Radiator's

[craigieeb]

Looks like my 328i aricon radiator is buggered, I think...

i done an engine change last week and the cars been running ok with the little use it's had, today was it's first real "outing"
and i noticed a problem when i was checking out under the bonnet, the top hose was solid, and the bottom seemed like it had no water in it,
undone the bleed screw on the top of the rad and was just met with water, took the cap off slowly and i seen the water starting to rise up, then went back down,
now.... the weird thing is...
it only does this when im driving with the fan on..?
if i release the pressure, and drive with the fan off, everything is fine, no solid pipes, water circulating, hot air etc etc
working like it should,

now the thing is, since changing the engine, the only thing that hasnt been replaced is the radiator, all pipes were changed, new thermostat, new water pump, alloy thermo housing etc
so it can only point to the radiator letting in air somehow,

i'v got a smaller radiator that came off my e36 so im going to bung that on for the time being and just put the 10" fan on till I can find another radiator that'll take the 16" fan

long and drawn out i know, but here's the question...

Does anyone know where i can get an all alloy radiator from?

[E30BeemerLad]

http://www.jtote.com/product_info.php/g ... a8to6unlb7

[craigieeb]

Now does anyone know where I can get one for a 10a


good find lee

[E30BeemerLad]

http://j-w-racing.co.uk/product.php/606 ... db3986b4f2

[craigieeb]

http://www.motorhoses.co.uk/product_inf ... 32358-9599

getting cheaper

[E30BeemerLad]

I think you'll struggle to find cheaper than that last one mate

[craigieeb]

You could be right there like,
but i'll try

Is it worth it tho??
do I really need one or just want one?
suppose I could just whack in another aircon radiator

[Green]

Just stick another aircon rad in, was doing a good before weren't it?

[craigieeb]

Yeah I suppose your right

but it would look good in the engine bay...

[E30BeemerLad]

I would personally just drop in another original aircon rad. Ally stuff looks smart & tarty, but then you'll need to run a separate expansion tank etc.

Looks like a brand new Behr rad can be had for about £120

http://www.motormec.co.uk/cooling.html

[craigieeb]

Back again...

Right got a real problem with the cooling system pressurising up all the time,
I'v changed the thermostat 80 degree, water pump, thermostat housing and the radiator,
it's bleeding up (takes a while but it gets there in the end)
getting hot air from the heaters,
and when i rev it the water is circulating fine,
but no matter how many times i bleed the thing, it just keeps pressurising
iv got no water leaks anywhere etc etc...

so now im stumped

anyone help me out here??

[DanThe]

Have you got a new res cap? If not get one

[craigieeb]

I haven't, so I will

could it be something as simple as that......
we'll find out

[craigieeb]

Just got the new radiator cap and a new bleed screw from BMW,
and it's just the same,

im getting heat from the heaters,

no air bubbles coming up when i undo the bleed nipple,

radiator hot all over,

cap on, take it for a drive, for 5 minutes, come back and the top pipe is hard,
undo the bleed nipple, nothing but water,
undo the cap and the pressure releases .......

[craigieeb]

Right,

I'm going to bypass the heater matrix by joining the 2 pipes in the engine bay
and if that works then there is something wrong with the matrix, somewhere...


just seems strange that there is no air bubbles, just pressure,
which points to a blockage...

[DanThe]

Is the bottom hose hard and similar temp? Hows the gauge behaving?

[craigieeb]

Yeah it was danski,
i'v had everything off, investigated, put it back together without the thermostat (removed the centre)
and it's all just the fukin same,

so there is only one thing left to check..........



The headgasket



If I remove the head and it strips 1 just 1 of the threads,
I'm fragging it and buying something else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'v had enough like.

[Jhonno]

How hard is hard? They go hard anyway, they are under 2 bar pressure..

If the temp is fine, it's not using water, the bottom hose is fine and you got heat, with no air out the bleed nipple I think you might be being paranoid..

[craigieeb]

Hard as in,...there is no squeezing them hard
as hard as a rock as they say,
there is now air coming out the bleed nipple,

the water is whooshing back up the radiator and p1ssing allover,


I just know it's the gasket,

and it's not paranoia if it's actually happening



Or is it

lol

[Jhonno]

Ah.. Bugger.. 2nd lump is this?

Sounds like the shit my M42 was giving me.. Was a stuck thermostat. Then it was an utter shite to bleed. Had to ring Fowler for tips on how to get it to bleed! Got there in the end though..

If it isn't mixing I would not be thinking H/G yet..

Tried an S50 style setup with the seperate header tank? Much easier to deal with imo, if not quite as neat.

[craigieeb]

Aye, the 1st one cracked the head,
so went and just bought a full 328i, thought it was to cheap, grrrrr

I wish it was just as simple as bleeding it, but it is terminal i know it,

i'm just going to pull the head off and investigate it,

rather than just buying and buying parts to throw at a problem that is...

well, more terminal

[DanThe]

When hot, if you take the cap off the res the coolant will rise up and boil over anyway, you need to run it for a few days without touching the cooling system IMO.

[craigieeb]

I'm back

and i'v started stripping it down,
one of the thoughts behind this is........

check out the spark plug on the left compared to the other crusty ones

mmmm nice and wet, licked it and it's definitely water


So it's half done now, but as it's just started to p1ss down
i'll battle on with it tomorrow,
just need to remove the manifolds and lock the cams up
grrrrrrrrrrr

[DanThe]

Its more common for head to be cracked than gasket but you might be lucky...

[leeparkes]

When you undo the headbolts take note how tight they are, i was having the same symptoms as you and when i undone the bolts a couple were barly tight.

Mine was foaming at the bleed screw though, looked like it had rabies

[craigieeb]

Its more common for head to be cracked than gasket but you might be lucky...

Yep I know, got a feeling about this one tho,
only time will tell




(or a pressure test

When you undo the headbolts take note how tight they are, i was having the same symptoms as you and when i undone the bolts a couple were barly tight.

Mine was foaming at the bleed screw though, looked like it had rabies

Hahaha

I dont think this one has been apart in its life,
so dont think the bolts will be loose, it'll be disastrous if any of them are

Had yours had work done to it before you got it like?
Would not be happy if I bought an engine and the head bolts were loose !!

[leeparkes]

No, it was a steel liner block replaced circa 2000.

My problems started on page 4 in this thread

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&start=75

Autopsy with pics on page 8.


Imo an alloy block isnt BMW's best idea.

[craigieeb]

Did you ever find out what went wrong with yours Lee?

and you are right, the alloy block was not the best of ideas BMW have ever had,

if this one turns out to be scrap aswell as the last one,
i'm giving up on them!!

[leeparkes]

No, i put it down to the threads pulling, i hear liners can sink in these too.

[craigieeb]

Aye, there's just to much that can go wrong with these things,
they spit their dummy's just as much as my missus

granted it got me a 13.9 up the strip,
but i bet i could of done better with the M52 internals an iron block

[leeparkes]

Are you attempting a head gasket swap? This can be a minefield too

[craigieeb]

Yeah i'm already elbow deep in to it,
I'm not easily put off

but there's only so much i'll take, this year, i'v worked in the engine bay more than i'v driven the fekin thing

[leeparkes]

Report back with your findings, good luck!

[Jhonno]

Good luck Craig fella!

[craigieeb]

I think i'll need it tbh