coolant leak AGAIN!!!!

[e30-320i]

after spending the whole weekend trying to sort my leak by replacing the small gasket at the back of the head (where the coolant goes in) i've driving it a few times and its been fine i've just parked up and heard the same hissing sound popped the bonnet and its leaking again this time the coolant is squirting out from below the left hand side of the manifold is it possible it could be the head gasket a mate suggested it could be split at the edge near a water channel so i would only be losing coolant there is no mayo on the cap or oil in the water

[wildeian]

Get a closer look. Make sure the leak is coming from between the head and the block, cos that ain't something you wanna fix if it ain't broken!!

Is it near the thermostat housing?

[Brianmoooore]

What colour is the bottom of your coolant tank pressure cap?

[e30-320i]

the leak is coming from below the left hand side of the exhaust manifold its pretty hard to see down there
the bottom of the coolant cap is deff yellow and has 80 stamped into it
is it possible my thermostat is in the wrong way would that cause it to keep leaking
there is only a problem when it gets hot

[bigun]

you could try your missus's small makeup mirror to look down the back of the head

[e30-320i]

you could try your missus's small makeup mirror to look down the back of the head

good idea mate i'll be able to look while its leaking too without getting burnt (again)
thanks

[e30-320i]

Is it near the thermostat housing?

Its under the exhaust manifold towards the back of the engine!

[E30BeemerLad]

just pour in and forget about it mate
http://www.kalimex.co.uk/section.html?s ... 4.&pgid=17

my old man repaired a diesel shogun with a cracked head 18 months ago with this stuff, rather than the owner pay out £600 for the head being taken off etc. Still going strong.

[dobbie82]

i cant imagine things like that are good for an engine. i take it thats what may have been chucked in my engine to solve a leak that was actually the water pump spewing water.

[Ziggy]

just pour in and forget about it mate
http://www.kalimex.co.uk/section.html?s ... 4.&pgid=17

my old man repaired a diesel shogun with a cracked head 18 months ago with this stuff, rather than the owner pay out £600 for the head being taken off etc. Still going strong.

Dya know if anyone's tried it on a cracked 325i head?? Nowt wrong with mine, but so many of them go that I was looking at getting a spare ready...

[E30BeemerLad]

I used it last August on mine, symptoms of headgasket gone, it was pressurising the system and chucking it out the expansion tank breather/overflow pip, but only when you switched the engine off. Presumably due to heat soak.

Was getting all set to ask the old man to do my headgasket, but he just went into his lockup and pulled out a bottle of this stuff and chucked it in. Car still got ritual abuse on a daily basis since and have not once caused any bother.

Way I see it, if it don't work you've spent £8! But it is guaranteed for the life of the engine and has not caused my old car any bother so far.

if it works on a diesel shogun with hugely higher compression and vibration, then I can't see an M20 causing it any bother.

They do have some other fantastic products on their site too. But not tried any of them.

[Ziggy]

Well hopefully I'll never have to try it, but I'll certainly give it a go if the dreaded ever happens... Nice one!

[E30BeemerLad]

not everyone on here will be a fan of doing stuff like this, preferring to tackle the actual problem rather than mask it up.

Fair comment. Even so, using this stuff at least buys you some time to get your shit in order and be able to afford to buy all the bits to do a head rebuild and arrange a time when you can have the vehicle off the road etc, as these things are never going to happen at a convenient time are they.

[Wilson]

I'd def give it a go... if it doesn't work then only £8.

then as above if it does work then it can put the work of until you've got all the bits together and a more convenient time to do it.... Like warmer!!!!!

[e30-320i]

ok thanks will get it and let you know what happens

[e30_Turbo]

Celvin,

Pop it round one night this week mate, I'll take a gander for you, only just finished fitting head gasket number 3, so I should be able to help you.

You have my number still don't you?

Mark.

[e30-320i]

cheers mate yeah i still got your no are you about tonight

[e30_Turbo]

cheers mate yeah i still got your no are you about tonight

I am and I have my some light, so come round whenever!

Mark.

[e30_Turbo]

Just had a quick look, strange one that, the leak is coming from around the HG area by no 6. Having both looked at a old HG it seems the only thing it could be is the HG breaking down around the water jacket and the firing ring must still be ok as it's running fine.

Suggested removal of exh manifold for a good look up close!

Good to see you again Celv, let me know what you decide as I'll give you a hand either way......but I know you want a 2.5!

[gcorky]

sounds as though its exhaust into coolant........chasing the weakest spots.....have you access to a sniffer(reactive fluid)

[e30_Turbo]

Also maybe the exhaust stud has been redrilled and possibly broken through in the water jacket itself.

[e30-320i]

i really dont like the sound of that
i've had the car nearly a year now and its never leaked until now i did fit a thermostat about a month ago as it didn't have one and the temp guage never got out of the blue so i'm not really sure if it did have a problem before as it only seems to leak when hot.
i've just got a bottle of k-seal so i'll try that if it does seal it(can't see it myself but worth a try ) i'll save up and drop a 2.5 lump in instead
thanks again for all your input guys

[e30-320i]

thinking about it when i looked with the mirror on a stick i could see it was leaking from above the manifold so don't reckon its the stud i'm 99% sure its the head gasket

[E30BeemerLad]

be keen to hear from you once you've put that in mate

[e30-320i]

be keen to hear from you once you've put that in mate

I will never doubt you again


poured that tiny bottle of k-seal in about an hour ago and about a minute after the engine got up to temperature the dripping stopped.i ran the car for about 15 mins after that and still no signs of it leaking and just been up the dual carriageway and back then parked up on dry concrete and still couldn't see any leaks hopefully it'll still be dry in the morning its looking good so far.
my temp gauge still goes up to 3/4 for about 5 mins when warmed up then drops down to just over 1/2 is this normal

hopefully i'll now have time to get all the bits i need for a 2.5 conversion

[E30BeemerLad]

it's amazing stuff isn't it.

would be interesting to see if any other zoners try it and how long they carry on before bothering to replace the headgasket

[e30-320i]

thanks for recomending it mate i never even heard of the stuff

[oguz327]

where can you get this k seal from?

[e30-320i]

i got it from my local wilco 8.99 for a little bottle done the job for now mate

[E30BeemerLad]

where can you get this k seal from?

you can also order it from their site, on the link i posted near the top of this page

[Strawb]

where can you get this k seal from?

you can also order it from their site, on the link i posted near the top of this page

do you put it in the water bottle or the oil cap

[e30-320i]

into expansion tank or rad mate you really can't go wrong

[Strawb]

into expansion tank or rad mate you really can't go wrong

i got a similar problem but it only starts to leak when the engine is switched off it comes out on the floor infront of the passenger front wheel

[dazleeds]

as lee says the 325 is still going strong with this in the engine
and believe me she,s getting spanked everytime we leave the drive

wish i knew bout this stuff last time i had a 325 with gasket probs

[e30-320i]

into expansion tank or rad mate you really can't go wrong

i got a similar problem but it only starts to leak when the engine is switched off it comes out on the floor infront of the passenger front wheel

just try the stuff it it doesn't sort it its only 9 quid lost