2005 X5 4.4 coolant expansion tank leak

Car has 81k miles, and the expansion tank has a pin hole. Is this normal? Seems like it should last many more years than that.

Normal. Anything beyond 60-70k miles is borrowed time.

Expansion tank is a weak link in that system, normal at that mileage,also consider a new CAP if the tank was overheated several times, they distort.

the pipes that run to it - the narrow ones become very brittle and will crack. If you do it yourself, they can break in your hand when unclipping them from the tank. Trust me I know. So I brought big fat hot water rubber pipes and fitted them instead, with 2 circle clamps - all good now.

Originally Posted by pghguy517

Car has 81k miles, and the expansion tank has a pin hole. Is this normal? Seems like it should last many more years than that.

It's not the age, rather the usage.

I thought mine was faulty too. Turns out it was a blown head gasket. Coolant was all over the driver's side engine compartment. Good luck.

Another area to check is the valley pan gasket. To remove, its a massive job, as you have to lift off both sets of rocker heads. You will get to see if oil is getting in around the coils here as well. Youtube it to see what I mean. Some jobs are just a bit too big, so I sent my truck to an indy to fix. Not bad at NZD$1300, around a grand USD.

Originally Posted by pghguy517

Car has 81k miles, and the expansion tank has a pin hole. Is this normal? Seems like it should last many more years than that.

Same thing happened to my X5 2005 4.4 sports at 85k miles around 6 months ago. Replaced it but in process broke connection to radiator. Be careful as you do the replacement.

Originally Posted by Scott ZHP

Normal. Anything beyond 60-70k miles is borrowed time.

oh go on... I'll do those miles in two years. You sayin thats all a car is good for? Two years