Attention! All work must be carried out on a cold engine. The coolant temperature is less than +40°C.
The BMW X5 E53 coolant must be replaced in the following order.
- Put the car motionless on a flat area and remove the cap from the expansion tank, securing your hand with a large piece of cloth, if the engine has not yet completely cooled down. Loosen the air bleed screw on the radiator hose (engines «M62» And «N62») or on the expansion tank (engines «M54» And «M57»).
- Remove stiffener plate and front underbody trim Place a clean container under the radiator and use a large flathead screwdriver to unscrew the drain plug at the bottom of the radiator, engine «M62» (pic. 2.39), engine «M54» And «M57» (pic. 2.40).
![](https://www.bmwman.ru/img/x5/0141.jpg)
![](https://www.bmwman.ru/img/x5/0142.jpg)
Substitute a clean container under the cylinder block and unscrew the drain plug with a wrench (2.41) on the cylinder block, which is located under the exhaust manifold.
![](https://www.bmwman.ru/img/x5/0143.jpg)
Completely drain the coolant from the system and send it for recycling.
- Check the condition of the radiator and heater hoses and their clamps. Replace defective parts. Remove the damaged radiator and send it to a specialized workshop.
- Install the drain plug on the cylinder block (M14x1.5) with new gasket (A14x18) and tighten to 25 N.m (2.5 kgf·m).
- Screw the drain plug into the radiator, tightening it on the engine «M62» torque 2.5 N.m (0.25 kgf·m), on engines «M54» And «M57» - torque 8.0 N.m (0.8 kgf·m). You can use a coin.
Flushing the cooling system must be carried out in the following order. Drain the coolant from the system, do not install plugs. Install transparent drain hoses on the drain holes. Rinse the radiator with clean running water in large quantities, plumbing will do. Rinse until then. while from the hoses (or drain holes) clean water didn't come out. So you can only remove deposits from the cooling system.
- A chemical coolant cleaner must be used to remove rust and scale. The procedure for its use is described by the manufacturer on the packaging label (vial). After removal (plum) all chemical cleaner, flush the engine cooling system with running water as described above.
- Reinstall the drain plugs of the cooling system, see above.
- When installing an external expansion tank in the engine cooling system («M62») it is necessary to remove the overflow hose from it, drain the cooler, rinse it separately with clean water and connect it to the engine cooling system.
- Checking the quality of the coolant must be carried out in the following order. Fill the system with only high-quality coolant and in accordance with the climatic conditions of the vehicle. For the European region of Russia, this temperature is up to -35°C. Prepare a device for checking the density of the coolant - a hydrometer.
- Take a liquid sample from the expansion tank or coolant storage tank with a hydrometer. Take readings of the device, the density should be within 1.080-1.085 r / cm3. For reasons of corrosion resistance, the ratio of water to ethylene glycol must be maintained throughout the year (antifreeze) about 50:50.
- The engine cooling system must be filled in the following order. Fill the expansion tank with new coolant to the brim. Cover the radiator vent plug with a clean rag. The plug is located on the expansion tank (see fig. 2.22), pipe or radiator, depending on the vehicle's engine configuration. Open the vent plug (air removal plug).
- Top up with new coolant until a liquid comes out of the vent plug that does not contain air bubbles. Close the vent plug and restore the coolant level in the expansion tank, see fig. 2.22.
- Close the expansion tank with a stopper and start the engine. turn on the heating and ventilation unit in the mode «Warm» («Warm») and warm up the engine until the viscous fan clutch turns on. At the same time, maintain the shaft speed in the region of 2500 min'1. In the process of removing air from the system, the liquid level will drop to the mark «MIN» on the expansion tank and even lower. Stop the engine and let it cool down to 20-30°C.
- Open the cap on the expansion tank and restore the coolant level. Level OK (M62), if the end of the red float is flush with the top edge of the filler neck (arrow, see fig. 2.22). Open the vent plugs again and make sure that the liquid comes out without air bubbles.
- Check the expansion tank cap seals, install the cap and tighten it. Visually check the cooling system for leaks. Especially in places where hoses are joined and plugs are installed. The hoses must be far away from the connecting pipes and tightly grasped with screw clamps. The appearance of coolant under the pump indicates damage to the pump seal. Replace pump.