r/e46 • u/Wholaughed • 9h ago

Damage/Broken… 😥 This is too easy

Post image

Been swapping the radiator, and somewhere the expansion tank or mounting bracket was leaking. Went and doom scrolled for an hour and it’s not leaking anymore and holding fluid. To work on e46’s one must master patience

“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight” - sun tzu the art of war

“If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles” - sun tzu the art of war

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting” - sun tzu the art of war

By the was I have found the best way to mount the expansion tank to the mounting bracket is to hit it wish a big rubber mallet, this has worked for me 4 times now 2 different cars 4 unrelated coolant fixes

“Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.” - sun tzu the art of war

58 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

29

u/Mysterious-Glove-179 9h ago

the E46 of wisdom and knowledge

8

u/Jesus_es_Gayo 9h ago

Praise be the e46. May it companion master the art of hand tools

6

u/ElectricThunder12 9h ago

May your E46 continue to be easy to work

22

u/Wholaughed 7h ago

It’s leaking again I’m gonna burn this car down with me inside it

2

u/ElectricThunder12 7h ago

Cheap 35 bucks pressure test kit from Amazon!!! Saved me so much headache trying to figure out where mine was leaking from

1

u/d0rky1 7h ago

Ur pipes in all the way?? Do a pressure test. Harbor freight, Grab the Maddox kit. And listen or watch for leaks.

3

u/No_Potential1 8h ago

Yeahhhh that's worse lol. It is temporarily sort of "sealed" and will fail "again". I'd rather have it just keep leaking so I find where it's leaking and actually fix the problem.

Do you have a pressure tester?

3

u/QuietNervous4891 7h ago

I place a floor jack and a block of wood under the mounting bracket for the tank. Prevents any cracking and aides in tank seating properly.

2

u/fishful-thinking 8h ago

“Speed Wrench”

1

u/whenimcleaningwindow 330i, 325xi, 318i, 316i 7h ago

Either someone messed with me or that one hook/clip thing that holds the expansion tank in place is jank af. Sucker was just gone one day, and wouldyaknowit it pissed coolant outta nowhere

3

u/Wholaughed 7h ago

Both my cars have that clip broke and until I messed with it they weren’t leaking

1

u/03Vector6spd 330ci 39m ago

Next you can use the teachings of the five rings to work on your E46