Rad changed but over heating!!! HELP!!!

[Giggz]

It all started with a rotor arm...first attempt at checking and changing rotor arm and distributor cap.Could not for love nor money get to the screws holding the cap as pipes and radiator were obstructing it.Took the Rad out and discovered that it is totally buggered from the bottom end!!!! Basically looks like its falling apart slowly. Now that its out i am thinking of changing the water pump while the radiators out.Is it a big job? Can anyone recommend anything else i can do while the rad is out?

[E30BeemerLad]

for the price of the bits involved and with you already having the relevant covers off etc it would be worth looking at doing the timing belt, you're looking at about Ԛ£10 for the belt and the same for the tensioner from GSF.
Water pump for M20 was about Ԛ£20 I think.

I have got a very good guide somewhere that I used to do my cambelt and the car is still working a month or so later!

Will see if I can dig it out.

[Giggz]

OOOOOH Cam-belt change. Good thinking. If the guide is clear enough(which i have no doubt it will be) then i will definently attemp the belt change.Do you need any specialist tools for this?

How about the water pump change.Is it just a case of old one out new one in?

[dazleeds]

pretty easy mate as beemerlad says just follow the guide and youll be sorted Daz

[Widge]

For the cam belt change a 32mm spanner or viscous fan spanner is a life saver to get the fan off. Apart from that it's all pretty much standard sockets and an allan key for the crank sensor. If you have any probs loads of us have done it so just ask the question befor you break any thing, my problem was the rotor cap bolts so rusted had to drill them! Oh and the fan is a left hand thread.

[Giggz]

Sweet.

Look forward to checking out the guide.

[E30BeemerLad]

here's the link for the guide I used

did the trick nicely, I assume your car is a 6 pot mate?

http://www.angelfire.com/blues2/bimmer/

when you go into it click on maintenance at the left hand side

[Giggz]

AAAAAGH nice one mate.Yeah it is a lovely 6 pot! 325ise on an f plate.

Thanks guys. If i do have any question i will definently ask.

No doubt i will have plenty

[E30BeemerLad]

also when following that guide, consider that the car this bloke was working on is LHD, so when he refers to turning a nut towards the passenger side of the car, he means driver side for us!

[Giggz]

Ok.Where to start!

I basically fitted the rad,rotor arm and distributor cap.

I then filled the water tank up with water and took it for a little drive.

I turned the heaters on full heat and she gave heat...eventually,but when i left her to idle she went over the half mark on the temp gauge

Then i had the bright idea of bleeding the whole system.

The way i did it last time was turn her on with the cap off the water tank.

loosen the bleed valve with the hose at the ready.

Watched as the water level in the tank dropped but not letting it empty so filled it up.

This where the trouble starts! Water from the bleed valve starting gushing out and water from the tank started gushing out! I paniced and tightened the bleed valve up turned her off and put the cap back on the water tank!

Have i done damage to by precious!?!?

[Widge]

Unlikley I think, I did 3 timing belt changes over easter and never bled any of them and all three work perfectly. I only decided to bleed mine when I fitted the BBTB, as the temp gague wasn't registering any heat. And that then lead to the disaster of thinking the head gasket had gone, then the bleed nipple broke, when all that had really happened is the wire to the temp gague had been broken under the inlet manifold. Any way cars with headertanks are basiclly self bleeding.

[Giggz]

I checked the car this morning and the water tank was empty.I filled it up with some coolant and let took her for a spin round the block.I parked back up and left her to idle for about 10 mins and the temp gauge was sitting just before the half mark.This is ok aint it?Although before the new rad was fitted there was more of a gap from where the temp gauge used to sit to where the half mark is. I am just worried now that i have not got any air trapped in the cooling system

[Widge]

All the water overflowing last night was probably because a huge bubble was coming out, which has left the tank low thismoning. Don't worry Brian would telll you if he wasn't on holiday that between the red and blue is only a couple of degrees so it dosen't really matter. 1/2 way is good.

[Giggz]

Yeah thats what i reckon.I am happy with halfway just as long as its the right side and it was. Someone suggested that parking the car up-hill and doing the bleeding process like that is good.Me going to try it when me get home. How much anti freeze shall i put in?

[Widge]

You should mix the antifreeze and water before you put in in the car to a 50:50 mix - which is safe down to -36 oC.

[Giggz]

Ok thanks.

Will let you know how it goes tonight. Seems straight forward enough but i do have a tendoncy(spell?) to complicate thngs!!!

[Stoney_god]

Last time I changed a rad (not in a beemer) it ran really hot for about 15 minute and the fan kept kicking in cooling it down. Since then it's been spot on. Maybe new rads need a little while to settle down

[Giggz]

Thats very true,because the old one looked like it had been in there since god knows when! It was all crumbling apart at the bottom.I took pics as i was going along.Shall i post them up?

[Widge]

Yeah put up a pic of the old vs the new

[Stoney_god]

yeah post them.

[Giggz]

OK will do.