Overheating and other problems...Helpy

Mon Jul 18, 2011 5:58 pm

Had a few little concerns with my motor today...
She's a preniptuck 323i
found a little oil leak from the oil pressure switch on the engine block which i did plan on replacing today but ive picked up the wrong part

.
boiled over earlier on today whilst stationary but more worrying is the fact of the engine being so hot...the fan seems to struggle a little when idling too ...

are the fan and switch problems whats causing the heat issues or is there anything else i can check?

any help is appreciated muchly

Eeef

Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:04 pm

try ruling out any head gasket issues, thats the major one anything else is minor, could be waterpump thermostat, someone should tell you how to check these bits if there busted specifically....

Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:12 pm

All seems to be well regarding the head gasket, no leaks or residue in the head or oil in water... thats the first thing i checked anything else i could look for with regards to the head?
Im hoping its not warped from the heat

Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:18 pm

First check must be the viscous fan coupling,followed by a careful look at the radiator.

Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:30 pm

Il go out shortly and have a check over, The radiator isnt standard though...it was on the car when i bought it...ive got another rad at hand but its from a facelift 325i will change if it fits?

cheers

Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:32 pm

Malc, do you know if the Viscous fan coupling and radiator from a facelift 325 would fit the prefacelift 323? Reason I ask if I will be helping him do the work on the car and I have these bits in my unit ready to swap over to. What should he be checking with regards to the viscous fan coupling?

@Rick - I'll leave some tools in your boot before I head work in the morning mate, unless we sort it out in a bit. Not sure what your gonna need though.

Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:32 pm

Eeeferteh wrote:Il go out shortly and have a check over, The radiator isnt standard though...it was on the car when i bought it...ive got another rad at hand but its from a facelift 325i will change if it fits?

cheers

Aha, beat me to the radiator question...

Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:55 pm

Just checked the fan and it seems to be a little stiff....

the radiator looks and seems fine its only 6-7 months old....

how do i check the thermostats working correctly?

Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:21 pm

Viscous coupling should cut in and lock the fan on as the engine temperature rises above about 90c,way to test is to let the engine warm up,if the guage goes over the halfway point the fan should cut in.At this point,stick a rolled up newspaper between the blades,if the fan stops,the coupling is goosed,if the paper is shredded,start suspecting something else,usually radiator!

Thermostat usually fails open,so the engine never reaches operating temperature.If the engine is hot,and the radiator cold,the 'stat could,just,be stuck closed.To test,remove from the car and place in a scruffy saucepan half full of water.Bring to the boil,the cooker hob is good for this,and observe if the 'stat's flap opens.If doing this test in your wife's/girlfiends/mothers kitchen,please clean all oily paw prints up and do not blame me if you get caught.

Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:24 pm

Eeeferteh wrote:Il go out shortly and have a check over, The radiator isnt standard though...it was on the car when i bought it...ive got another rad at hand but its from a facelift 325i will change if it fits?

cheers

I have a limited knowledge of the early cars,but if the size overall is similar,the mounting points are similar and the hoses fit in the same places,it should fit!

Mon Jul 18, 2011 9:08 pm

Will Try all this in the morrow and keep updating,
as for the missus, shes off spending my money so i have the pans and kitchen to do as i please

Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:43 am

The hose connections for pre and post facelift rads are in different places IIRC

Prefacelift 325i

Facelift 325i

You need a prefacelift rad - otherwise you'll need to extend/bodge the small pipe that runs to the expansion tank and change the top hose as well.

Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:49 pm

The radiator seems to be fine no splits cracks or anything,
will stick with this one for time being...
Been out on the car this morning and the fan just doesnt want to do anything apart from the occasional turn when the throttle is open :S have another to replace this though will be trying it now
The thermostat is poo too but thanks to jims endless amounts of spares ive found one that works in the pan

so will get that in and the viscous fan and then fush and bleed the system then hopefully i should know some more....

will keep updating as i go

appreciate help so far

Tue Jul 19, 2011 1:17 pm

So when the engine is running the fan is actually stationary ??

Replacing the viscous coupling with one that actaully works together with a good quality working 'stat and flush, new coolant and proper bleed should sort it by the sounds of it.

Remember to have the heater valve set to hot and ignition on when refilling with coolant, fill it very slowly ( Some say have the car on a slope pointing uphill too ). Andyboys book has a good guide on how to do this without getting airlocks.

Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:16 pm

Problem is now solved

drained coolant thermostat changed...resealed...filled back up with cooly..drained again (silly airlocks) filled up correctly....
Ran engine until at right temp, sat steady fan turning very well...ripped Golf+ mag

topped coolant to levels and wooo now have clear dash and checkboard

Thanks for the help again

All thats left now is oil service before german show, and she's a good'en

Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:34 pm

You owe me a new thermostat... Git.