Wheres all me water going?

[stappin]

I have a 325i E30 and every week since three weeks ago erm all the water keeps dissapearing!

I have no leaks, no steam from the exhaust and no water in the oil? So where the hell is it going, anyideas?

Cheers

Simon

[smithy318i]

You may 'think' you have no leaks. But clearly you do!

One of the zoners had a cracked rad, or it could be a perished hose.
Look carefully for steam in the engine bay.

Also look for water under the car first thing in the mornings.

Does your temp guage go up more than half way?

[stappin]

well this morning it wasnt registering any temp at 15mins after running so I pulled over and took a look in the water bottle to see bugger all in there. I poured 50cl of green valley spring water in (nothing but the best) and the temp rose steadily to half way the (i presume) the thermostat opened and the temp dropped just a tad under half and stayed that way on the way to work.

When I got to work had a good look underneath on a dry floor and there were no drips or leaks to be seen

[elliot]

are you doing the cap up tight enough? the bottle could be presurising and coming out the overflow. do you get a smell of stagnent water around your bottle area?

[stappin]

Will check but tight to me is wheel nut snapping tight. Maybe it's a cracked bottle of fooked cap does that happen at all?

[PeteE30Tourer]

Worst case could be water leaking into the engine somewhere it shouldn't be. I had gradual coolant loss - it was leaking through a crack in the cylinder head into one of the combustion chambers. Does your car run rough on start-up from cold, or put out lots of white smoke/steam from the exhast for the first couple of miles? Mine eventually got worse to the point that the water started leaking into the oil - signs of mayonaise on the oil-filler cap. Check this too.

Sincerely hope this isn't your problem, but it's worth checking.

[TW166Y]

i had a similar problem however it might not be the same but this is what happened to me, i was loosing water, didnt know where it was going, eventually somthing just went click inside my head so i checked the water pump, WOW wobbling side to side (water was NOT spraying everywhere neither) and temp was staying fine too, it was just loose enough to be loosing a hell of a lot of water, put a new pump on and problem solved!! might not be the same thing but might be worth checking, GIVE YOUR FAN A SHAKE MATE AND SEE IF THERE IS ANY PLAY IN IT ??? hope it helps

[Brianmoooore]

Check under the carpet in the passenger footwell (leaking heater valve).

[tusker]

I had same problem as TW166Y with the pump. Water disappearing but no sign of where it was going. Of course it only leaked when the engine was running and not when standing still. No spray anywhere or anything. Needed new pump and the fan drive on an M10 engine.

[320Touring]

Check under the carpet in the passenger footwell (leaking heater valve).

think Brian is right.... given that it aint overheating per se! if was water pump-surely it would run hotter, as not working correctly (IE not getting enough water)

[TW166Y]

Check under the carpet in the passenger footwell (leaking heater valve).

think Brian is right.... given that it aint overheating per se! if was water pump-surely it would run hotter, as not working correctly (IE not getting enough water)

see thats what i thought buddy surley it would over heat, but mine didnt overheat one bit, i mean given time sure it would overheat if there is not a drop of water left inside etc.... my water pump leaked just enough to make it loose water and the engine was making a right racket after time, i changed the pump and problem cured, i aint saying it is that im just giving my opinion on what happend to me and maybe worth a check????

[320Touring]

Check under the carpet in the passenger footwell (leaking heater valve).

think Brian is right.... given that it aint overheating per se! if was water pump-surely it would run hotter, as not working correctly (IE not getting enough water)

see thats what i thought buddy surley it would over heat, but mine didnt overheat one bit, i mean given time sure it would overheat if there is not a drop of water left inside etc.... my water pump leaked just enough to make it loose water and the engine was making a right racket after time, i changed the pump and problem cured, i aint saying it is that im just giving my opinion on what happend to me and maybe worth a check????

indeed mate

we could both be right, or both be wrong

just the heater valve seems reasonable to me as its a fairly common fault

[Brianmoooore]

I had a water pump once on an E30 that only leaked when the engine was running, and then only very slowly. Wouldn't leak a drop when the engine was stopped, even while the cooling system was still up to pressure.
Twisting the fan blades just after the engine was stopped showed it up though.

[TW166Y]

think Brian is right.... given that it aint overheating per se! if was water pump-surely it would run hotter, as not working correctly (IE not getting enough water)

see thats what i thought buddy surley it would over heat, but mine didnt overheat one bit, i mean given time sure it would overheat if there is not a drop of water left inside etc.... my water pump leaked just enough to make it loose water and the engine was making a right racket after time, i changed the pump and problem cured, i aint saying it is that im just giving my opinion on what happend to me and maybe worth a check????

indeed mate

we could both be right, or both be wrong

just the heater valve seems reasonable to me as its a fairly common fault

dam true buddy

[TW166Y]

I had a water pump once on an E30 that only leaked when the engine was running, and then only very slowly. Wouldn't leak a drop when the engine was stopped, even while the cooling system was still up to pressure.
Twisting the fan blades just after the engine was stopped showed it up though.

This is also what happened to me matey, exact same thing

[craigieeb]

Check under the carpet in the passenger footwell (leaking heater valve).

where is said valve? as my carpet is soaking! and im losing water too with no leaks anywhere to be seen

[Dan318-is]

if all of your coling system etc is in check, you could have a head gasket failure meaning your water is getting boiled away instantly

[craigieeb]

iv just rebuilt the whole engine matey and renewd all gasgates etc etc, and my problem ties in with what brianmooore is saying, the passenger side carpet is dripping wet, but its been sunny as hell the past few days, they guys have ripped the carpet up and there's no holes (there) so its got to be the heater valve?

[Dan318-is]

if there was water in passenger footwell then i would suggest someink along those lines yeah mate, its nothing major

[craigieeb]

its nothing major

it is when my lass is whining "my bags wet"


what a shame

[Brianmoooore]

Valve is behind the access panel to the right of the glove box. It's the bit with the big green/blue stains running down from it.

[SVBMW]

Brianmooore wrote:

I had a water pump once on an E30 that only leaked when the engine was running, and then only very slowly. Wouldn't leak a drop when the engine was stopped, even while the cooling system was still up to pressure.
Twisting the fan blades just after the engine was stopped showed it up though.

Could this also be why mine sometimes does and sometime dosen't. I haven't been able to find where its getting out

Cheers

Tris

[Brianmoooore]

Could this also be why mine sometimes does and sometime dosen't. I haven't been able to find where its getting out

Cheers

Tris

It's possible, but first check you have the recall replacement radiator cap with the yellow disc at the bottom.