overheating

[e30323i]

Hello folks,

I have a 323i which is overheating. It looses no oil or water (and no mixing), however, i can stop the fan with my fingers and suspect the coupling is knackered. The car only cost me Ԛ£100 so I don't want to fork out Ԛ£50 for a new coupling. Is there any bodge job I can do to repair the coupling? I think I saw something way back on the old site but it has gone now?

many thanks,

JJ

[MasterBates]

No, you can't do anything with a knackered viscous. If you try and lock it solid, the strain of running all the time will destroy the water pump very quickly. Fit a secondhand one and see what happens - shouldn't be more than a fiver from a scrapyard, but unbolt it from the fan first.

[e30323i]

Bloody thing!

I've replaced the fan, I've had a new thermostat but it still overheats slowly if i don't have the heater on full blast!

any ideas? I don't think its a head problem as oil and water are perfect. What are the symptoms of a bad rad and how can i test it???

cheers,

John

[e30325itourer]

was it a new fan or second hand? i think i read on ere if you try to stop the fan with a rolled up newspaper it should shred the paper if working properly if it stops the blade then its scrap (no specialist but im sure one will be along soon e30zone where would we be without it)

[E30Adam]

Welcome to the world of E30's, the great cars that think your wallet is a bottomless pit

[TVRTASMIN]

Well a roadworthy car for Ԛ£100, you can't go wrong.
Overheating can be caused by several things. Dodgy water pump,ignition timing out, airlock in the coolant and a knackered radiator.
Visually check the rad, if it looks a bit moth eaten and corroded, replace it.
Have you got antifreeze in the system. Using water alone will cause overheating.

[e30323i]

Thanks for the response guys.

Theres only about 1 litre of antifreeze in the system, probably due to the fact that i keep bleeding it. I am getting warm air through my blowers so does this mean there is no air lock?

Would a lack of antifreeze cause it to go all the way to the red?

If i remove the expansion tank cap with the heater blower on full with the engine running, it never boils over, however if I leave the blower of so that the water is just circulating round the rad and engine it overheats?

cheers

john

[alexbaby88]

2 other things:
1. check your thermostat is working properly
2. check your radiator cap.

Good luck

[e30323i]

I've replaced the thermostat and expansion tank cap. My radiator lucks in very googd nick from the outside, but before i bought the car it was sat for 8 months in somebodys garage. Could the rad be choked up, how do i test this?

Is it likely to be the head gasket even though i dont loose any water and have healthy oil and water? How do i know if shes running lean, there plenty of power, the cars only done 96000 miles.

cheers,

John

[Geeman]

Might be a good idea to remove the radiator and back flush it.

I had similar symptoms with me iS and it turned out to be a blocked Rad...

Heaters on, no probs, but heaters off, the car overheated... Hope this helps.

Giles.

[Ziggy]

It's worth bearing in mind that you may well not be able to unblock the rad... but us early m20 owners are a little bit lucky in that a new one is only Ԛ£40 from GSF!

Mine did the same after having been sat for a while (before I bought it actually), & the rad was to blame...

[e30323i]

Thanks guys,

I'll try GSF for a new Rad.

John

[Ziggy]

Part number's B17310 (http://www.gsfcarparts.com/)

I'm not saying you *will* need it, just that it's fairly likely I reckon...