Actually did this just last night (on my 2011 X5 35i)...
Quote:
Originally Posted by edco
What did you do first? (which parts removed? hoses? which one first?
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- Unbolted the expansion tank first so it could be pushed out of the way for a tiny bit more room (probably not necessary though).
- Disconnected the wire to the valve.
- Pulled the valve out of the brackets. There are the 2 on either end, plus one in the back. No tools necessary...just pulls out by hand.
- Disconnected the 2 hoses on the front side of the car, then the one on the back.
- Dropped a hose clamp down in the depths and spent 30 minutes finding it and fishing it out.
- Everything in reverse to put it all back together.
- Bleed and fill (see below)
Quote:
Originally Posted by edco
Did you clamp the hoses using a tool that looks a bit like a vice-grip?
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I clamped one of them with a C-Clamp, but it didn't work well and I lost probably 3/4 of a gallon of coolant. The top 2 hoses didn't have much (they feed into the exchanger), but the bottom is the input line so has a lot. In hindsight, I'd probably disconnect the top 2 first, then the bottom one to minimize the loss.
You will lose some coolant either way, so make sure to have some on hand before you start.
Quote:
Originally Posted by edco
How did you remove any air that may have got into the system?
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There's an automatic bleed process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzk9yvFXsBI
I ran the bleed and fill process twice, then drove it a bit, waited for it to cool, and topped it off again.
The whole process took about 2 hours (not including cleaning up all the spilled coolant).