Newbie with a Leaker - Need Your Help

[RuhRoh]

Hello everyone - I jumped into the deep end of the X5 pool over the weekend and bought an 01 X5 with the 4.4. Nice Topaz Blue paint with the tan interior, sport package, cold climate package - looks nice. It has about 147,000 on the clock and I got what I think was a good deal. The PO said he had the transmission repaired (no reverse), the timing chain and the front end replaced, new battery and new cluster. So I felt good about buying it without a PPI thinking that I'd probably need to do a few things to it anyway. I can hear y'all cussing me about now for this.....

The car drove great on the way home this past Sunday (about a two hour drive). Plenty of power, tight steering and no funny noises or rattles. The next morning (Monday) there were no puddles underneath - so I thought all was well.

Tuesday morning I spotted a small puddle under the passenger side toward the front. It looked like clean engine oil - had the same viscosity but maybe a little thinner. Thought maybe it was from a recent oil change where the tech was sloppy and it was still running off the aluminum splash guard under the engine. But the oil on the stick and in the filter is much darker.

Later on Tuesday the "check coolant level" warning came on. So when I got home I checked the expansion tank and the red bobber was sittin real low in the tank. I filled it up with some green antifreeze I had left over from another vehicle - to hold me until I can flush the system.

This morning the same type of puddle was underneath on the passenger side toward the front - dripping out of the inspection hole on the aluminum splash guard - again it looked like fresh oil. The coolant was again low - at least the red bobber was a little low in the tank. So i put more in.

Tonight, I climbed underneath to check things out and I can see green antifreeze dripping off the splash guard. So It must be a coolant leak somewhere.

There is a little engine rattle once it warms up - almost sounds like an exhaust leak. It idles a little rough too but no loss of power.

I'm wondering what would be leaking sending coolant onto the splash pan under the engine? No white smoke out the exhaust and no foam in the oil. Any suggestions on what to look for would be greatly appreciated.

Other needs that I know of include either finding a OEM bull bar for the front - PO had one but removed it leaving some nasty holes or finding a used bumper cover and have it sprayed. Maybe there is a way to fix the holes? I got two in the painted area and two in the black. Maybe someone on here did a facelift and has one to sell???

Love the car despite it's leaks and looking forward to working on it and contributing what I can to the community.

Thanks everyone.

PS - It's been rainy and cold so no pictures yet. Plus I'm embarrassed of the way it looks with the bumper (needs a cover for one headlight washer as well). I will post some pics once the weather breaks here in Kentucky. Thanks again.

[TerminatorX5]

welcome aboard and congrats on the truck...

keep an eye on the leak, the bmw engines do NOT like being overheated (like any other manuf likes their engines being overheated??)...

anyways, if you have a chance, check the radiator hose on the bottom right (as you are sitting behind steering wheel), sometimes the plastic neck is crumbling there and causes leak... the leak can come from an old, rotted hose... from a temp sensor seal that is in the same area... of course, from a damaged radiator itself...

you need to pinpoint the leak location to decide on the repairs... usually BMW cooling system needs to be repaired as a whole, as the components that are good today, will fail tomorow, as soon as you finish the repair...

does the engine overheat? say, if there is air syphoned in, an airbubble may overheat the engine... you may wish to unlock the on board computer's functions and see the temeprature as you drive, or just keep an eye on the temp needle...

run your vin through the bmwvin . com to see what options are installed in your car, this wil lhelp you in parts ordering...

[RuhRoh]

Thanks Terminator for the advice - the radiator itself doesn't look to be leaking. I plan to jack it up over the weekend to get a better look at the belly of the beast. Is there a plastic neck that is attached to the block that gets crumbled over time? I'll bet the hoses are original so maybe a good total hose replacement is in order for starters. What else should be replaced if I want to tackle the cooling system?

Thanks again for your help - greatly appreciated...

[BBQBeaver]

I had the same issue this morning except near the front center. Limped it to the indie ... water pump gone.

[RuhRoh]

Hello Beaver - any other tell tale signs? Funny sounds or anything? I was thinking it may be the water pump but it runs fine and not excessive clattering and no weeping off the front of the block. Although it may be starting and running down where I can't see it. I'll have to take another look.

[giodog2000]

Congrats and welcome to the asylum....

[RuhRoh]

I keep hearing voices in my head - "Medication Time, Medication Time". So I must be crazy but glad to be here with the rest of you nuts. Maybe we can break out some Juicy Fruit...

[TerminatorX5]

there was a myth about plastic impeller in the water pump but i think it was disspelled in this forum... run the search on this topic and see if changing the water pump for a newer impeller is warranted... the myth was that the OE used plastic for the impeller and some aftermarket folks have come up with metal (aluminum?) impeller... when you replace the hoses, you already have half of the front apart, might as well replace the pump... on my 2002 4.6 i had watercooled alternator - what do you have on the '01 4.4? the '06 4.8 does not have watercooled alternator...

[JCL]

Plastic impellers weren't a myth, they just never came on X5 models. Pumps with metal impellers from aftermarket sources are an answer looking for a question. If it is the pump, get an OE one with the composite impeller and better warranty. Change all hoses at the same time.

[ake53]

personal experince-

oil= most likely the oil filter housing gasket.
coolant- check the passenger side, return hose at the bottom from the radiator, there is a aux water pump sensor, which has a gasket. that rubber o ring gasket can turn bad and cause a slow leak during idle or off position in most cases.