[bufasion]

Originally Posted by fast_lap28

the more important question for me is where/when can we start getting a hold of some reputable repair/maintenance manuals with the likes of those cool looking pictures you posted in here? I had the Bentley manual for my Audi but after calling them (and since car is so new) they will not have any manual for 335's anytime soon? CD, paper, etc. I think a lot of us would benefit from a manual when doing these DIY projects.

Any good ideas

Try search for a dvd called "BMW TIS" (Technical Information System?). The venting procedure described above is in it. Be forwarned that the information contained in this dvd is organized in a very bureaucratic way and good luck finding what you need.

[snkpkp]

I have a 07/05 E90 320i , I had work on it's aircon system so had to drain coolant , I refilled it but did not do the venting process so I got a signal engine fault reduce power , but car does not seem powerless , do I have to do the venting process?

Originally Posted by MBMWTECH

Yes there is here it is ---
Adding coolant:
Note:
Open vent screw on expansion tank.
Fill coolant expansion tank up to lower edge of filler neck with recommended coolant.
Observe mixture ratio. 50/50 MOST CLIMATES
Close bleed screw.
Close cap on expansion tank
Note:
Do not open the coolant expansion tank cap during the venting procedure.
1. Connect battery charger.
2. Switch on ignition.
3. Set heater to maximum temperature and turn fan down to lowest speed.
4. Press accelerator pedal for 10 seconds to floor. Engine must not be started.
5. The venting procedure is started when the accelerator pedal is pressed and takes approx. 12 minutes.(Electric coolant pump was activated and shuts down automatically after approx. 12 minutes).
6. Then top up fill level in coolant expansion tank slightly above max
7. Check cooling system for leaks.
8. If venting has to be carried out again (e.g. if cooling system is leaking), allow DME to fall completely (leave ignition key removed for approx. 3 minutes), then repeat from Point 3.

[Malek@MRF]

Originally Posted by fast_lap28

the more important question for me is where/when can we start getting a hold of some reputable repair/maintenance manuals with the likes of those cool looking pictures you posted in here? I had the Bentley manual for my Audi but after calling them (and since car is so new) they will not have any manual for 335's anytime soon? CD, paper, etc. I think a lot of us would benefit from a manual when doing these DIY projects.

Any good ideas

You can get it from BMW itself. You can purchase many of the specialty equipment they have through parts.

[M3 Eater]

oh my gosh.......for real. I mean, I just want to drain the coolant and add more.

I have had problems with my battery, had the water pump go out temp, and had the coolant boil over. I just poured some in and started the car and let i run till the over flow began to fill and boil. Once I saw that the air was out.... I closed the cap.

can I vent now.... just hold the pedal down??

[Sparky66]

Wow........2 year thread revival. Just get the Bentley manual, which is now widely available.

[M3 Eater]

why when I can use e90....

where is this bleed screw...?

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by pdjafari

bleeding coolant isnt the hard part....bleeding teh AIR AFTER putting new coolant in and making sure you have NO air in the system IS the hard part!! Trust me on this, if you have air in your system you wont know until the winter/cold when you turn on your heater and it blows cold/luke warm air.....

Please! This is not a Honda from the mid 80's! The cooling system is self-bleeding. The coolant expansion tank is the highest point in the coolant system. When coolant is circulating it will push all the air and since the air is lighter than the coolant, it will end up in the expansion tank. When all the air is auto-purged, then you simply add coolant to adjust the coolant level if needed.

How do you think they fill the coolant at the factory?

[MTV]

holybatmanthreadrevival

[Sparky66]

Originally Posted by vasillalov

Please! This is not a Honda from the mid 80's! The cooling system is self-bleeding. The coolant expansion tank is the highest point in the coolant system. When coolant is circulating it will push all the air and since the air is lighter than the coolant, it will end up in the expansion tank. When all the air is auto-purged, then you simply add coolant to adjust the coolant level if needed.

How do you think they fill the coolant at the factory?

Will insert foot in mouth now............you're not totally correct since you omitted a few vital steps !!!
The system may eventually purge some of the air trapped in the cooling system if doing a quick top up but the proper procedure requires a manual bleeding of the cooling system. This involves the removal of two bleed screws. One on the expansion tank and one on the radiator hose neck.
First you remove the bleed screw on the radiator hose and fill purge tank with coolant till it runs out the bleed screw. Close radiator bleed screw.
Then open bleed screw on coolant expansion tank and continue to fill with coolant till it runs out this bleed screw. Close expansion tank bleed screw.
Close cap on expansion tank and allow coolant to circulate by manually turning on the electric coolant pump. This done by turning the ignition on fully without starting car and pressing the gas pedal fully for 10 seconds.
This will start up the pump for a 12 minute cycle.(Bentley manual recommends the use of a battery charger to prevent premature auto-shutdown of electrics during procedure). It's also advisable to turn the heater on to Max temp. and the fan to lowest setting to aid in full coolant system circulation and purging of air.

For those people who want to completely flush and renew all the coolant, unfortunately you need to access and remove the drain plug and radiator hose at thermostat housing, which resides behind where your intercooler sits, on the right hand side,under your car.

[M3 Eater]

Originally Posted by Sparky66

Will insert foot in mouth now............you're not totally correct since you omitted a few vital steps !!!
The system may eventually purge some of the air trapped in the cooling system if doing a quick top up but the proper procedure requires a manual bleeding of the cooling system. This involves the removal of two bleed screws. One on the expansion tank and one on the radiator hose neck.
First you remove the bleed screw on the radiator hose and fill purge tank with coolant till it runs out the bleed screw. Close radiator bleed screw.
Then open bleed screw on coolant expansion tank and continue to fill with coolant till it runs out this bleed screw. Close expansion tank bleed screw.
Close cap on expansion tank and allow coolant to circulate by manually turning on the electric coolant pump. This done by turning the ignition on fully without starting car and pressing the gas pedal fully for 10 seconds.
This will start up the pump for a 12 minute cycle.(Bentley manual recommends the use of a battery charger to prevent premature auto-shutdown of electrics during procedure). It's also advisable to turn the heater on to Max temp. and the fan to lowest setting to aid in full coolant system circulation and purging of air.

For those people who want to completely flush and renew all the coolant, unfortunately you need to access and remove the drain plug and radiator hose at thermostat housing, which resides behind where your intercooler sits, on the right hand side,under your car.

Thank you sir.....

now bleed screw on overflow tank looks the + symbol and is easy to see i think, the bleed screw on the radiator hose is not a easy to see and I wondered if someone had a picture of it. Next is ...do we do the first fill at the overflow tank...even though the bleed screw is open at the hose and the screw at the tank is closed?

[MrBEEF]

Do you REALLY have to remove the damn intercooler to drain?

That is rediculous...

Someone please respond if you have done this before. I have the bentley manual and before I start this I need to figure out how difficult it is to take off the intercooler and putting it back on without having seal issues.

The Bentley Manual states I need 2 different special tools to take it off, can anyone give me some input on this? Keep in mind, I am not replacing intercooler.

Thanks,
-Peter

[MKR_DmD]

Just remove the lower radiator hose and drain your overflow tank. That will get out majority of the coolant.

[MrBEEF]

OK I got the intercooler out...VERY EASY....2 tabs, 2 are easy 2 are a bitch, but not horrible. then the 2 bolts and boom pops off.

Used drain plug. Bentley manual says to now pull off thermostat housing tube...NO WAY, it is like on there, I dont even know how to get it off. There was this stupid wire clip which I have no idea it's purpose, and the tube is like on. Pulling does nothing, turning is also impossible. There is no room..

Anyone know what to do here? there is no room to work on this car.

Bently manual also blows...no mechanical break-down. Just "loosen this...loosen that..." WHERE IS THAT CRAP?

[eduardomi]

Originally Posted by MrBEEF

OK I got the intercooler out...VERY EASY....2 tabs, 2 are easy 2 are a bitch, but not horrible. then the 2 bolts and boom pops off.

Used drain plug. Bentley manual says to now pull off thermostat housing tube...NO WAY, it is like on there, I dont even know how to get it off. There was this stupid wire clip which I have no idea it's purpose, and the tube is like on. Pulling does nothing, turning is also impossible. There is no room..

Anyone know what to do here? there is no room to work on this car.

Bently manual also blows...no mechanical break-down. Just "loosen this...loosen that..." WHERE IS THAT CRAP?

How did you solve your problem? Were you able to disconnect the thermostat housing tube? or did you just drained through the drain plug?

I am about to do this to my 07 335i but am trying to inform as much as possible before turning any screw. Did you snap any pictures?

Many thanks!

k.

[JoosyJoos]

They're should be a drain-plug on the block too.

I just did a whole cooling system overhaul on my e36 M3... and BMW engines don't seem to change THAT much. Either way.... yes it is absolutely necessary to do the bleeding procedure described above otherwise you risk inadequate cooling.

And whoever said the car wasn't an 80's Honda... you'll be thrilled to know that all BMW's up til 1999 weren't self bleeding lol.

[s.phuong23]

How do you get the hose off of the thermostat housing?

[s.phuong23]

How do you get the hose off of the thermostat????

[nikitino25]

Does anyone know what the dealer does for this procedure? They say they just do a "drain and fill" rather than a coolant flush. I have an appointment to get this done but am wondering if it's even worth it, I don't think they will be removing my Intercooler. They quoted one hour for the work and I'm just wondering how much of the coolant will actually be removed and replaced?

Originally Posted by nikitino25

Does anyone know what the dealer does for this procedure? They say they just do a "drain and fill" rather than a coolant flush. I have an appointment to get this done but am wondering if it's even worth it, I don't think they will be removing my Intercooler. They quoted one hour for the work and I'm just wondering how much of the coolant will actually be removed and replaced?

Auto or manual?

[nikitino25]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Auto or manual?

My car is a manual. I called the dealer back and they say that they do not remove the intercooler when doing the coolant change to get to the radiator drain plugs but that they pressurize it somehow to get most or some of the old coolant out....One thing I don't like is that they just use tap water instead of distilled when mixing with the coolant. I asked if I could bring my own distilled water and the service rep says no because of liability reasons....I've always heard to use distilled water.....thinking about cancelling my appointment but on the other hand, I really don't want to have to remove my intercooler and do this myself....

[BSM n54iS]

Originally Posted by nikitino25

Does anyone know what the dealer does for this procedure? They say they just do a "drain and fill" rather than a coolant flush. I have an appointment to get this done but am wondering if it's even worth it, I don't think they will be removing my Intercooler. They quoted one hour for the work and I'm just wondering how much of the coolant will actually be removed and replaced?

I diy'ed the other week (MT), just drained from the blue drain plug (did not remove fmic) and got like 4-5L out. Put in new 50/50 with redline water wetter, bled the system and coolant temps are ~10 degrees F cooler now

[nikitino25]

Yeah I cancelled my date with the dealer for the coolant change; I've spent way too much money and time to start putting tap water in my coolant mix now....I'll do it myself if I have to.

There's even a specific CAUTION! in the Bentley Manual that says to only use distilled water or risk engine corrosion basically.....at least the dealer was honest about what they use; would have been very easy for the service rep to say yeah yeah sure we use distilled water and nobody would know the difference. For that reason I will keep them as my go-to dealer when I need one which won't be soon hopefully. Just going to man up and do it myself and change the power steering fluid at the same time....My car has 56k and no record of either ever being done.