overheating help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wayneE30]

my 316 m10 is full of problems now its starting to overheat what could this be?????

[Demlotcrew]

viscus fan?

[A1BMW325iSport]

thermostat, blocked cooling system, or head gasket

[wayneE30]

whats a viscus fan?? (sorry new to bmw engines) im sure its not the head gasket how can i check the cooling system. where can i find the thermostat??

[Gwynleym10]

How is it overheating?
A) ONLY IN TRAFFIC <viscous fan..only fan that is under the bonnet, drives off engine and has a viscous clutch in the centre of it...Ԛ£35 from GSF or eurocarparts.
B)ALL THE TIME,
Possibly the thermostate, this is located inline of the water pipes, on the drivers side. How to sort it;
Drain all the cooling off (by just unding the bottom hose) and rinse the inside of the engine with a garden hose (prefeable also use some coolant cleaner from halfords) make sure the heater is ON and on FULL HEAT.

Now take the thermostate out and look at it, are the springs staright or are they bent olover the place? can you push open it open(so that water would flow through it?)
NOw Either bend the insides up so that water will always be able to pass through it, or somehow rig up a srew so it always open (this is a lot easier to understand when you have it in your hand...)

When its securely open, replace and refill the cooling system just use water for the minute and see if its any better, run the engine once the radiator is full with the cap off in order to get the air out.

Make sure you fan belt is tight


Do you get hot air from the fan inside the car?

Why don't you think its the head gasket?

[wayneE30]

alright gwynleym10 thanks once again for your input so here goes i dont think its the head gasket because there is none of the usual evidence like oil water mix or mayo on the oil cap no smoke out the exhaust. the gauge moves up to the red in traffic or when stationary but goes dow when driving at excessive speed like 60 or 70mph the heaters do work inside

[Gwynleym10]

sounds like the fan then, best get it changed asap, as going into the red WILL crack the head, if it hasn't already.

[wayneE30]

is there any way i can check the fan mate????????/

[320Touring]

is there any way i can check the fan mate????????/

if it starts spinning from cold then the viscous clutch is gone!!

can see if its buggered by holding a rolled up newspaper against it whilst its spinning...

if it shreds the newspaper its fine, if it stops its dead

[Gwynleym10]

When its hot, have the engine running and put a roll of newspaper in the fan, it should easily tear it up, not stop.

To replace, it has a REVERSE bolt behind the fan which you need a specail tool for, about Ԛ£5 from halfords i think.
This is what you want, fan coupling
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecommerce/S ... esults.asp

[Gwynleym10]

SNAP!

[wayneE30]

ok guys the fan spins from cold but dont know yet if it stops will post later when ive tried it

[Gwynleym10]

Ys it always spins, but at less than the engine speed, until the "viscous fluid" get hot and "locks" the fan. if the viscous is dead, it will not lock, and thus it will not cool the radiator sufficiently.

While your there you might as well change the coolant and give your radiator a good clean, (take it out, its not hard onlt one bolt on the top) and get allthe leaves/flies out!

[wayneE30]

wel guy i got the engine up to 1/2 temp stuck the paper in the fan and stopped it dead and was able to spin it the opposit direction looks like its

[Brianmoooore]

Got stuck in traffic today, in the hot weather, and discovered my 318 needs a new viscous coupling as well! Heater on full blast brought it down a bit untill I got out of the traffic.
30+ degrees, sun beating down, heater on full blast - lovely.

[wayneE30]

i know exactly how you feel mate my missuss calls it the sweat box is it ok to be running it as it is then for a while??

[Brianmoooore]

Depends how bad the coupling is. As long as you can keep the gauge out of the red, then it should be OK.
This was the first time I've ever seen the gauge above half way on this particular car.

[wayneE30]

is this the part i need http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 46400&rd=1

[TOURINGDADDY]

Just the crnter bit (metal cupling) cheep enough from gsf or euro 5/6 allen bolts and its changed

[TOURINGDADDY]

spell check not on

[wayneE30]

sorry where can i get it from ???

[TOURINGDADDY]

euro car parts or german swedish & french both motor factors do a web search or give us a min and i'll post link

[wayneE30]

ok i will time ya

[TOURINGDADDY]

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecommerce/C ... ELECT=true

http://www.gsfcarparts.com/catalogues/

[wayneE30]

thanks daddy

[TOURINGDADDY]

gsf couplin Ԛ£32

[wayneE30]

cheers for that mate very helpful

[Brianmoooore]

You'll need a thin 32mm open ended spanner to remove it. (Common bicycle size, so I've read).
Put the spanner on the nut with the shaft upwards, and hit the end of the shaft, clockwise facing from the front of the car, with a hammer. This should shock it loose.

[wayneE30]

sounds like its going to be a bit of a bugger to get off

[wayneE30]

hi guys found this on a bmw website (How to test the fan clutch:
Sorry guys, the newspaper test is not reliable. If the thermostat doesn't work or is slow moving, the fan clutch will fail the newspaper test and will spin freely don't even bother explaining how it is done as it is dangerous.
What you should do:
1) make sure that the thermostat is working!
2) when the car is cold, the fan clutch should turn with a small resistance and not spin freely.
3) Let the car idling and the hood not closed but down. After 5-10 min, the temperature will rise at the 1/2 mark, check that the fan is blowing a LOT of air inside the engine compartment and increase in noise level, no need to put your hands, you will feel it. If when the temperature hits the 3/4 mark, the fan is not blowing a lot of air, that means that: either the thermostat is not working or slow, or the fan clutch is bad.)

what do u think??????????????????????

[Brianmoooore]

The give away syptom for a duff fan clutch, is that the car overheats when it is slow moving or stopped and not working hard.
A partly stuck thermostat would be OK in these circumstances, but would cause overheating when the engine is working hard.
It is true that if you leave the car fast idling for long enough (possibly with the rad airflow restricted), and the bonnet closed, then eventually you should hear the fan start to roar as the clutch engages, but the newspaper test is quite safe if you use a bit of common sense, and is only really confirming what you already know.
The fan comes of really easy (usually) if you get the technique right, and remember it's a reverse thread.

[wayneE30]

thanks brian i hear alot of people talking about electric fans do u think i should consider retro fitting one or would it be cheaper just to get the new viscus??

[Brianmoooore]

There's no great advantage in having an electric fan on ordinary E30. The viscous fan coupling set up is quite efficient , as it normaly only uses engine power when the radiator is not being ram cooled (i.e. at idle, and when moving slowly.
I have an electric fan (from a seven series) on my M50 engined E30, because theres no room for the normal fan between the engine and the radiator.