Engine coolant boiling out of top of coolant tank!

[Jordianum]

So... Just bought my first E30, beautiful White 325i cab. Got 10 miles down the road and pulled the car over. Engine coolant was pissing out from the top of the coolant tank which was hissing, the engine was overheating - Nightmare.

Got it back to the garage I bought it from and it seemed fine, the coolant level had obviously dropped but the temperature had gone down also.

They are taking a look on Monday. Anyone had a similar experience and can give any advice?

Thanx

[mrLEE30]

What year is the car?

what did the temp guage do while the coolant was coming out of the expansion bottle?

How did you get the car back to the garage?

Next step:

have them check the thermostat, and ensure the system is fully and prpoerly bled of air.

and then ensure the radiator is getting fully hot from top to bottom when the engine is up to temp.

Then they should do a pressure test of the cooling system,

Then i would have them guarentee the cylinder head as if its overheated badly it will be warped and thus junk.

[Jordianum]

It's a 1987 325i in what looked like mint condition.

I let it cool down for ten minutes when I saw and heard the coolant boiling. The temp gauge was on red!
Drove it 15 minutes back to garage and the gauge cooled to normal on the way??? Confused...

Thanks for the advice, the mechanic is looking it over on Monday and I will get him to check everything you mentioned.
Hopefully it'll be something minor and I can get it home and post some pics!!
The car 'looks' amazing.

[Grrrmachine]

Have a read of this:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... verheating

Hopefully, the y just serviced the car and didn't bleed it properly. Unfortunately, the 325i doesn't take kindly to overheating, so you really need to check it thoroughly this time to make sure you haven't done any damage to the head.

[mrLEE30]

Sounds like an airlock or a stuck thermostat, it sounds like you drove it back to garage without fixing anything, but did you add water to drive back?

To be fair the M20 will take a bit of overheating before the head gasket fails, but it's best avoided!

Oh and welcome to the zone!!

[Jordianum]

Coolant level was fine, checked oil cap for mayo type gunk and all good.
Today would have been perfect for its debut outing!!!

Will let you know the outcome

[zaust]

Cold very well be the coolant bottle cap has failed. Not holding pressure and letting the system boil.

[gooner1]

Is it possible this coolant cap has escaped the recall

[mrLEE30]

^^^ was that not only applicable to the facelift engine cooling system?

[gooner1]

Quite possibly, Lee, and now I come to think of it, the problem with
the recall was bursting pipes spraying the driver with boiling water from
the heater, iirc.