e34 m50: is my hose ok?

[shragon]

my low coolant warning came on today, but i didn't check it. later as i left work, i popped open the hood to see what was going on. there was coolant splattered all over the place. since the bmw indy i go to was on the way home, i decided to stop by. the service advisor seems to think it's coming from the hose, and the coolant got splattered due to air flow when driving and from the fan. btw... the car has been running at normal temp before and after.

anyway, i took some pictures of the hose. it bulges out after the clamp, but then shrinks down to normal. is this is hose bad?

and i'm guessing, that it's not too hard to replace yourself? wait til the car is totally cold, remove/replace, lose so coolant in the process, add some coolant back in, and bleed?

http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/8277/radiaotorhose0011hh.jpg

http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/7098/radiaotorhose0033lq.jpg

http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/3538/radiaotorhose0076tg.jpg

[jjw]

Is your water pump checked out ok? Where are the coolant spots? Can't really tell from the pix. If it is at the same plane as the belts, it can be the bearing in the water pump going bad. Notice some coolant spot on the hose clamp, can also be as easy as replacing hte hose.

[uscharalph]

my low coolant warning came on today, but i didn't check it. later as i left work, i popped open the hood to see what was going on. there was coolant splattered all over the place. since the bmw indy i go to was on the way home, i decided to stop by. the service advisor seems to think it's coming from the hose, and the coolant got splattered due to air flow when driving and from the fan. btw... the car has been running at normal temp before and after.

anyway, i took some pictures of the hose. it bulges out after the clamp, but then shrinks down to normal. is this is hose bad?

and i'm guessing, that it's not too hard to replace yourself? wait til the car is totally cold, remove/replace, lose so coolant in the process, add some coolant back in, and bleed?

http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/8277/radiaotorhose0011hh.jpg

http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/7098/radiaotorhose0033lq.jpg

http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/3538/radiaotorhose0076tg.jpg
Was the coolant low? Do you know how old your hoses are?

[Jon K]

1 vote for water pump rob

[632 Regal]

Hi Rob,
I would say that it does look like you have a leak at the hose. If your going to replace that hose it probably means that they are all old, you should think about replacing ALL of them inclusing the belts, water pump and thermostat...its a maintenance item and you will be sure that they are all replaced and not going to pop at some inconvenient time.

[shragon]

yes, the coolant was a bit low. added some distilled water to bring it back up.

i honestly don't know how old the hose is. my guess is that it's probably pretty damn old. when my friend and i replaced my radiator about 2 years ago, i don't even remember replacing the hose, which i should've probably done.

when i got to work this morning, i checked around. took a white paper towel, and sure enough it was wet where the hose meets the neck of the radiator.

can anybody tell me the proper procedure to go abouts replacing the hose?

thanks for all the replies.

edit: i just had my belts replaced about a month ago.

[632 Regal]

drain radiator, remove hoses, replace with new hoses, tighten, fill, bleed, done.

[zuzuk212]

1 vote for water pump rob
Why would you say that it's the water pump when he said that his temp is running normal?

Ken

[zuzuk212]

drain radiator, remove hoses, replace with new hoses, tighten, fill, bleed, done.

Also, check and be careful of the plastic radiator piping ... it tends to fracture ... I had mine break off into rings twice, from the plastic being so brittle.

Ken

[Jon K]

Why would you say that it's the water pump when he said that his temp is running normal?

Ken Because I had mine do the same thing. If you've ever looked at the water pump, you'd see why it leaks. Just because the temps are fine doesn't mean anything, mine leaked in the same exact area his is (by the alternator and tensioner bolts and ontop of the block there). The water pump has a rubber "o-ring" that seals the block from leaking. However, if you can imagine how hot the block gets, and how an old waterpump would weather in there... what happens is the O ring basically melts over time, and takes shape of the hole it resides in. This doesn't seal. It leaks out, makes its way to the rotating pulley area, sprays all over (on the hose, on the fan shroud, etc) and leaves ya thinking youve got a bad hose. That, is why I said waterpump.

http://e34.digital7.com/35.png

#2 is the culprit here. Your hose looks fine Rob, I would inspect it again, but having an M50 like you, I've gone thru the same issue. Water pump is like $75 and easy to replace.

[shragon]

thanks again for all the replies.

a member on bimmerforums described a bad hose as buldging near the clamps and the hose being very soft, which is the exact state of my current hose.

the coolant actually splashed all the way to my drivers side shock tower and other things around it (most likely due to the airflow while driving).

i'll have to go back to my records to see when my waterpump was last replaced.

[ryan roopnarine]

i wasn't going to say anything until you said "bulging".
consider the neck on your radiator. it sticks a 1/4 inch past the clamp. your hose is NOT buldging, that is the pipe (both at the radiator and the thermostat). soft doesn't say anything about the hose. the only "failure mode" i know about hoses that actually turns out to mean anything is "crunchy". that hose looks pretty new (either that or you detail your engine regularly). i have a soft hose, it felt like that when i bought it from the store. i'd say it was likely a drip from something leaking (like the resivoir seams) that got sucked in the fan and got splattered. waterpump would be good at flinging things about, since it is parallel to and near to the waterpump. without looking below the waterpump for a "line" of antifreeze, i wouldn't begin to venture guesses.



thanks again for all the replies.

a member on bimmerforums described a bad hose as buldging near the clamps and the hose being very soft, which is the exact state of my current hose.

the coolant actually splashed all the way to my drivers side shock tower and other things around it (most likely due to the airflow while driving).

i'll have to go back to my records to see when my waterpump was last replaced.

[stu1]

Looking at that hose; it looks exactly the same as mine (which has no leaks and is nice and soft) so I wouldn't say the hose was goosed.

I have had coolant in the engine bay but that was from the bleed screw (in the top of the radiator reservoir).

I'd say you really need to find out where the coolant is coming from before replacing parts.

[shragon]

update...

the leak was where the hose met the radiator neck. i actually saw it drip from there as well.

replaced the hose and the leak is now gone.

thanks again for the replies!

btw... the new hose does feel stiffer, even when hot.

[uscharalph]

update...

the leak was where the hose met the radiator neck. i actually saw it drip from there as well.

replaced the hose and the leak is now gone.

thanks again for the replies!

btw... the new hose does feel stiffer, even when hot.
You might want to look at all of your hoses.