[nguyen]

so i took my 2006 330i (BMS chip / carbon filter delete/ K&N filter / hood scoops) to the track for the first time at MSR Houston

everything was great until the 2nd 15 minute session, i got a temperature warning

after i pitted, i opened the good and saw the left side of the engine WET, it looked as if a balloon had popped from the coolant area

after the car cooled down a bit i opened the coolant cover and noticed it was low, so i filled it up with water.

The warning went away and i decided to get on the track, after another 10 minutes the same warning came back on and i got the same results, more coolant/water was gone


Any ideas on what kind of coolant to use or how to solve this problem??

[satakal]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...hlight=coolant

[nguyen]

Originally Posted by satakal

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...hlight=coolant

i only burn all that coolant on the track, after a month of regular driving my coolant is still full

any ideas?

[The HACK]

Pin-hole leak in head gasket that dumps water when water pump is at full pressure?

[nguyen]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Pin-hole leak in head gasket that dumps water when water pump is at full pressure?

note taken, do you think it could be that the coolant is being "used"/evaporated?

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by nguyen

...i opened the good and saw the left side of the engine WET, it looked as if a balloon had popped from the coolant area

Originally Posted by nguyen

note taken, do you think it could be that the coolant is being "used"/evaporated?

Doesn't sound like it's being evaporated. I still think there's a pin-hole leak somewhere, where when driving at street speeds at low RPM there isn't enough pressure to make anything noticeable, but when driven at track at high RPM and high pump speed there's enough pressure to force the fluid out of the hole.

I need to revise my original wild @ss guess. I think it's a pin-hole leak either from the expansion tank or one of the various hoses connecting the tank, the radiator, and the engine. But it could also be the head gasket.

[mike-y]

if it's the head gasket, there is a chance your oil is contaminated with water. This is where a dipstick would really handy :-/

But, if you have coolant all over your engine bay, there is a good possibility it is an external leak only. Can you see steam coming up from anywhere in particular when it happens? The coolant expansion tank is on the left side, so I'd check that for cracks or a broken/cracked lid, and also carefully check all the hoses going to and from it.

[nguyen]

Originally Posted by mike-y

if it's the head gasket, there is a chance your oil is contaminated with water. This is where a dipstick would really handy :-/

But, if you have coolant all over your engine bay, there is a good possibility it is an external leak only. Can you see steam coming up from anywhere in particular when it happens? The coolant expansion tank is on the left side, so I'd check that for cracks or a broken/cracked lid, and also carefully check all the hoses going to and from it.

well i don't see white smoke when i drive the car or in idle, any other way to tell if there is water in the oil??

there was no steam coming from the car, just water spots on the left side of the bay.

The lid looks normal and has no sign of wear, there dont seem to be leaks from the hoses as far as i can see.

the car was running 220 degrees after the 2nd 15 minute seesion which is around 20 degrees higher than normal i believe

it was a hot day 95ish degrees with the sun beating down

[The HACK]

Have the cooling system pressure tested and they'll see where the leak is coming from.