B10 V8 coolant change interval

PliSsK · Post by **PliSsK** » Sun Sep 10, 2017 9:11 pm

How often are you changing your antifreeze? The current (?) E39 Alpina manual says to change it maximum every 3 years. BMW I guess are still saying lifetime lolwat so we can ignore that.

I'm personally only doing around 6k miles per year, so not sure if every 2 years as is often suggested by the motor trade in general is OTT or not. Cheers.

BarryM · Post by **BarryM** » Sun Sep 10, 2017 9:59 pm

I would say 2 years at 6k per year is reasonable, I only use OEM BMW at the right mix mind.

Gearbox oil is said to be sealed for life but I didn't know BMW said that about the coolant as well, however maybe they designed the E39 cooling system to fail regularly to ensure it's renewed quite often

PliSsK · Post by **PliSsK** » Mon Sep 11, 2017 6:51 pm

Thanks Barry. You get BMW branded concentrate from the stealer you mean? Or a cheaper G48 concentrate? You doing yours every 2 years then?

I was working from memory. Checking just now, the BMW E39 528i 540i manual I have from 2001 states to change the coolant every 4 years. I can only otherwise find a reference to coolant changes in the 1999 version of the Alpina Service Check List, which states every 4 years at the latest. A document I saw from an enthusiast Mike Miller, Old School BMW Maintenance Schedule, which stated that BMW changed the coolant change interval from 4 years to lifetime in 2004, which might explain why the stealer who serviced the car every year until very recently never performed a coolant change - although having said that they only did 2 brake fluid changes in that time too! The Comma G48 spec sheet says it has a service life of up to 5 years, whatever that means.

BarryM · Post by **BarryM** » Mon Sep 11, 2017 11:20 pm

I use the BMW coolant, maybe not strictly necessary but given how hot the V8 runs I figure every little helps.

In 5 years of ownership I've replaced most of the cooling system along with the valley pan gasket and most recently the timing chain guides so my coolant is def getting changed regularly!

TBH I hadn't really thought about how often to change it but if you're being thorough then every 2 or 3 years is probably more than adequate.

PliSsK · Post by **PliSsK** » Wed Sep 13, 2017 11:29 am

BarryM wrote:I use the BMW coolant, maybe not strictly necessary but given how hot the V8 runs I figure every little helps.

In 5 years of ownership I've replaced most of the cooling system along with the valley pan gasket and most recently the timing chain guides so my coolant is def getting changed regularly!

TBH I hadn't really thought about how often to change it but if you're being thorough then every 2 or 3 years is probably more than adequate.

Thanks for your input. I'm not sure in the short term coolant choice affects cooling efficiency but it will have an effect on corrosion inhibition and preventing sludging. If you are concerned about cooling efficiency then you might want to consider adding a compatible wetting agent, although I hear they aren't really necessary unless you take your car regularly to the track or live in a hot climate.

Good grief! You're way ahead of the DIY game here compared to me. The valley pan gasket job must have taken a few hours! Once you settle down with maintenance jobs I'm sure you'll settle into a coolant change rhythm. It's been 2 years since the last coolant flush, and I agree that 3 years is probably the maximum I would want to entertain, so after having just done the oil change last weekend, I'll be doing the coolant at some point in the not too distant future. Cheers.

PliSsK · Post by **PliSsK** » Wed Sep 13, 2017 6:17 pm

Barry, how many miles has your car done now, and how did you diagnose the valley pan gasket and timing chain guides? Was the former causing a leak from the bottom of the engine and the latter making a crunching sound?