E30 Zone

As this is my first BMW and its 318IS, the temp gauge has always been reading half way the last week or so i have noticed it creeping up past half way and beyond.

There is water in the car and it has been topped up is this a problem going to happen or is it just the very hot weather we are having at the moment?

Thanks

I have that problem if I am stuck idling for any length of time in this weather. is it in traffic or driving along?

A bit of both im im on the motorway giving it at about 85 then it goes up, and in traffic as well at the moment.

can you hear your viscous cutting in?

I thought that was spinning all the time and did not change speed other than when the car reved faster.

yep a viscous fan runs all the time until you reach a certain speed

i wouldnt worry too much unless it approaching the red as the middle sections of the gauge only cover something like 10 degrees

It was getting close to the red ill keep my eyes on it over the next few days.

If its just doing it in traffic its the viscous,

If its doing it at high speed i suspect its the rad.

Both my IS's stick just below half even in central london traffic in this heat and driving at somewhat illegal speeds....

Get it sorted ASAP otherwise it will cost you a lot more, if its regualry going over half something is wrong and it needs attention. Don't ignore it otherwise you will have a cracked head etc etc

Gwynleym10 wrote:If its just doing it in traffic its the viscous,

If its doing it at high speed i suspect its the rad.

My thoughts exactly! Rads are a 100,000 mile service item.
Turn the heater on full if it goes into the red.
Also worth checking the nut on the back of the cluster behind the temp gauge is tight. A poor connection here makes the gauge read about 1/5th of the scale high.

Brianmoooore wrote:

Gwynleym10 wrote:If its just doing it in traffic its the viscous,

If its doing it at high speed i suspect its the rad.

My thoughts exactly! Rads are a 100,000 mile service item.
Turn the heater on full if it goes into the red.
Also worth checking the nut on the back of the cluster behind the temp gauge is tight. A poor connection here makes the gauge read about 1/5th of the scale high.

Dont think the rad has ever been replaced and its on 158k. I will check the back of the cluster but i think it is reading ok.

The car is using some water so there may be a leak of the head may already be cracked. Ill see how much a rad is on GSF and replace it if not just to save me money.

Nissens are a good aftermarket brand of radiator, I got one from Euro Car Parts for my iS.

failing them problems dude, check water pump if you are loosing water! it can spirt from pretty much anywhere if its gone, sometimes un-noticable

Cheers guys im going to pull it apart this weekend and replace all these bits, just to be safe.

Brianmoooore wrote:[
Also worth checking the nut on the back of the cluster behind the temp gauge is tight. A poor connection here makes the gauge read about 1/5th of the scale high.

sory i didin't understand if the gauge is loose it tells that the temp is higher than it's actually is or the otherway around?

Loose nut = gauge higher. You think engine is hotter than it is.

Hi everyone,

I was having a similar problem, in that the temp gauge was hovering just below the 3/4 mark on my 4 hour drive to Germany. I checked the water level when I got there and it was ok. so didn't think anything more about it.

But then I drove for an hour yesterday in London and it was doing the same. Oddly, I noticed on one occasion that the needle actually "flickered" slightly a few times, like the needle on a music tape deck. It didn't do it again, but then I checked the water level and it was about a 1/4 full, even though I topped up to the line a couple of days before.

I noticed that looking from the top down, there was a little bit of residual fluid on the metal ledge just below the radiator.

I will get my mechanic mate to check this out asap, but I won't be able to get to him until next weekend at the earliest. Given the above, in your opinion do you think it is ok to continue the odd city drive for the weekend, as long as I top up after each journey, and that the temp needle doesn't go above 3/4 mark? I need to use the car this weekend so I'm hoping this isn't too serious just yet.

Cheers

Ben

This is where i found some water i have just changed my rad for a new one of an e36 as its all i could find and now it stays below half way.

The only problem i have now is that when i turn the heater blower on full the neadle flys up a few mm so i suspect a electrical problem.

So a E36 rad goes straight on

Sort of the top is different as there is nowhere for the existing securing bracket to secure it. When i removed the rad from the e36 it had this rubber bit that comes off i used this to secure it.

About a month ago, I had the same problem with my 325i Cab.

A bit of background. In the hot London weather in stationary traffic my temp guage was 3/4 pushing into the red Turning the heater on full blast brought it down . But it really is not fun sitting in 32 Degrees, roof down and the heater blowing heat out on 4 !!!

I've got a new rad. but the cooling system has residue of rad weld in it which is probably a hang-over from before it was replaced. I have had it flushed twice since then but with limited success.

Solution: I had the viscous fan taken out and replaced with a 16 blade X" electric fan that is fully adjustable by me to cut in when I think it's needed.

This seems to do the job.