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Coolant leaks

Discuss your latest mods or ideas, and anything to do with the BMW X5 (E53).
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henrym3
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Coolant leaks

Post by henrym3 » Sun Mar 09, 2025 1:36 pm

Has anyone ever bought the o ring kit from USA with complete set of o rings for all the coolant pipes. About £30 with post. Way cheaper than buying complete pipes. I have various weeps especially round the g/b thermostat and header tank. Very minor (cup full of coolant per fortnight) but very irritating.

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henrym3
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Coolant leaks

Post by henrym3 » Tue Mar 11, 2025 3:35 pm

Well, I’ve sent for them anyway all made in Viton. £28 so we’ll see what effect they have. I’m into rubber atm just sent for a set of seals for the single vanos on the Alpina. With a bit of research I found that the cam locking kit and crank locking tool from when I did the chains on the 4.6 all fit the Alpina.

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henrym3
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Coolant leaks

Post by henrym3 » Mon Mar 17, 2025 4:26 pm

They arrived today, that’s quite quick for stuff from the USA. Just need to find a good day to fit them and sort a weep on the thermostat housing.

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Coolant leaks

Post by Themoog2 » Fri Apr 25, 2025 10:27 pm

As an add on to this thread I've recently had the thermostat changed in my V8. Two days ago the waterpump front seal gave up and the radiator had been leaking slightly at the bottom right anyway. Just had it all done £660..
I haven't had chance to give it a proper run to check for leaks yet but I have a funny feeling there is a small weep down by the Tranny cooler. We will see.

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henrym3
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Coolant leaks

Post by henrym3 » Mon May 05, 2025 9:40 pm

I’ve finally done the "o" rings. They don’t include the 2 rings that mount the g/b thermostat nor the seal (cone shaped) for the thermostat heater housing. Can’t find that seal anywhere for sale neither can the Americans the other 2 aer available from BMW but expensive. Of course I chucked the the heater element one away.DOH.
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I’ve used a seal from my a/c seal box for the heater element and it seems to work fine, at least for the last 50 miles.
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Greydog
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Coolant leaks

Post by Greydog » Tue May 06, 2025 2:02 pm

Hi Henry
I used to use a Company call Polymax for Viton Seals some years ago (I think the web site was polymax.co.uk) They were always helpful and had a great range of seals and "O" rings. Maybe worth giving them a try

Dave

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henrym3
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Coolant leaks

Post by henrym3 » Tue May 06, 2025 7:34 pm

Thanks for the info, although I’m pretty much sorted now but handy to know.

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Coolant leaks

Post by Themoog2 » Thu May 08, 2025 9:45 pm

Have you got a cooler running thermostat on there..?

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henrym3
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Coolant leaks

Post by henrym3 » Fri May 09, 2025 12:05 pm

Yes I have, 85c but I should really have opted for the 80c. Will still show 100c at idle, traffic jams etc. 93/97c on open road.

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Coolant leaks

Post by henrym3 » Sat May 10, 2025 8:06 pm

Well,been on a long run and all the viton seals are doing a wonderful job. However the system has found the next weak spot, the coolant pump housing seal/gasket, very minor but nonetheless irritating. So I’m going to get the 80c stat and do both while I’m there. Hopefully this will put the coolant problems to bed.

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