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BMW need help with heating problem

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  • 08-02-2007 8:17pm
    #1
    lors
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭


    hi.im new here hopefully somebody can help me,,was told this is the place to come if i had question..

    What it is, im having trouble with the heating in the car..i only recently got the thermo done on it and had no problem for a while, but now its overheating again,there is no hot air coming into the car but yet the car is running fine..ive checked for oil and water..oil level is fine.thought i mite have a bursted pipe but also got that done same time as thermo, i stil check to make sure there is water in it, and when there is she is stil blowing in cold air into the cabin.its a 96 323i coupe..has anyone had this problem with this model before.its very frustrating:mad: :mad:


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    #2
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,978 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    I'm not familiar with the model but it sound like a valve is'nt opening and allowing water into the matrix.

    Mike.


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    #3
    Mr.Diagnostic
    Registered Users Posts: 937 ✭✭✭Mr.Diagnostic


    Water pump impellor falls off. New pump should sort it.

    Easy to check it- Fill the coolant all the way to the top. Start the car and get someone to give it a rev while you look in to the top of the rad. You should see the coolant flow. If it does not flow, its the pump.

    HTH


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    #4
    lors
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭lors


    Mr.Diagnostic wrote:
    Water pump impellor falls off. New pump should sort it.

    Easy to check it- Fill the coolant all the way to the top. Start the car and get someone to give it a rev while you look in to the top of the rad. You should see the coolant flow. If it does not flow, its the pump.

    HTH
    hi..would you stil think it was the pump for example, i just drove it there now about 10mile the temp gage was at average while i was driving it but when got stuck in traffic it started to overheat as normal..


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    #5
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,978 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    If the water is'nt moving then its not cooling the system.

    Mike.


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    #6
    lors
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭lors


    mike65 wrote:
    If the water is'nt moving then its not cooling the system.

    Mike.
    what would you reckon it is.,..im very confuse about it..its driving me demented..what would be the signs if the "head" was going on it...


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    #7
    Mr.Diagnostic
    Registered Users Posts: 937 ✭✭✭Mr.Diagnostic


    Hi lors,

    it is not that easy to diagnose online. After your first post it sounded like the pump but with the extra bit of info from your second post it may not be. If it is the pump impellor, these can loosen and drive the coolant when cool and slip as they heat up. Heating up at idle only can be a sign of fan trouble. These can be very difficult to bleed also.

    Maybe the best advice should be to stop driving it as it is very easy to damage these engines. get it looked at by someone who knows how to diagnose it.


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    #8
    lors
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭lors


    Mr.Diagnostic wrote:
    Hi lors,

    it is not that easy to diagnose online. After your first post it sounded like the pump but with the extra bit of info from your second post it may not be. If it is the pump impellor, these can loosen and drive the coolant when cool and slip as they heat up. Heating up at idle only can be a sign of fan trouble. These can be very difficult to bleed also.

    Maybe the best advice should be to stop driving it as it is very easy to damage these engines. get it looked at by someone who knows how to diagnose it.

    thanks.....im getting it checked out on monday..thanks for your input..fingers crossed its nothing to serious...


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    #9
    Seth Brundle
    Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 39,725 Mod ✭✭✭✭Seth Brundle


    Do *NOT* let it get near the red. BMW heads are very easy to crak or warp if overheated


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    #10
    lors
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭lors


    kbannon wrote:
    Do *NOT* let it get near the red. BMW heads are very easy to crak or warp if overheated
    its already gone into the red once or twice...probaly not looking gud so...:(


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    #11
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,978 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    Just as a matter of interest, have the rad fans cut in?

    Mike.


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    #12
    lors
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭lors


    mike65 wrote:
    Just as a matter of interest, have the rad fans cut in?

    Mike.
    im nearly sure they are stil cutting in when suppose to..i don't think its the fan.


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    #13
    zilog_jones
    Registered Users Posts: 6,638 ✭✭✭zilog_jones


    I had similar trouble with my Fiesta - the thermostat was stuck closed so it was overheating. I drove it without a thermostat for a couple of days before getting the new one put in, but on my way to the mechanic's the heating just suddenly went cold and it never got warm again. I had to get a new heater control valve (the yoke that controls hot water going to the heater matrix). I don't know if the valve breaking was related to any overheating or there being no thermostat, but it was quite coincidental whatever happened.
    Though that valve wouldn't explain why it's still overheating.


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    #14
    Seth Brundle
    Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 39,725 Mod ✭✭✭✭Seth Brundle


    lors wrote:
    mike65 wrote:
    Just as a matter of interest, have the rad fans cut in?

    Mike.
    im nearly sure they are stil cutting in when suppose to..i don't think its the fan.
    The fan should run all the time but faster when the engine gets hotter.
    Test it by trying to stop it with a rolled up newspaper - if it stops then your viscous coupling is shot!


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    #15
    Lex Luthor
    Registered Users Posts: 11,220 ✭✭✭✭Lex Luthor


    I'd be inclined to agree with Mike about the heater valve


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    #16
    rebel.ranter
    Registered Users Posts: 3,570 ✭✭✭rebel.ranter


    If the temperature stays normal during free driving but the minute you are stopped it starts to rise then it is probably the viscous fan coupling. This unit is in the middle of the fan & acts like a clutch for the fan. When the rad gets hotter the fluid in the coupling expands and hence makes it spin harder. These can go at anywhere around 80-90k miles.

    Also you mention that the thermostat was recently changed. Was the system bled properly? An air-lock can cause all sorts of problems with the cooling system. It can cause the car heater not to work, temp gauge to stay low or go very high. All of which could lead to cylinder head failure.
    Bleeding Procedure
    The best way to bleed the cooling system is to park the car nose up (or on axle stands under front of car), place a 2 litre soft drink bottle in the rad filler neck (with bottom cut off to act like a funnel). Remove the rad bleed valve (normally blue/black & situated next to the filler neck, also best to replace this with a new one, about €3). Then get a hose to fill the system up. Once the system looks full, i.e. water coming out of bleed valve then start the car. Turn the heater up to red. Turn fan on (so you can feel air temperature) pointed at window.
    The trick is to keep the soft drink bottle full of water to keep the water going into the system under pressure. Once the system heats up the fan should be blowing hot air, water should be steadily coming out of the bleed valve. This is then when you add the coolant via the soft drink "funnel". Once it has taken all the coolant then shut of the engine & replace the bleed valve & rad cap.
    Oh the rad caps need to have a good seal. BMW actually did a recall on a lot of these in the early 90's. A faulty one can cause overheating. It might be worth chancing replacing that too.
    System Overhaul
    I think that a BMW should get a cooling system overhaul once it hits the 80k mile mark:
    - thermostat should be changed
    - water pump too (the e36 had a plastic impeller which was known to disintegrate)
    - the radiator should be pressure tested to ensure that there is no blockages.
    - decent coolant used (in an ideal world do-ionised water should be put in the system too, coolant will normally take care of any hardness in the water)
    - The viscous fan should be tested (the newspaper method) and replaced where necessary.
    - all pipes/hose clips should be checked for weakness
    - finally flush the cooling system out, re-fill & bleed.
    It would mean that you have all but ruled out any fault in your cooling system for another good lot of miles.

    Hope this helps you determine what your problem is.


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    #17
    lors
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭lors


    thanks lads for yer input;) ..il take it all on board..hopefully it will wrk out for me in the long run and aint anything to serious and costly..cheers!!!!


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    #18
    tallaghtoutlaws
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,067 ✭✭✭tallaghtoutlaws


    I had same problem and took it to 3 mechanics including Mr Duffy and they fixed the thermo stat the head gasket and other minor things. But I took the car to a friend and his mate is a mechanic and loves BMW's and he noticed the Inviscous fan wasn't turning correctly. He replaced it and now its fine and dandy


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    #19
    lors
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭lors


    tallaghtoutlaws wrote:
    I had same problem and took it to 3 mechanics including Mr Duffy and they fixed the thermo stat the head gasket and other minor things. But I took the car to a friend and his mate is a mechanic and loves BMW's and he noticed the Inviscous fan wasn't turning correctly. He replaced it and now its fine and dandy
    lets hope i don't ave to put al that money and then find out its something like that..thanks for the reply:)


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    #20
    BrianD3
    Registered Users Posts: 8,392 ✭✭✭BrianD3


    If you have a cold heater but an overheating engine at the *same* time I don't think that would tally with a fan problem. A fan problem would surely result in an overheating engine and a roasting heater.

    I'd go with the earlier suggestion of water pump or an airlock. Would have thought that it would be worse when driving along than stuck in traffic though. Perhaps the water pump works alright at high revs when driving along but at idle revs doesn't work as it should.


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    #21
    tallaghtoutlaws
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,067 ✭✭✭tallaghtoutlaws


    BrianD3 wrote:
    If you have a cold heater but an overheating engine at the *same* time I don't think that would tally with a fan problem. A fan problem would surely result in an overheating engine and a roasting heater.

    I'd go with the earlier suggestion of water pump or an airlock. Would have thought that it would be worse when driving along than stuck in traffic though. Perhaps the water pump works alright at high revs when driving along but at idle revs doesn't work as it should.

    See now thats what Myself and all those other mechanics tought at the time also. I had cold air still coming in when it was on cold but it still over heated. The fan was replced the problem is now gone completely. I can safely sit in rush hour traffic without worry about my car over heating.


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