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#1
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Overheating problem
93 325i, car overheated, realized the radiator had gone to ****, the plastic
end caps just brittle crap. I don't know what shape the internals were. I bought a new radiator, installed it and the car still overheated. Today I replaced the thermostat (not a fun job!) and still the car (temperature guage) says it's overheating. Strange thing is when I pulled back in the drive today and popped the hood, the engine didn't seem all that warm and the passenger side end cap on the radiator was definetly cool. The driver side end cap was only slightly warm. I'm confused, I suspect the temperature sensor but it seems to work completly normal from cold up to normal operating temp. I also suspect the waterpump might not be pushing the coolant as it's supossed to but a friend of mine tells me waterpumps almost never die like that, as it's not leaking and it's not making any noticable noise. Other notes, I don't seem to be able to get heat from the cars heater. And, the new thermostat did not have an "up arrow" as the original one did and the repair manual said it was important to put it in with the arrow pointing up. What's the deal here? Thanks in advance, Chris |
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#2
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"Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote in message ... > 93 325i, car overheated, realized the radiator had gone to ****, the plastic > end caps just brittle crap. I don't know what shape the internals were. I > bought a new radiator, installed it and the car still overheated. Today I > replaced the thermostat (not a fun job!) and still the car (temperature > guage) says it's overheating. Strange thing is when I pulled back in the > drive today and popped the hood, the engine didn't seem all that warm and > the passenger side end cap on the radiator was definetly cool. The driver > side end cap was only slightly warm. > > I'm confused, I suspect the temperature sensor but it seems to work > completly normal from cold up to normal operating temp. > > I also suspect the waterpump might not be pushing the coolant as it's > supossed to but a friend of mine tells me waterpumps almost never die like > that, as it's not leaking and it's not making any noticable noise. > > Other notes, I don't seem to be able to get heat from the cars heater. And, > the new thermostat did not have an "up arrow" as the original one did and > the repair manual said it was important to put it in with the arrow pointing > up. What's the deal here? > Sounds like you've either got a air-lock, failed head gasket, cracked head and/or the water pump impeller has disintegrated (very common if it is the original) Get a leak test done on the cooling system after getting rid of the air lock. JB |
#3
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Chris D'Agnolo wrote:
> 93 325i, car overheated, realized the radiator had gone to ****, the plastic > end caps just brittle crap. I don't know what shape the internals were. I > bought a new radiator, installed it and the car still overheated. Today I > replaced the thermostat (not a fun job!) and still the car (temperature > guage) says it's overheating. Strange thing is when I pulled back in the > drive today and popped the hood, the engine didn't seem all that warm and > the passenger side end cap on the radiator was definetly cool. The driver > side end cap was only slightly warm. No circulation. Means either: 1. Air-lock - the system hasn't been bled properly 2. Thermostat is bad or not installed correctly 3. Water pump impeller has fallen apart Since you didn't mention if the radiator actually failed, or you just decided to replace it - I can't speculate further than that. > I'm confused, I suspect the temperature sensor but it seems to work > completly normal from cold up to normal operating temp. This is "shoot the messenger" because it's telling you something you don't want to hear. It is NOT the temperature sensor. You have NO CIRCULATION of coolant. You WILL DESTROY the engine if you continue running it without circulation. > I also suspect the waterpump might not be pushing the coolant as it's > supossed to but a friend of mine tells me waterpumps almost never die like > that, as it's not leaking and it's not making any noticable noise. Your friend is absolutely WRONG. The early M50 engines (up to mid '96) used a water pump with a plastic impeller. This is known to fail and cause EXACTLY the symptoms you have. If you don't know if it was replaced with a newer one with a steel impeller (or BMW's new plastic impeller one) - this is a real possibility. And when this goes bad - it doesn't leak and it doesn't make noise. What it can do is really screw up the system if the impeller breaks up and chunks of it circulate around to be lodged in the system blocking flow even after you replace the pump. > Other notes, I don't seem to be able to get heat from the cars heater. And, > the new thermostat did not have an "up arrow" as the original one did and > the repair manual said it was important to put it in with the arrow pointing > up. What's the deal here? If there was no UP ARROW - there should have been printing on the thermostat (I installed one about a week ago with no up arrow) - it gets installed with the printing up. > Thanks in advance, > Chris HTH |
#4
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"Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote in message ... > 93 325i, car overheated, realized the radiator had gone to ****, the > plastic > end caps just brittle crap. I don't know what shape the internals were. I > bought a new radiator, installed it and the car still overheated. Today I > replaced the thermostat (not a fun job!) and still the car (temperature > guage) says it's overheating. Strange thing is when I pulled back in the > drive today and popped the hood, the engine didn't seem all that warm and > the passenger side end cap on the radiator was definetly cool. The driver > side end cap was only slightly warm. > > I'm confused, I suspect the temperature sensor but it seems to work > completly normal from cold up to normal operating temp. > > I also suspect the waterpump might not be pushing the coolant as it's > supossed to but a friend of mine tells me waterpumps almost never die like > that, as it's not leaking and it's not making any noticable noise. Your friend does not have any BMW experience. BMW waterpumps fail like this all the time. > > Other notes, I don't seem to be able to get heat from the cars heater. > And, > the new thermostat did not have an "up arrow" as the original one did and > the repair manual said it was important to put it in with the arrow > pointing > up. What's the deal here? You got a cheap replacement t-stat. Go buy a good one, even if means paying a little more or having to ship it. The importance of the air hole is so that you can bleed the system of air at a cold temperature, which is important. -Fred W |
#5
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The water pump impeller is made of the same plastic as the radiator tank.
The same thing that happened to the tank happens to the water pump. After 12 model years, this should have been changed out by now, but I assume that you either have the stock pump still, or the replacement pump is also the plastic variety. When the water pump fails, the heater will blow cold even though the temp guage says the temp is up to spec, or above. That's the good news. The bad news is that the head on that motor is prone to cracking in the area between one of the #3 Exhaust ports and the adjacent water galley. If the head is cracked, the motor will over heat. Particularly severe cases will show visible steam in the exhaust stream, marginal cases might not steam, but water vapor can be detected by a smog sniffer. "Chris D'Agnolo" > wrote in message ... > 93 325i, car overheated, realized the radiator had gone to ****, the plastic > end caps just brittle crap. I don't know what shape the internals were. I > bought a new radiator, installed it and the car still overheated. Today I > replaced the thermostat (not a fun job!) and still the car (temperature > guage) says it's overheating. Strange thing is when I pulled back in the > drive today and popped the hood, the engine didn't seem all that warm and > the passenger side end cap on the radiator was definetly cool. The driver > side end cap was only slightly warm. > > I'm confused, I suspect the temperature sensor but it seems to work > completly normal from cold up to normal operating temp. > > I also suspect the waterpump might not be pushing the coolant as it's > supossed to but a friend of mine tells me waterpumps almost never die like > that, as it's not leaking and it's not making any noticable noise. > > Other notes, I don't seem to be able to get heat from the cars heater. And, > the new thermostat did not have an "up arrow" as the original one did and > the repair manual said it was important to put it in with the arrow pointing > up. What's the deal here? > > Thanks in advance, > > Chris > > |
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