E39 Coolant Leak (Video) - Is this from the radiator?

[Arma 134]

So, noticed a puddle of coolant in the undercarriage this afternoon. So as usual I will panic and ask 1000 questions. The repairers did overfill the expansion tank by a fair bit, so not sure if this has anything to do with it. I noticed the dripping happens when the engine is running and it seems to be dripping from a point a bit further down and forward from the lower radiator hose. Please refer to the video I took:

Is this dripping from the radiator?
Could it be just some untightened screw or drain plug or something trivial?
Or does it just mean the radiator is stuffed?
Is it still safe to drive around the city during the weekend until it can be fixed next week?

It is dripping at about 1 drop per 2.5 seconds (ish)

Cheers

[Jibs05 86]

id say to get a better look to look from under the car. is there a cover under the radiator support? is it easily removable?

[allan 295]

How over full was it? as it appears to be leaking from the lower hose radiator connection. As Jibs has mentioned jack it up and remove the plastic cover panel to get a better look. It could be as simple as a worn O ring in the hose but have a look first and take it from there.

[Arma 134]

How over full was it? as it appears to be leaking from the lower hose radiator connection. As Jibs has mentioned jack it up and remove the plastic cover panel to get a better look. It could be as simple as a worn O ring in the hose but have a look first and take it from there.

It's dripping from some place further in/under than the hose connector. The lower radiator hose is also brand new as of last week. The repairers pressure tested it and said there were no leaks so no idea where this came from. It was overfilled quite a lot, this is the coolant level when cold:

[yng_750 247]

An overfill bottle will dribble out a little when hot. Suck out some water and see if leak stos.

[allan 295]

On the right hand side of the expansion tank their are two images of what the coolant levels are supposed to be. You can almost see one in the photo set it to the low one and go from their. Even so take the lower protection panel off and have a real good look were the coolant is coming from.

[Arma 134]

Shoved my camera down there for a peek. Looks like the leak is coming from the radiator (see video). Wouldn't a pressure test have picked this leak up? It's only been like 2 days since i got the car back and have just driven it normally. Probably a total of 40km. Not sure if it's just a coincidence or not that it is time for the radiator to die, right after the repair.

[Allanw 1071]

That could be dripping down from further up - the expansion tank should NOT be that full!

If the pressure gets high enough, it will try to pump out the excess. Drop the level down - siphon with a small tube in fine, but don't drink coolant! (it's poisonuos).

The radiators on these things aren't stunning though - especially if it's the original one!

[Arma 134]

That could be dripping down from further up - the expansion tank should NOT be that full!

If the pressure gets high enough, it will try to pump out the excess. Drop the level down - siphon with a small tube in fine, but don't drink coolant! (it's poisonuos).

The radiators on these things aren't stunning though - especially if it's the original one!

Manufacture date on currently installed one is 2005. So it's pretty old at the moment lol. I tried looking for any coolant seeping from the sides or expansion tank cap etc. but found nothing. I'd imagine even being over filled the extra would get sent to overflow tank or something? From the looks of it, the leak seems to come some where from the radiator plastic area on the driver side - perhaps a crack? Guess my best bet is to tow it on Monday to workshop and get it checked out unless some e39 god visits me tomorrow and fits my new radiator.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Arma

[hotwire 352]

Hard to tell. Best clean/dry it completely the retry from cold & see where it originates from. 2005 is not overly old - mine is a 99 & still ok.

Pressure test should show the leak up. Maybe/likely it was damaged in the accident. Pressure test a few days back should have shown the problem though:-

[Arma 134]

It drips from the same spot beneath the radiator as shown in the video but only when engine is running. As soon as I turn engine on it starts dripping pretty rapidly from that same spot. I suppose the source could be somewhere further up in the radiator, but that would still mean radiator replacement (thankfully I bought a new one from the US when I was importing all my maintenance parts). Can't see anything coming out of the expansion tank or radiator hoses. Are there more potential leak sources in front of the radiator that I can't see?

[Arma 134]

Actually kind of glad I decided to change the exhaust cps o-rings yesterday. If not I wouldn't have seen the leak at all, and was supposed to go for a few long drives that afternoon/evening. Possibly saved myself from an overheated motor. ;\

[KwS 2425]

id just take it back to them, say its leaking coolant and let them fix it.

[Arma 134]

id just take it back to them, say its leaking coolant and let them fix it.

Yeah taking it to shop tomorrow. Possibly get it back by lunch time. I wonder what may have caused the leak. Perhaps a mistake in the installation somewhere, who knows. Oh well, hopefully she's all healthy tomorrow.

Here's another vid of the leak in case it helps anyone in the future