I chaged the Thermostat & Water Pump, Question about coolant. 3.0I engine

[SLX5]

Hi, Yesterday I changed the Thermostat and Water pump in my 2002 X5 3.0. The post by Bimmer 360 was very helpful. If anyone has any questions on doing this on a 3.0 please feel free to drop me a line and I will try to help.

I however do have a question on filling with coolant. I set the temp control to high and fan setting to low and started filling the coolant with the bleeder valve open(engine off). Right after one gallon of coolant it started spewing out. After this I drove the car for 10mile or so and the temp was fine. Tried to fill once the car cooled, but the same thing. When I drained the radiator and took the thermostat and water pump I was pretty sure I lost about 2Gallons of coolant.

I am worried about trapped air, any other way of getting more coolant in and getting the air out. I did search the forum and didn't find anything.

[jst2878]

i have the same concern since i will be refilling my coolant and want a bled system. There might be some way to pressure bleed the system to force any air out. My truck has had hose leaks constantly on the coolant system and I believe its the culprit.

[vinuneuro]

Fill the radiator with engine off. Then turn the heat all the way up and fan to highest setting. Turn the engine on with the bleeder open, and add coolant as it is taken in. Let the engine idle with the bleeder open until all the air is out.

[Weasel]

And after that with the bleeder screw back installed there should be a stream of coolant pissing across in the fill cap opening when you hit the throttle. If you got that then you are fully bleed.

[SLX5]

Thanks for the posts guys. I will do that today.

[mahermahmood]

I have a 2001 x5 3.0. Bimmer 360 was a 4.4. Is everything the same in replacing the waterpump in your 3.0. any tip i should know?

[SLX5]

Its much easier to replace in the 3.0 than the 4.4. the fan shroud, belts, is just the same. Make sure you have a 32mm wrench. I did it with a adjustable and it was a pain in the ass. Set aside a good 4-6 hrs for this especially when you are doing it for teh first time. It took me about 5hrs and I could probably two one in two hours now. Let me know if you have any specific issues you might run into.

[mrbmwx5]

here is the DIY for 3.0i

http://www.bavauto.com/newsletter/20...ter.pdf#page=6

[Bimmer Ese]

Did you drain the coolant from the engine block? If not, more than likely, you still had coolant in the system. As the other board members have stated, once you properly bleed the system, you should be ok.

[Weasel]

The easiest way to bleed the system is to have the plastic bleeder screw out when you fill her up... when the expansion tank is full and coolant comes out of the bleeder hole, thats bout all there is to it! just put the screw back in (without overtightening it) and you're done. To ensure it is bleed, when you first start the X5 there will be a stream of coolant pissing across the open hole with the radiatlr fill cap off on a cold start, and when the throttle is hit (about 1500-3000 rpms is enough) once warmed up.