Overheating, expansion bottle cap for sale??

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k10
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Post Sun Dec 11, 2005 4:28 pm

Okay here is the senario.
My 325i touring split one of the middle heater pipes yesterday. The one going from the thermostat housing, the other end does not go the the rad.
Anyway, no problem car did not overheat, went to euro car parts and got new piece of pipe for Ԛ£10, fitted it job done. Test drive and car so okay, temperature incresed slowely until 1/3 of the way up the temp gauge then sudden dramatic increase in temperature, would have gone into red if I'd let it.
Internal heaters on hot and on speed 4 but no hot air??
I assume I have an air blockage in the system.
I have flushed the system with a hose down the expansion bottle, removing the bottom hose.
I have refilled and bled the system using the bleed screw/ bolt on the thermostat housing. I have ran car and it is okay until the thermostat opens and the top hose gets hot, then within 20-30 seconds the temp increses from 1/3-3/4 on the temp gague, still no hot air from heater??
Is there any other way to bleed the system?
Is their an air block in the heater matrix and this is why I no longer have any hot air and overheating? If so is their a bleed screw for the heater matrix?
In addition when the car gets hot water escapes from the expansion bottle cap, this cap lets out water even if you tigthen up fully? Would the fact that this cap no longer seems to pressurise the system prevent all the air being vented from the system via the bleed screw on the thermo housing? I bled the system for 3 hours today and no luck?
Has anyone got an expansion cap they want to sell?
Any ideas or anyone had this problem before? Cheers
K :cry: [/url]
Andy335Touring
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Post Sun Dec 11, 2005 6:57 pm

Sounds like an air lock, try filling it like this..........

Ignition and heater on
fill as much as you can into the rad and engine via the rad top hose then refit the hose
open bleed valve
fill the expansion tank up
close the bleed valve
leave the expansion cap off for the first couple of minuets of the engine running, blip the throttle, squeze the rad top hose and top up if needed
replace the cap
open bleed valve to check for any air
watch the temp gauge and make sure heat is comming out of the heater
some where around the 1/3 mark on the temp switch the thermostat should start to open, to check for this see if the bottom hose is getting warm
open bleed valve to check for any air
turn engine off and allow to cool down
open bleed valve to check for any air
check the water level

Don't bleed the car on a slope where the nose of the car is pointing down hill
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Brianmoooore
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Post Sun Dec 11, 2005 9:45 pm

You can clear the airlock by filling the rad header tank just about to the top and then, with the cap off, undo the top heater pipe on the bulkhead and pull it off just to the end of the spigot. Pull it completely off for about half a second and the air along with some coolant should come out.
Push it back on, refit the clip and check the coolant level.
Is one of the O rings missing from your coolant cap?
If the very bottom of your rad cap is a black coloured disc, then take it, and your VIN, down to your dealer. These caps were the subject of a safety recall a few years ago, and if it hasn't been changed already, your dealer should give you a new one FOC, with a yellow disc on it.
If you had the old type cap on the car, then that could have been the cause of your hose failure.
fuzzy
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Post Sun Dec 11, 2005 9:50 pm

i didnt know that about the caps, i replaced mine a couple of weeks back but i thought it was because my cossie engine was higher pressure or something. if i knew they where free i wouldnt have nicked one from the scrappys :D
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k10
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Post Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:13 pm

Thanks Guy's I'll have a go with both of these suggestions tomorrow.
A touring with a 3.5 must go well?
Cheers
K
Andy335Touring
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Post Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:58 pm

k10 wrote: A touring with a 3.5 must go well?
Cheers
K
Not as fast as Fuzzys Cossie Touring 8)
m-dtech
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Post Mon Dec 12, 2005 2:00 am

fuzzy wrote:i didnt know that about the caps, i replaced mine a couple of weeks back but i thought it was because my cossie engine was higher pressure or something. if i knew they where free i wouldnt have nicked one from the scrappys :D
tight scottish git
uberdrah
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Post Mon Dec 12, 2005 10:57 am

Having had some radiator problems recently i know that my expansion tank cap does not have a yellow ring around the bottom.

Just called the local dealership and gave them my reg (don't have my VIN in work) and apparently there are no outstanding recalls on my vehicle and a new cap with be Ԛ£10.30 (inc vat) not to bad i suppose.

:?
mason
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Post Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:41 pm

uberdrah wrote:Having had some radiator problems recently i know that my expansion tank cap does not have a yellow ring around the bottom.

Just called the local dealership and gave them my reg (don't have my VIN in work) and apparently there are no outstanding recalls on my vehicle and a new cap with be Ԛ£10.30 (inc vat) not to bad i suppose.

:?

Yes indeed mate i had the same problem and had to buy one

MASON
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Post Mon Dec 12, 2005 2:44 pm

Info about the reacall: 1989 - 1990 E30 325i

Recall Date: FEB 01, 1993
Component: VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM:WINDSHIELD:HEATER CORE
Potential Units Affected: 375000
Summary: THE MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE OF A COOLANT SYSTEM COMPONENT RESULTS IN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED COOLANT TEMPERATURE AND A RESULTING INCREASE IN SYSTEM PRESSURE.
Consequence: VEHICLES OPERATED UNDER THIS INCREASED COOLING SYSTEMPRESSURE CONDITION CAN SUFFER DAMAGE OR FAILURE OF PARTS OF THE COOLING SYSTEMSUCH AS (1) LEAKAGE FROM A COOLANT HOSE, (2) LEAKAGE OF THE RADIATOR OREXPANSION TANK, (3) DISCONNECTION OF A HOSE FROM A PIPE OR A FITTING, AND (4)CRACKS IN THE HEATER CORE END PIECE RESULTING IN COOLANT LEAKAGE. IN SOME CASES,BOILING COOLANT CAN CONTACT THE LOWER RIGHT LEG OF THE DRIVER RESULTING INBURNS. ALSO, ESCAPING COOLANT IN THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT CAN CAUSE VAPORFOGGING OF THE INTERIOR SURFACE OF THE WINDOWS, REDUCING DRIVER VISIBILITY.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A THERMOSTATIC BYPASS VALVE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT TO CONTROL COOLANT TEMPERATURE IN THE HEATER CORE. ALSO, A NEW DESIGN RADIATOR CAP WILL BE INSTALLED, TO CONTROL PRESSURE AND PROVIDE GREATER COOLANT OVERFLOW IN THE EVENT OF OVERHEATING.
Pete don't care about colour, He would shag a rainbow if he could find the end of it....
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