2002 318Ti problem

[rocketeer]

i recently bought a 2002 318Ti. the car is in excellent condition and runs like very very well. however i spotted something that has left me scratching my head. i found a patch of liquid unde rthe car after parking it for about 15mins. there was probaly about 250ml of it. at first i thought it was water from the aircon, but on inspection it was a clear oily type substance. it doesn't feel or smell like brake fluid, engine oil or power steering fluid. i checked to see where it could have come from and in th process removed the cover from under the engine to do an inspection. it appears to have come from the coolant tank area. there are a few pipes that run to that area, water pipes and power steering fluid pipes.

after doing the inspection, i check the coolant level and noticed that it was a the min level. i topped it up, with about 200ml of coolant and went on a drive. about 20km's into the drive, the coolant level warning light comes up on the dash. so i pull over and switch the car off, start it up again and the light sgoes off and deosn't come on again.

this morning after parking the car overnight, i check the coolant level and it is back on the min mark, i top it up again and it takes about 200ml. there are no signs of any leaks of liquid under the car now though?

any dea what the problem could be? has anyone had something similar happen?

i am really concerned now, since i don't have a clue as to what could be wrong.

[SR781]

On my E46 318TI I noticed that where the top pipe into the radiator bends at 90 degrees there was a hairline crack that only leaked when the car was cold
and also that the bleed valve on the top of expansion tank had a small crack which allowed it to leak. I have since replaced both the valve and radiator and have had trouble bleeding the system. If anyone visiting this forum knows the correct procedure for bleeding the system could you let me know.

[rocketeer]

ok. my problem has been sorted. the expansion tank (coolant bottle) had a hairline crack on it. the carck was in the area of the 2 power steering fluid pipes, so about halfway down the bottle. from the experienced guys that i have spoken to, the problem is quite common on the E46 BM's.

the bleed procedue that was advised to use is quite simple.

1. Open the plastic screw on the top pipe.
2. start filling the water/coolant mix into the expansion tank.
3. continue filling slowly until the water starts flowing out of the little opening on the top pipe. you will see bubbles coming out that hole as well.
4. once the bubbles have stopped and the water is flowing quite "smoothly" out that opening, continue filling into the expansion tanke while screwing the black screw back into the top pipe.
5. once the hole is plugged you can stop filling and screw the cap on. you should be god to go after that.

[SR781]

Thanks for the information but i have bled it that way and found that when then higher bleed valve beside the oil filter is opened no fluid bleeds out so i had to fit a funnel into the radiator cap area to keep the coolant level higher than that valve and it bled ok. We have a similar problem here in Australia with the Holden Commodore.