Some minor E21 issues. improved but still no good

[andyling 0]

Hi everyone, I was advised to come here to ask few questions from old school.

I recently bought a bmw 316 e21.

I drove from CHCH to AKL. All sweet apart from not much brakes and handles like a boat.

Anyways.

The temperture gauge goes to upto 3/4 in town and bit more than half on high way.

it never overheated tho. Even at steep hills etc.

water is full, there is NO Coolant in it.

so what is the problem?

Old school people suggested to replace the thermostat and add coolant to fix the slightly over heating issue

Also, what's the best replacement for the suspension, would E30 suspension fit E21?

Edited June 14, 2011 by andyling

[nzhaystack 0]

Hi everyone, I was advised to come here to ask few questions from old school.

I recently bought a bmw 316 e21.

I drove from CHCH to AKL. All sweet apart from not much brakes and handles like a boat.

Anyways.

The temperture gauge goes to upto 3/4 in town and bit more than half on high way.

it never overheated tho. Even at steep hills etc.

water is full, there is NO Coolant in it.

so what is the problem?

Old school people suggested to replace the thermostat and add coolant to fix the slightly over heating issue

Also, what's the best replacement for the suspension, would E30 suspension fit E21?

Hey, I had similar problems with my e30 temprature gauge and exactly the same symtoms as you. I replaced thermostat, coolant, sender unit and the gauge and now get an accurate clean reading. Well worth it! I done the job for about $100-120. Not sure on your suspension quesiotn but thought i might as well suggest what worked for me with your temprature gauge problem.

Hope it goes well

[andyling 0]

Hey, I had similar problems with my e30 temprature gauge and exactly the same symtoms as you. I replaced thermostat, coolant, sender unit and the gauge and now get an accurate clean reading. Well worth it! I done the job for about $100-120. Not sure on your suspension quesiotn but thought i might as well suggest what worked for me with your temprature gauge problem.

Hope it goes well

arhh ok, not sure what the sender unit is, and do i really need to replace the gauge..

[nzhaystack 0]

arhh ok, not sure what the sender unit is, and do i really need to replace the gauge..

Sender unit is the temprature probe which sends info to gauge, you probably dont need to. I think i was just paranoid and wanted to replace everything to ensure a dead accurate reading which i now have. Your call man.

[OP6 27]

Do some of the simple stuff first, such as reverse flush the radiator, and flush out the block too, there could be 30 years of accumulated sludge in there, check your fan is working properly, that it has all its blades, that there are no kinks in the hoses etc. replace the water with coolant, you can reuse the coolant if you have to drain it again. Then get onto the other stuff - thermostat, waterpump and so on. It would be unlikely that you would need to replace the gauge and the sender unit.

All the best

[andyling 0]

Do some of the simple stuff first, such as reverse flush the radiator, and flush out the block too, there could be 30 years of accumulated sludge in there, check your fan is working properly, that it has all its blades, that there are no kinks in the hoses etc. replace the water with coolant, you can reuse the coolant if you have to drain it again. Then get onto the other stuff - thermostat, waterpump and so on. It would be unlikely that you would need to replace the gauge and the sender unit.

All the best

Yeh, I have done all that, Didn't fully flush the system with water hose, Don't have one, just poured water thru it.

then, filled with water and added washing powder, the temperature went to 80-90% of hot, nearly killed the car shxt.

So I just bought new thermostat, and filled with coolant. now the temperature improved a lot, still not that good. It shows slightly over half mark, 55% when driving in town, 60% when ideling.

when the car is warm, I have found when I put the key to turn all the instruments on, the temp reading is higher than normal, but it drops instantly when I turn the enigne on.

also I i filled up the radiator with coolant right to the brim, after driving the radiator lost around 5cm of liquid to the overflow tank(self added), and doesn't seem to suck it back. But it has always been like that since the day i got it, is it normal?

now what..

Edited June 14, 2011 by andyling