repair the leak
A bad radiator is a radiator that is leaking or clogged. If you are loosing coolant then you have a leak that should be easy to find if the leak is at the radiator. If it is clogged your engine will overheat.
Find leak, repair/replace cause.
Smoke from the radiator would be do to a leak evaporating off of it. Find the leak repair or replace necessary parts.
A pressure test is done to locate a leak if you can't visually see where it is coming from.
if it is leaking from the radiator you can crack an egg and put it in the radiator and it will solve your problem
First, you have to FIND the leak. It can be a hose, the water pump, the radiator, head gasket, radiator cap... let me know what you find, and if you can't figure out what to do, we'll talk.
I had the same problem on a 1994 525i. Replace the radiator.
If the radiator was not fitted in properly or the pipes were not attached correctly, the radiator would leak.
a hose or radiator may be broken. check your hoses and radiator. where is leak coming from?? front, right?? find general area and continue from there
There is a tool you can put in the inlet. When you apply pressure, a leak will show. If it is internal, the level of the fluid will go down.
Find the leak source and repair it. Usually the cause is cooler hoses.