Coolant leak. Water pump?
 

Hey everyone,

Had small amount of coolant leak right in front towards driver side last week. The amount was good enough to lower the red gauge all the way down but not enough to trigger a warning or overheating..

I looked from top and did not see anything but looking from under, I saw there was a minor leak from both sides of the water pump but I did not actually see it was from the water pump. I quickly thought it would be from the weep hole and ordered a new water pump as caution.

I topped off the coolant and drove around a bit for couple of days and now I do not see any leak.

Would that leak be the first sign of the water pump going? (I remember changing the water pump about 10+ years ago)

Thoughts please?

Thanks,

Ozzie
X5 4.4 01

A Harbor Freight coolant pressure tester kit would be a good addition to your tool arsenal.
You can identify places where you think there are leaks. You can buy UV dye from NAPA for about $8.00 and a Craftsman UV flashlight from Lowe's for about $10.00 to help find the right spot.

Typically if its the pump, it fails at the shaft seal and you would see the leak from a weep hole on the pump. If the leak is coming from both sides of the pump, it could be the transfer tubes that connect the pump from front to back of the block or the galley under the manifold. The pump is pretty straightforward to replace. The other leaks get more interesting and involved to fix. The overflow tank is another area that is notorious for cracks. That one is super easy to find and fix. I am chasing a few leaks of my own so I share your pain.

Thanks for sharing your experience and good luck with those leaks.


I have been driving around hoping to repeat the leak issue and now it does not happen anymore. I have purchased a new water pump incase needed but no leak so far. I have checked the overflow tank and there is no leak there.



I may try the pressure test to see what happens..


Thanks,


Ozzie

Here’s a link to a thread.

https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...-manifold.html

This may be from the coolant transfer pipe. The front seal can wear out over time. A quick and relatively inexpensive way to fix the problem is BimmerFix. You will just have to take off the water pump and put a stent into the timing chain cover where the coolant transfer pipe is. The company has great customer service and directions on how to install.