Join this channel to get access to perks: / @zeiten In this video we're gonna show you how to bleed the cooling system on BMW e46. Thanks for watching.
Sound advice. Just replaced a water pipe elbow that perished. Love and behold, pipe went to extremely high pressure and needle was climbing fast. After watching this video i can admit that bleeding my system cured the problem instantly
Fill the water tank at max,(engine off) Put fans on max high temp and wait ,if needed add more coolant.If coolant is not falling anymore close watertank,open bleed screw a little so that air can come,start engine and watch bleed screw,if there is no more bubles coming youre done.But dont forget to check coolant level again to add some after bleeding.
You dumb thing, so "if needed add more coolant" tell me how is anyone on earth going to bleed a cooling system at least in a BMW without adding coolant? so, the thing is, you don't use the word "if needed" as you definitely need to add coolant. Secondly, After putting the fans on max temp before filling the water reservoir, you need to open the bleeding screw so as to watch it let out water bubbles as you fill the reservoir, you'll continue this until ONLY coolant is comes out. Screw everything back on, start the engine and check for leaks, refill the reservoir if coolant level drops and repeat the process is problem persists.
Thank you for this video!!! Helped my wife’s car out immediately! Had the coolant light on. Checked and it was bone dry. Did this and worked like a charm
great vid. just had my radiator replaced on my 2000 320 and now theres coolant seeping from the bleeder screw. Is that an indication that it wasnt bled properly?
You still have to start the engine, allow the thermostat to open, so the coolant circulates through the system. Air trapped in all the nooks and crannies can only escape when the coolant is circulating. Then have the bleeder screw cracked (meaning half open), so air can escape, and the expansion tank fluid will go down (coz the air is replaced by the coolant). Keep filling in more coolant until it wont go down anymore. I did this and the car literally took 4 liters more coolant!
@@evanpfenninger6227 I dont know anything that can be bled without circulation. Even humans cant be bled without a heartbeat. Do you have an E46 to make such claim? I do and I performed that procedure myself.
@@jerolvilladolid yessir hahaha been around E46s a long time. Look in the Bentley manual for the E46 and look up proper bleeding procedure. You will learn something
never seen it done this way. it's always worth the ignition on (but not started) while pouring... I'm having problems with mine done the way i said earlier. This should be worth the try. After getting it bubble free, did u pull the extra coolant out?
Yes we bled a little through bleeding screw on expansion tank by opening it a little bit while the car was running first to make sure there are no bubbles second to get rid of extra coolant, you can check the coolant level only after car cools down completely 5-6 hours
You’re supposed to use blue coolant… bmw or even European coolant. Green is gonna increase the time you have to change your coolant system. E46 have really weak cooling systems. 85% of the issues with many e46 will be coolant related.
@@Renee_R343 But that's not conventional green coolant. That coolant is called Glysantin G64,BMW calls it HT12. Traditional green coolant contains phosphates.
Hi there, i have done everything on the video to bleed the system. During the test on the dashboard. The digits were showing up as 50 in the beginning and then went up to 80 after about 8-10 minutes. I was just wondering how i could change the digits to celsius as i believe it was showing as fahrenheit. Also it isn't coming as hot as it should be, is there any suggestions as to what it could be and what i could do? Thank you
Hi the digits on the dash are at celsius, normal operating temperature of this engine is 92-98 degrees, drive it around with heater on and open the bleeder screw a little bit to see if any air comes out while the car is running and hot, sorry for late response
I read the comments on this video and laughed. You did a good job my man! Universal antifreeze is compatible with ALL engines...And for those that are arguing about what manufacturer recommends, think for a second....they engineered & designed this piece of sh*** car that always leaks & burns oil, coolant, & needs full suspension overhaul every so many miles, do you guys really think they know what coolant is best for this car? Also the only oil you should trust in a performance car is Mobil 1, not Castrol LOLZ.
im on my 4th coolant tank for my e46!!! I now understand that BMW does not like China parts! The only one that clamps down correctly without a hassle is a BEHR OM TANK. I just had one, but did not bleed correctly and busted the o ring. I put the cap on too prematurely and couldnt turn car off in time before it popped the bottom. smh ...I then got desperate, bought a cheap Dorman from autozone, didnt fit correctly, lasted 1 day. DORMAN is complete trash! do not buy! only buy BEHR which is OM, or from BMW directly! all tanks are a pain on a bmw e46 honestly, but so far BEHR snaps on easiet. When my new one comes, i will follow your process to a T! this week has been hell for me! Thanks for the video! BLESS UP!!!
Thank you, this video is the best one on youtube to bleed the coolant. And forget the green coolant haters they probably don't even own BMW's and they probably don't know their crapped out 97 Hondas take blue coolant too.
I will recommand to use bmw coolant only. If 10$ is the problem for you so i suggest to not buy a bmw. Those engine components were developped considering coolant chimical proprieties. If you prefer to trust a guy that doesnt know what he's talking about then that's your concern. There is no "electrical pump" in there cars, the heat is turned on to open the electric thermostat then the coolant can run into the large circuit. But if the guy with engine light and some other issues tell you that there is no problem with green coolant, so that most be true...
I changed my whole cooling system and I keep having leaks at my oil cooler. The coolant side keeps coming loose after I drive the car for awhile. When I fill the tank back up I’ve always filled till I seen coming out bleeder then I stop. I never waited for bubbles to stop forming 😮I’d just close up the tank, close the bleeder screw and be on my way till it started leaking again. Usually same day or the next. Is this why? Cause I’ve been bleeding wrong?
hey man will bleeding help any with a car that overheats? ive replaced thermostat and waterpump .. fan works good and there is no leaks but still overheats
Hello .I just got my car back *e46 330d after replacing the steering pump. But i think they done something with the coolant tank. Now i see low coolant warning. When the engine is off i can see it has coolant inside. But when i start the engine the coolant disappearing somewhere. is it normal? But its restore back ASAP once i switched off
Slightly off topic, but I have an 06 X3, need to pressure test the cooling system. Is there an economical adapter that threads onto the expansion tank so a cooling system pressure tester can be used? I see them in a few vids, but no mention of who makes them or where to get one. Thought you might know. thanks in advance.
yes, car has already reached normal temperature and any fluid expands when hot, so check coolant level after it sits over night and add or suck some out if necessary
Correct me if i'm wrong,but that model bmw doesn't have electric water pump,i can see the fan blade spinning,so the water pump is belt driven.and why he didn't put the fan shroud back on.
i just bought one e46 euro for 300$ with m wheels and full tint bitch is clean bro i replaced 3 02 sensors a temp sensor all fluids, plugs and fuel injectors, everything works the 02 sensors got leaked on by the valve cover gasket i had 6 codes when i bought it a week later its all fixed and actually just passed california emissions no problem so dope, coilovers are in the mail
I think on the end of the video you have to let coolant out of the reservoir so the dipstick is just above the top, you can see it on the stick inside the reservoir, rest is good i think
@@LeonZedd it also can be on the botton of the reservoir or if you fill you see the dipstick coming to the top or it is actually gone but how that can happen...? But it is a indicator to check how it should be so
my car does that little hesitating thing when its cold also... i thought it was just mine. nice vid ill try this in a minute. i just replaced the radiator/expansion tank, because my fan exploded when i was doing doughnuts, and took out my radiator and expansion tank... but my problem is i dont have heat even after bleeding, it worked fine before. do you have any advice? i have a 2000 328ci
hi your car hesitate most likely because of the air leak, if you completed the bleeding procedure correctly and still no heat check for heater valve probably stuck closed
I heard that bmw recommends the blue Bmw coolant for protective purposes. But the problem with Blue Coolants is that they evaporate way faster which gives you a coolant smell throughout your engine bay without having an actual leak. And I also see this issue with alot of non Bmw's that come to the dealership with coolant odor complains but no leak.
@@htcfreak15 yes you may be right, because the coolant cap is designed to evacuate the overpressure in the system thats why there is some white deposite near to the cap. Please check this cap maybe twice a year, you should feel a moving thing inside when you shake it. If no, then the clapet is probably stuck and can't evacuate the pressure anymore
You can use any colour of coolant if it meets the specification requirements BMW N 600 69.0 and is nitrite, amine and phosphate free. Check Penrite’s OEM Green coolant for example. Literally approved by BMW.
what model is this car ? I am facing an issue with my 2003 318i model. All the sudden coolant leaked and every time I pour coolant and fill to the max and go for little drive. the coolant leaks and It went to red zone temp and I parked right away. So can you assist what can the issue be ?
this car is 1999 bmw 328i, in your case you need to find where its leaking from, solve the leak and bleed the system, do you see leak on the ground when car parked? if so tell me where so i can point you where to look first, also whats the mileage on the car?
what's the purpose of turning the heater on before turning the car on ? Doesn't turning the car on then immediately turning on the heater serve the same goal ?
Oh god, forget this. Turn the key until the dash lights up. Hold the gas for 15 sec (this will engage the electric water pump) walk to the pressurized water pump. Open the cap, crack the bleeder valve (as in the video) and over the course of 15 min the system will cylcle if all is well with the electric pump. Add coolant as needed. This works on bmws' with an electric circulation pump (i believe all post m52 engines, not 100% on that)
hi, most likely one of the pulleys making noise, easy way to check them is to take out the belt and just spin it with a hand if you will hear noise this is where the problem is, its 3 pulleys on your car, 1 idler pulley sits on upper alternator bolt and two tensioner pulleys for main drive belt and a/c belt. Also depending on what kind of noise do you have you can check the water pump, if it has a lot of play in it that means water pump bearing is about to fail its better to replace, you can send us video of noise that bothers you to zeitenllc@gmail.com so we can assist you more, thank you
@@Zeiten nothing just refilling I seem to lose coolant a lot in this car but it's not leaking and I've done this before by watching your video and I'm back
Thanks for this, I have been chasing my air bubble for a while so going to use this process to finally get rid of it, as so many people claiming the right and oly procedure out there. Can I ask, once I have done this process if I take the car for a drive get it right up to max heat, can I pull over open up the bleed screw a few turns to get any extra air out and then tighten off again whilst keeping the ET cap on all the time? Is it okay to do that? Then park up let it go cold - check the level again in the ET. Can an air bubble too stubborn to get out using this process? Sorry amateur who only knwo about the outside not the inside of a car. P.S. nicely handled with the green coolant haters on here. Ultimatley there's the millions BMW spend on marketing and their of wording things is to deliberately make us fear missing out and to have to have peace of mind so we must pay their prices. Other companies just shut up and make great stuff without the added value and our cost of fancy marketing. :)
Hi and thank you for understanding about green coolant conversation, and yes you can open the bleeding screw a little bit while car is hot if it comes out without bubbles your bleeding procedure is completed, to make sure the level is good let the car sit over night. If you have more questions please don't hesitate to ask, thanks for watching
what you said about the coolant is not true. any coolant other than BLUE BMW coolant will corrode the inside of your PLASTIC COOLANT PIPES. they will especially corrode the 2 heater pipes the are under your intake manifold. they will make the heater hoses break off into the engine when you try to remove them.
You can use green or blue coolant as long as it meets BMW N 600 69.0 specs and doesn’t contain nitrite, amine and phosphate. Always mix 50/50 as that is OEM standard. An example of this is Penrite’s Green OEM Coolant Concentrate. Ofcourse don’t mix blue with green (i.e. use what’s in there), but don’t be turned off using green coolant, just do some research.
That is traditional green coolant he is putting in. BMW until recently used G48 coolant(to 2019 model year),same coolant that Volvo(until around 2015) and VW used until 1996.
*bro I had my e46 in the shop last week they replaced the coolant dispenser, seen like they didn't bleed out the system, I have the radiator light on is this why? Any mechanics here?* 🙄
Very possible, after expansion tank replacement cooling system absolutely must be bled, i would say you are most likely one step away from overheating, coolant light on most likely because of pressure build up
@@Zeiten bro you absolutely right my car was overheating yesterday I'm going to do what you did I hope that will take care of it, thanks a lot for replying my question 🖐🏻
Jak bym miał tak uzupełniać żeby tak wylewać tyle płynu to dziękuję. Ten odpowietrznik jest po to żeby wypuścić powietrze z układu. To w jaki sposób to robi to beznadzieja...
hi, coolant expands as any fluid when heated up, thats why after bleeding is done completely you need to let the car totally cool down and check the coolant level and add some if needed.
Solid video but wrong coolant. It has to be blue, preferably oe bmw coolant, just as cheap as any off the shelf blue coolant. So might as well stick to bmw coolant and not risk messing up ur coolant system since it wasn't designed to be used with other types of coolants
Hello, I replaced the radiator on my 328 e46, now it's not possible to remove air from the cooling system, the radiator of the heater is cold at this time and the thermostat does not open after reaching the maximum temperature. Could the pump be wrong? Or a thermostat? Before replacing the cooling radiator, everything was fine. Now I do not know what to do. Thanks for your video, good luck.
hi most likely your thermostat stuck closed, its better to service whole cooling system at once at least main units as water pump, thermostat, radiator lower and upper radiator hoses (if they are already expended)
not the end of the world if you use something else than what BMW tells you to, did you know that their transmission fluids never need changing as well?
therealsaren they say “lifetime” fluid bc they are talking about the damn warranty period lmfao which is 60-100k which it can last but who really knows that they need to say that so people don’t get it confused that you never need to change the fluid lmfao my 01 330ci has 330k still driving shifting strong bc I change trans/oil and do all the Maintenance
It’s based on the specs of the coolant you’re using. Penrite has green coolant thats OEM approved by BMW. Other brands have green coolant you cant use. If the coolant meets the specs, it’s fine to use.
correct. during those "5 mins", start and keep the engine running, open the bleeder screw, and put the radiator cap on. but still, this video is no where near as dangerous as most "how to e46 coolant" videos on youtube
