Overheating help...

[WCRe34]

I just bought a 92 318i auto(i know right) my first BMW...

I was driving around and got stuck in a 5pm traffic one day the temp gauge just shoot to the red with the lights come on... it seem to be fine when im driving.. I'm seeing lost in the coolant level i check it maybe once every 2 days to make sure i dont go overheating on a dry system. i dont see leakage anywhere where the car been parking.. The car not burning any coolant either no smokes.. it sputter a bit at start up tho... Im kind of worry since i dont have much $ to fix her at this moment.. I'm in australia so if i even think about haynes manual or bentley manual its gonna have to be quite a wait...Thnx ahead of time.. and if anyone know the DIY solutions to this problem plz do so tell me for which it would help me out greatly and other that might come after me with the same problem...

[nads12345]

is your carpet wet?? if it is then that is where the coolant is leeking too and its prob the heating core which is a bitch to fix... so just keep filling that coolant tank.

[WCRe34]

if the the heater core was leaking the interior would have smell like coolant wouldnt it?... this guy told me its my waterpump, and since im at it i might as well change thermostat and the belts too while i'm at it.

[sFc_m3]

I had the same problem with my BMW, Everytime i hit traffic it whould overheat but normal driving its fine. Just do the cheapest things first like flushing the radiator and changing the thermostat. Its a cheap fix you dont wanna spend extra money. Does ur heater work? If ur gonna fix it here how you do it!

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Coolant_Flush/E36-Coolant-Flush.htm

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Thermostat/E36-Thermostat.htm

[obd2guru]

if the temperature goes high very quick , its going to be your waterpump , i think you have the dreaded
plastic impeller that breaks in half ,check the following


touch both water hoses top and lower hose if its warm or cold when your gauge is showing over half , water pump is broke ,


if you bottom one is hot and the top is very cold ,you termostat is stuck,


radiators normally fail gradually and not in a flash ,unless they break so radiator shouldnt be a concern.


the termostat would be very easy to check physically its very accesible.

[DEFKON99]

it is possible you have air in your system, Flush it and it should be all better

[biggun_80]

I own a '95 BMW 318i since 2003. Everything has been fine with this car except for a recent trip to Arkansas which was a 3 and 1/2 hours drive. Engine started to overheat after 2 hours drive. If I turn off the ac and the fan heating meter levels right on the middle. I recently changed the oil, water pump seems to be working fine, etc. Anyone has any ideas for this overheating issue? Thanks.

[Edge]

i had that problem and it was my fan not working.

[Choi]

I had the same problem and I just changed the thermostat and now I can sit in any traffic. Check it first its cheap and easy to do.:)

[lesl2]

If you're overheating just sitting in traffic, the other are correct to say to check the fan and maybe replace the thermostat. But, if you are loosing a significant amount of coolant, then you have a leak somewhere. Pressurizing the system will expose where the leak is. In the US, there are auto places where we can rent the tools to do this for free. Not sure about Australia.

[biggun_80]

Well, the car only heats up after driving on highway for 2 hours at least. If I turn off the air conditioner and fan heating meter seems to be fine, if I turn the air conditioner on meter goes up a little. Other than thermostat is it only the fan or fan clutch issue? Thanks.

[lesl2]

Possible restriction in the radiator. Try cleaning/flush.

[TheBull]

Hi everybody,
and here' s the worst possiblity: It' s your cylinder head or just the gasket :( sorry to say that but that' s what happenned to my 95 320ic... i' m loosing coolant of 1lt per 10 days. If i keep adding extra water she never overheats even when i stuck in some traffic for an hour. but of course i' d discovered the problem after overheating the car once :( any mechanic found leakage at the cooling system (hoses, waterpump, thermostat, heating core, etc.) finally they' d decided that it' s my cylinder head (has a crack or something else) or just the cylinder head gasket. They' d recognised the problem after making a pressure test on the ccoling system... It' s this: you do remove the cap of water tank, you place a hand operated pump with a pressure gauge on which fits to the water cap (i don' t know where you can find something like this, but every mechanic over here has one..) whatever, next you pressurize the cooling system and begin to watch the gauge when engine' s not running. After a while you' ll see the needle on the air pressure gauge decrease. This means that : yes you have a leakage problem at your cooling system... Next step is to see whether it' sthe engine or not. You start the engine keeping the pump + air pressure gauge thing fitted on the water tank. have a friend in the car to step on the gas & rev up to 5k 6k rpms or just do it by pulling the gas wire under the injection system... keep it running at those rpms. normally you should see the needle of the air pressure gauge going down because engine running at high rpms will sucks the water in the radiator and decreases the pressure... but if you see it increasing it' s your engine working as a compressor and filling the cooling system with gas + air mixture and exhaust gas...
This is my story at least. next week, my mechanic will be openning my engine and see if my problem' s only the gasket or i do also have a cracked cylinder head. I' ii inform you... But, i thing biggun' s problem is something different and i have no idea about it. May be it' s because of hardly turning compressor and being a far too much burden for your engine...

[d1z3l]

check your fan and check your system for air holes. when the car is completely cold, open the filling tank cap, open the bleeding valve( it's a little screw located to the right of the filling tank) and keep filling the system till you see bubbles coming out of the bleeding valve. start the car, let it reach normal temperature then slightly open the bleeding valve(keep car running) dont open it all the way! and let the rest of the air escape...worked for me.

[muktar]

Hi everyone

While bleeding the system, dont forget to place the control knob of the heater located on the dash just below the radio on full open. Because that way, you are also giving way for the unwanted air trapped inside to escape.

[iceman19773]

My experience with the gradual overheating is a blockage of radiator. I had the system flushed 3 times/changed thermostat 2x/changed top and bottom hoses and still had the same problem. Replaced the radiator and immediately solved the issue.