[NoobCola]

A little back story to my situation, my idiot self wasn't paying attention and ran up on a curb and hit a traffic delineator. No chassis warning, rim is fine and alignment seems fine there's no noticeable pull to the steering. But for whatever reason I opened my coolant reservoir so the hot coolant flowed back into the reservoir way above the fill line. Drove home which took about 15 minutes through city street hoping it would just suck it back in to the system but it didn't. I want to take the car into the shop but won't have funds to do that until next week and I have a really important job interview tomorrow so I can't really afford to be with out a car right now. Any advice if I can hopefully remedy this problem myself or any information as to what's going on would be very much appreciated. Wondering how bad it would be still drive like this. My engine oil temperature never went above normal operation although it got close but started dropping again quickly.

EDIT: Let the car cool off a bit and the coolant level is dropping within the expansion tank, it's close to normal range. I'm still slightly concerned about the curb I hit about what problems might arise from that even though everything seems fine now.

[Wgosma]

You likely have air entrapped into the cooling water from opening the system when it was hot. Go here https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/ and put in the last 7 digits of the car's VIN number and search for 'cooling system'...you may have to dig a bit but you should be able t find a procedure to 'bleed' the air from the system.

I'd be VERY cautious about driving the car any distance/time as it sits right now......you do NOT want to overheat the motor, doing so can do major damage in a short length of time. Your car if it gets too hot will likely go into 'limp mode' and it will slow down and tell you to get it to a shop or turn off the motor, etc.

IF you bleed this system and need to add coolant...use distilled water instead of tap water. Be mindful that that 'reservoir' is an expansion tank - it should NOT be filled to the brim, there needs to be a fair amount of air in there for the coolant to expand when it gets hot (you know all about that now) and NOT create overpressure that could crack that plastic tank. Look in the bottom of the tank as there will be something there to indicate to you the proper fill level.

Good luck/Bill

[NoobCola]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

You likely have air entrapped into the cooling water from opening the system when it was hot. Go here https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/ and put in the last 7 digits of the car's VIN number and search for 'cooling system'...you may have to dig a bit but you should be able t find a procedure to 'bleed' the air from the system.

I'd be VERY cautious about driving the car any distance/time as it sits right now......you do NOT want to overheat the motor, doing so can do major damage in a short length of time. Your car if it gets too hot will likely go into 'limp mode' and it will slow down and tell you to get it to a shop or turn off the motor, etc.

IF you bleed this system and need to add coolant...use distilled water instead of tap water. Be mindful that that 'reservoir' is an expansion tank - it should NOT be filled to the brim, there needs to be a fair amount of air in there for the coolant to expand when it gets hot (you know all about that now) and NOT create overpressure that could crack that plastic tank. Look in the bottom of the tank as there will be something there to indicate to you the proper fill level.

Good luck/Bill

Thanks for the information much appreciation to you. I let the car sit for awhile and just went and checked on it without starting it and the coolant level went down, I want to say it's about a centimeter until it's back at normal range within the expansion tank. You think if the coolant level eventually l drops within the normal range I should be fine without bleeding the air? I'm gonna check again once the car is completely cooled off.

[Wgosma]

Originally Posted by NoobCola

Thanks for the information much appreciation to you. I let the car sit for awhile and just went and checked on it without starting it and the coolant level went down, I want to say it's about a centimeter until it's back at normal range within the expansion tank. You think if the coolant level eventually l drops within the normal range I should be fine without bleeding the air? I'm gonna check again once the car is completely cooled off.

It might be ok, but can't be 100% certain. The gauge on your dash shows the engine OIL temperature. It might not be a bad idea to learn how to have the car display the WATER temperature; to do that you need to access the 'hidden menu' and the car must be ignition ON to do so, one video here

and there are other video's illustrating same info w/narration.

This would be a good thing to do next time you get the car going - you can watch both the analog dash gauge (Oil temp) and water temp at same time (via hidden menu)....water temp should run around 100C when car is at full operational conditions. If you see water temp stable at/near 100C or so you should be ok driving the car.

Good luck/Bill

[NoobCola]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

It might be ok, but can't be 100% certain. The gauge on your dash shows the engine OIL temperature. It might not be a bad idea to learn how to have the car display the WATER temperature; to do that you need to access the 'hidden menu' and the car must be ignition ON to do so, one video here

and there are other video's illustrating same info w/narration.

This would be a good thing to do next time you get the car going - you can watch both the analog dash gauge (Oil temp) and water temp at same time (via hidden menu)....water temp should run around 100C when car is at full operational conditions. If you see water temp stable at/near 100C or so you should be ok driving the car.

Good luck/Bill

Seriously man thanks a lot you're a lifesaver, I'm gonna let the car sit overnight and tomorrow I'll have it display the water temp on my way to where I need to go tomorrow. I know the gauge is the oil temp but my logic behind it was if the oil temperature is rising then the coolants not really doing its job like it's supposed to. I know at this point it's at my own risk I'm gonna drive light and check the reservoir once I get to my destination and hope for the best

[Wgosma]

Originally Posted by NoobCola

Seriously man thanks a lot you're a lifesaver, I'm gonna let the car sit overnight and tomorrow I'll have it display the water temp on my way to where I need to go tomorrow. I know the gauge is the oil temp but my logic behind it was if the oil temperature is rising then the coolants not really doing its job like it's supposed to. I know at this point it's at my own risk I'm gonna drive light and check the reservoir once I get to my destination and hope for the best

Car should warn you of overtemp with limp mode and the like- keep eye on the gauges and you'll be OK.

[NoobCola]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

Car should warn you of overtemp with limp mode and the like- keep eye on the gauges and you'll be OK.

Just took the car out for a short drive because my nerves were killing me and I wanted to make sure it was ok. Got into the hidden menu and monitored the coolant temperature while I was driving. Highest it went up to was 110c getting on the freeway but dropped very quickly to 100c. Coolant level is just right above the max fill line still but now that recall that was the coolant level when I drove off the lot from the Bmw dealer. Car is CPO I'm wondering if I should take it in and have them drain a little bit or is that amount not worth trouble and I'm just being a bit paranoid?

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by NoobCola

Just took the car out for a short drive because my nerves were killing me and I wanted to make sure it was ok. Got into the hidden menu and monitored the coolant temperature while I was driving. Highest it went up to was 110c getting on the freeway but dropped very quickly to 100c. Coolant level is just right above the max fill line still but now that recall that was the coolant level when I drove off the lot from the Bmw dealer. Car is CPO I'm wondering if I should take it in and have them drain a little bit or is that amount not worth trouble and I'm just being a bit paranoid?

A bit above the MAX arrow should be OK.

[Wgosma]

Level is not super critical- if near the mark it's fine. Looks like temp is stable- just keep eye on temp gauge it tomorrow's drive.

Just open to check level with cold motor- level drops bit as water cools, and dangerous to open when hot, just never do that.

[NoobCola]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

Level is not super critical- if near the mark it's fine. Looks like temp is stable- just keep eye on temp gauge it tomorrow's drive.

Just open to check level with cold motor- level drops bit as water cools, and dangerous to open when hot, just never do that.

Yea I have no idea why I did that I was panicking and decided to open it I have no idea why. I realized immediately after I messed up

[Tchao]

If they havent made it clear yet, you need to bleed the system again.

Opening the coolant system when hot will depressurize it, and cause the hot areas in the block and head to boil and create massive air pockets.

If you are not comfortable running the bleeding procedure, at least run the car when its cold with the cap open for 5mins to allow the air to reach the expansion tank again.

[NoobCola]

Originally Posted by Tchao

If they havent made it clear yet, you need to bleed the system again.

Opening the coolant system when hot will depressurize it, and cause the hot areas in the block and head to boil and create massive air pockets.

If you are not comfortable running the bleeding procedure, at least run the car when its cold with the cap open for 5mins to allow the air to reach the expansion tank again.

So even though coolant temperature was stable on my drive to work this morning and expansion tank level is pretty much at the fill line there could still be an issue with air in the cooling lines? I would feel comfortable bleeding but unless I'm looking at the wrong repair instructions it requires special tools which I don't have but I'll go ahead and run the car when it's cold with the expansion tank open better safe than sorry.

[Wgosma]

It's possible there is air; air will often cause erratic high spikes in coolant temperature, often quite short duration.

Since you don't have a water coolant gauge on the dash you have no way of detecting a spike in temp (unless you always engaged the parameter via hidden menu, bit of a pain).

The other posters idea of running the motor from few minutes with expansion tank cap loose/removed is of value to get air out - not as good as full bleed procedure but most likely adequate in your situation.

[NoobCola]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

It's possible there is air; air will often cause erratic high spikes in coolant temperature, often quite short duration.

Since you don't have a water coolant gauge on the dash you have no way of detecting a spike in temp (unless you always engaged the parameter via hidden menu, bit of a pain).

The other posters idea of running the motor from few minutes with expansion tank cap loose/removed is of value to get air out - not as good as full bleed procedure but most likely adequate in your situation.

Yea it's a bit of a pain but for now until I can bleed it properly I'm using the coolant temp via hidden menu. I did notice a couple spikes but they were very short and temp dropped back almost immediately. Nothing over 110c. I read in another forum thread that max coolant temp is 111c and anything above that is concerning.

[Wgosma]

Originally Posted by NoobCola

Yea it's a bit of a pain but for now until I can bleed it properly I'm using the coolant temp via hidden menu. I did notice a couple spikes but they were very short and temp dropped back almost immediately. Nothing over 110c. I read in another forum thread that max coolant temp is 111c and anything above that is concerning.

I'm not sure the temp at which your car's thermostat opens, but yeah the system when working properly will vary coolant temp- so that is likely exactly what you're seeing in the 100-110 fluctuation.

A true 'spike' due to trapped air would say drive the reading to 125C or higher ....and very quickly, wham up it goes/went.

[NoobCola]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

I'm not sure the temp at which your car's thermostat opens, but yeah the system when working properly will vary coolant temp- so that is likely exactly what you're seeing in the 100-110 fluctuation.

A true 'spike' due to trapped air would say drive the reading to 125C or higher ....and very quickly, wham up it goes/went.

Good to know. From what I was reading from another post someone was saying 105c it opens up and after monitoring the coolant temp I think safe to say it does. Saw a steady rise up until 105c where after that for the most part it stabilized around 100c. I'm still going to run it cold with a cap open anyways though for safe measures.

[NoobCola]

Thanks again though everyone for all the information. The community here in this forum is great the willingness to want to help every restores my faith in humanity. I'm just a little worried about the curb still. I'm taking the car in for an alignment check as soon as I can to see if that's still good but is there anything else I should look for? I'm going to put the car up on ramps ASAP(it's currently raining in my area or i would have already) and visually inspect the side that went over the curb with the side that didn't to see how it's looking. I'm chalking this up to dumb luck that I didn't get any chassis error or anything like that even the rim is completely fine.

[Tchao]

Originally Posted by NoobCola

I'm looking at the wrong repair instructions it requires special tools

Bleeding on BMWs since the early 90's have been idiot proof easy.
Zero special tools required. And on the F-series, it's even easier with the electric water pump and their programed bleeding operation.
But no matter what the expansion tank is where the air will eventually go. So even if you dont bleed it right or any at all, most of the air will end up there as it should.

Id just check on alignment and call it a day. I think you are over worried.

[natesi]

There's a way to turn the electric water pump on and bleed the system, while the car is off. This video outlines it:

[NoobCola]

Originally Posted by Tchao

Bleeding on BMWs since the early 90's have been idiot proof easy.
Zero special tools required. And on the F-series, it's even easier with the electric water pump and their programed bleeding operation.
But no matter what the expansion tank is where the air will eventually go. So even if you dont bleed it right or any at all, most of the air will end up there as it should.

Id just check on alignment and call it a day. I think you are over worried.

Expansion tank is good now but thanks and yea I tend to over worry about things lol. I always tell myself not to worry it's fine but it's nice to have someone else confirm that for me as well