5enses 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2011 Make: BMW Model: 325i Year: 1991 Chassis: E36 Hi Guys, i need some advice/help urgently please. a few months ago i started having heating issues where if i accelerated rapidly or drove for an extended period of time my BMW would start to get very hot to the point where it risked over heating (i never let it). I took it to the grey lynn BMW workshop and they identified it to be a faulty thermostat so replaced it. they also noticed it still run alittle hot and said it was due to a broken clutch thing for the water pump. So i had that replaced too. for about a month it ran fine, no more heating issues. after that month past it started happening again, this time once it got about 3/4 of the way up the temp gauge it would start to cool down again (i assumed it was the electric fan kicking it) so it didnt cause much problem so i ignored it. Now it is the worst its been, i cannot drive more then 100-200m without the rapidly heating to the point of redline on the temp gauge. i have to stop after 100m and let it idle so it cools down to operating temp. if i turn it off it takes logner as the engine fan isnt on. does anyone know what the issue is? if its a thermostat issue again why do they keep going bad? its only been a month since it was replaced i dont understand. my car is now in an undriveable condition as i dont want it to overheat. please help Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matt45 1 Report post Posted June 5, 2011 generally with something of that age its time to replace the cooling system 100% if it hasnt already been done. Possibly a partially/fully failed waterpump? (just guessing you will need to get it checked out again and just replace everything that they recommend) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
5enses 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2011 awesome, the last thermostat and clutch pump thing wasnt cheap and gotta spend even more now. what am i looking at in regards to cost for a full cooling system replacement do you think? is it gonna be as painful as it sounds? thanks for your reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thorburn 121 Report post Posted June 5, 2011 It isn't going to be cheap. I'd be a bit worried that the head might have cracked on one of its warm drives as well. A leakdown test will show if it has. It could be something as simple as having air in the cooling system or low coolant level caused by a leak. For some prices have a look through here http://realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.do?model=BF...hg=11&fg=35. You'll most likely want a waterpump, radiator, thermostat Good luck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotwire 352 Report post Posted June 5, 2011 Why not take it back to where you had the original fixes done for them to appraise? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
master garion 1 Report post Posted June 5, 2011 On an old E36, the cooling system components will crap out one after another. I've been through this with my E36 which I also take to BM Workshop. In hindsight, I should have done a complete overhaul in one go. It would have saved me a ton in labour costs and hassle. BM Workshop didn't suggest this to me, they only replaced the failed item/s at the time. Yes it will cost a bit of money but less than if you fix one thing at a time. Each time you overheat the car, you run the risk of damaging your engine and/or other cooling system components. Case in point, when my waterpump went, the car overheated and caused a small leak in the 2 month old new radiator! What I ended up replacing over the course of about 4 months: radiator (twice in 2 months) expansion tank* water pump radiator hoses* radiator cap* thermostat thermostat housing *did these myself Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1283 Report post Posted June 5, 2011 sounds like mostly like the water has failed if it heats up that quick. or could be the theremostat. have had them fail before. water pump costs $80-150 depending where and which brand you buy , its is a pretty easy job to replace. takes about 1 hour but yu will need a few tools and know how including a 32mm spanner to get the fan off (backwards thread too) see here for some details on the cooling systems . Part 1 BMW Cooling System Overview with Common Failures for e36, e46, e34, e39 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mco77TK94GU...feature=fvwkrel Part 2 BMW Cooling System Overview with Common Failures for e36, e46, e34, e39 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WsBma6NLYM...;feature=fvwrel BMW E36, E46, E39 Belt & Pulley Failure Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
5enses 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2011 ok thanks for your replies guys, im not comfortable enough to try any of these things myself so i guess ill have to take it back to the BMW workshop and have them take a look and quote me for it. thanks again Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
