e30 325- Seriously annoying cooling syestem

[chrisvlok 0]

hi all,

i have an 89 325i that just doesn't stop giving me problems. ive put a brand new radiator in, thermostat, hoses, resovoir and water pump.

but the temp gauge is still all over the place.

if you start it up, drive 1 km gently and the stop, it will slowly start to rise. some times it builds lots of presure and sometimes it doesn't.

what could be the problem?

So frustrated with the car!

[mtech1e30 0]

Hey,

Have you had the gauge its self checked to make sure its not broken?

[tire 10]

So is the coolant actually getting hot? Smoke coming out etc? It is common for E30 temp guages(sp) to go bananas when temp is perfectly fine.

Mine did it once, I just cleaned the sensor connector and it settled down. Its one of those 3 brown plugs on the left of this pic:

[chrisvlok 0]

yea it gets hot. blows smoke etc. have done the sensor and it didn't help.

is that your m10 on the photo? im thinking of turboing one myself

[tire 10]

yea it gets hot. blows smoke etc. have done the sensor and it didn't help.

is that your m10 on the photo? im thinking of turboing one myself

noooooo no way. Although turboing my M10 would be fun! That pic is from this guys one in the states which I was just checking out before I saw your thread.

[chrisvlok 0]

noooooo no way. Although turboing my M10 would be fun! That pic is from this guys one in the states which I was just checking out before I saw your thread.

haha. yea they are really crazy with their turbo m10's over there, have you seen the 359 hp m10?

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.ph...ed=1#post529636

then some 3 monthes later

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46896

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47019

hahah poor m10

[jjs 60]

I have owned 4 E30's and they have ALL had issues with the cooling system. Seems to be a bit of achillies heel with these cars.

Has a BMW specialst been doing your work? I find when owning a Euro, you can waste a lot of time and money by going to the wrong mechanic. An E30, like all BMW's is a very different beast to a Corolla or Commodoore...

Water pumps are very common causes, but seeing as you've replaced that, and the radiator and thermostat, I can't suggest anything else (I'm no mechanic!).

Good luck...

[tibbs.james 1]

yea it gets hot. blows smoke etc. have done the sensor and it didn't help.

is that your m10 on the photo? im thinking of turboing one myself

Sounds like you have replaced/checked everything in the coolant system.

Excuse me to ask such questions but did you check that the thermostat is opening when it's supposed to and you have your cooling system properly bled ect?

i got to this stage and had to replace a head gasket & i did a head rebuild and it solved my problem.

Mine never blew smoke but i was worried about the cylinder head becoming warped from overheating so i did my rebuild right away.

[hotwire 352]

Best get it professionally checked otherwise youré only guessing.

Could be an airlock if not properly bled (common)

Could be a head gasket - leakdown test it confirm

[323e30 0]

common problem is the valve actuator for the heater unit in the m10 facelifts jamming. happens alot with e36 318i's aswel.

[tire 10]

haha. yea they are really crazy with their turbo m10's over there, have you seen the 359 hp m10?

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.ph...ed=1#post529636

then some 3 monthes later

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46896

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47019

hahah poor m10

The first link is the same guy as the one I referred to before, n8bmw... isn't his still going / in progress?

Other 2 links...wow. Had to happen with +250% the power though?

[chrisvlok 0]

Sounds like you have replaced/checked everything in the coolant system.

Excuse me to ask such questions but did you check that the thermostat is opening when it's supposed to and you have your cooling system properly bled ect?

i got to this stage and had to replace a head gasket & i did a head rebuild and it solved my problem.

Mine never blew smoke but i was worried about the cylinder head becoming warped from overheating so i did my rebuild right away.

yea,

might just replace the head gasket then.

the thermostat's defenently opening, but it seems although its too late.

the problems updated a little since yesterday, ive put in a brand new aluminium radiator which is about twice the size of the original bmw one(cracked every where) and the car is fine when you rev it or driving. but the moment you just let it idle it slowly climbs higher and higher

how much did it cost for all the parts for a rebuild?

[hotwire 352]

Again, make sure it's bled properly.

If it comes to removing the head (susect likely) make sure the head gets checked for cracks - don't just replace the head gasket without checking

[Silver Fox 43]

Just out of interest, are you running the fan shroud? Can make a difference at idle. If it's not on, it can cause overheating.

[tibbs.james 1]

yea,

might just replace the head gasket then.

the thermostat's defenently opening, but it seems although its too late.

the problems updated a little since yesterday, ive put in a brand new aluminium radiator which is about twice the size of the original bmw one(cracked every where) and the car is fine when you rev it or driving. but the moment you just let it idle it slowly climbs higher and higher

how much did it cost for all the parts for a rebuild?

Cost me about $1000 to do a complete head rebuild

Full Top end gasket set was like $200

New Head bolts were $80

Cylinder Head Checked, vavle regrind, washed & re assembled $600

+ Waterpump & Cam belt & idler bearing ( can't remember the cost )

it needed the lot.

price above was doing it all myself too, only thing i didn't was was remove the valves from the head as i didn't have a long enough valve tool.

what hotwire said was very important, get it inspected at an engine reconditioning shop.

Edited June 5, 2008 by Jimmy

[_Alan_ 6]

Have you checked out the electric fan at the very front?

I had similar problems on my M20.. And this was at fault among other things..

From what I can remember the electric fan should have 2 speeds,

Slow speed : when you turn the A/C on..

High speed: When your coolant gets to a certain temperature it should kick in..

When you're at idle for 5-10 minutes, the high speed setting should kick in and you can hear it it's kind of loud.. Or even look through your kidney grill and see if it's moving at all.. If it's not kicking in check the fan switch on the side of the radiator, I had mine replaced, or check the fan itself/wiring to it etc.. This might help..

I know how you feel man I ended up reconditioning my entire cooling system!

Alan

[Boost Junky 1]

Like hotwire said, could be an air pocket trapped in the cooling system somewhere and this definitely will cause fluxuating temp probs, experienced myself too many times!

Should be a bleed bolt on the side of the thermostat housing on the front of your motor, open it up and feed water into your motor until a constant stream of water flows out of the bleeder, do this on a flat surface also... Save you taking a head off for no reason right?

Luke

[chrisvlok 0]

hi guys,

i was thinking this might have something to do with oil cooling?/oil pump?

my car's fan runs by a belt? but does it still have a switch? maybe fan clutch?

thanks

[hotwire 352]

That is the viscous fan (belt driven) Not all have an electric fans too - unless fitted with air con.

Viscous units play up too, but normally show up under load by gauge rising above normal.

[Mike 1]

I doubt the oil cooliing system would be causing those dramas by itself. If it were my car I'd check the coolant temp sender and then the gauge. If both of those checked out I'd then check the viscous fan was up to it before spending anymore money.

Cylinder Head Checked, vavle regrind, washed & re assembled $600

just curious who that head semi-rebuild was through? I got mine checked, cleaned, valve guides and stem seals done for $300 for a 4cyl through Cylinder Head Specialists. Came back looking like new.