All,
One of my friends were down this evening looking at my 1988 320i Convertible and I by chance I have now discovered the following problem! I had just pulled the car out of the garage and left it running while they hopped in to have a look around. I happened to be at the rear of the car when they were reving the engine, it was then that I noticed that a small amount of fluid coming out of the exhaust! Is this a sign that I may have a cracked head - or could it be something else. The coolant level has dropped slightly as well! Any help appreciated!
Rav
Fluid out of exhaust!
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E30BeemerLad
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No, it will just be condensation build up. It will be especially bad if you just leave a car ticking over for a length of time.
Keep an eye on the coolant level though, just incase.
Keep an eye on the coolant level though, just incase.
Not necessarily. Could just be condensation. I get this sometimes, the fluid spitting from the exhaust and my coolant level drops, but I reckon I'm losing the coolant some other way.
You could check the oil dipstick or the oil cap for signs of mayo (emulsified oil and water, looks a bit like mayonnaise) but even that's not a surefire way of diagnosing a cracked head.
Coolant header tank bubbling up is, I think, another sign.
You could check the oil dipstick or the oil cap for signs of mayo (emulsified oil and water, looks a bit like mayonnaise) but even that's not a surefire way of diagnosing a cracked head.
Coolant header tank bubbling up is, I think, another sign.
That's great news, its not my every day drive so I have (had) a tendancy to start it up and leave it running for a little while each week! I'll drive it in future! Going to change the coolant tomorrow, so i'll keep an eye on it from then on. Thanks for your help, Rav
Air fuel ratio is 14.7:1, so for every 1 gallon of fuel you burn you make 15 gallons of water vapor. Normally you drive the car and heat up the exhaust and this evaporates the water and is ejected from the tail pipe, (think what happens on a cold day with all that vapor from the exhaust).
leaving the engine idling will not heat the exhaust sufficiently and the water condenses back to a liquid before its ejected and sits in the middle and rear box's rotting them from the inside.
You can tell the people who only use there cars for short journeys (far too short) from the water spitting from the exhaust as they wait at a set of lights in front of you.
If you start the car without driving it you will also cause condensation to form on the inside of the engine and this can show up a "mayo" on the filler cap as a dark grey deposit (nearly drove the car far enough) or yellow (defiantly didn't drive the car far enough).
If you going to start the engine once a week you could be doing more harm than good, 20 mile drive would be better.
leaving the engine idling will not heat the exhaust sufficiently and the water condenses back to a liquid before its ejected and sits in the middle and rear box's rotting them from the inside.
You can tell the people who only use there cars for short journeys (far too short) from the water spitting from the exhaust as they wait at a set of lights in front of you.
If you start the car without driving it you will also cause condensation to form on the inside of the engine and this can show up a "mayo" on the filler cap as a dark grey deposit (nearly drove the car far enough) or yellow (defiantly didn't drive the car far enough).
If you going to start the engine once a week you could be doing more harm than good, 20 mile drive would be better.