Advice? Another coolant system nightmare...

[ljk3]

2000 323Ci coupe... recently replaced expansion tank due to huge crack. drove car few miles and overheated and coolant spilled out from bottom of car... other than retracing my steps to make sure I installed new expansion tank correctly... any advice on identifying the real problem... i'm handy but certainly no mechanic and would like to try fixing myself before towing to dealership... research suggests thermostat, water pump, head gasket... how do i identify true source of problem?? thanks!
Leon

[Teh Prof]

Remember to bleed the cooling system properly?

[ljk3]

no but would that cause me to loose so much coolant under the car if i didnt bleed it properly?

would love a phone call if you are open to help me 215-816-0060 Leon

[Teh Prof]

After phone call, to sum up for Leon:

1. fitting on bottom of tank that we talked about

2. bleed your system.

3. Wouldn't be a bad time to replace your water pump and your thermostat if they've never been replaced before. It's good practice for an E46 to replace these every few years.

[Numark318i]

Originally Posted by Teh Prof

After phone call, to sum up for Leon:

1. fitting on bottom of tank that we talked about

2. bleed your system.

3. Wouldn't be a bad time to replace your water pump and your thermostat if they've never been replaced before. It's good practice for an E46 to replace these every few years.

agreed^^.

Im on my third water pump, expansion tank and thermostat. (140thousand)

[acon]

Question: Other than the car overheating, are there any other signs when the water pump goes out? I ask this because I have an extended warranty which would probably only cover this if the part fails, but I don't want to wait for this to happen and risk losing my engine just to avoid paying this on my own. I think it's better to anticipate these type of things.

My '04 325 has about 78K. I read a buyers guided article for the E46 in Bimmer magazine that the water pump should be changed ever 60K and radiator every 90K as preventive measures. Thx!

[liljavier]

bleed the system u might have to much air in it causing to expand

[Teh Prof]

Originally Posted by acon

My '04 325 has about 78K. I read a buyers guided article for the E46 in Bimmer magazine that the water pump should be changed ever 60K and radiator every 90K as preventive measures. Thx!

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I'd say every 35K for the radiator and water pump and thermostat at the same time.

[marti5]

As you say it pours out!!!,I would say you have a loose hose clip, split hose or the sensor in the exp tank is not sealing correctly. I would not have thought it would be the rad, as for the pump you would see it leaking and white crystalised water over the belts ( due to antifreeze), best thing to do,take off the the plastc under cover underneath, place a piece of cardboard under and let her just sit there on tick over, give it some revs now a then, keep checking underneath and you should see where its coming from.

Regards,

Marti, U.K.