Just put the new coolant in our R56 and bled the cooling system bleed valve. Nothing happened when I opened th valve 3 turns, so I undid it 2 more and got a brief 2 second long hiss and that was all - no bubbles or coolant spraying out. Anyone know if this is normal? I am nervous about undoing the valve too far, since the bleed valve is hidden away and could be very difficult to get back in if undone all the way.
Anyone know if this is normal, or should I keep opening the bleeder until I see some coolant spraying out? And can anyone tell me how may turns I can safely turn it before the valve needle comes undone?

 

How does the coolant reservoir level look? I had the same concerns after flushing the coolant and I did not get much air out of the system using the bleed valve. I just made sure that the coolant level ended up remaining constant, checking after every trip for a few days. The car has some degree of auto-bleeding using the thermostat to get rid of the air pockets too, according to this article: http://www.promini.com/technical/coo...ing-System.php

Definitely don't unscrew the bleed screw too much, it would be hard to get out if you lost it in there. If you don't have any more air coming out of the bleed screw and the coolant level remains good after a drive then you're probably fine.

 

perfectly normal, the bleed screw is at the very top of the system and on a cold engine there is no pressure, so there is no reason why any fluid would come out.

With a properly accessible metal bleed screw you would run the engine with it open and close after the engine warms up and fluid starts coming out. On the mini I just do it cold a couple of times.