Something leaking

[shneidr]

Hey folks,

Just wanted to pick your guys brains. I am having a leak of coolant from the bottom of my engine. I have attached a video but i can not identify the parts that are leaking. I will have to replace my drive belt but I just dont know what the pullys are for. In the video towards the end i will point to what is leaking. I have used and sealer but i dont think its working.

[tonycajjo]

don't see a video.

[srmmmm]

Sealer was a bad idea and will eventually lead to clogged radiator passages. After you find the leak I recommend a cooling system flush and refill.

2002 X5 3.0 314,800 miles
2014 428i 24,300 miles

2004 325i sold at 123,600 miles
2001 325i sold at 66,000 miles

1970 Firebird - Under restoration

[StephenVA]

Hopefully this is not the 4th and final owner of this X5.......

[shneidr]

I have put a couple of pictures on. I do not have a video editor to edit the video yet. The parts that your looking at are on the bottom of the engine on seperate sides. The one with the big pulley is on the drive belt which i plan on replacing tomorrow, but that is the one that is leaking the most. I do not know if the issue is the water pump but I am not seeing anything coming from that high in the engine. Any idea what these parts are?

[tonycajjo]

should definitely clean it up and look again later. if it's leaking from the Radiator, Water pump, or any hose while driving around it will splash around and be hard to determine where it's coming from.

definitely not coming from the tensioner there. the water pump is behind the pulley with the ribs towards the top of the engine, not the smooth one. (assuming m54 engine)

clean it up. when you have the belt off see if the water pump is smooth turning and not wobbly.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by StephenVA

Hopefully this is not the 4th and final owner of this X5.......

When the engine blows up because it has overheated due to clogged passageway by the cheap sealer solution this will be the last owner for this X. The only way to recouped his money will be to part it.

[lo_jack]

Originally Posted by upallnight

When the engine blows up because it has overheated due to clogged passageway by the cheap sealer solution this will be the last owner for this X. The only way to recouped his money will be to part it.

You are so negative. Don't worry, I don't think it's you, that cesspool you live in is affecting your mind. OP : That second pic is the tensioner. There isn't any coolant in that. Coolant is leaking from higher and pooling at those low points. You need to clean off EVERYTHING then run the engine and park it overnight. Then you can see where the coolant is actually coming from. You might need to pull the clutch fan and clean off around the waterpump. That has coolant in it. Is that a 3.0 or something else?

[bcredliner]

I agree with cleaning everything and taking a fresh look. I like to use a bright flashlight and trace the flow to the highest point from underneath if I can't see it from the top of the engine--just after shutting off the engine when the water temp is at normal operating temp. Usually the steam is very visible in the light which helps quite a bit. First place I would look is the shaft the fan is on where it goes into the waterpump on the engine.

[crystalworks]

Most likely culprit is water pump. Agreed with others, clean and trace. Could also be the thermostat housing.

Unfortunately that sealer is going to cause more problems in the not-so-distant future. You can count on replacing the rest of the cooling system in the next year or so.

Also that idler pulley looks worn pretty bad. Never seen a groove cut into the pulley like that except when a pulley seizes.

Edit: tensioner pulley, not idler.