Overheating

[sam320i]

Alright bos and girls, i got a 320i on anH plate and it just started overheating!! Got told it would need a new viscous fan so i re-placed it. Helped a wee bit but the thing still bloody overheating. noticed the whole fan assembly seems loose. any ideas on what this could be??? thought it may have something to do with the water pump.

Cheers
Sam

[BrAdZ]

spin the fan with your hand, if it keeps spinning the viscus bit is knackerd, it should stop instant, have you chnaged the coolant?, when was the water pump last changed?

Adam

[TOURINGDADDY]

if all the assemble is loose then u got dead pump have u checked fluid and dont cook it or you'll crack the head

[sam320i]

just put a brand new viscous fan in it and changed the coolant at the same time! Dont know when water pump was last changed only jus got it

[dazleeds]

wiggle the viscous about and check to see if the pulley from the pump has come away inside as this happened to my h reg several months ago and may have cracked head still havent checked cos im lazy but removed pump and the pulley for fan rattles all over the place

[E30BeemerLad]

this is only a suggestion but once you have finished looking over the viscous and in particular the water pump, then consider the thermostat, relatively cheap to replace and could be the cause of problems. If the water pump was so knackered that the fan shaft was all over the place I would expect you would be loosing coolant?

under what circumstances does the car overheat? Is it when ticking over, in stop/start urban driving or when at prolonged high speed cruising?

[BrAdZ]

how quickley does it overheat?

[sam320i]

the temp was getting right up past the half way bit in less than ten mins but now it takes abut 15-20 mins of driving to get half way, gota put the heaters on full blast to make it stay in the middle.

[dazleeds]

as said above check everything and def try changing tstat

[Fushion_Julz]

If you can make the temp stay normal when idling by turning the heater up full, then it is either the viscous unit or the temp sensor that is faulty. However, it is worth changing the thermostat and flushing out the rad just to make sure.

If it overheats while driving along, then it has nothing to do with the viscous fan...Could be the radiator is blocked or the cooling fins on the rad are blocked...take it out (easy job) flush it and blow out the bugs and road tar with an airline...Change the 'stat too, just in case...If it still happens, could be the water pump impeller wearing out....

[sam320i]

ok cheers for the help peeps, i'll let u know when and if i get it sorted