Hello all. I thought I was making progress today. With only minimal mechanical knowledge (but getting better all the time thanks to this site) I have recently purchased required tools, a haynes manual and have started to do basic servicing myself. Seeing as it is out of warranty now i see no point in taking it to the dealer for stuff I can do. Save money and learn a bit at the same time. Today I changed the front fork oil. No dramas there. The issue I have is that while I had the fairing off the bike I noticed that the coolant reservoir was completely empty. Checked the radiator and that still had coolant in it, not quite to the top though.. I have to admit I hadnt checked the coolant for quite a while. I havent seen any leaks or excess fluid anywhere either. Is it just a matter of filling up the reservoir and topping up the radiator?. Is there a specific coolant I should use?. Thanks
That's a good question... does anyone have any recommendation on the best coolant to use? I don't have a dealership nearby.
I used to use Preston 5 year, but found out the 5 year generic brand Walmart sells in a blue bottle is just as good. Both do not contain silicates that can damage a waterpump seal. I also mix a bottle of Water Wetter with the antifreeze that helps increase the cooling. I found this works just as good as Engine Ice which you have to replace each year while the Water Wetter and antifreeze last 5 years. Here is more information on Water Wetter. Water Wetter is used by race car mechanics to help increase the cooling efficency of the cooling system. http://www.redlineoil.com/Products.aspx?pcid=10
I just recently bought some bmw brand coolant from the dealership. I don't know who make it for them (like spectro makes their oil), but I like the nice blue color. God bless, David
With regards to the level ... When you take the cap off any fluid in the reservoir drains out... and runs on the floor if the radiator its self i already full ... So I would top up the radiator, then put the cap back on and then fill the reservoir to the full line. If you are trying to check the actual radiator level you need to pinch the tube shut first to avoid loosing the contents of the reservoir. I've also found that the bike does not always purge air automatically, so when you flush/refill you need to be careful to get all the air back out of the system ... but that's another story http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13698738&postcount=11
So, I purchased some coolant, topped up the radiator and reservoir. In the meantime I had emailed the head mechanic at BMW Perth and he said definitely do not mix coolants, but if you drain the whole system then it doesnt really matter what coolant you refill with. Can someone please explain what the issue is with mixing coolants?. It doesnt really bother me if I have to drain all the fluid and refill. According to the haynes manual, a new sealing washer for the drain bolt MUST be fitted before refiling, same goes for the O ring for the lower coolant pipe/oil cooler flange. Is that a definite?. If I def need them is my easiest option to order them through BMW?. Thanks
I had a similar scenario to you, needed to top up the reservoir, so I picked up some Tectaloy from Supercrap and did it. This caused the whole shebang to turn the consistency of custard. The two coolants were definitely not compatible. So I drained the whole lot, flushed with tap water, and replaced with Tectaloy 100. I managed to wreck the "O" ring off the bottom pipe, so replaced this, and the sealing washer with generic ones from the local auto parts shop. No need IMO to go to the stealers. Bleeding the air out of the system is a PIA, follow Joel's procedure as written in another thread here and you should be good.
Is this the same coolant as the one used on current bmw car? Blue in color: http://www.globalautoparts.biz/bmwgenuinefluids.html
I must be a cheap arse like you guzzimike, I got the tectaloy also, from Kmart. Ok then, for peace of mind I will drain it refil. Which store did you get the washer and o ring from?. Thanks
I went and purchased the sealing washers and o ring. I installed everything as required. After a few minutes of running there was quite a noticeable leak from the area where the pipe enters the oil cooler. The o ring that I got from the auto shop seemed to be the same diameter, but the rubber itself was noticeably thinner The salesman told me that all o rings will absorb some of the coolant and end up fatter like my old one.. He claims that my old o ring would have been the same thickness as the new one he was selling me when it was new. Does this sound right or was the new o ring just the wrong one, hence the leaking around the oil cooler?. Secondly, how do I really know if I have got as much air out of the system as possible. I waited till coolant was coming out of the bleeder screw, squeezed hoses where needed, re filled radiator, ran for a while, etc. is there a sure sign that all the air isn't out?. Thanks
My call on it would be that if it leaks now, it will always leak. Maybe find a fatter "O" Ring? Here's a link to Joel's instructions for bleeding the cooling system, it's post #11 http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=431251
the short answer is yes orings do swell when exposed to certain chemicals, depending on the materials the real answer when you get an o ring it is speced by 2 dimensions, the ID and the cross section diameter. In my experience when an oring "grows" it typically gets bigger in length (id) properly designed oring grooves are cut so the ID is a snug fit and there is a small amount sticking above the groove if the cross section is too small it will leak When you buy orings be aware the are SAE and Metric orings, and they generally don't interchange well.
Maybe I'm just an anal aircraft mech, but the total quantity of coolant per manual is 1.65 L. When draining you won't get it all out but I capture and measure it as best I can. If you drain ~1.3L then you need to add at least that much (bleeding system as stated in replies). Top up the bottle and do a few heating/cooling cycles to fine tune. BMW spec: <TABLE border=1 rules=all cellSpacing=0 borderColor=black cellPadding=0 width="100%" valign="TOP"><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 1mm; PADDING-LEFT: 1mm; PADDING-RIGHT: 1mm; PADDING-TOP: 1mm" class=fOne vAlign=top>Antifreeze </TD><TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 1mm; PADDING-LEFT: 1mm; PADDING-RIGHT: 1mm; PADDING-TOP: 1mm" class=fOne vAlign=top>Nitrite-free long-life antifreeze and corrosion inhibitor </TD><TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 1mm; PADDING-LEFT: 1mm; PADDING-RIGHT: 1mm; PADDING-TOP: 1mm" class=fOne vAlign=top> </TD><TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 1mm; PADDING-LEFT: 1mm; PADDING-RIGHT: 1mm; PADDING-TOP: 1mm" class=fOne vAlign=top>81 22 9 407 454 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Sorry for all the questions. There appears to be an ever so slight gap between the pipe flange? and the body of the oil cooler after I have tightend up the bolt. I have moved the pipe around to make sure it is seated correctly and everything seems fine. Should the flange not sit tight up to the oil cooler?.
I just walked out to my bike with a flashlight and looked at mine ... one is completely flush, the other nearly so ... I don't think the flanges are made with the most "exacting" tolerances .... If you have a small/irregular gap of ... say less than 0.020" then I would say it is normal if the gap is very large than something is wrong .... If I were a betting man I would be betting that you have the wrong o-ring.... some of the English dimension-ed o-rings are "close ... but no cigar" to their almost the same sized metric relatives.... I just bought an o-ring assortment that has both english and metric sizes and they are very hard to distinguish from each other .... ... e.g. a 9/16" x 3/32" is almost the same as a 14mm x 2mm but not quite ... The English o-ring is it's really 14.28mm x 2.38mm screwy stuff and hard to eyeball on a used o-ring...........
It is actually the old one that put back in. I haven't filled the system up with Coolant yet, I just wanted to see how the proper sized o ring seated compared with the skinnier one that I had previously put on