What kind of fluid is this and where is it coming from?

[trancenation]

Hey All,

Coolant light came on the other day and I decided to investigate. I popped open the hood and checked the coolant level and noticed that the plastic floater stick was broken off however I checked the coolant level with the remainder of the stick and it is near max. I then took the car for a test drive and then popped the hood open and saw the following. The picture that shows gunk near the windshield liquid resorvoir is different than the area near the expansion tank neck. Some of it is prior to the drive but there was some pieces that were moist with whatever liquid that may be. Any ideas? I'm thinking maybe the power steering reservoir has a crack?

105021050010499

[danewilson77]

How has power steering fluid level tracked?

Crazy spray pattern on passenger side.

Does the pattern look old, or fresh?

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[trancenation]

What do you mean by power steering fluid level tracked?

Pattern on the passenger side looks old. The patterns on the power steering side look rather new. Not too sure what kind of fluid that is though.

[JupiterBMW]

Hmm, it appears to be all over the front of the engine, so whatever it is, I'd suspect its dripping onto the belts. You can see it on the alternator (drivers side) and the passenger side (washer fluid tank) so its definitely getting sprayed from the middle somewhere... Looks brown like oil, but any fluid mixed with dirt will eventually turn brown... PS fluid is a good place to start, or maybe oil from the VCG? Tough to say without more pics.

[trancenation]

It does indeed look like oil. I'm thinking it could be the oil filter housing gasket that meets the block.

[danewilson77]

What do you mean by power steering fluid level tracked?

Pattern on the passenger side looks old. The patterns on the power steering side look rather new. Not too sure what kind of fluid that is though.

Is level going down or up over a period of time. You mentioned the PS reservoir may be cracked.

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[trancenation]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/23/u9ybudeb.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/23/y2avunuq.jpg

New pics of the so called splatter area.


-Jay

[Oli77]

It does indeed look like oil. I'm thinking it could be the oil filter housing gasket that meets the block.

Usually OFHG leaks down and towards the back of the engine block, in that area that is waffled below the intake manifold and air box. Remove air box and inspects but this does not look like the classic OFHG.

Classic OFHG leak:

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/othibau/DSC07264.jpg (http://s900.photobucket.com/user/othibau/media/DSC07264.jpg.html)

Thinking it is more likely power steering fluid. Falls on belts and sprays passenger side near washing fluid reservoir.

[Avetiso]

I'd replace the PS housings and lines, clean everything up, and keep a very close eye on it and spot the origin.

[trancenation]

Usually OFHG leaks down and towards the back of the engine block, in that area that is waffled below the intake manifold and air box. Remove air box and inspects but this does not look like the classic OFHG.

Classic OFHG leak:

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac208/othibau/DSC07264.jpg (http://s900.photobucket.com/user/othibau/media/DSC07264.jpg.html)

Thinking it is more likely power steering fluid. Falls on belts and sprays passenger side near washing fluid reservoir.

That's a good observation. I'll take out the airbox and take a peak into this further.

[330i ZHP]

check the fitting on the VANOS high pressure line

[Scorpius]

unless your picture is off, it very much looks like your first picture in this thread clearly shows the issue. your power steering res looks cracked.

[Scorpius]

outlined it for you. so it's dripping to belts and throwing it over towards your washer fluild area in the last picture.
also probably a good time to replace your cooling system. I see the level piece is snapped and looks pretty old.

10577

[trancenation]

Thanks for the pointers guys, I'll look into a cooling system overhaul pretty soon as well as the power steering reservoir replacement if that is indeed a crack.

[Scorpius]

Thanks for the pointers guys, I'll look into a cooling system overhaul pretty soon as well as the power steering reservoir replacement if that is indeed a crack.

easy DIY for the cooling system. just at $400 if you DIY. I got my parts through bav auto. new radiator, water pump, res, thermo, sensors, hoses. I just provided the time and 3 gallons of coolant. advice....by the new piece that sticks to the radiator and the res mounts to. damn near never got mine to reseal properly and was afraid it's old plastic ass would snap on me.

and....check for the OFH leak...if your doing the reservior, might as well do the OFH :-) you're pretty much almost there anyhow ;-) also a simple DIY.

[trancenation]

easy DIY for the cooling system. just at $400 if you DIY. I got my parts through bav auto. new radiator, water pump, res, thermo, sensors, hoses. I just provided the time and 3 gallons of coolant. advice....by the new piece that sticks to the radiator and the res mounts to. damn near never got mine to reseal properly and was afraid it's old plastic ass would snap on me.

and....check for the OFH leak...if your doing the reservior, might as well do the OFH :-) you're pretty much almost there anyhow ;-) also a simple DIY.

Good to know, Thanks for the encouragement. What do you mean by new piece that sticks to the radiator and the res mounts?

[danewilson77]

Good to know, Thanks for the encouragement. What do you mean by new piece that sticks to the radiator and the res mounts?

Fyi.... You need a gallon of coolant and a gallon of distilled water.

I'll drum up what he's talking about.

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[danewilson77]

Pic 2 is what I think he's referring to.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?5738-BMW-E46-330i-ZHP-Expansion-Tank-Removal-Made-Easy&highlight=Expansion

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[Scorpius]

Look at the thread he posted. The picture where the guy is prying up the reservoir. The plastic piece that he's prying it off of is mounted to the radiator that the piece if I had to do it again I'd just order and replace. It has two ports that the reservoir just pressure fits to and well mine leaked at first and the only way I got mine to seal was get it hot by running the car (slow leak) and when it got hot I started pressing it hard as I could from under the car while I got someone pressing hard down on the reservoir from the top. Then it finally sealed

[danewilson77]

Look at the thread he posted. The picture where the guy is prying up the reservoir. The plastic piece that he's prying it off of is mounted to the radiator that the piece if I had to do it again I'd just order and replace. It has two ports that the reservoir just pressure fits to and well mine leaked at first and the only way I got mine to seal was get it hot by running the car (slow leak) and when it got hot I started pressing it hard as I could from under the car while I got someone pressing hard down on the reservoir from the top. Then it finally sealed

Right. The exp tank mounts to the piece in pic 2.

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[WOLFN8TR]

Do you have 6MT or Auto?

If Auto buy a new Trans Tstat, it's located underneath the Exspansion Tank. I snapped mine in half when removing my tank.

[trancenation]

I am an auto. Thanks for the tip!


-Jay

[trancenation]

I took a closer look at what was going on under the hood of my car, my coolant light intermittently comes on and off (Particularly on during idle at stop lights) and then goes off as I accelerate. This has led me to believe that the power steering fluid has dripped on the my serpentine belt and has caused slippage of the belts. THis may be causing the water pump to not pump coolant through the engine. This is also represented and confirmed by the splatter near the windshield washer tank reservoir.

[trancenation]

Found the Problem.Thermostat is leaking. Pelican parts order is on its way for my cooling system overhaul!

[kayger12]

Good find. Common failure point.

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[Hornung418]

Hairline crack or leaking at the seal?

GS3 + TT4

[trancenation]

Leaking at the seal where it meets the car. Lower portion of the thermostat. The material is very brittle so there may be a crack as well. I haven't gotten the tstat off but will see how it is when the time Comes.


-Jay

[trancenation]

Cooling system parts arrived on Weds and I finally got the chance to work on my car today. Turns out the water pump bearing was shot and this led me to believe that the liquid under the thermostat was from the thermostat. Turns out it was the water pump. Car is running like a champ and feel reborn! Thanks for the tips and diys posted on the forums. One happy camper today!

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/05/u6a3ypyz.jpg


-Jay

[danewilson77]

Cooling system parts arrived on Weds and I finally got the chance to work on my car today. Turns out the water pump bearing was shot and this led me to believe that the liquid under the thermostat was from the thermostat. Turns out it was the water pump. Car is running like a champ and feel reborn! Thanks for the tips and diys posted on the forums. One happy camper today!

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/05/u6a3ypyz.jpg


-Jay

Yay!

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