Added 5 litres of coolant without bleeding

Hey guys,

The coolant light in my E46 318i came on and I didn't know what type of coolant it used so I decided to top it up with demineralised water. 5 litres of it. I didn't think it would need that much and I didn't think to open the bleed screw to let the air out as I was adding water.

The mechanic is about 50 kilometers away. Will I make the trip or did I dun goof up?

Thanks,
d.

I would not recommend driving the car 50 kilometers on distilled water with a cooling system issue. How old is the cooling system and have you determined what components need to be replaced? Odds are you can do a refresh for far less than what your mechanic would charge and it's a pretty easy project with plenty of DIY's and videos posted online.

You will be fine. Go ahead and bleed the system upon filling it up only when the bleeder is open. Once while filling and it leaked from the bleeder screw tighten the cap then the screw. Drive till middle temp. The repeat after driving 2 miles. Don't ever open the expiation water cap while hot or even warm. Just the bleader screw slightly to let water out them as u see steam come out its working. As soon as u see only a steady steel of water tighten the bleeder screw. Ur now in good shape to drive. Stop every 10 miles to rest the car. Also pit the heater on 91 degrees and mid fan. Without the AC button or recycle mode. U will get hot so open the windows. Good luck. Also this is just my experience and advice. Not responsible for anything just giving you what I would do. Good luck.

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should you ever decide to drive with a faulty cooling system, keep an eye on your engine temp. Use the obc special functions. I think it is 7.0.