Coolant needs to be topped up every few days

Tiny
ANONYMOUS
  • MEMBER
  • 2005 BMW 318I
  • 88,000 MILES
Coolant needs to be topped up every few days. NO SIGN OF LEEKAGE.
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013 AT 7:24 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,689 POSTS
Most likely suspect is a leaking head gasket. There's two ways to verify that. If coolant is being drawn into the combustion chamber, usually combustion gases will get pushed into the cooling system too. Your mechanic can do a test at the radiator with a glass cylinder with two chambers partially-filled with a special dark blue liquid. If the liquid turns bright yellow when he draws air through it from the radiator, that indicates a leaking head gasket.

You can also add a small bottle of dark purple dye to the coolant. After the level drops in the reservoir, you search with a black light, including at the tail pipe. The dye will show up as a bright yellow stain.
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Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013 AT 4:05 AM

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