Anyone do radiator fluid change?

VictorH · 02-27-2013, 08:55 PM

Has anyone done a radiator fluid change at home yet? Wanting to do this soon, but unable to find any info. Would like to know which hoses to remove (which are almost always a real pain to remove) as well as if there really is a block drain or not and where its location is.

tmntmn · 02-27-2013, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VictorH

Has anyone done a radiator fluid change at home yet? Wanting to do this soon, but unable to find any info. Would like to know which hoses to remove (which are almost always a real pain to remove) as well as if there really is a block drain or not and where its location is.

i just order some coolant and a bunch of other maintenance stuff from Mckenna, planning on doing a coolant flush but still trying to find a DIY

RyanBMW · 03-30-2013, 05:11 PM

I changed mine at 55K miles..it was a piece of cake! You just need 1 gallon of coolant from BMW, you can mix it with up to 2 gallons of distill water (yes, I mixed mine 35% coolant & 65% distill water) works fine, or you can mix it 50/50, not a big deal, l prefer mine with that ratio. Good luck!!

VictorH · 03-30-2013, 07:57 PM

Did you remove any of the radiator hoses or just drain the radiator through the drain plug?

I confirmed at the dealer Friday there is no block drain, so I just got the drain plug and fluid.

RyanBMW · 03-31-2013, 12:51 AM

I jacked up the car, removed 2 shields underneath the car, and and unscrew the drain plug only. Then I let the car down (while it's still dripping) and wait for it to be finished. I drained out about 1.5 gallons (I measured it). After that jacked the car back up and put everything back together and poured in about 1.5 gallons and started the bleeding process. It takes .25 gallon more during the bleeding process. Then I sprayed down the engine with water to wash out all the fluid that came out from the reservoir during the bleeding process. That's it.

02-27-2013, 08:55 PM	#1
VictorH Major 433 Rep 1,286 Posts Drives: '09 M3 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: SC iTrader: (4)	Anyone do radiator fluid change? Has anyone done a radiator fluid change at home yet? Wanting to do this soon, but unable to find any info. Would like to know which hoses to remove (which are almost always a real pain to remove) as well as if there really is a block drain or not and where its location is.
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03-30-2013, 05:11 PM	#3
RyanBMW Lieutenant 463 Rep 509 Posts Drives: 2008 E92 328i, 2011 F10 550i, Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Plano, TX iTrader: (1)	I changed mine at 55K miles..it was a piece of cake! You just need 1 gallon of coolant from BMW, you can mix it with up to 2 gallons of distill water (yes, I mixed mine 35% coolant & 65% distill water) works fine, or you can mix it 50/50, not a big deal, l prefer mine with that ratio. Good luck!!
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03-30-2013, 07:57 PM	#4
VictorH Major 433 Rep 1,286 Posts Drives: '09 M3 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: SC iTrader: (4)	Did you remove any of the radiator hoses or just drain the radiator through the drain plug? I confirmed at the dealer Friday there is no block drain, so I just got the drain plug and fluid.
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03-31-2013, 12:51 AM	#5
RyanBMW Lieutenant 463 Rep 509 Posts Drives: 2008 E92 328i, 2011 F10 550i, Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Plano, TX iTrader: (1)	I jacked up the car, removed 2 shields underneath the car, and and unscrew the drain plug only. Then I let the car down (while it's still dripping) and wait for it to be finished. I drained out about 1.5 gallons (I measured it). After that jacked the car back up and put everything back together and poured in about 1.5 gallons and started the bleeding process. It takes .25 gallon more during the bleeding process. Then I sprayed down the engine with water to wash out all the fluid that came out from the reservoir during the bleeding process. That's it.
	Appreciate 0 Quote