E36 coolant leak, looks like the expansion tank

biko

Arrg my rad just started leaking. It's coming from underneath the expansion tank which seems to be a known weakness, becomes brittle and cracks with age apparently.

Checked the old Bentley manual but it doesn't deal with removing just the expansion tank. I'm about to get another tank on ebay or somewhere but how difficult is it to change the tank out?
Looking at realoem it looks like the tank can be pulled straight up without having to remove shroud etc (once coolant is removed of course)?

Just open the radiator clip on the right side, remove the cover (no 5) and pull up tank (no 2)?

It's this type rad I have


Thanks for the move, meant to post in diy.

Nissan doctor

Its a common problem alright and in theory, it should come out as easy as that but, just as the bottle goes brittle, so does most of the other plastic around it so getting it out without breaking something else is nothing short of an art form:P

Idbatterim

often it can be just as cheap buying direct here from bmw, get a price from your local bmw parts department first... my bro's coolant tank went a few weeks ago, changing the part on an E46 318ci was very straight forward!

biko

Sound guys. I see the tank is 36 from Micksgarange so might just buy and try it myself.
I did a pressure test with a proper tester and there was no issues, wft? I hate intermittent problems, they're so hard to fix.

biko

Changed the radiator cap and bleed screw, seems to have fixed it.