This question has probably been beat to death long ago but I need to ask again. Is a coolant flush on a 05 MCS pretty straight forward. Can anyone recommend the correct procedure, and drain or petcock location for draining the fluid. Thanks for the help.- The Goose

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co....php?p=2208307

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=138805

 

Flush and Fill kits are still available

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CCFY5W

 

So,

If someone could figure out WHICH heater hose to cut and post this........we could all save a bundle

 

If anyone is interested.......here are some lousy pics of the MC heater hoses where they enter the firewall. A bit farther down the hose there is already a T installed to air bleed the coolant system. So adding another for a Flush and Fill T should be fairly easy to do.

I plan to attempt this soon and try a DIY flush and fill as I can't stomach the $190 that shops want to do this

 

On the '02 heater hoses, the upper one is where the 'T' goes. The recommended hose is the one from the water pump to the heater core. The bleed fitting comes out and the 'T' goes in. No cutting required.
Run car 'till it's warm, heater on high. Shut off engine. Connect hose to 'T' (carefull! Hot!). Remove upper radiator hose at radiator. (Here's where it gets a little messy. I use a long flex hose to re-direct to recycle container) Turn on water. Flush until it runs clear. Remove garden hose and leave cap off 'T'. Fill system thru upper hose, adding until antifreeze comes out of 'T'. Reinstall radiator hose, replace cap on 'T'. Run car 'till it's warm and then bleed air as necessary. If I remember correctly, there are 4 bleed fittings in the cooling system. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
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Go here for diagram.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...19&hg=17&fg=05

I think the 'T's are #18. On mine, they are tucked down low below the master cylinder, but reachable.

 

[quote=Ancient Mariner;2238557. Remove upper radiator hose at radiator. (Here's where it gets a little messy. I use a long flex hose to re-direct to recycle container) -skip-[/quote]

Long flex hose ? Like a long radiator hose ? Where did you get one that long ?

 

Old fuel line hose from a friend that owns a repair shop. I think it was part of a fuel tank pump setup. It just fits inside the rad hose (barely, I lube it with soap) and it's about four feet long. Serendipity find -the best kind.

 

What is the Outside Diameter of your free fuel hose that you use ?

 

It's a little over 1 1/4". What I'd like to find is a plastic plumbing tee that could temporarily replace the 90 degree elbow that connects the top radiator hose to the hose running to the block (the elbow with the bleeder valve on it). Something that would allow me to hook up the drain hose and still leave the radiator connected to the block. As it is, I block off the radiator fitting with a piece of rubber, then flush. Then I block the hose from the block and flush some more. That insures both block and radiator get a thourough flush. I haven't done it since last fall, so memories are a little fuzzy. The curse of senior citizenship...
From all of my years of whacking on cars, the Mini seems to (comparatively) have a very clean cooling system. Not much junk comes out, but I like to know that the acids that form in the coolant are fully flushed.
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If you locate such a fitting, please post up the details.

Perhaps tap the side or bottom of the existing 90 to fit a brass male hose fitting that could be capped when not in use

http://www.plumbingstore.com/hoseadap.html

or in PVC

http://www.flexpvc.com/cart/agora.cg...ardenHose-Male

I am thinking....use the PVC [FONT=Arial]503-005 MGHose by 1/2 MPT and tap the 90 elbow with the vent to accept this fitting and thread and glue it into the elbow. Then fit it with a cap.[/FONT]
But since THE MAXIMUM SERVICE TEMPERATURE FOR PVC IS 140°F. I guess a brass or CPVC fitting would be required

 

Odd on this diagram the elbow with the vent fitting (8) seems to be attached to the lower radiator hose. But on my 04, this is on the upper rad hose

 

"But since THE MAXIMUM SERVICE TEMPERATURE FOR PVC IS 140°F. I guess a brass or CPVC fitting would be required"
I think it's actually 160°F, and ABS is 180°F. But that's distortion temperature at 264 psi. Another possibility you've noted (I'm looking into it) is CPVC; 212°F at 264 psi for class 23447 and 230°F for class 2448. I'd be pretty comfortable with any at the 13 - 16 psi running in car engines.
Footnote: My '02 has the vent fitting elbow on the upper radiator hose, plus ones on the heater hoses running into the firewall. If the vent wasn't so darn small, it would be easy to screw a brass fitting into it and attach a hose for draining, but it looks pretty restrictive.
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btw, I like Hillsboro. Nice area. My sister-in-law used to live there, and my Dad spent some formative years in Portland.

 

Am I the only one who doesn't want mineral laden tap water in my engine?
I only use distilled. It may leave a bit of old coolant, but I'd rather have old coolant than new minerals, and that can be addressed with a few flushes using distilled water.

 

Up here on the side of Mt. Rainier, the mineral content is pretty low, and if the flush and fill is done right, the incoming AF (I use 50/50 'cuz the water they add is distilled) forces the water out of the system. Pour it in as quickly as it will take it, the miniscule amount that mixes is hardly worth worrying about.
I know there are some areas that have such a high mineral content in the water that you could probably driy it out a little and use it for building materials. Eeeewwww! Have ta wash the taste out with a good glass of wine.
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The 140 came from the site that sells PVC fittings.

As far as the bleeder valves go, why not just drill these off the plastic and replace them with brass fittings that can accept a garden hose for flushing and draining? You can still crack the cap later to "bleed" the air out if need be. I will be trying brass. I will replace the OEM one on the heater hose with the one from the prestone kit and leave it there.
Then drill out the bleeder on the 90 at the radiator and replace it with a brass hose fitting.

As to Hillsboro, OK, but not my final resting site. Once I retire this year we will be looking for a different location

 

Not sure how you can flush with bottled water ??

If all you do is drain the radiator, most of the old coolant is still in the block............hence the power flush

 

Drain radiator, fill with distilled water. Most of the coolant capacity is in the radiator. After 2 cycles, it runs pretty clear.
My area has a LOT of mineral content, so I'd rather have some older coolant than that same amount of residual mineral content. YMMV, of course.

 

This is not an easy way to do this and I’m not suggesting it’s the best way, but I’ve had the opportunity to approach it the long way many times in the past five years. Pull the lower hose from the radiator, disconnect the upper hose and fan connectors, unbolt the radiator support and remove, tilt the radiator to drain any remaining fluid, tilt the hoses from the water pump downwards, unbolt the supercharger with water pump and pull from the block (plug the dipstick hole first), use a siphon to drain the fluid from the block. This will remove most of the old fluid in the system, but it will not “flush” mineral deposits which may have settled. I purchased a coolant system cleaner but have never used it because my old fluid lacks precipitate. The car did have muddy colored coolant during the break-in period and the system was flushed, after that it has always looked good. Although, I can’t say that about other MINIs I’ve seen.

 

oops

 

Dood! That's a lotta work! The reason I prefer the flushing 'T' is because if you install it on the correct heater hose (water pump to heater core), it reverse flushes the system. The precipitate of which you speak tends to build up in layers like fish scales (I've cut old hoses apart and seen it). The reverse flush helps loosen them. I'm not real fond of cooling system flush chemicals, they are not always friendly toward rubber, plastic, and seals.
Between jrprich and I, we're gonna come up with something that will make your toes curl. I think. Maybe.
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AM,

So we have a T in the heater line to push the water in.......easy with the Prestone kit.
But the hose fitting at the upper radiator hose has me confused. Wouldn't we need the drain hose to be at the lower radiator hose rather than the upper ?

BTW,

What do you use to hold the old coolant for disposal/recycle ?

 

I just had mine flushed yesterday. If you have a Valvoline lube shop in your area they will double flush it with G-05 and it is all done with vacuum. Very cool process and the holding tanks are clear so you can see the old and new coolant.