S38B35 - cooling system service

Specific conversations and info for the BMW E28 M5 and M535i.
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JND
Posts: 88
Joined: Aug 30, 2015 5:19 PM
Location: South shore, MA

S38B35 - cooling system service

Post by JND »

Good morning mye28,

Is there an S38B35 cooling system service write-up that I missed in my search?

I've gathered a few pieces of information through some posts here (such as self-bleeding, block drain bolt location), but haven't been able to find a beginning-to-end discussion, and don't want not to take any chances with information I may not have found.

I'm looking for a simple drain, flush (not as necessary for me; 9 month old coolant/service that I lost to a failed hose), refill, and (self?) bleed.

Thank you all!
Randomg
Posts: 480
Joined: Jul 12, 2007 3:12 PM
Location: Seattle

Re: S38B35 - cooling system service

Post by Randomg »

There's really not much to it. The drain plug is a little hard to get to and I find it hard to drain without it being a mess. Also on the US m5/6 radiator, there's no drain plug so after the block is nearly done you have to drain the rest of the radiator by removing the hoses and tilting it over until it's empty. Otherwise, the e24 m6 official shop manual as well as bmw torque specs can be found pretty easily on the internet for all of the official steps.

Remove coolant reservoir cap, remove drain plug at the rear exhaust side of the block, a little down and to to the left from the head oil return pipe if I remember correctly. I think it's a 19mm drain plug, my next would be 21mm, and my last guess would be 17mm. Expect coolant to go everywhere unless you can get a funnel or something up near the opening. Remove the fan and its shroud. Then I think it's best to remove the hose from the radiator to the thermostat at the thermostat end, then loosen the clamp on the radiator end so you can rotate and bend that hose down into the pan. Once it stops draining from the lower outlet of the radiator, you should be able to remove it and tilt it to get the rest out. Put everything back and fill up the reservoir until the level stays at the line. System should self bleed.
JND
Posts: 88
Joined: Aug 30, 2015 5:19 PM
Location: South shore, MA

Re: S38B35 - cooling system service

Post by JND »

Thank you for the detailed explanation and for helping me to confirm that there were no missed steps.

I didn’t have such luck when searching for manuals; I’ve relied on the e28 Bentley when it’s relevant to the the car.

You wouldn’t happen to have a link handy to one you know/trust, would you?

I do see a number that all redirect to different sites asking $15, they just seem sketchy though.

I have been able to find the electrical troubleshooting manual with ease however. Thankfully I have no use for it yet.
Randomg
Posts: 480
Joined: Jul 12, 2007 3:12 PM
Location: Seattle

Re: S38B35 - cooling system service

Post by Randomg »

I forget that google gives people different results, bigcoupegroup used to not require an account, clicked around to find this thread with the two you need

https://bigcoupe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=31091
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