heat exchanger quick fix and question

[malcom]

hi all.

so i live two miles down an unmaintained dirt single lane.
which is awesome but jarring.

i was pulling up the last part of the drive and the check coolant light came on. no big deal. i park, go inside trying to remember if i need blue or green.

i go back out and notice a trail of coolant down the road. i needed to walk the dog so we went on a mission to see if i could spot where the leak began. sure enough right about where the light came on a big blast of coolant on the road.

so i went back and poked around. hoses seemed fine, radiator wasn't cracked, expansion tank seemed sound, but the heat exchanger was crazy wobbly and loose.

i poked about some more and saw the "clamp" that holds the heat exchanger into the radiator had rattled loose and alllowed the top of three tube/ connections to separate and leak. nothing seemed broken, just disconnected. i pulled the clip off, pushed the heat exchanger connection snuggly into their holes and pushed the clip back on. solved.

now. if you look on the heat exchanger connection this tiny half circle pin "clamp" that partially clips together the connection only on the center tube of three, is all that stands between you and the coolant in your rig!

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 3.0d Oil-cooler pipe/heat exchanger

the clamp is part #13 in this diagram. a $3.77 part can leave you dry. i am a bit surprised by this design.

thoughts.?

oh, am i good dropping well water in so i can run to get coolant?

blue or green? 03 x5 3.0i

thanks,

malcom x5