RE: 318 E36 Coolant Loss

["Pavel Tcholakov" <pavel@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

Check the water pump and thermostat, the early E36's used to have their
water pump propeller made of plastic and it often dies at a similar
distance. The replacement part isn't very expensive and if you're
changing stuff you might want to get the new, metal one anyway. If you
see coolant dripping down the V-belt you can be pretty certain it's the
pump. Also look carefully at the bonnet padding -- if there's a radiator
leak the steam would have left rusty spots on the soft material.

Regards,
Pavel

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-bmw@domain.elided [mailto:owner-bmw@domain.elided] On Behalf Of
Purvis Brad Civ UAVB/DOI
Sent: 13 June 2003 05:26
To: bmw-digest@domain.elided
Subject: 318 E36 Coolant Loss


All:
Have a friend who has a 94 model 318 with a 5spd and a coolant loss.
Here is what I know: no visible loss of coolant anyplace, not in the
oil, tail pipe or any signs of leaking anyplace. However coolant
continues to be lost from the system. I have not been able to
investigate this myself. I will start investigating this tomorrow but
would like some ideas. I am considering washing the engine as clean as
possible and adding dye to the coolant and using a UV light to see if I
can detect any loss. I don't think the typical head gasket is at issue
as this is a 94 model but who knows. I think running the engine and
getting the system under pressure might be useful as well as using a
pressure tester but I don't know of any that fit this cap. Suggestions
would be helpful here. What should I do? Thanks Brad Purvis
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