330d Coolant leakin. - Smokin'!!

concrete_cow · #1 (**permalink**) 01-19-2007, 05:42 PM

Hi all,

Just bought a 2003 330d from a dealer. Its under warranty and I even had the AA go and give the motor the once over and it almost completely clean. There was a warning from the AA man that the coolant level was low, but i agreed with the dealer that this would be topped up prior to purchase - i assumed it was instead of checking. Anyways, was thundering about in it after picking it up and after driving down the motorway fairly rapidly i came off the sliproad and stopped at the roundabout and realised that there was steam coming out of the bonnet. Then the coolant symbol came up on the dash. Anyways, i managed to get the car home asap and the steam continued, but I found that the engine temp NEVER rose above normal temps! I'm not sure what the problem could be as the dealer may or may not have topped the coolant up.

Hopefully this is just caused because the coolant was low. But, wouldn't the temp gauge go up if the coolant was low and temp rose??? Does anyone know if this could be caused by a knackered thermostat? I checked the top pipe and noticed that it was hot but couldn't find the bottom pipe to check.

I'll top up the coolant in the morning and call the dealer tomorrow and find out what he did or didn't do.

Any help is good help at this stage, i've just bought her and fell in love with her, i can't see her go up in smoke yet!!!

Cheers
Sunil

James · #2 (**permalink**) 01-19-2007, 08:23 PM

Sounds like you may be right about the thermostat. I wouldn't worry about it too much if you are still under warranty.

concrete_cow · #3 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 02:56 AM

Just checked the car again and i *think* i've got serious problems

Looks like the overflow tank mounted to the right hand side of the radiator has been getting scuffed to death by what looks like the alternator? The alternator is either too far forwards or the overflow tank is too far back.

I've got a hole in my bucket!!

Any ideas what would cause the alternator to push forward like that in the engine compartment? I'm thinking maybe knackered engine mounts?

ESSEX · #4 (**permalink**) 09-16-2007, 12:46 PM

Could by that you’re engine is not mouthed to the engine brackets. This is a problem with a 330D because of the torque that the engine can produce, that the brackets twist a tare off the engine.

Manolito · #5 (**permalink**) 09-16-2007, 08:03 PM

At least you know that the problem is not in the engine and it is not overheating.

I just walked out to the garage and checked the wifemobile (2004 330i). There should be about 2 cm between the alternator pully and the coolant reservoir. If stand to the side you sight along the top lip of the fan shroud, the front of the head should be about 1 cm back from the rear edge of that lip. The back of the fan blades should be 2-3mm inside the lip. That is, if you look straight down, you should not quite be able to see the rear edges of the fan blades.

If the engine is further forward than this, check all engine,transmission mounts and rear end mounts. I am guessing that the drive train has little or no give, so if the rear end breaks loose from the chassis, it pushes everything forward. Another possibility is that the front of the car has been hit and pushed back and not repaired properly. If that is the case, you need to have a serious conversation with the dealer because if he ever had the car on a lift, it is safe to assume that he knew it was damaged.

If it is body damage and you do a workaround to keep the alternator from chewing a hole in the coolant reservoir, you will have a tough time replacing the serpentine belts, and an even tougher time replacing the belt tensioners. There is barely enough room to do those jobs if the clearance is as it should be.

NikG · #6 (**permalink**) 01-08-2008, 02:27 AM

Concrete cow get back into that dealer and tell him he was supposed to top up on level so any work that may come because it blown is now his problem as his/or his mechanic incompetance has now brought you upset get him told

Paycheck713 · #7 (**permalink**) 05-26-2008, 12:47 PM

Yea I had that problem too, the coolant reservoir was pushed up against the alternator and the belt had eaten through and started leaking, When I checked the problem was the screws that go into the radiator fan were loose so I tightened them up and it pulled it away, then I repaired the the reservoir with JB Weld and everything is ok now.