[Three_thirty_I]

I have already searched and found a few results here and on other sites. Seems like it is either 8,2 or 8,4 litres depending on if the car has a manual or automatic gearbox - this is also confusing, because the one shows 8,2 for the manual, and the other shows this for the automatic. My car is a manual of course.

This is still where I have a problem though - some years back I changed the coolant and no doubt found these same values, so simply bought 5 litres of BMW anti-freeze and 5 litres of distilled water. I ended up sitting with way more coolant mix than I needed, so either not all of old the coolant came out (was actually just replacing the temperature sensors, so drained the coolant at the bottom of the radiator) or this specified capacity is not quite right. I spoke to a parts guy at a local BMW dealer because I now want to replace the faulty thermostat, and he says I will only need 2 litres of anti-freeze for the mix, surely that's going to be too little? I am thinking of taking either 3 or 4 litres to play safe.

So some clarification would be great.

[Icemilkteaa]

Subscribed

[PichaDis11]

The N52 holds 2 Gallons total. 1:1 ratio mix of Distilled water and Coolant. 1 Gallon each. About 75% of coolant is left is in the Engine after drainage from the radiator. This should explain excess amount of coolant remaining.

[Three_thirty_I]

Thanks. Well, I replaced the thermostat last week and was not able to get anywhere near this amount back in. Now from my understanding, when you drain and remove the thermostat and water pump, all remaining coolant is then released from the engine (there is no drain plug on the engine block like there is on the older E46 M54 motor). But in my case I only removed and replaced the thermostat, so possibly there was still some coolant left in the water pump and block. But I ended only managing to get a little more than 3/4 of the total amount mentioned above. Added coolant with the bleed screw open until coolant with no bubbles came out, then ran the purge function with the bleed screw and reservoirs cap closed, topped up again with the bleed screw open thinking that there was more air in the system. I repeated the purge process as before and the level had no dropped, but was now then slightly over full, so had to carefully suck the excess out. I still have the coolant that was drained (except some that was of course spilt), so should compare to the amount that went in...

[PichaDis11]

Originally Posted by Three_thirty_I

Thanks. Well, I replaced the thermostat last week and was not able to get anywhere near this amount back in. Now from my understanding, when you drain and remove the thermostat and water pump, all remaining coolant is then released from the engine (there is no drain plug on the engine block like there is on the older E46 M54 motor). But in my case I only removed and replaced the thermostat, so possibly there was still some coolant left in the water pump and block. But I ended only managing to get a little more than 3/4 of the total amount mentioned above. Added coolant with the bleed screw open until coolant with no bubbles came out, then ran the purge function with the bleed screw and reservoirs cap closed, topped up again with the bleed screw open thinking that there was more air in the system. I repeated the purge process as before and the level had no dropped, but was now then slightly over full, so had to carefully suck the excess out. I still have the coolant that was drained (except some that was of course spilt), so should compare to the amount that went in...

All greatness!

Yes, getting much of the coolant out of the system requires taking the U shaped hose from the Waterpump and engine. All in all glad you got it over with.

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by PichaDis11

All greatness!

Yes, getting much of the coolant out of the system requires taking the U shaped hose from the Waterpump and engine. All in all glad you got it over with.

The job was actually easier that I anticipated, well at least after I figured out the best way to proceed. I am just still sitting with the same over-cooling issue which was the whole reason for replacing the thermostat. But anyway...

[PichaDis11]

Originally Posted by Three_thirty_I

The job was actually easier that I anticipated, well at least after I figured out the best way to proceed. I am just still sitting with the same over-cooling issue which was the whole reason for replacing the thermostat. But anyway...

Weird! Have you cleared codes as well?