Before Aur I could get out of the door to lend a hand, the car''s owner emerged from the steam cloud and sprinted for the office. Breathless Tool and clearly shaken, the driver yelled as he came through the door, "Man, you got to help me! I think my Beemer is on fire. There is so much smoke, I can''t even see the engine." "Calm down." I said. "It''s only steam. You have a Chucks coolant leak. Why don''t you have a seat and we''ll let it cool down a little before we take a look at it."He seemed comforted by the fact that his car wasn''t going to burn to the ground. While the steam cloud was dissipating, I got all the necessary information from him and then went out to push the car into the shop for a detailed inspection.There was coolant all over the engine compartment, so at first, it was hard to pinpoint where the leak was coming from. We began filling the radiator and before it was full, water began to leak out of a hole in the upper radiator hose.

Before Aur I could get out of the door to lend a hand, the car''s owner emerged from the steam cloud and sprinted for the office. Breathless Tool and clearly shaken, the driver yelled as he came through the door, "Man, you got to help me! I think my Beemer is on fire. There is so much smoke, I can''t even see the engine." "Calm down." I said. "It''s only steam. You have a Chucks coolant leak. Why don''t you have a seat and we''ll let it cool down a little before we take a look at it."He seemed comforted by the fact that his car wasn''t going to burn to the ground. While the steam cloud was dissipating, I got all the necessary information from him and then went out to push the car into the shop for a detailed inspection.There was coolant all over the engine compartment, so at first, it was hard to pinpoint where the leak was coming from. We began filling the radiator and before it was full, water began to leak out of a hole in the upper radiator hose.

CAUTION: Cover up the drive belts and pulleys using a clean shop cloth before sanding or filing to prevent metal filings from falling onto them.If no pressure marks or traces of rubbing are found on the hose as described, check the gap at the closest point (A) between the cast boss of the oil filter housing and the upper coolant hose.There Gauges and Aur must be a gap (A) of at least 1/4 inch (7 mm) when the engine coolant is cold.If gap (A) is 1/4 inch (7 mm) or greater, no further repairs are necessary.If gap (A) is less than 1/4 inch (7 mm), the upper coolant hose must be replaced with the new modified version.Parts InformationUpper Coolant Hose BMW Part Number Tool 11 531 433 340We replaced the upper radiator hose with the new type, cleaned the engine compartment, filled the cooling system and pressure tested it to make sure there were no other leaks. Luckily, the engine hadn''t overheated. Most of the steam was created from the coolant leaking on the exhaust manifold. The owner was fairly good-natured about his near catastrophe. Relieved, standing at the counter while paying Chucks his bill, he said lightheartedly, "You know, my pants and shirt were badly wrinkled when I left the house this morning. I think this was the strangest way I''ve ever had my clothes Gauges pressed." I had to agree. ills