335i cooling problem.

[alan335i]

have my 335 almost ready for the road ,i fitted a fan switch onto it last nite then tried to bleed the system but couldn't get it at all,tried filling coolant through the temp gauge switch hole,holding the header as high as posible still nothing.?

[gareth]

have you tried using the bleed screw on the thermostat housing?

is your header tank takeoff on the right length of heater hose? (mine wasn't for a while!!!)

these seem to be pigs to bleed generally...

[charlE30]

When I did mine I removed the top rad hose (from stat) and filled the rad, reconected it and filled as normal. You could also try raising the header tank when filling and bleeding.

I did both of the above the first time mine got filled after the conversion and it did the trick.

Good luck with it, as gareth said they can be a pig to bleed

Charlie

[DRIFTBOY]

I usually hold the tank up, or just unclip it and rest it on the wing, open the bleed screw, fill with water until it dribbles out the bleed screw, tighten it up, put expansion cap on, run engine with heater on full and every minute or so crack open the bleeder and check for bubbles.
When it dribbles out with no air it should be done.

If the temperature guage creeps up while you do this I find holding it at 2000 - 2500 rpm for a few seconds brings it back down quite quickly.

Martin.

[alan335i]

i used the header off the e34 in the same position as the 5 series(bolted onto the bulkhead above the rear off the engine )and all the e34 hoses so should basicly bleed the same as a 5 ,tried everything as above but still nothing,starting to think the waterpumps gone.

[zimmerbimmer1]

A trick to bleeding the m30 engine if can raise front of car up as high as possible take off bleed screw and fill coolant system till comes out of bleed screw tighten up run up but keep checking temp gauge etc

[alan335i]

tried everything above but the bloody thing still wont't bleed,not getting any heat in the cockpit at all,and once it starts to heat up with the bleed screw out its just steam comes out,no water at all(335i unfinished project for sale soon )

[Andy335Touring]

Long shot but try running some water through your rad and heater matrix to see if they are blocked ?

Also make sure the small hose from the top of the rad to the expansion tank isn't blocked.

Have you got a picture or diagrame to show how your plumbing is routed ?

[MJG]

I do the radiator top hose fill first, then rest, trick. Worked for me on a standard e28. Might have got something slightly muddled up with the coolant pipes - it's easy to do I still don't understand it all and I've been unfortunately very intimate with my m30 engines over the past year.

[oze30]

Check your thermostat is in the right way. I found this out the hard way that if it goes in the wrong way, after a while it gives those symptoms.

[alan335i]

used the same plumbing layout as the e34,e34 header tank and all,stat in the right way and working ok,the heater hoses on the e34 went into a canister type thing with wires going into it,this is now unused in the e30,whats it for?

[MJG]

The canister was the "heater valve" i beleive. Not sure what it does though sorry lol.

[Andy335Touring]

They are valves for regulating the heaters out put(the flow of the hot water), definately not needed in the E30.

do you get any funny clicking/tapping noises that change with different revs coming from the heater ?

[gareth]

i know where this is going
commone M30 installation balls ups:
#1. reversed heater pipes
#2. fan wired up backwards


......

[Andy335Touring]

I've done #1 but not #2

[gareth]

both here!!!

they're 'common' mistakes but i'll not name the other suspects that i know of... but you know who you are!!!!

[Andy335Touring]

both here!!!

You star, your Blue Peter badge is in the post !

[DRIFTBOY]

they're 'common' mistakes but i'll not name the other suspects that i know of... but you know who you are!!!!

Ok, I'll own up to it. Fell for both of those!

Anyone else ?

I always found following the Haynes manual for coolant bleeding was the best way (for once!), only I'd add that if the temperature guage creeps towards 3/4 holding it at 2000-2500rpm for a few seconds brings it back down very quickly, then carry on.

Martin.

[alan335i]

the fan is pulling in ok,the heater hoses are on the same place they come off the e34(made sure to mark them b4 i took them off),i'm going to have to take the servo off again to gain access to the hoses to try and get the air out off the matrix,i thought some of the older renaults where the worst cars to get bled,this cars a bloody nightmare.

[alan335i]

right checked the way the hoses are going into the matrix,the top hose into the matrix is coming from the take off from the top rad hose,the bottom is coming from the stat housing with a take off from the header tank,is this the way they should go sort of hoping its not and this is my problem .just want to check as they are a bit hard to get at now,cheers lads.

[DRIFTBOY]

Wrong way round dude!

The way that looks right is wrong!

[alan335i]

thank f##k for that,hopefully that sorts her ,thanks agains,dunno how they got mixed up i had them numbered,ah well, the joys of engine conversions.

[gareth]

#1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[alan335i]

changed the hoses around tonite,guess what ,still doing the same.can't get the water to circulate at all.the water runs out of the bleed hole no probs whem cold but when it heats up nothing but steam.when i took the hoses off the matrix there was no water in it at all.

[DRIFTBOY]

Have you tried -

-Unclip expansion tank and rest on top of wing or tie up to bonnet.
-Fill expansion tank just past max with water
-Put pressure cap on
-Run engine with heater on hot and fastest fan speed
-Crack off bleed screw for a few seconds at intervals
-Keep checking temp. guage, if it creeps past half way hold revs at 2000-2500 for a few seconds to bring it back down (I have electric fan on also whilst doing this.
-When heater blows hot, crack open bleed screw, should be a steady stream
-Leave to cool, top up water.

It's the way the manual says, it works for me!

Are you sure the thermostat is opening?

Martin.

[alan335i]

i have tried all of these martin,no joy,,tested the stat last nite ,working fine.i'm running out of ideas.cars been ready for the road for about a month now if i could get the bloody thing bled.

[SPADGE]

Remove the bottom hose from the thermostat housing end and back fill it. Whack it back on trying not to lose much coolant.
Do the same with the top hose.
Fill the header tank with the bleed nipple open fully.
Leave the bleed nipple open and the header cap off.
Start the engine and whack the heater up to hot.
When you get a steady stream of coolant coming out of the nipple tighten it.
Give both the bottom and top hoses a good squeeze occasionaly so you get air bubbles 'burping' in the header tank and hold the revs at about 2/3k every now and again also.
Keep doing this and topping up the coolant as necassary until both top and bottom hoses are hot and hot air is coming out of the heater.
Open the bleed nipple again whilst the engine is running and again make sure there is a steady flow of air free coolant.

Thats basicly what i have had to do to a couple of M30'd e30's but its far from an exact science!
Just keep at it and as long as the water pump is functioning correctly, the hoses are instaled properly and you have no blockages then you will get there in the end.

[SPADGE]

btw
Can you get any pics of your engine bay showing your hoses?
Or a diagram of how exactly you have routed them??
My concern is that you say you have plumbed it as it was in the e34 when without that complicated heater valve this is virtually imposible.

[alan335i]

the hose T ing of the top hose runs to the bottom heaterhose

[SPADGE]

Why are you missing the hose from thermostat housing to waterpump?

[alan335i]

took it of to see if the pump was moving the water at all,it was on when i was trying to bleed it

[alan335i]

i'm beat ,can't sort this problem ,this engine was running perfect in the e34,no overheating at all,tried everything that everyone has said to do ,had the water pump off,its fine,changed the rad, removed the stat completly just to try it,the car put water out the bleed hole till it heats up then it starts puting out steam,no water at all,when i take the cap off the header it bubbles all the water out again.can't see it having anything to do with me using the e34 header,has anyone else used it.its taken me longer to sort this than the engine swop itself.

[ed325i]

Is there any heat from the heater?

[Andy335Touring]

I think Toby Unna used one on his 335 for a while, no cooling issues but i think he had trouble with it hitting the bonnet ?

Does yours do this only i was thinking of using one of these on mine a while back ?

[Yaninnya]

Maybe a dumb question but do you have electric fan? If yes how big it is (is it blowing in the right direction?) and did you checked the fan swich?
Jan