Cooling problem!

[HarvyS]

Hello!
About a week ago as i was coming back from a 200mile round trip i discovered that my temp gauge had risen to the red zone so i stopped the car and let it cool down then as soon as i got home i gave the car a major look over and luckily enough there was no damage to the engine, i found that there was a leak at the bottom of the expansion tank just where the yellow plastic meets the black and so i decided to change the radiator as i couldn't see any leaks form anywhere else in the system and all the hoses were in good condition. after changing the radiator the car was running perfectly and then 4 days later the same problem occurred, but i was able to keep the temperature low enough so i could park the car up at home, as i got out of the car i herd a "gushing" sound and so i opened the bonnet and what did i see; coolant pissing itself out of the front of the radiator. I just wanted to know could this have been a defective part or is it because there is too much pressure within the system? bare in mind the water pump was changed at the 100k mark and the car has done 139987miles.

Thanks all!

[D. Clay]

Could you describe in more detail exactly where the leak is?

[tjts1]

You don't need to replace the radiator. Simply remove the expansion tank and and reseal with with some silicone. Let the silicone cure for 24 hours before refilling the tank. I had the same problem.
http://www.m42club.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25156&postcount=23
I found that the bleed screw on top of the radiator can also leak but because of the way the tank is constructed, the coolant drips between the tank and the radiator until it shows up as a leak where you describe. Its best to apply some silicone to the bleed screw too after venting all the air from the system, then allow it to cure overnight before driving.