"Burping" My M3?

[Ed Wodzienski <general@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All:

Do I have to "burp" my 98 M3? According to the dealer I did. (And didn't
even know it!)

Whatthe? you ask? Well I was leaving a client site late one evening and get
in to start my car, and before I could click it the the start position, I
noticed the OBC displaying "CHECK COOLANT <blink> SEE OWNERS MANUAL
<repeat>". I grabbed the flashlight (hmm, now I see why they make it
standard equipment ;)) and found the coolant tank completely DRY!
Concerned, I filled the tank with filtered water and drove home keeping a
close eye on the temp gauge. Nothing happened, and the tank has stayed full
for over three days with no problems.

When I took it to the dealer, he said they did a pressure test and found no
problems. They said that BMW says it could take a YEAR or TWO to finally
get the air out of the system. Is this true? Wouldn't BMW put a bleeder
valve in the high point of the cooling system to allow air to be removed
from the system? Why would it happen all of a sudden? Wouldn't the air
pocket cause an overheating situation in the area where the air pocket was?

TIA for any information anyone can provide,

Ed

- --
Ed Wodzienski (E3)
'98 M3/4 via Euro Del w/Euro Headlights (Waiting to be sharked)
'90 Ninja ZX-7

------------------------------