Overheating problem on 95 325 convert

Hello all. I am new to this forum, however, I owned three vintage Saabs and was a regular member of that Forum( as you can imagine if you ever owned a vintage Saab); my family told me that they would leave me if I didn"t get rid of all the Saabs and get BMW's( which I did). I own a 95 525 sadan and a 95 325 convert.

On the 325, I put on a new metal thermostat cover yesterday( old plastic cover leaked) and put everything back( fan, radiator, fan cover, etc) and no more leaks, however, I drove about 5 mies and the engine overheated; I checked, no leaks and there was a good vacuum when I opened the overflow box cover.

My logic tells me it is the thermostat; does everyone concur( no movement of water in the overflow box)?

It would be easier for me to just remove the thermostat and put everything back together( no auto parts stores in Malibu CA); would that be OK?

I did this on a couple of american cars I used to own and they ran better without the thermostat's?

Opinions please?

Thanks,

New Lee

You are definitely on the right track, there are some other things to consider though. I am relatively new to the BMW world but from what I've seen with my car, friends car's and research is that E36 BMW's are prone to overheating due to weak cooling systems. The weak points especially being the plastic thermostat housing and plastic impeller water pump. If the thermostat housing was still plastic it's probably safe to assume that the water pump still has a plastic impeller which, regardless if it has failed or not, you should change to a new design metal impeller pump to reduce the likelihood of failure in the future. A bad water pump should also give you a similar result of no coolant flow and quick overheating. When my pump went bad it had similar symptoms. As far as removing the thermostat and running it without one I'm honestly not sure if that would have any adverse effects, it would seem that it would only cause the motor to rise to temperature a little slower due to constant coolant flow. Hope this long winded response helped you somewhat! Good luck!

How do I get to the water pump once I am back to the thermostat cover removal for the removal of the thermostat( taking off radiator, fan cover and fan again)? Do you think it is probably the water pump or the thermostat? I am no where near a parts store..Thanks,
New Lee

Try bleeding the system....THOROUGHLY....you might have a trapped air bubble in there.
Raise the front end slightly, and make sure the heater is running full blast to insure a good bleed.

My heater is not working, blows out cold air when full blast max heat. So you think it might be this ( air bubble)instead of the thermostat? I was just getting ready to take off the radiator, fan cover and fan again to get to those bottom bolts on the thermostat cover?

BMW cooling systems are notorious for problems, and should be completely rebuilt every 75,000 miles or so. It`s a few hundred dollar investment, but think of it as a life-insurance policy for your engine. Overheating is The Kiss Of Death for *many* BMW engines.
Here`s a good rebuild kit. Add a new expansion tank to this, and you`ll be good to go for a long time:

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-20...-3-series.aspx

I just replaced all the hoses, the radiator, the expansion box and the thermostat cover; what else is left, once I put in a new thermostat? Thanks, New Lee

Originally Posted by New Lee

I just replaced all the hoses, the radiator, the expansion box and the thermostat cover; what else is left, once I put in a new thermostat? Thanks, New Lee

Sounds like you`ve got everything pretty well wrapped up, maybe the new T-stat is all it needs. Good luck !

How do I get to the water pump once I am back to the thermostat cover removal for the removal of the thermostat( taking off radiator, fan cover and fan again)? Do you think it is probably the water pump or the thermostat? I am no where near a parts store..Thanks,








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