N55 Top of Radiator Leaking. Help.

[Yeineken]

My n55 has had a leak I've been trying to find. The fins are saturated/soaked on the upper left(driver side). Attached picture. I don't see any damage from removing the fan recent to do a belt change. Any recommendations?

[Yeineken]

Image

[Chunner]

Originally Posted by Yeineken

My n55 has had a leak I've been trying to find. The fins are saturated/soaked on the upper left(driver side). Attached picture. I don't see any damage from removing the fan recent to do a belt change. Any recommendations?

Picture?

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by Chunner

Picture?

Posted

[Yeineken]

A better picture with saturation turned all the way up to see the coolant better. I wiped it off with a towel before and it's come back in the same area.

[Chunner]

More then likely, your radiator is cracked. Rare but possible.

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by Chunner

More then likely, your radiator is cracked. Rare but possible.

Ended up running the engine and it was a pinhole leak up top. 4 or 5 row down. Luckily my uncle stopped by who happens to be a mechanic and he patched it using g-bond. We tested it and it worked. Not sure how long it will hold tho since I've never used the stuff.

Unfortunately I'm at 65k miles so I'm out of warranty to get it replaced.

I may just start looking for a N54/N55 race/track radiator to replace it with if it comes to that.

[Ginger_Extract]

Originally Posted by Yeineken

Ended up running the engine and it was a pinhole leak up top. 4 or 5 row down. Luckily my uncle stopped by who happens to be a mechanic and he patched it using g-bond. We tested it and it worked. Not sure how long it will hold tho since I've never used the stuff.

Unfortunately I'm at 65k miles so I'm out of warranty to get it replaced.

I may just start looking for a N54/N55 race/track radiator to replace it with if it comes to that.

Where are you located? I have an OEM radiator for our cars that I took out. Fully functional, albeit a bit dirty from being a used piece. If you're nearby I'll let it go for cheap.

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by Ginger_Extract

Where are you located? I have an OEM radiator for our cars that I took out. Fully functional, albeit a bit dirty from being a used piece. If you're nearby I'll let it go for cheap.

MD. Thanks for the offer but the patch seems to have done the trick. Besides if I'm going to go through the trouble of replacing the radiator then ill be upgrading to a better more efficient one rather than OEM.

[Dackelone]

Perhaps you should test your coolant expansion tank cap - it could be defective. Only perminate "fix" is a new radiator.

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Perhaps you should test your coolant expansion tank cap - it could be defective. Only perminate "fix" is a new radiator.

Ive checked out the area quiet a bit. No leaks coming from the passenger side of the car. I had it at BMW this past week to replace the OFHG since I didn't want to deal with removing the Intake Manifold. They did not mention any leaking coming from my patch or leaks from the expansion tank.

Should be good for a little while with the patch. Planning to have the entire coolant system refreshed when i replace my Water Pump and Thermostat in the spring so i will probably upgrade the radiator then.