316i overheating help

[mikeypatrick93]

hi there my 91 316i has been overheating it been staying at just over the 3/4 mark and verging on the red so i have been at the side of the road at lot it gets worse when i coast down a hill and i have been losing coolant any ideas what this could be and how i can fix it quick cause im stuck away at the moment back home and have got to get back to where i live which is 90 miles away help please cheers.

[makman]

is it white smoking from the exhaust? if so its burning it. is your oil grey and emulsified? if so it cod be another indication of your engine burning water...more than likely head gasket.....
OR..could just be a leak ..therefore dropping coolant and dragging in air . you need to check fpr leaks..check oil condition and check coolant condition....also are your fans kicking in? are your blpwers blowing hot

[mikeypatrick93]

hi cheers for replying so quick yes it is white smoking from the exhaust but my oil isnt grey its more dark brownie and slighty over feild, i tryed to test drive it today after filling it up with water and it was leaking water as there was alot of water in the sump/tray thing below the engine, my blowers are working fine the hot air is really hot and cold is normal cold air i hope this may help a little more.

[makman]

when a head gasket blows it normaly makes the oil and water mix..and burn..but sometimes it dosent blow an oil gallery, therefore just burning coolant. where abouts specificaly is the water leaking from?

[mikeypatrick93]

im not sure because it was dark when i was looking bit ill prepared but i will try and have a good look tomorrow i would amagine it was leaking from the radiator area as that where i could see most of the water but havent seen it actually leaking from anywhere yet.

[makman]

did the motor have antifreeze in it too? engones have core plugs on them which pop out if the engones cooland reaches freezing point to stop the block from cracking...if one of these has gone then it will leak cooland straight out...aldo check al your pipes. are they pressurised? is the system bled of air?

[mikeypatrick93]

yh it had anti freeze init i topped it up but did not bleed it so i should do this tomorrow?i shall check all these things tomorrow thanks for your help ill get back to you let you know the outcome.

[mikeypatrick93]

hi there just been down to the garage and tryed the newspaper test on the fan and 3 pages of newspaper rolled up stopped the fan dead any suggestion what this maybe??

[makman]

newspaper test? lol never heard of this one! aha..its realy hard to diagnose something over here...im normaly on site fixxing loading shovels aha

[mikeypatrick93]

haha i read somewhere the newspaper test it obviously shows i have a problem with my fan but im not sure what else it tells me

[FinalD]

Newspaper test video:
[youtube][/youtube]


and text:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/bmw-6-7- ... lutch.html


Basically, if the paper shreds when the engine is up to temp, fan is fine. If the fan stops though then the viscous unit is duff...at least, that is the idea.

[makman]

ah fair play...never heard of that one but i supose its a good and effective way of not cutting youd fingers off checki g if the fan clutch js working haha

[kam-325i]

newspaper test? lol never heard of this one!

You aint been around E30's long then !!!!

The most common cause of a overheating E30 is Either a shagged viscous coupling or a shagged water pump.....

[jonny323i]

my 316i all of a sudden started over heating before i took it off the road. I checked all over for leaks as it had lost water but only found tiny drips. On further inspection it turned out one of the head bolts at the front had sheared the head off and so wasnt holding tight enough and blew the head gasket worth taking the rocker cover off and checking all the bolts

[makman]

i got mine kam..blew the m20b20 then m50'd it with electric fans haha so im lucky to not have the clutch fan worries!

[Andyboy]

The newspaper test is bollox. If the car overheats in traffic, the fan doesn't work. If it doesn't, it works.

Does the heater blow hot air?

[mikeypatrick93]

Yh heather blows hot air

[Andyboy]

That's a start and it means coolant is being circulated. As a bodge to get home you could take the thermostat out and pull the middle out before refitting the outer ring. But If you can't', drive it as is with the heater on full, a few bottles of water on board and stick to main roads, avoiding towns and traffic.

[FinalD]

The newspaper test is bollox.

How'd you come to work that one out? If the viscous unit is locking up as it should when the engine is up to temp then the fan shouldn't be able to be stopped due to being locked at engine RPM.

[Andyboy]

The newspaper test is bollox.

How'd you come to work that one out? If the viscous unit is locking up as it should when the engine is up to temp then the fan shouldn't be able to be stopped due to being locked at engine RPM.

Quite simple. When the coupling engages, it makes a high pitched drone quite distinctive to the experienced ear. Sticking a rolled up Womans Weekly into a fan rotating at several thousand rpm is strictly for amateurs.

[kam-325i]

More of a "Whoosh" than a drone !!!!!

[Andyboy]

More of a "Whoosh" than a drone !!!!!

Could even be a WHOOOO!

[soul4t]

Just to confirm...is this the same woosh whooo and or high pitched drone that one hears when starting the car first time in the day...lasting about 10-20 seconds, or is it more subtle than that...since changing mine I haven't noticed it kicking in majorly, but my temp never goes past the half way mark any more...but for the OP, just to confirm, it should kick in past the half way mark right? So if it's getting to the 3/4 mark there should be noticeable woooshing!
Of course, more concerning is the coolant loss...

[Brianmoooore]

Nothing subtle about the noise at high revs when the coupling is locked. Sounds like a small aircraft on its take off run.

[Billwill]

hi cheers for replying so quick yes it is white smoking from the exhaust but my oil isnt grey its more dark brownie and slighty over feild, i tryed to test drive it today after filling it up with water and it was leaking water as there was alot of water in the sump/tray thing below the engine, my blowers are working fine the hot air is really hot and cold is normal cold air i hope this may help a little more.

You need to find out where this water is coming from that is landing in the sump/tray thing.

At the bottom of the radiator on the LHS is a blue plastic drain plug that is normally used to drain the coolant....make sure this is firmly turned clockwise.

Then check your hoses in that area and check that your pressure release cap is working.....when the engine is slightly hot carefully slightly open the filler cap to see if there is pressure trying to escape.

If your water pump has packed up you could get water spilling in that area.

I think you need to check your water pump, check the pressure cap, check the header tank has not blown and check the thermostat.

Then fill with new coolant mix and burp all air out of the system.

[jonny323i]

When mine had gone it created excess pressure and burst the bottom of the radiator where the header tank section is so make sure the head gasket is ok before replacing or you will just blow a new radiator