E30 Zone

Please i need help i changed the radiator and bleed it. When driving the temperature gauge stayed below the mid bar, but when stop with the engine running the temperature went above the three quarter point.

Can anyone help me.
Many thank.

Viscous fan coupling is the prime suspect.

Hi chur,

Use the "search" facitily on the toolbar above. You'll more than likely find a fair few people have had the same problem, and all your questions will be answered in one easy step. It works like magic !!

georgen wrote:Hi chur,

Use the "search" facitily on the toolbar above. You'll more than likely find a fair few people have had the same problem, and all your questions will be answered in one easy step. It works like magic !!

Many Thank for your help.

Brianmoooore wrote:Viscous fan coupling is the prime suspect.

Thank you. I will check it out.

same problem like mine,,
i changed the viscous van and it's getting better
well you must bleed it, every 3 days,,

tigalima wrote:same problem like mine,,
i changed the viscous van and it's getting better
well you must bleed it, every 3 days,,

I will be changing the viscous fan. I have been bleeding the car every day.
I will let you know when it sorted.

Cheers.

my money would be on the viscous coupling.

are you getting heat from the heaters?

spp320i wrote:my money would be on the viscous coupling.

are you getting heat from the heaters?

I have changed the coupling fan and bled the radiator today. Yes the heater is working perfectly.

I have run the car for a while but still heating up. I think i still need to bleed the radiator.

I thank everyone for their kind support. i will let u know by 2morrow.

If the car is bled properly and heat is coming from the heaters then that's not the problem. Is the viscous cutting in as it heats up? Is the bottom hose warm or cold?

It could be the thermostat needs changing.

spp320i wrote:If the car is bled properly and heat is coming from the heaters then that's not the problem. Is the viscous cutting in as it heats up? Is the bottom hose warm or cold?

It could be the thermostat needs changing.

Car is doing well so far. Many thank.

chur wrote:

spp320i wrote:If the car is bled properly and heat is coming from the heaters then that's not the problem. Is the viscous cutting in as it heats up? Is the bottom hose warm or cold?

It could be the thermostat needs changing.

Car is doing well so far. Many thank.

The bottom hose is warm.

chur wrote:

chur wrote:

spp320i wrote:If the car is bled properly and heat is coming from the heaters then that's not the problem. Is the viscous cutting in as it heats up? Is the bottom hose warm or cold?

It could be the thermostat needs changing.

Car is doing well so far. Many thank.

The bottom hose is warm.

.

Well i spoke to soon. The viscous fan do not cut in when car is heating 3/4 mark.

Next thing when car is cold the fan rotate very fast but when car is well heated the fan run normal and would not turn any faster and when accelerate the fan react normal.

Is the water pump working OK? Try removing the pressure cap (carefully) & see if there's any water being thrown out of the return in the top of the rad with the engine running.

I've always noticed that with the viscous fan on every BMW I've owned but none have ever overheated even if it did seem strange for the fan to be less effective when warm...

insertnamehere wrote:Is the water pump working OK? Try removing the pressure cap (carefully) & see if there's any water being thrown out of the return in the top of the rad with the engine running.

I've always noticed that with the viscous fan on every BMW I've owned but none have ever overheated even if it did seem strange for the fan to be less effective when warm...

Will check. Thank.

hey how do you check your thermo stat i took it off the engine there now is there any way i can check it

leee111 wrote:hey how do you check your thermo stat i took it off the engine there now is there any way i can check it

Remove the thermostat from its housing and pop it in some boiling water after a few moments it should start to open.

i my car is doin the same the fan seams to be workin fine what if i lift all the insides out of the thermostat housing what would this mean towards the heating of the car

leee111 wrote:i my car is doin the same the fan seams to be workin fine what if i lift all the insides out of the thermostat housing what would this mean towards the heating of the car

What does this mean?

I assume you mean "how would the car run with no thermostat in it?"

Well this is probably a stupid idea for medium to long term running and I think you should probably fix the problem first! Withought a thermostat the constant flow of coolant through the thermostat housing will prevent the engine from reaching normal operating temperature. This can cause poor driveability in cold weather, a sharp increase in fuel consumption, little or no heater output, and accelerated blowby and ring and cylinder wear.

Does your heater work and give hot air after a few minutes of running?

yep its a very good heater when you sit the car haets up. But when you start moving again it will go down to a nick below half way

so when your stationary the heater needle goes up past the halfway mark? and then when moving comes back down again? Does it come down randomly? or any other strange behaviour?

And I meant the heater in the cabin, when you turn it on does it blow hot air after just a few miles of driving from stone cold?

yep it comes down randomly.

and in the cabin well maybe five min drivin there is good heat in the cabin

Are you sure the temperature gauge is correct then?

how do you check it

Well you said you've checked the fan, and the fan would be my number one suspect for the symptoms you describe, so first how did you check the fan? How do you know it works when the engine is hot?

If you sit in the car and don't drive anywhere how does the temperature gauge react? does it go up then down then up then down. Is it completely random? what happens EXACTLY if you don't drive anywhere? And is the car parked level?

i will have to check that and the fan seems to be spinin when it was warm

is there a chance i could boil it by over heating it

Just because it was spinning doesn't mean it was working properly, The usual test is to take a rolled up newspaper and pop it between the fan blades when the engine is warm. The fan if operating properly will have the power to shred the paper into tiny pieces with no trouble, if the paper stops the fan then your viscous coupling is not working or is not engaging properly.

The test MUST be performed when the engine is hot/warm, since the fan won't be engaged at lower temps but may still spin.

I would do this before anything else, as I said it is the most likely cause IMO of the symptoms you described.

Obviously half a newpaper rolled up or your local rag type is perfect, apparently yellow pages and broadsheets don't work so well.

leee111 wrote:is there a chance i could boil it by over heating it

Yes, there is a chancey you can boil the coolant but with adequete coolant mix and the pressure of the system the temperature of the coolant would boil at a temperature higher than water.

And honestly if it gets that hot your endanger of ruining your head.

What engine does your car have fitted btw? and why do you think your at risk of the coolant boiling? If the needle goes that high (near top) you should shut the engine off ASAP.

hey it keeps going up and up the tempature gauge

i also need a new fan

leee111 wrote:i also need a new fan

How do you know this? Its the viscous coupling that engages the fan!

leee111 wrote:hey it keeps going up and up the tempature gauge

You not helping very much your not giving enough information!

How quickly does it go up? And when does it keep going up and up?

Turn the engine off before it hits the top for gods sake![/quote]

i did the news paper trick and it stoped the fan so im guessin its broke i was sitting talking to a random man who stoped me and the gauge went very high in the gauge just over the thre quarter way mark do you think i need a new fan

You still haven't told me what engine you have!?!?!