top. Having some strange temp spikes I checked again the radiator and again I had a loss of roughly 800mL of coolant.
Checked for like 10 minutes for any visible leaks but everything seemed fine.
Any ideas!? :cry: (M40b16)
User avatar
ChrisHC
E30Zone Contributor
Posts: 515
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 11:00 pm

Sun Jun 30, 2019 7:40 pm

You should be filling up the expansion tank, not the radiator. If you have filled only the radiator you have not got enough coolant in the system. Fill the radiator, and then the expansion tank up to the level mark. Look in the wiki on this site for advice on bleeding.

Remove the oil filler cap and check inside, if it looks like mayonnaise or milky coffee you have water getting into the oil, often as a result of a head gasket problem.
User avatar
Foe
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 615
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:00 pm
Location: South Wales

Sun Jun 30, 2019 8:01 pm

When topping up, make sure engine cold, and fill to the cold mark on the radiator. Get it warmed up for a bit (bleed if necessary link on wikipage) let engine cool right down. You may see it's lower than the cold mark. Keep topping up, engine warmed up again, do this until when cold, no more antifreeze is required.
User avatar
Sligmaaaa
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:18 pm
Location: Greece

Sun Jun 30, 2019 8:06 pm

So there is a chance I did not top the expansion tank in the first place
Will apply the procedure first thing tomorrow and keep you posted!
Thank you!
User avatar
Foe
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 615
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:00 pm
Location: South Wales

Sun Jun 30, 2019 8:26 pm

Love an update :thumb:
User avatar
Sligmaaaa
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:18 pm
Location: Greece

Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:48 pm

So I checked the coolant again after a ride in order to warm the car after the last refill and realised that I never topped up in the first place.
Followed the bleed procedure (sadly I damaged the bleed screw using small flat screw driver) turned fan on full setting and filled up accordingly.
Hopefully everything will be ok!
User avatar
Foe
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 615
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:00 pm
Location: South Wales

Mon Jul 01, 2019 6:26 pm

Sligmaaaa wrote:
Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:48 pm
So I checked the coolant again after a ride in order to warm the car after the last refill and realised that I never topped up in the first place.
Followed the bleed procedure (sadly I damaged the bleed screw using small flat screw driver) turned fan on full setting and filled up accordingly.
Hopefully everything will be ok!
Excellent and finger's crossed :thumb:
Post Reply