Ok,I have a lovely 328i cab,well,it was lovely until my "mate" did a headgasket/head job on it for me.basically,it's still not running right and the guy I believe is trying to avoid the issue so rather than have it sitting on my drive for months (like it has the last 4,taxed as well) I've decided to bite the bullet and just replace the whole engine with a good one from a running 3 series I can give a proper test drive too so I know all is well.

Now I've seen a 328i on pistonheads for £500 that looks ok,it says it's running 100% but I've also seen a few 323's/325is for the same sort of coin usually with rusty arches,Mot fails but of course that doesn't bother me.

Now from what I can gather the 323 is a 2.5 displacement so I'm assuming it's only an ecu map or something basic like that.

I believe the 325 is a better engine due to having an iron block compared to the 328 block which is alloy I believe?mines had the better block conversion but it's done 189000 miles so I can't see it being much good now and I believe this is what's wrong with it,something like a dodgy liner.

I've also been told it could just need bleeding but realistically I've tried this a few times and it still steams up through the header tank,still goes really well though and doesn't particularly overheat,just no heat in the cabin unless I'm at about 3000rpm?

Truthfully,I don't trust the engine anymore and for the sake of £500 and the fact I'll get nearly that back in spares I'd rather take that route and strip the 2.8 down on the bench to build it up right.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

 

Surely a compression test and a 'sniff' test on the coolant is in order first! I've read about problems bleeding them before, so an airlock could well be the cause...

The 323 uses a different inlet manifold to the 325 AFAIK! Stick with a 328 but go for a later non-nikasil linered block.

 

Sniff test seemed ok!!!it's been an ongoing issue really fella,it's starting to piss me right off!!!

When did they change the blocks over then?I'm sure mines had a block replacement though?there's a big bolt/tab thing on the back that mine has which apparently is a tell tale sign of replacement?

I've only ever heard good reports on the 325 but there seems to be a few 328's out there now ready for the crusher!!!!

 

sounds lke a classic case of a bmw not being bled correctly, they can be very awkward sometimes, ive seen the very issue you are having many times, not one has been the gasket/head , all were sorted by various ways of helping them bleed, hth.

 

meant to add, if youre mate knew his arse from his elbow this wouldnt have been an issue for you! he would just have recognised the symptoms and dealt with it.

 

Hmmmm,know it did drive perfectly for the first weekend I used it,as soon I spotted a problem I took it off the road as I've been here before,so I haven't made it any worse,hopefully!

I've been told about pressure bleeding it but is there a better way,what a shit system though,the rad bleed valve isnt even the highest point in the system so I can't see how it could ever work?

Do you know of a good way to bleed it?

 

Tell me about it!!he's done a load for me before this with no issues but this was an expensive job and I'm really pissed off with it as I was flush at the time and could have bought a really mint engine.
I'm penniless now though!!!
Arghhhhhhhhh!!!!

 

what caused the overheating in the firstplace? has the waterpump been changed to the metal type ? as opossed to the oem plastic item.

 

are you sure its a two tone 323 not a two tone 525 hahaha couldnt resit butt

 

,oh the waterpump!!yes,the original failed at 90k,the next one went at 170k and Ive changed it par for the course twice,once before the head let go,say 185k and I just changed it again incase it was faulty about 30 miles ago!!

I've done:
All hoses,even the awkward ones!!
Thermostat
Thermostat housing
Rad
Cap o rings,but not cap(hmmm)
Waterpump
Heatermatrix
By passed heater valve just incase

Flushed it

 

???????????????

 

how are you bleeding the air out? all i did was kept the cap off, fans on full whack and held it 3000rpm till it came up to temp(bang on the middle) and never had a problem since

 

I get it now!!!fatties leg,it's fucking fucked they picked him up in an amblumance!!!

 

Tried it that way,but it seems to pressurise back up through the end tank.I've tried cap on,bleedscrew off,cap off,bleedscrew on,both off etc etc!!!

FUCKING CARS!!

I might put a 1.6diesel ford engine in it and be done!!!!

 

engine off bleeder open, fill up till clear water comes out (no bubbles) close bleeder, start car and check it, this is the first way to try, if that does not do it, lift headertank/rad up a few inches and blow in header (with bleeder open), try that ,if it does not work there are other things to try, this usually does it though!

 

It took me ages and about 5 attempts to bleed my old 328, it was a real pain in the arse.

 

Thanks lads,will try that asap.

 

Its the heater matix blocked,very common problem.

 

the difference in the 323i and the 325i is the inlet manifold and throttle body basically (those are the main differences)

325i were 192bhp and the 323i were 170bhp IIRC

the 323i, 325i and 328i had the m52 engine from factory, and these were the motors that all had alloy blocks, although its not always as clear cut as that though.

These motors are a pain in the arse to bleed; it took me near on an hour to bleed my 323 when i changed the water pump - personally i would rebleed the system again and again.

 

I've changed the unit,but it could be.I'm pretty sure last time I checked the temp was the same both sides of the pipe?will double check,cheers.

 

Hmmmm,I wonder if it is just that?it looks like the waters coming back up through the rad cap after a bit of a run,say 3 miles or so?not overheating in the slightest,I could start it up now and leave it idle all day with no probs,even drive it about but no heat in the cabin?

I thought about the 325 motor as everywhere I've read says their much stronger than the 328,there near enough bang on power wise although I know the 328 was restricted from the factory.

I think I'll order up a new rad cap and try bleeding again as that's pretty much the only thing that's not BRAND new!!!!

 

sounds more like a circulation problem to me? are you sure the water pump was fitted correctly? have you tried the radiator for a blockage or partial blockage?

it would make sense if it was a partial blockage, at idle, some water is circulating therefore it dont over heat, but the more load is applied (after you've driven it) the more water needs to be circulated, hence the over heating?

the only other thing i can think of is a stat problem?

 

Hello mate, not read the replys so i could be saying the same thing twice.

Get a 328i engine M52, will be less hassle than retrofitting an M50 etc.

You want (if your being picky) one from a 1998-1999 car as these didn't have the nikasil problems, the 325 was also an iron block. If i were fitting a new engine i would also get a vanos seal kit, a metal thermostat housing and a water pump with the metal impellers (not the fail prone plastic ones).

Mines on 162,000 and hasn't missed a beat! brilliant engines. Also check the rubber boot from MAF to throttle bodies as these break up a lot, and the engine mounts.

Question, is your fan working properly? with the engine hot (and turned off) can you free wheel the fan easily? if you can its fucked.

Have you got a fault code reader?

Rob,

 

Nah,the waterpump can only go on one way,the bolts are slightly offset and I've done the stat with the pump although there was nothing wrong with the one that came out but as a precaution and all that.

The problem now is no heat in the cabin unless it's revving over about 3k then as soon as the revs drop off,the heat does as well,but it never overheats,it only went up slightly one day in the petrol station when I first noticed the problem.

As you can see,it's really annoying me.I did all the paintwork when I had my business open in Ferrari red,moted it and aside from a worn interior and this cooling fault the car is mint.it's got sentimental value unfortunately otherwise it would be down a ditch on the common after I "swerved" to avoid an imaginary sheep............officer!!





Excuse my shit photography!!!

 

obviously the bleeding info is assuming there is nothing ridiculously simple having been overlooked/missed, nowt to do with the matrix.

 

Hi mate,the engines I've been looking at are from e36 beemers but I take it that's now an older lump?

Got an obd 2 fault reader but not sure if it's compatible as my cars 1995?

So a 98/99 motor would be the one to go for?it's just I've seen a cheap e36 on pistonheads that's a driver just no Mot/tax etc although it looks clean to be fair,theres a few "m" bits on it to claw some money back too so that may have been an option,although it's only a 95 model too,albeit only 98k on the clock.

There's a 323 auto near me for £700 but it's been up for sale a while so I reckon I'll get it for £500.

I'm going to get a compression tester Monday and a new rad cap and take it from there I think,I'm just a bit dissilusioned with it all and I'm starting to get ideas of lumping a v8 from a 540 in it,which is only going to end in tears!!!!

 

Yes, if it were me and i was going to keep the car which you obviously are, i would be buying an M52 from a late e36 98/99 because of the above. Not worth the hassle any other way.

Worth noting that (i believe any way) the 323 (2.5) has the same bore size, so you could swap the crank, rods and pistons over.... 330i crank pistons and rods also fit in.

If your serious about an engine swap (away from the 328 lump) buy a crashed e36 m3 and swap stuff from that.

Also you need to use a steering box for the 540 conversion and they feel like shit.

328's a good motor, buy you certainly have a curious problem! does it leak fluid at all?

Rob,

 

Yeah,the m3 conversion would be ace.tbh I'm tempted to pretend to the missus it was a genuine accident and just write it off!!!

However,she knows what I'm thinking before u do it so no chance there.

Getting hold of an m3 seems to be a problem,I think a lot are being used for track cars after a bump etc,I'm just devastated I missed out on one here for £1500 although I'm a but brassic right now hence the 325 idea.

Wound you say the 325 was a better motor for strength then?what I'm thinking maybe is a quick swap to the 325 just so we can use the car a bit and then sort a nice m3/evo conversion at a later date.

Fuck the v8 idea if it spoils the steering as the car drives beautifully.

No,no coolant loss,although I have noticed a reasonable oil leak since the engine work was done?