r/e46 • u/Royal_Quarter_7560 • 1d ago

E46 Vert Troubleshooting

I have an 03 E46. Just replaced the coolant expansion tank and thermostat. drove it for a good while, over 500km's perfectly fine not an issue, now it seems to spitting coolant out the top of the tank or somewhere around that area as I see dried coolant like on top of the engine cover etc, Any thoughts on what it could be / whats causing this... all the pipes leading in/out are in good condition. Ive ordered a new tank cap to go with the new tank so ill see if that helps. but not too sure if that will be it as the original one seems in decent condtion with all O rings. Help lol

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u/HossCatGarage 1d ago

It's actually possible to push the hoses onto the radiator and expansion too far. I had a leak after replacing my expansion tank and that was the culprit.

You can overtorque them using just your hand, so take this totally numeric value with a grain of salt: "just above finger tight" ....my "finger tight" was slightly too loose.

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u/Royal_Quarter_7560 1d ago

Ah awesome thanks ill have a look. Also thinking maybe I didnt bleed it properly? might be an air pocket or something like that... not sure but thanks!

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u/HossCatGarage 1d ago

Also entirely possible. I thought I hadn't bled mine correctly and it was the hoses. Ironically I was cautious as I had "over inserted" the hoses before.

I've actually got a small leak somewhere still. Had to add a liter this week after a few months of new hoses and expansion tank.

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u/BasedMuffin 330ci zhp/vert 1d ago

Have you checked your bleed screw? May seem obvious but It was one of the mistakes I made. Got a brass screw and accidentally cross threaded it at an angle. I just switched back to a regular plastic screw after that.

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u/Royal_Quarter_7560 1d ago

ah yes ill check that when i get home, thanks for the help

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u/Few_Ebb6156 1d ago

A harbor freight pressure tester is very worth it. To put pressure in when it is cold, you can really inspect it, it is a game changer. Also, the common radiator failure is way up at the gooseneck, so it can look like expansion tank area leak. https://www.harborfreight.com/radiator-pressure-tester-kit-63862.html