Bleed Procedure ? - UPDATE - Help

[Stiffler_PE]

No not bleeding as in paying for something at a Stealer

I dropped a new Radiator in the e46 ( 318 FL manual ) on saturday and was wondering what is the correct method to ensure your cooling system is free of air ?

I added the BMW antifreeze ( 2L as instructed ) to the drained sytem, topped up untill expansion was full and stopped dropping.
squeezed top and bottom pipes and let her stand a few minutes.

Started her for about 30 seconds and shut her down and continued filling expansion bottle.
Then had to go out and left her and we took the wifes Polo.
Next morning checked level and needed nothing.

Switched car ON and put climate control on HOT and low fan speed and left her and watched level in expansion bottle, opened bleed screw on bottle and one on the oil filter line.

switched off and closed up and went for a drive round the block with clmate still on HOT till car got up to temp and came home ( dont think i went for long enough drive cause bottom hose was just warm when i stopped at home )
opened bleed screw and a little puff of air came out and then liquid.
did same on oil filter bleed screw - air and then liquid.
Went back to bottle bleed screw and little air then liquid.

I am thinking tonight i need to go for a drive and leave climate control off and let her warm up properly and get thermostat open.
Bleed screw again i guess ?

Am i over complicating this or what ??

I dont wanna tale chances with cooling system.. hence paranoia :mmm:


Let me hear it Fanatics.... what do you do... am i good to go after one more drive and bleed ?


Cheers guys

 

[freerider]

cooling system!!!!!! AAAAARRRRRHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

My procedure:
Switch ignition to position 2, put heater on max with fan on low, open the ET (Expansion Tank) bleed screw and pour coolant in until it is coming out of the bleed screw, continue pouring until there is only coolant and no bubbles coming out, close bleed screw, give the bottom pipe one good squeeze to get a bit of excess water out of the ET and allow space for expansion to take place, close cap on ET.

Go for a drive long enough to get the thermostat to open, bottom pipe to radiator must be hot when you return. Allow car to cool, open ET cap and top up is necessary.

 

[Stiffler_PE]

Hey freerider,

Saw your post on the thermostat housing :banghead: feel your pain bro !

Thanks for bleed procedure, gonna start from your step 1 when i get home just to be safe.

Just to clarify... you remove the bleed screw and add coolant mix through the bleed screw hole... the expansion tank lid stays in place.



On a side note, i did the first quick drive with the big cover ( one with the BMW badge on it that guides air into the airbox ) off... man the valvetronic motor makes a deep sexy growl under acceleration... airbox is a noisy place to be lol

 

[freerider]

No, you add the coolant into the normal place, and it will flow out of the bleed screw hole, you want the flow coming out of the bleed screw not to contain any bubbles.

 

[Stiffler_PE]

Freerider - I did as you instructed, but something is not right here.

I open ET and take off bleed screw next to it
Switch on car ( position 2 )
Heater on High Heat / Low fan speed ( i hear the water running inside the cabin )
Start adding coolant to ET and wait for it to bubble out of Bleed screw hole
Never does.
The water level rises in the ET and bubble out the ET ( lots of air )
I cant get it to bleed out the bleed screw hole.

Aa friend of myne suggestd that its because my drive way is at a slight incline. Meaning the nose of the beemer is slightly raised.
Could this be the problem ?

I am strating to get worried here. I am considering draining ET and pulling bottom hose off and starting all over again.
I am worried that i have an airlock somewhere from starting the car during the innitial bleed procedure.

Any advice or thoughts ? I am :dunno::bawling:

 

[freerider]

I havent tried on an uneven surface, I always do it in my garage. When I pour into the ET, it comes out the bleed screw before the ET overflows.

 

[Stiffler_PE]

What is the procedure for the bleed screw up near the oil cooler ? i opened it and its bone dry inside there.


I am thinking to drain the system and start from scratch as you describe. I am scared i have created an airlock with starting the car during innitial fill :banghead:

If there is an airlock, would the normal bleed procedure expel it ?

 

[slotcars1]

Hey freerider,

Saw your post on the thermostat housing :banghead: feel your pain bro !

Thanks for bleed procedure, gonna start from your step 1 when i get home just to be safe.

Just to clarify... you remove the bleed screw and add coolant mix through the bleed screw hole... the expansion tank lid stays in place.



On a side note, i did the first quick drive with the big cover ( one with the BMW badge on it that guides air into the airbox ) off... man the valvetronic motor makes a deep sexy growl under acceleration... airbox is a noisy place to be lol

I had a similar problem with the thermostat housing on my e36... AAAAAAARGGHGHGHGH

 

[StK]

How to bleed the cooling system.
1.Jack the front of the vehicle up onto stands as high as possible,
2.Turn the ignition on,engine off,heater on fan setting 1 and temperature fully hot,
3.Remove the rad cap/expansion cap,remove the bleed screw from the radiator and IF you have them the bleed screw(s) from the thermostat housing/top hose, return pipe or EGR thermostat.
4.Fill the radiator up and keep pouring till there are no more air bubbles coming out from the bleeds, using a funnel that fits tight in the radiator neck and filling it full of water will help push any troublesome air out, when good you can then install the bleeds and tighten down(don't snap them),ensure the rubber O-rings/seals are still on the screws/on the bleed holes.
5.Suck some water out so it's not full to the brim, replace the cap and then start the car. Run her up and check for heat from the vents when warm and check if over heating still persists. You may have to bleed troublesome cars twice(but rare).
6.If all is good then check the water level again in the morning when cool.


Also you may need to replace the radiator cap :thumb:

 

[Stiffler_PE]

Hi StK,

Thanks for that! I read somewhere about jacking the nose up!

let me fill you in a little more regarding my query.

Never had any overheating issues, the reason for bleeding is the installation of a new radiator. Got a low coolant warning as i was leaving my house so i checked it out ( never drove the car ) The expansion tank ( ET ) is new ( changed it myself 4 months back ) and also new top hose and new rad cap.
When looking under bonnet i noticed white powder build up between radiatior and crimped plastic section. Hence new rad purchase and install.

Whats worrying/irritating/scaring me is the fact i cant get the bleed procedure to behave like everyone says it should.
I do the normal procedure ( ignition on, Temp hi, fan lo ) open ET and bleed screw next to ET. The bubbles come out of the ET and nothing comes out the bleed hole. I can see the liquid moving inside the bleed hole. The level rises and falls in the ET and then plenty air.
It looks like its just sucking air in at the bleed screw hole and sitting in never ending cycle.

I was concerned that maybe its because my driveway is on a slight incline ( maybe 7 to 10 degrees )

I am thinking i may have a major air lock/bubble in the system.... when everything was back together and installed i started filling the ET untill the level stopped dropping. I then started the car for 30 seconds, switched off and topped up. I forgot about the heater on bleed routine.

Sorry for long winded reply lol :mmm: Just being over cautious... dont wanna hurt my baby

Your help is much appreciated :thumbsup:

 

[hennie]

if you don't get the water to come out of one of the bleed spots you can try by blowing into the filler cap with your mouth to get the water to come out there

 

[Stiffler_PE]

Hi hennie,

Thanks for your input.. what you saying gels with what StK says about using a funnel that tightly fits into the ET neck and filling the funnel... that would obviously force water down. Blowing into ET will have same effect.

My thought was to use the empty 1L Antifreeze bottle i got from dealer. Fill it and flip it over into ET and Squeeze.

The good news is that no one has looked at my symptons and said " you have a major problem " lol

Look like i just have a serious case of air that needs to be persuaded to come out !

Your opinion on raising the nose to bleed ? have read it on a few forums and StK has suggested it. Makes sense though... highest point is where air will naturally migrate ?

Thanks again for advice ! :thumbsup:

 

[Sankekur]

Just be careful when blowing into the filler cap, as anti-freeze is rather poisonous, but you will know when you get it in your mouth as it is kinda sweet.
Also if you have pets and you spil some anti freeze on the ground remember to clean it up as pets might also ingest it, especially with cats, thought I'd mention it seeing as there are a lot of cat lovers on this forum

 

[Stiffler_PE]

Sankekur... Your thinking of a different kinda cat... the ones fanatics like wont be drinking antifreeze...well.. not unless some spilss into your lap :mmm:

 

[OpelAddict]

Me thinks i must feed my bitch neighbour some antifreeze :whip:

 

[StK]

Just be careful when blowing into the filler cap, as anti-freeze is rather poisonous, but you will know when you get it in your mouth as it is kinda sweet.

Sweet...its the most repulsive stuff I've ever tasted ever...I sucked some out the ET and just a tiny bit got in my mouth and no amount of washing my mouth out with mouthwash and water could get rid of the taste...Yuck

OP you sure you not got any leaks anywhere cause water must come out one of the bleed points eventually..the bleed procedure works well on the E46's and most other BMW's..its a completely different story bleeding the E90's though..they're a complete PITA :cursin:

 

[hennie]

I said BLOW not suck :nono:

 

[Stiffler_PE]

@ StK... i can't say for sure that there are no leaks. I am pretty sure the system is well sealed. New rad, rad cap, top hose, bleed screws, ET. Rest o fthe pipes look good. No white powder arround any joints.

Last night the plan was to go to a mates house and spend the night on our cars... Change his LCABS and bleed my car.

The drive from my house to his is about 20 min ( yes its true...everything is 20 min from everything in PE )

I kept an eye on the temp all the way, went to 12 o clock and stayed there. I tried the heater and got LOADS of hot air, so no air lock in the heater side of things.

Got to my mates house and the heavens opened... serious rain!
So we threw some meat on the braai in the garage and sorted out a bottle of Johnny black instead imp:

Went home muuuuuch later and the temp sat at 12 like it should ( good sign )
Journey home took longer ( got stuck at a robot that decided that staying red for me was more fun than EVER changing to green
After about 3 minutes i snuck through and headed home. Thought i would take the chance to check for more air.
Opened the bleed screw by the oil cooler a bit... air... spit some water.. nothing... open some more.. bit more air then nothing.
Opened the one next to Et a bit... coolant, closed it.

THEN... :dunno: felt the big pipe going to bottom of radiator... cold :hammerhead:

Now... what are the chances the cold rainy weather was keeping the car cool enough to not need thermostat open ?
OR... do this enforce the need for me to bleed her propperly
OR... new Thermostat here i come.

I am reluctant to buy new thrermo... the car never showed signs of temp problems before new radiator. ( and as i recall, bmw thermo fails open, so pipe should have been hot... so i lean back to :cursin::cursin: AIR.
I know we need the rain down here but i would reall y have liked to bleed her last night.

I am thinking... tomorow afternoon... Plan of ACTION:

Remove drip tray so i can drain rad and catch most of new coolant mix
Remove lower hose to drain as much of the system as possible.

refit everything

THEN

BLEED like the book says... No starty the enginey!

Temp Hi, fan Low... start adding coolant mix untill the :cursin: bubbles appear ( please appear ) out of bleed screws.
( Does the bleed procedure call for Both bleed screws to be removed or just the one by the ET ?? )

Cheers guys :thumbsup: