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Cooling system issues LS1 swapped BMW E46

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Old Oct 24, 2022 | 11:44 AM
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TiltedWheel's Avatar
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Default Cooling system issues LS1 swapped BMW E46

I'm having some issues with air buildup in my cooling system.
Lowered E46 with a 5.3 LM7 used for drifting.
Mishimoto slim fan
trailblazer water pump
heater core is disconnected, heater hoses just loop and the reservoir drains out the bottom back to the 3way connector
water wetter/distilled water instead of coolant

The radiator is the lowest part of the system, and the upper rad hose seems to be the highest point as it keeps air locking, (but the resevoir cap is higher than the rad hose?) I've tried venting the steam ports into different parts of the system and it doesn't seem to make a difference. The car runs between 190-210 and never goes over 210, it just pushes water out of the system after 3 laps. Upper rad hose is full of air too.

I'm concerned the force of drifting corners at high rmp is allowing the water pump to pull air from the reservoir

Pic shows resevoir height in relation to upper rad hose, we mounted it at this height and leveled it. 2012 tahoe resevoir.

General engine bay pic, not showing resevoir but how little room we have to work with.


At this point I'm thinking I need a custom low profile metal expansion tank that will fit above the intake and a swirl pot to get the air out. Any help or insight is appreciated, I've attached some pics but I need to take some better ones later.

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Old Oct 25, 2022 | 10:06 PM
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Mentaleeill's Avatar
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In my e39 I used an aluminum mini cooper expansion tank that I found on Amazon. I made a bracket and mounted it up by the driver's side strut tower, and my motion raceworks steam port kit vented to that. You could do the same on the passenger side.
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