bmw e36 325i straight 6 overheating?????

[jolly]

ive just baught a 325i as a daily user to keep my blue oval out of the shit weather, the car overheated ( turned the car off within seconds of light coming on ) as i got stuck in some snow outside the house, so i checked for mayo and nothing as i thought headgasket, checked the water pump and it was knackered so replaced that and the thermostat, car stil overheats, so i thought dodgy thermostat so changed it again, stil overheats but no mayo, so i then run the car without the thermostat in and stil overheats, also the pipe from the engine returning to the radiator was cold and should be quite warm / hot, no water circulating the in the system so i thought airlock so i flushed the car with water and all flows fine, put it all back together and it seemed ok, car was gettin warm inside, the return pipe was hot so the thermostat is working and water is flowing, had the bleedscrew open ( header tank cap on) on the rad for a good amout of time to get rid of any air, shut the bleedscrew and left the car over 2 hours and was fine temp styed bang on in the center then i went out and it boiled again, checked for mayo again and still no trace also i thought the viscous fan but it seems ok but shouldnt need it in this weather anyway now im in a pickle as i dont hav a clue what could be rong, im thinkin it could be a majour airlock or headgasket, any ideas???????????? cheeRS

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[Ad4m RST]

Sounds like you've covered most of your bases....could radiator be fucked? or blocked?

[Escy]

I'd look at it being an airlock again. I had major problems bleeding my brothers Z3 1.8. It would keep pressurising, must have bled it about 10 times before it stopped over heating.

There is a guide on here, http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tech...lant-Flush.htm

[thebigyin]

these can be awkward to bleed, sometimes need pressure to do it, or just blow into header tank.

[jolly]

i doubt it because it was fine before it overheated / water pump broke, on the motorway it diddnt even hit halfway on the guage and round town it was on half as normal

[Escy]

The header tank is built into the side of the rad which makes it all the more of a pain in the arse.

[jolly]

Originally Posted by Escy

I'd look at it being an airlock again. I had major problems bleeding my brothers Z3 1.8. It would keep pressurising, must have bled it about 10 times before it stopped over heating.

There is a guide on here, http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tech...lant-Flush.htm

cheers, have to keep tryin it

[thebigyin]

Originally Posted by Escy

The header tank is built into the side of the rad which makes it all the more of a pain in the arse.

yep

[jolly]

Originally Posted by thebigyin

these can be awkward to bleed, sometimes need pressure to do it, or just blow into header tank.

like get an airline onto the header tank blow air into it and open the bleedvalve??

[thebigyin]

Originally Posted by jolly

like get an airline onto the header tank blow air into it and open the bleedvalve??

worst case you would maybe need to pressure bleed, i have done lots of these and the stubborn ones usually bleed ok by blowing into header with the bleeder open, sometimes you have to lift the rad/header a bit above the rest of the system to get it to go.

[murfs frst]

they are a pain in the arse to bleed

[jolly]

Originally Posted by thebigyin

worst case you would maybe need to pressure bleed, i have done lots of these and the stubborn ones usually bleed ok by blowing into header with the bleeder open, sometimes you have to lift the rad/header a bit above the rest of the system to get it to go.

cheers, i must be halfway there as its ok standing still, its just on the moove it does it, cheeRS!!

[LHD220Turbo]

i'd get a fluid tester to be safe its not head gasket, but when i dont the water pump on mine; it took me well over an hour to bleed the fucker

[jolly]

Originally Posted by LHD220Turbo

i'd get a fluid tester to be safe its not head gasket, but when i dont the water pump on mine; it took me well over an hour to bleed the fucker

how did u bleed yours, did you just leave it running with water cap on and bleep valve open?

[Rax]

Took me about half an hour to bleed my e34,pain in the ass.If I remember isnt there a bleed point on the rad,one for the stat and one for the head ?.Did you have the head pressure tested ? mine had a hairline crack from one end to the other.Common problem due to the waterpump failing.My impeller was the size of a 2p coin .I bought mine as a non runner,when I pulled the head off it had been run that hot as two valve seats were dislodged .

[LHD220Turbo]

Originally Posted by jolly

how did u bleed yours, did you just leave it running with water cap on and bleep valve open?

left it running, cap on with the little plastic bleed screw undone, occasionaly give the engine a good rev - i thought it was done after 40 minutes then another load of air came out when i revved it. they are a pain to do

having said that, another friend had a 323i and his overheats every 4/5 months, he has never got to the bottom of it - he's done everything you've done!! he just bleeds it again and its fine for a few months.
the only thing i suggested to him was it might be a problem with the heater matrix, that's the only thing left!!

[jolly]

Originally Posted by LHD220Turbo

left it running, cap on with the little plastic bleed screw undone, occasionaly give the engine a good rev - i thought it was done after 40 minutes then another load of air came out when i revved it. they are a pain to do

having said that, another friend had a 323i and his overheats every 4/5 months, he has never got to the bottom of it - he's done everything you've done!! he just bleeds it again and its fine for a few months.
the only thing i suggested to him was it might be a problem with the heater matrix, that's the only thing left!!

thats what i was doin, so basically keep doin it till all the steam / air has cleared?

[jolly]

Originally Posted by rax2wdrax

Took me about half an hour to bleed my e34,pain in the ass.If I remember isnt there a bleed point on the rad,one for the stat and one for the head ?.Did you have the head pressure tested ? mine had a hairline crack from one end to the other.Common problem due to the waterpump failing.My impeller was the size of a 2p coin .I bought mine as a non runner,when I pulled the head off it had been run that hot as two valve seats were dislodged .

not sure about the one for the stat or head but theres one on the rad that i have been using, no not had it tested yet, yea my impellar was the same, the whole thing had come off, now replaced it with i metal item

[Ellie]

Water pump went on my mr2 the other week, probably due to the core plug (whatever one of them is, its in the head apparently) leaking, lost enough coolant to seize the pump. Heater was still blowing hot and the temp guage stayed normal but i saw steam in my rearview mirror, and it was coming from the bottom of the engine and not the header tank.
Mine is also a bitch to bleed so it was left on ramps lifting one end of the car up (dont know which end, header tank in the back but radiator is at the front along with the bleed valve) and that seemed to do the trick.

[rspickup]

I just had same problem with my one! they are a bitch to bleed out, they need to be cold, remove bleed screw near cap, engine off, fill up slowly, watching the air disperse from bleed nipple! keep going slowly, leave a few minutes, and fill again, even if expansion tank is overflowing, when water runs clear put cap on and do up fooking tight!

Dont worry about expansion level it has to be up to the brim, start it up, heaters whacked on full and let it run, the expansion level will sort itself out so dont worry and providing air is all out it should be sweet.

[Rax]

Originally Posted by jolly

not sure about the one for the stat or head but theres one on the rad that i have been using, no not had it tested yet, yea my impellar was the same, the whole thing had come off, now replaced it with i metal item

I dont think you will do it just from the rad tbh.I am sure there is one for the stat and another for the head.I think they were a nut with a copper washer underneath.Post a picture up.I ended up buying a 325 and taking the head off,stupid thing to do but I couldnt find one or anyone who guarantee me a good one.

[jolly]

Originally Posted by rspickup

I just had same problem with my one! they are a bitch to bleed out, they need to be cold, remove bleed screw near cap, engine off, fill up slowly, watching the air disperse from bleed nipple! keep going slowly, leave a few minutes, and fill again, even if expansion tank is overflowing, when water runs clear put cap on and do up fooking tight!

Dont worry about expansion level it has to be up to the brim, start it up, heaters whacked on full and let it run, the expansion level will sort itself out so dont worry and providing air is all out it should be sweet.

ar rite i thought it had to be warm, so just force water through it forcing the air out until water flows freely and continuous through the bleed nipple, will it stil bleep tho as the thermostat wont be opening?? cheeRS, nice pikup by the way i had that idea of doin a s1 pikup the other day when i found a mk3 escort estate for sale

[rspickup]

My worshop is next to a bmw specialists, thats how they told me to do it, and it worked, spot on, they told me DONT touch the others.

[jolly]

Originally Posted by rspickup

My worshop is next to a bmw specialists, thats how they told me to do it, and it worked, spot on, they told me DONT touch the others.

ok pal ill try that, hopefully should do the trick, cheeRS mate

[BM08]

Not read all the replys but when i had a 323 it was a airlock which caused it to overheat, it was last summer one evening when it was pretty sticky weather, so i thought it was the heat that caused it.

It still ran fine after it was fixed, good job it wasnt a ford engine or it would have been totally goosed

[jolly]

Originally Posted by BM08

Not read all the replys but when i had a 323 it was a airlock which caused it to overheat, it was last summer one evening when it was pretty sticky weather, so i thought it was the heat that caused it.

It still ran fine after it was fixed, good job it wasnt a ford engine or it would have been totally goosed

that is very true haha