Coolant change advice

Kolobos

Member
Scunthorpe
Hi,
Are there any procedures detailing how to change the coolant in a Z4 2012 28i? Apparently coolant boils at 55c and my last recorded temp was 54c. I have changed coolant before in other cars but just wondered if there was any info to read, thanks.

Steve.
 
Coolant does not boil at 55 deg C, where did you get this info from??
In a kettle it will boil at 100 deg C
In a pressurised environment (cooling system) the boiling point is raised, this is why the system is pressurised, otherwise if you drove up a mountain the drop in atmospheric pressure would cause the coolant to boil at less than 100 deg C.

Water boils at 100 °C (212 °F) at sea level, but at 93.4 °C (200.1 °F) at 1,905 metres (6,250 ft) altitude.
At 2 bar pressure (average-ish for a cooling system) water boils at around 120 deg C.
 
I think I’d be looking at changing the water/antifreeze every 3 to 5 years and giving it a good flush through with a hose pipe to get rid of any crap that may be in the radiator, you could also change it to a waterless fluid which is supposed to help stop any corrosion and will not freeze in the winter
 
mcbutler said:
Coolant does not boil at 55 deg C, where did you get this info from??
In a kettle it will boil at 100 deg C
In a pressurised environment (cooling system) the boiling point is raised, this is why the system is pressurised, otherwise if you drove up a mountain the drop in atmospheric pressure would cause the coolant to boil at less than 100 deg C.

Water boils at 100 °C (212 °F) at sea level, but at 93.4 °C (200.1 °F) at 1,905 metres (6,250 ft) altitude.
At 2 bar pressure (average-ish for a cooling system) water boils at around 120 deg C.
BMW Dealership, although they were probably telling me that it needs changing.
 
In all honesty the BMW dealership were probably telling me that the coolant needs changing and as the car is 7 years old and no history of a coolant change, I will change it. Is there a how to anywhere for this? Im interested to know which hose to disconnect etc, is there a drain plug anywhere that kind of thing. Bleeding the system etc. etc. Thanks.

Steve.
 
Have a look here and see what you can find:
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/

I stake no claim on this procedure just that someone published this:
"I just flushed my 2010 3.0. Drain radiator removing plug on radiator, driver side. Get in car and turn on ignition but do not start car. Put heat on max and fan on minimum. Put your foot down on gas pedal for 10 seconds. Water pump will cycle on and off for about 5 -10 minutes draining block. Replace drain plug and fill with distilled water. Repeat pump purge cycle except this time add water as pump cycles. Repeat process until water is clear, no antifreeze remaining. Fill with 2 liters of BMW antifreeze and then keep refilling during pump cycle with 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water. If you live in a freezing climate I might add 3 liters of antifreeze to start. Take short drive and check coolant level. Refill until full".
 
Top hose is leaking a little, hence the coolant smell when the car engine has been running a while. Will be sorting that very soon.

Steve.
 
Back
Top Bottom