135i coolant capacity?

[rudyv1]

Does anyone know what the full coolant capacity is in a 2008 135i Vert with auto transmission? also, which coolant type can I use?

Pipe broke and it all drained out while engine was on, so I need to fill the entire system. The BMW manual states the coolant is good for the life of the vehicle and does not state the capacity

Thank you

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by rudyv1

Does anyone know what the full coolant capacity is in a 2008 135i Vert with auto transmission? also, which coolant type can I use?

Pipe broke and it all drained out while engine was on, so I need to fill the entire system. The BMW manual states the coolant is good for the life of the vehicle and does not state the capacity

Thank you

A full drain including the engine block will be about 11 litres. If it leaked out you will have lost about half of the system fill. 4 litres of BMW coolant plus 4 litres of distilled water for a 50/50 mix is what you need. Don't use just any coolant, there are not many that meet the BMW spec, to be safe just use the BMW product.

If the engine ran while warm with no coolant in the cylinder head, there is a possibility that the head may be warped, you need to keep a close eye out for head gasket failure (oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil is a good indicator).

[Lester]

How would you check for coolant in the oil? You used to be able to see it on the dip stick.

[raisemyrent]

it has a floaty dipstick, for the lack of a better term. Go and check yours.

good for the life of the engine? I did not see that section, in fact it recommends you add only BMW coolant (which is about 30 bucks). I did, because I got a warning a couple times, it was sporadic, until I started getting it every time (this was over a couple days, and the car was parked most of this time, and never overheated, in case you were about to flame!). Anyhow, it never triggered anything else, after I added some. It took about 2 litres? I did not check, just trusted the floaty dipstick.

Now, did I miss something and there shouldn't have been a reason for the engine to need coolant? I read somewhere in here that it slooowly evaporates away... don't they teach in school that there is no such thing as 100%, so to speak? as in, how can it not need coolant EVER? I can see it not needing complete flushes-out, but no tops-off?

Either way, I will have a word with service I guess and mention it to them... if they care or even give me a good answer... they probably won't... when I bought the coolant he said you need to mix it with water, and I said, distilled right, and he said, nah, tap water is fine (I used reverse osmosis from my reef aquarium). This was the parts sales guy though.
The car went for its 25k oil change right after though... not that they would've noticed anything, especially if their FOB reader was broken.

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by Lester

How would you check for coolant in the oil? You used to be able to see it on the dip stick.

You look on the underside of the oil cap for excessive "mayonnaise"

[rudyv1]

Thank you kindly for this information, it's exactly what I needed

Rudy

Originally Posted by aerobod

A full drain including the engine block will be about 11 litres. If it leaked out you will have lost about half of the system fill. 4 litres of BMW coolant plus 4 litres of distilled water for a 50/50 mix is what you need. Don't use just any coolant, there are not many that meet the BMW spec, to be safe just use the BMW product.

If the engine ran while warm with no coolant in the cylinder head, there is a possibility that the head may be warped, you need to keep a close eye out for head gasket failure (oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil is a good indicator).