E30 320 tourer...couple of niggles....

[domross]

I've just picked up my E30 touring today....seems all pretty straight no rust in anywhere...so i've been spending the day in the company of a wire brush ,bucket of hot water and waxoyl to keep it that way....
Runs and stops as it should but a couple of very minor niggles to welcome me back to ownership(its an E30 wouldn't be the same if there weren't) the f/s rear indicator doesn't work...new bulb and fuse ok....any ideas??
The wells behind the rear wheels are full of water...any idea where this can come from...wheel arches are solid as you like so not there???
Temp guage sits at a 1/4 across when driving and goes upto 1/2 when standing in traffic...I'm guessing the thermostat is stuck open and needs to be replaced??
Other than that all seems pretty good and am delighted to be back

[DHFiS]

Water in boot can come through the rear light seals, the boot lid rubber or the rear sunroof drains (also via the aerial but in this case water collects on one side only). Locking a child in the boot with a torch and then spraying the car with a hose can reveal the leak (dont forget to let the child out afterwards).

Temp readings sound ok as long as they are consistent the needle never goes into the red IMO.

[stonesie]

For a quick thermostat check, how long does it take for the heaters to get hot? 1-2 miles is fine, when i fitted a GSF cheapo stat it stuck open after a couple of months and the car was takeing 10 miles+ to warm up

So if it needs changing fit a proper one...


On the bulb not working, the strips of wire that make contact with the bulb will probably need a clean, this happened on mine and it's been right ever since

[Brianmoooore]

Water in boot can come through the rear light seals, the boot lid rubber or the rear sunroof drains (also via the aerial but in this case water collects on one side only). Locking a child in the boot with a torch and then spraying the car with a hose can reveal the leak (dont forget to let the child out afterwards).

Most of which isn't applicable to a TOURING.
Favourite place for this to occur on a touring is through the plastic grommets holding the fin shaped trim pieces behind the rear side windows. If the trims are at all loose, this is your problem.
On six pots, the normal position for the temperature gauge is just past the quarter mark. If the temp goes up significantly in traffic, the viscous coupling for the fan is suspect.

[domross]

Thanks Brian and Stonsie...indicator now working and not leaking under a pressure washer....the cooling isn't a real problem (yet)...the fan is still able to shred a news paper but is slowed up a little bit when doing it...so I guess the viscous coupling will need doing at some point....

Is the 2.0 the same as the 2.5 in that the water pump should (or may as well be) changed at the same time??