Twin T 81 Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 car is back in the garge today! On saturday the coolant light came on for a minute then would go off. This happened intermittently a few times but forgot to check it when i parked it up. Went to use the car last night, 1st time since saturday and the coolant light was back on. Checked the coolant and it was empty. Only had it serviced and coolant was changed about a month ago! The car wasnt overheating at all, The needle was smack bang in the middle of the temp gauge. Fingers crossed its just the expansion tank thats needs replacing. This car is costing me a fortune lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mintimperial Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) car is back in the garge today! On saturday the coolant light came on for a minute then would go off. This happened intermittently a few times but forgot to check it when i parked it up. Went to use the car last night, 1st time since saturday and the coolant light was back on. Checked the coolant and it was empty. Only had it serviced and coolant was changed about a month ago! The car wasnt overheating at all, The needle was smack bang in the middle of the temp gauge. Fingers crossed its just the expansion tank thats needs replacing. This car is costing me a fortune lol. Common...mine has an incredibly slow leak....the light will come on every couple of months, and need bleeding and top up...but every time I've taken it in, they can't find the leak..its so tiny that even when pressure is applied to the system, the leak isn't obvious.. So I've given up looking and just top up every now and again. Interestingly enough, the problem has survived the engine change, meaning it must be a part that wasn't swapped over. Probably a hose somewhere...But its been like this for 3 years. I very much doubt your coolant was fully empty or you definitely would have been overheating. Edited March 27, 2012 by mintimperial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyZ Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 I very much doubt your coolant was fully empty or you definitely would have been overheating. 100% this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twin T 81 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 100% this. Thats a good thing in a way i suppose then. When i checked it yesterday the little measuring stick was right the way down. Its still lost a fair bit mind as it was changed about a month ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mintimperial Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Yeah the stick just shows the top end of the coolant level, even when its right down theres still loads of coolant in the system. When you topped back up, did you open the bleed screw to let any air bubbles out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twin T 81 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 I havent topped it up yet. Going to top it up about 11ish before i take a trip down to the garage. Didnt know about a bleed screw either... Is it ok to just top it up with water to get it the 5 miles to the garage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyZ Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 I can back this up by saying when I got my 318 I lost all the coolant and within minutes it had overheated and warped the head Yours is just a coolant leak, annoying but by no means as serious, as said above even if the stick is all the way down theres still loads in the system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyZ Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Water will be fine, anti freeze only needed when its cold and as yours is leaking anyway would be a waste of anti freeze Would advise carrying some spare water in the car just in case though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mintimperial Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) Yeah it'll be fine mate. The bleed screw is on the hose to the right of the expansion tank cap. Its a little plastic screw on the M43 engine, careful not to drop it...loosen it with a driver then use fingers to minimise rick of dropping it (i learned the hard way) Yeah just a leak nothing major. Likely a hose. Presume there is no mayo gunge under the oil filler cap or on the dipstick? As tricky said, when you lose all your coolant you'll know about it in a big cloud of steam, and in my case, a BANG when the expansion tank popped! Edited March 27, 2012 by mintimperial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twin T 81 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 lol cheers for the help guys. I'll grab a 2ltr bottle of water to take down with me. The garage is only about 5 miles away so should be fine...Fingers crossed. Do i need to bleed it if im just putting a litre in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevielad Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hi Twin T 81,I notice you have a 316 with a slight coolent leak.I had a small very slow leak that I thought was my only leak and that was the coolent flange that comes off the block to a inch and a half hose from rad.This flange is located front end of engine under inlet manifold.I thought it was o ring in hose but it turned out to be flange.Coolent would slowly leak from the tiniest crack in flange at engine temperature.The other leak I had was the other flange at back of engine between bulk and head,this is a pig to get to and a boar to get out if it breaks upon removal but this flange is probably where your leak heralds from.I agree with others about expansion tank being crap,they are of poor material and do crack as mine did sometime back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffThomson Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Check all the bleed screws are tight, and that the filler cap o ring is good. If it's venting due to loss in either of those areas, it'll do so as steam. There will be no traces of water. Worth a look just to eliminate those. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Syxx Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 If the temp needle didn't go past half way then you should be fine, the sensor is pretty sensitive, IIRC if loses over half a litre light will come on. Carry water if your going to drive the car To the garage and avoid working the engine ie foot down as it will lose more water under pressure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autosri Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) Maybe it was t bled properly when it was changed and you are releising all the air bubbles so there maybe no leak at all I would top it up and give it a few days to see if it drops again When I changed the stat it took a couple of goes to get the level correct it seemed to drop a little every day but after a top up each day for mahbe 2 days it's been fine for over a year without any fluid loss /leak Edited March 27, 2012 by autosri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mintimperial Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Maybe it was t bled properly when it was changed and you are releising all the air bubbles so there maybe no leak at all I would top it up and give it a few days to see if it drops again When I changed the stat it took a couple of goes to get the level correct it seemed to drop a little every day but after a top up each day for mahbe 2 days it's been fine for over a year without any fluid loss /leak +1 definitely a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twin T 81 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 We'll i topped it up with water so the little marker was sticking up and got it down to the garage fine. Engine got up to temperature ok and the needle was smack in the middle. My mate did the compression tests and said it was all fine. Theres no signs of coolant leaking anywhere in the engine bay. He said it was quite common for the coolant needle to be right down but theres still plenty of coolant left in it when its like that and said that it might be the sensor playing up as they are not the most reliable of things. Im working away for a few days now so he said he'll keep the car down there and have a proper look over it and replace the coolant again but when i get it back give it a good run out and see if it happens again. Thanks for you input/info guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twin T 81 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Oh and while the cars down there he will fit my sportlines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc l Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hi i havent read all of this thread but there is a plastic coolant connector pipe at the back of the cylinder head you cant see it but you can feel it! water sits on top of the gearbox so not easy to see any leaks... Very common problem on the m43 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Syxx Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hi i havent read all of this thread but there is a plastic coolant connector pipe at the back of the cylinder head you cant see it but you can feel it! water sits on top of the gearbox so not easy to see any leaks... Very common problem on the m43 Same thing happened to a mate of mine with a 318, leak from the back of the engine, and yep common issue on these engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcjdavis1 Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) Hi. This is how I did the pipe connector at the rear of the engine (M43). Jim Part was £7. part No. 11 53 1 708 808.Take the Pollen filter housing off after that it is down to feel. Tools required are short 10mm spanner and long screwdriver to unclip coolant hose and 1 jubilee clip on coolant hose, which you can see if you stretch over from the drivers side,you do not need to take off the ccv hose. I found it easier to lay on top of the engine and use two hands to get at the 2x10mm bolts, just take your time and don't drop anything. Take the hoses off first and put them on last. Make sure you get the old O ring out when taking the old connector off, new connector has an O ring fitted. You will loose coolant so make sure and bleed the system after topping up to avoid air locks. Jim Edited March 27, 2012 by jcjdavis1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twin T 81 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hi i havent read all of this thread but there is a plastic coolant connector pipe at the back of the cylinder head you cant see it but you can feel it! water sits on top of the gearbox so not easy to see any leaks... Very common problem on the m43 Same thing happened to a mate of mine with a 318, leak from the back of the engine, and yep common issue on these engines. Hi. This is how I did the pipe connector at the rear of the engine (M43). Jim Part was £7. part No. 11 53 1 708 808.Take the Pollen filter housing off after that it is down to feel. Tools required are short 10mm spanner and long screwdriver to unclip coolant hose and 1 jubilee clip on coolant hose, which you can see if you stretch over from the drivers side,you do not need to take off the ccv hose. I found it easier to lay on top of the engine and use two hands to get at the 2x10mm bolts, just take your time and don't drop anything. Take the hoses off first and put them on last. Make sure you get the old O ring out when taking the old connector off, new connector has an O ring fitted. You will loose coolant so make sure and bleed the system after topping up to avoid air locks. Jim Cheers for this guys i'll ring him in the morning and ask him to check it over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twin T 81 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Hi i havent read all of this thread but there is a plastic coolant connector pipe at the back of the cylinder head you cant see it but you can feel it! water sits on top of the gearbox so not easy to see any leaks... Very common problem on the m43 Looks like this was the fault, Have done a compression test and the only sign of water was coming from the back of the cyclinder head. Part is being replaced tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mintimperial Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Looks like this was the fault, Have done a compression test and the only sign of water was coming from the back of the cyclinder head. Part is being replaced tuesday. What have they quoted you on this out of interest? this could be where my mega slow drip is coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twin T 81 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 They havent quoted yet, but it my mechanic mate doing it so im hoping its mates rates..lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twin T 81 Posted April 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2012 Should have posted this last week.... It was the thermostat housing causing the coolant leak, Part number 1153-1708-808 Pics of the old housing Only cost me £50 to get it replaced including the part Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
