A week ago I did a coolant flush, and put in a new 50/50 mix of BMW coolant and distilled water. I drained from both blue drain plugs up front, as well as the plug on the engine block. When I refilled, I bled it to the best of my ability, with the bleeder valve open, I filled it till it got full and dribbled out, then the level would subside as air excaped, and I repeated this process a few times until the level no longer dropped. Tightened the bleeder screw, and everything was good. Made a few trips, totalling maybe 100 miles. Everything was gravy, my temp gauge was where it should be I had hot heat, all good. But then a few days ago my low coolant light came on, so I topped it off, and took another short trip. On this trip I noticed my heat was not warm at all, and after 10-15 minutes, low coolant light came on again. So I took it back home, topped it off again. It never was more than a few ounces low each time. While all of this was going on, my temp gauge never went past the halfway mark. So last night I went for another short drive. The temp gauge was in the middle, low coolant light never came on, but my heat was still not warm. So I went home. When I pulled into my neighborhood, temp gauge was still in the middle. In the time it took me to turn around and back into the garage, the temp gauge went into the red, but there was no low coolant light or any warning lights of any kind. I immediately shut the car off. It was late so I didnt pop the hood, but I felt the hood and it was ice cold, so idk if this was a false reading or what?? Upon further inspection the next day, I did notice that there was a little coolant that appeared to have over flown and there was residue on top of the radiator, but not a large amount. Keep in mind, on the last trip, when the temp gauge went into the red, the low coolant light never came on. Where would the coolant be overflowing from? The radiator cap? I am assuming that somehow there is still air trapped inside and the water pump is not moving the coolant through the system, and thats why my heat isnt working?? But that makes no sense, I am pretty sure I bled the system completely. Also, if the system wasnt bled properly, why would I get 100 trouble free miles with warm heat before any issues arose?? Does anyone have any ideas? did I not bleed the system right? Please help.... :ben:
The car is an 01 330ci, 106k miles, all stock
The car is an 01 330ci, 106k miles, all stock