E85 2.5i 2003 Coolant Leak

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Devon Eleven

Member
Well here we are.....losing a bit of coolant and by poking my iPhone down under the coolant tank (hard to fit my fat head there) managed to find this! Is this off the bottom of the rad or the mounting bracket for the exp. tank? Cheers! Also is there a clip missing on the hose?

 
Can't see a pic !!! But I know the tanks on the e46' 's are well known to cracking and these look very simular.
Steve
 
Yep common fault, many topics on here, you need a new expansion tank as the crack under heat & pressure only leak when warm.
 
Could be that (most likely) or the thermostat sticking open as I had this on mine years ago.
 
I've replaced both expansion tank and thermostat as had leaks from both. Common problem on these cars/engines. Better off replacing the expansion tank as it's not expensive.
 
Coolant tank and hose now replaced and leak sorted.

Decided to use a Meyle tank for the princely sum of £36.99 delivered from eBay. Packaging was good and the tank seems to be of very good quality plastic (only time will tell).

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So, the task took about 1hr to complete, car up on blocks of wood to allow access to remove plastic skid pan (mine had 5 x 8mm hex screws). The ten minutes trying to find suitable container in my garage for coolant drain. Removed both blue plugs and drained coolant.

Hose from block to bottom of carrier was where the leak was coming from so removed this and cleaned the connections up. Replaced with new hose.

Then the fun began, removed all clips and hoses from the tank and level sensor and tried to pull tank up and out. Wow those o rings really hold that sucker on! Had to get the wife involved to pull up on the tank while I levered it out from below very gently with a bar(worked really well to break the seal). Pushed all clips back into place once connections were cleaned up and pushed back into place with the reasuring snap. Topped up with coolant, bled and test drive with no issues.

All good so far after two days, will update as I go.
 
Ok so we are three months on now and the cooling system is holding up very well with no loss of coolant since the replacement tank and hose fitted. Would definitely recommend the meyle expansion tanks if you need to replace yours.
 
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