Changing the coolant on 1995 740i

[deadseasquirrels]

I am thinking about changing the coolant in my 95 740i. I have read some things about the strict specifications that BMWs have for coolant, but I was wondering if anybody has ever actually had an experience with using non BMW specific coolant and if that was alright.

My girlfriend bought some Prestone coolant (Dex-Cool), and it is supposedly really good. It certainly was expensive - $11 at pepboys. I was wondering if anybody has ever used that and if so, is it alright.

Also I would like to drain the coolant out first, is there a good guide somewhere that can direct me in how to do this. I am no car expert, but I think I am decently smart. Thanks for the help guys.

[dubumb]

http://www.bimmerzone.com/coolant.htm

hope that helps...

[jyep]

also check out e38.org for DIY, i heard any coolant that is "Phospate free" is OK for bmws.

don't forget to bleed out the system thoroughly, BMWs sometimes takes a couple of days to totally bleed out all the air......good luck

[deadseasquirrels]

I've heard some people flush the system out with water, like open up the valve and then put a hose through it. Is that advisable? That way you don't have to wait days for it to totally drain out.

[EXtech]

The proper way is to drain the block and the radiator. This involves removing the plug from the side of the engine block as well as the radiator. It shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to effectively drain the coolant.