MattA 164 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 starting yesterday my ride has been getting way too hot (E30 325) it's reading hot on the gauge pushing out water but the radiator is cold to the touch. the gauge isn't staying still its jumping up and down, have pulled the thermostat and it's working fine... Am I correct in thiking it maybe a cracked head gasket or worse and how can I test to find out with some certinty as I don't want to be spending $$ if I don't need too.. any advice would be greatly appreciated.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grant 4 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 Is it happening when you are in traffic (i.e driving in town), or is it hot all of the time? If you do a spot of open road driving, does it cool down again? If so then it is most likely the fan clutch (viscous coupling). This is a common problem with E30's. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Speedye30 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 Hi Matt, Sorry to hear about your troubles. Please re-write your problem making it clear. Use nice sentence structure! And paragraph! That way we can understand what you're getting at. Here are a list of possible problems. COOLANT PUMP Radiator hose restricted - Clogged radiator As you can see, my finger points to the pump. This would explain a cold radiator, but boiling coolant in the engine. NB: Sorry Grant, but that is incorrect! The viscous clutch in the fan fails sometimes. But as it fails it seizes (or almost seizes) therefore a failed fan clutch will cool the engine all the time! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grant 4 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 NB: Sorry Grant, but that is incorrect! The viscous clutch in the fan fails sometimes. But as it fails it seizes (or almost seizes) therefore a failed fan clutch will cool the engine all the time! No, I have had the fan clutch fail on both my current 325i and my previous 320i.It definately caused the engine to get too hot, and wasn't cooling the car at all, and it definately was the fan clutch that was at fault, as it being replaced in both cars fixed the problem. Gus also had this recently too. But I agree with you possible diagnosis of Matt's problem, they are good possibilities too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Speedye30 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 (edited) Oh, so you have had the fan clutch go all slippery? And Gus too? They can fail either way then... I personally don't like the engine driven fan system. An electric fan would be much better; more efficient, though it would stress the alternator more... Edited May 10, 2004 by Speedye30 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grant 4 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 Oh, so you have had the fan clutch go all slippery? And Gus too? They can fail either way then... I personally don't like the engine driven fan system. An electric fan would be much better; more efficient, though it would stress the alternator more... You are right there, an electric fan is a much better idea. In fact I have heard of people retro-fitting an electric fan to replace the fan clutch driven one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MattA 164 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 It's happened in traffic and on the open road. The problem is not happening with any consistancy my wife called and said it's been sweet today. The radiator and hoses are all new so don't think that will be the prob. thanks (sorry bout the sentence structure and other grammatical errors) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MattA 164 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 The fan seems to be working fine (it's going round) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gus 5 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 Gus also had this recently too. still do! got a scum 2nd hand clutch that works sometimes and sometimes doesnt.... if the water is cold in the radiator it points towards the water pump the fan will still spin when it is on.....to test get a newspaper and hold it against the fan....if the newspaper shreds...the fan is ok...if the fan stops....you need a new one.....no other solution! i tried using my electric ac fan..but i think someone else left it on and it stopped working.....its not really worth the hassle for the electric fan......just get another fan clutch so it works for another 15 years....hopefully this is the prob! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Andrew Report post Posted May 10, 2004 Sounds like the thermostat - when the car is below a certain temperature it goes into warmup mode and doesn't allow water through the radiator to heat the car up quicker. Sounds like your car is stuck in warm-up mode if the radiator is still cold. Give that a check and get back to us. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30_318i 0 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 NB: Sorry Grant, but that is incorrect! The viscous clutch in the fan fails sometimes. But as it fails it seizes (or almost seizes) therefore a failed fan clutch will cool the engine all the time! No, I have had the fan clutch fail on both my current 325i and my previous 320i.It definately caused the engine to get too hot, and wasn't cooling the car at all, and it definately was the fan clutch that was at fault, as it being replaced in both cars fixed the problem. Gus also had this recently too. Me too. Haven't got round to doing it yet tho. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wedge 0 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 Sounds like thermostat to me, just before mine failed the temp was going up and down a lot as the thermostat opened and shut. After about 2min of rapidly going up and down it kept on going up as the thermostat jammed so i had to park it. Trouble was, i was out in riverhead taking a mate to look at a car. He didnt even like it either.... Murphys law i guess. $$ Towing + new thermo and radiator top tank later i was back on road. Take it in somewhere and get an opinion. Chances are whatever it is will fail at the worst possible time. Cher, Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bumpstop325 0 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 air block??? themo only about 60 bucks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30_318i 0 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 (edited) air block???Yeah, possibly. Not long ago, a couple of months, my car was over heating everywhere (motorway, traffic, was on red in about 3km of downhill driving, heater on flat out). Anyway, we played around with the throttle and coolant, managed to get the air lock out, and never its never done it since, unless I'm in traffic due to the fan clutch. Edited May 10, 2004 by E30_318i Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OLLIE 26 Report post Posted May 10, 2004 replace water pump, swap the fan for a supercharger and get an electric fan and a small front mount intercooler placed where the air conditioning unit was or would be. ofcourse you'd have to get a new computer etc.. but hey whats money Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MattA 164 Report post Posted May 11, 2004 replace water pump, swap the fan for a supercharger and get an electric fan and a small front mount intercooler placed where the air conditioning unit was or would be. ofcourse you'd have to get a new computer etc.. but hey whats moneysounds like a great idea Ollie!! can u approach my lovely wife and talk her into it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Andrew Report post Posted May 11, 2004 The m20 does hold air if you don't bleed it - but not that bad. The bleed valve is an 8mm or 10mm nut near the diagnostic plug. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tbirdsteve 0 Report post Posted May 11, 2004 The radiator and hoses are all new so don't think that will be the prob. Is your heater working? If not it could be obstructed by an air-lock. If you have a new radiator and hoses you may have an air-lock in the system. Unless your cooling system is bled properly when these items are changed you will get air in the cooling system which prevents the coolant from circulating. The temp gauge will be reading the temperature from near the radiator, which may be cool, meanwhile the coolant in the block may be at or near boiling point. When the temp needle suddenly flicks to high it is often measuring the steam temp in the system.There is a bleed screw or nut at the top of the thermostat housing - warm the car up and undo it to release the air (ensure coolant level is full and heater is on). Keep it released until all the air is out and coolant escapes. Keep topping up the coolant and repeating above until you are certain there is no more air in there. Try not to burn yourself. If you ignore an overheated engine it can be quite expensive. Steve Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MattA 164 Report post Posted May 12, 2004 Thanks for the help have flushed the system and bleed it seems to be sweet.. (impressed with the speed and amount of feed back) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Zwilling Report post Posted May 12, 2004 It's proof that these forums work, good test case, but who gets the chocolate fish? And b4 you smart buggers say anything I know whales aren't fish! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
