Simultaneous Power Steering Flush and Coolant Flush

[HoonCrepe]

Hello all,

I have 1999 BMW e36 M3. A little history. I had an issue where coolant escaped from my system and it sprayed everywhere. At that time I decided it would be a good time to just do a coolant flush. Well, just doing a coolant flush turned into replacing the aux fan, power steering lines, accessories (idler pulleys, tensioner assemblies, tensioner pulleys, and serpentine belt), alternator, upper and lower radiator hoses and the expansion tank hose. I am at the point where I need cycle through new power steering fluid and coolant. The issue I have is that with the power steering flush, I need to start the engine. I don't feel comfortable starting the engine with out any coolant. If I do the coolant first, the power steering pump will turn on when I start the engine and I would burn out the pump. Do you guys have any suggestions as to how I should go about completing both tasks?

Thank you.

[gdavid]

Don't worry about it, fill the power steering reservoir and the level won't drop much while you bleed the coolant system. Unless the steering wheel is turned, the power steering pump just builds up pressure and the pressure relief valve allows it to recirculate. The coolant system will give you plenty of time before you can start adding more coolant to it as well. You will find yourself standing there with plenty of time on your hands as the car warms up. Following the instructions and videos linked to this site for bleeding the coolant as it can be a pain. Remember to turn your heat on as well.

[HoonCrepe]

Okay, thank you for the quick response! The only issue I have is that I haven't fully tightened down the 22mm banjo bolt that attaches to power steering pump coming from the reservoir. The reason why I haven't done that is since the system hasn't been cycled yet, I didn't want to crush the new crush washers until it was complete. In order to get the system to pressurize while doing the coolant flush it sounds like I will have to torque the banjo bolt and thus "use" the crushwashers. Luckily I bought 2 additional crush washers for final installation because I thought that this was going to be an issue. I should have just used my old ones for the time being. I guess my next question is, is it okay to overfill the power steering reservoir in preparation for it being cycled through. In every single DIY I read the author puts a a lot of emphasis on being careful not to overfill the reservoir. The difference in my case being that I replaced all the lines which are theoretically empty except maybe a few drips. The rack should still have fluid in it since I haven't flushed the system yet.

[gdavid]

You can go ahead and tighten down on the banjo fitting but that line doesn't get pressurized, because it leads to the reservoir which is at atmospheric pressure so the line isn't under any pressure, it is the line to the steering rack that is pressurized. If you want to leave that fitting on the loose side just wrap a rag around it and it won't seep much but I would just go ahead and tighten it up and be done with it. You can work all of the air out of the steering system without loosening in lines up, so I would just go ahead and tighten everything up.

If you are leaving the lines loose in order to flush the system, that just sounds like a colossal mess, I would just syphon the fluid out of the reservoir and replace with fresh fluid a couple of times and call it good.

[shogun]

I would just syphon the fluid out of the reservoir and replace with fresh fluid a couple of times and call it good.
That is the best + easiest way to do it. I always do it that way. I never touch banjo bolts when they are not leaking.

[HoonCrepe]

Yeah it does sound like a mess. I will tighten down the bolt then go do the coolant flush then do the power steering flush using a siphon. I was on dougs domain and was going to follow his "optimal flush" instructions originally. Final question I think, is this coolant flush DIY the valid way to flush e36's?

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1709482-DIY-Video-Bleeding-the-air-out-of-the-cooling-system&highlight=coolant+flush

Thank you

[XnWarden]

For the power steering fluid, turn the wheel lock to lock several times and it will draw some of the fluid down.

You can start your car without antifreeze in it. Obviously you don't want to run it too long, but just cranking it up for a few seconds isnt going to hurt it. It takes several minutes for the engine to even reach temperature.

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