2014 E63S coolant change

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kevm14
Posts: 15282
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

2014 E63S coolant change

Post by kevm14 »

This was totally unplanned but I did not like the appearance of the coolant in the tank. It was kind of....brown? Best case I think the coolant is either beyond its life (it's been done before so this is unlikely) or someone mixed some stuff in the past. I do know that mixing the newer, environmentally friendly G40 (I think 2015 and newer cars received this) with the older blue G48 can cause issues so perhaps this happened. Or maybe someone mixed the yellow G05 with G48. Or maybe I did. Worst case I have something bad happening (like oil in the coolant). The oil seemed fine so I don't believe I have any significant coolant in the oil (though Blackstone will be the judge of that). Anyway I made an impromptu decision to change it which is one of the services I have never performed on this car.

There was no convenient lower hose to disconnect so I elected to use the radiator drain valve. Just slid a hose onto the nipple, opened the plastic valve, and let it drain.

Filling is fun and super easy with my vacuum filler.
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Learning from the past I let it get a -27 in-Hg vacuum which is pretty deep, then open the valve. Once the vacuum equalizes and it has sucked in all it can, I lifted the tool from the tank and inspected the level. It was dead nuts perfect. However I added a bit extra because I have found it can drop a little after running the car. So I have this pretty perfected. I am glad I got that sketchy stuff out of there. I had previously done the intercooler circuit (which is isolated on the S-model).

I need to check the level since it has been sitting all night but it's probably damn close.

If it turns brown again I guess I will change it again but after that things get a little more serious. Hopefully it's fine. Oil in the coolant isn't nearly as bad as coolant in the oil. But, oil in the coolant would seem to support the eventual possibility of coolant in the oil, so it would need to be diagnosed and repaired if I actually confirm that to be the case. Again, hopefully it's fine. There are a number of possibilities with these, though what comes to mind is the oil cooler itself (not the end of the world), or this deadly seal behind the timing cover (which would be a VERY labor intensive job).
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