Refill and bleed procedure for p38 coolant system
- Thread starter megliam
- Start date
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j the range
New Member
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- liverpool
dont try to rush it what i do is fill up from hether tank but not to top then start up leave cap off turn heating on hot full and keep topping up. you can be lucky and do it first time or you can be at it all day
Rangey-V8
Formerly known as Simon1975
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- Chelmsford
If you have Rave, its all in there.
For my P38 BMW diesel, I removed drain plug at the bottom of the radiator AND there is a drain screw on the cylider head (tricky to find, its located underneath).
Once drained, put screw and drain plug back in, fill up at header tank until you can get no more in, start engine, keep topping up until it will accept no more, top hose will become hot after 10 mins or so. re check over next few days.
No mention of having heater on hot in Rave and I left mine as it was, in fact I didnt even think about that.
No problems at all from mine at all after doing this job, easy!
For my P38 BMW diesel, I removed drain plug at the bottom of the radiator AND there is a drain screw on the cylider head (tricky to find, its located underneath).
Once drained, put screw and drain plug back in, fill up at header tank until you can get no more in, start engine, keep topping up until it will accept no more, top hose will become hot after 10 mins or so. re check over next few days.
No mention of having heater on hot in Rave and I left mine as it was, in fact I didnt even think about that.
No problems at all from mine at all after doing this job, easy!
I'm going to attempt to flush and change the coolant on my P38 DSE.
Any other hints and tips?
Also, what is the capacity of the system so I can mix up the right amount?
Are the drain plugs easy to reach?
Also, is the drain screw on the head essential? Where is it?
Any other hints and tips?
Also, what is the capacity of the system so I can mix up the right amount?
Are the drain plugs easy to reach?
Also, is the drain screw on the head essential? Where is it?
Irishrover
Well-Known Member
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- La Trimouille, Vienne, France
50/50 mix of GOOD anti freeze and, as others have posted....follow the instructions on RAVE.
robp38
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- north devon
edc see my post called rave
gavbriggs
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Thanks Rob - downloading now!!!
Job done today. No air locks! I just went for the rad drain plug and not the cylinder head one as well. Once all drained I stuck a hose pipe in the expansion tank to flush anything else through and upped the pressure and fed hose directly into rad. On the first refill you can squeeze all the hoses to get air out. It tales a minute or so of the engine on until the level goes back down again then you need to make sure you have enough coolant mixture made up to top up with - that caught me out at first and I had to switch off and start up again. Top hose hot. Switch off, cool down and re-check. All good
I don't know if there is a suitable size nut to fit the drain plug but an adjustable wrench round the outside was good enough.
I don't know if there is a suitable size nut to fit the drain plug but an adjustable wrench round the outside was good enough.
v8hotrodboy
Active Member
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Its 21mm i think
Irishrover
Well-Known Member
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- La Trimouille, Vienne, France
The plastic drain plugs are crap. They are cheap enough to buy but I found a company called "Zeus Products" some years ago who made Brass ones. They used to advertise in all the LR magazines. Only need to change the "O" ring now and again after a couple of coolant changes.
markowl
New Member
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- middlesbrough cleveland
hi there can you tell me what side the dran plug is on the rad left or right side
Buttas
New Member
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- ballymoney, N.Ireland
Ok, a newb question here but bear with me lol
When topping up, with the engine ticking over, what level should the coolant be in the header bottle? At the "cold level" marking? Full to the top?
When topping up, with the engine ticking over, what level should the coolant be in the header bottle? At the "cold level" marking? Full to the top?
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- Preston Lancs.
Job done today. No air locks! I just went for the rad drain plug and not the cylinder head one as well. Once all drained I stuck a hose pipe in the expansion tank to flush anything else through and upped the pressure and fed hose directly into rad. On the first refill you can squeeze all the hoses to get air out. It tales a minute or so of the engine on until the level goes back down again then you need to make sure you have enough coolant mixture made up to top up with - that caught me out at first and I had to switch off and start up again. Top hose hot. Switch off, cool down and re-check. All good
I don't know if there is a suitable size nut to fit the drain plug but an adjustable wrench round the outside was good enough.
Head or block drain is only used if you are removing cylinder head to stop coolant getting in sump. If you are changing a water pump i think you will find removing that drains the block quite quickly.
