how much coolant?
i replaced my expansion tank on my bmw 318i se E46 and filled her with water... i drove her out about 5 miles to a trade parts department and i had to stop 3 times cos the temperature guage went dangerously red... so i pulled over... unscrewed the cap, (carefully with an old che guevara t-shirt)..and filled her back up with water... anyway... i was told by the partsman... ii was told to bleed the radiator and then fill her up with 7 litres of coolant/anti freeze.. that's not what the RAC man said... he said, "after you change the expansion tank fill it up with water and let it run for a bit the unscrew the screw on the expansion tank hose"... so i did... but the coolant warning light comes on after about 20 minutes or so.... how much coolant do i actually need? and any other ideas to keep the warning light happy... the temperature guage is always sittin in the middle regardless of whether the coolant warning light is on or off... please??
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Which year is it?
-2001 used M43 engine which should have 6liters of coolant
2002- used N42 which should have 7liters
Anyway there's that red stick under the cap which is supposed to show where exact level should be.
Been seeing that stick more often lately because looks like some coolant slowly disappear... need to add bit once in a while.
-2001 used M43 engine which should have 6liters of coolant
2002- used N42 which should have 7liters
Anyway there's that red stick under the cap which is supposed to show where exact level should be.
Been seeing that stick more often lately because looks like some coolant slowly disappear... need to add bit once in a while.
coolant
it's a bmw 318i se E46... the expansion bust and i replaced it... so i just filled it with water and the temperature guage went haywire up at the too hot end... the red square was actually lit... so i headed out for some coolant keeping my eye on the guage and had to stop twice cos of the temperature... i bought a litre of coolant/antifreeze and poured it in and the temperature has maintained a happy medium... but then the low coolant light came on.. so i bought more coolant... i've put in around 4 litres so far and the coolant light still comes on after a little while... i reckon it's my coolant to water ratios... what do you reckon??
it's a bmw 318i se E46... the expansion bust and i replaced it... so i just filled it with water and the temperature guage went haywire up at the too hot end... the red square was actually lit... so i headed out for some coolant keeping my eye on the guage and had to stop twice cos of the temperature... i bought a litre of coolant/antifreeze and poured it in and the temperature has maintained a happy medium... but then the low coolant light came on.. so i bought more coolant... i've put in around 4 litres so far and the coolant light still comes on after a little while... i reckon it's my coolant to water ratios... what do you reckon??
I think it shouldn't feel the difference in water/coolant ratio as long as you have enough of it and somewhat right mixture.
Bleed your cooling system per the directions in the WIKI at the top of this forum....guarantee that is your issue......you have air in the system and need to get it out.
^^^This. Your coolant level sensor doesn't care whether it's full of coolant, water or chocolate milk. It's just measuring the volume of fluid in your cooling system. Bleed the system NOW before you drive any further and cause yourself a large expense.
does that mean unscrewing the little screw on the expansion tank hose?
or are you talking about draining the whole radiator and starting again?
or are you talking about draining the whole radiator and starting again?
Proper bleeding procedure:
Elevate front of car
Turn ignition to position 2 (do not start car)
Turn heat to hottest setting
Turn fan on to full blast
Open Expansion Tank cap
Open screw plug on upper expansion tank hose
Slowly pour in coolant/distilled water mixture until only fluid and no air comes out bleed screw
Close bleed screw
Top off expansion tank if needed
Close cap
Put your right foot to the floor...
:roundel::banana::beerchug::thumbup:
Elevate front of car
Turn ignition to position 2 (do not start car)
Turn heat to hottest setting
Turn fan on to full blast
Open Expansion Tank cap
Open screw plug on upper expansion tank hose
Slowly pour in coolant/distilled water mixture until only fluid and no air comes out bleed screw
Close bleed screw
Top off expansion tank if needed
Close cap
Put your right foot to the floor...
:roundel::banana::beerchug::thumbup:
thank you
i like your answer best... when i first got her i spotted the low level coolant light on and freaked... i poured on some ant-freeze/coolant and that did it for a while... i then started adding water and eventually the light went out... i think it's a ratio thing
thank you
thank you
Nope. It's just measuring fluid volume. But still, a coolant/distilled water mixture is always best.
Right.
That coolant is also needed for avoiding corrosion, not only for antifreeze.
Plain water works temporarily, but should never really use water alone.
That coolant is also needed for avoiding corrosion, not only for antifreeze.
Plain water works temporarily, but should never really use water alone.
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