Cooling Woes

[m5runner]

Today I picked up my ride from the shop after an unpleasant finding that the brake master cylinder was bad and it took the right front caliper with it. The thermostat also went bad and ofcourse a screw broke off in the block but my mech is the man...he made a bracket and i tell u it looks great.

Now, on to the problem. The car is STILL overheating. I look under the car, no leak, I look all around the hoses, no leaks, I checked the oil for coolant, no leaks. I opened the reservoir and it had no air in it so I don't know what the hell. Heat works fine and it has a new thermostat, fan clutch and water pump. The heat works WELL....LOL. I don't know what else to check so maybe one of u fine bmw enthusiasts can help me with my problem

 

[Militant-Grunt]

Faulty sensor?

 

[jszar]

water pump! check it! mine went out and f'd the thermostat, radiator, and a few hoses.

 

[knightpitt]

water pump!

If the heat works, it's not a water pump problem. I vote sensor first. Also, double check that your thermostat works correctly. You know, run it until it's hot and make sure the return line from the radiator is warm.

Also, if this is a problem that is associated with sitting in hot weather in traffic with the AC on, I'd check to see if your secondary fan works. How's the AC work?

 

[andreyiv]

Mine was overheating too. I thought it was the thermostat so I took that out completely, nope not that, so I thought it was the pump, replaced both, the pump and the thermostat, not that either. While replacing the water pump and thermostat all the air was let out of the system and the car was ran at about 2500rpm while standing still for about 10-15 minutes and it didn't overheat, while all the components I replaced were in perfect working condition. After that everything was fine until one day it started overheating and with the heat on max I got home fine, so then I changed out the fan and fan clutch. My point is, make sure you bleed the whole system properly because that might be the reason to everything and I think I spent all that money for nothing, except the fan and clutch.

 

[m5runner]

I bled it the other day and there was some air in it not much to make it overheat. i drove it today and it was just a tick across the center hairs in traffic after coming off the interstate. before i bled it. i am gonna bleed it one more time to see. i changed the fan clutch already...its brand new. updates to follow...

M5

 

[andreyiv]

Before I didn't even look at the damn thing but since the problem I started to look carefully and on mine it is a hair above the middle too, maybe it is supposed to be that way. Can someone who didn't have an overheating problem before tells us exactly what the gauge is saying? Just curios, how did you bleed your system? Just asking because I personally don't know the exact precedure and had somebody else do it for me. Thanks in advance.

 

[invazn9o9]

i have the same problem..it says check coolant level everytime i turn the car off...i also..tried turning on the heater...does that mean its the water pump that is causing the problem?

 

[m5runner]

invazn9o9, check the wires that are attached to the reservoir. as far as my car is concerned, i took it back to the shop today and they decided that they are gonna change the radiator even though i doubt that's what the problem is. the heat does work but it's not stifling like the normal bmw. i guess i just have alot of things on my mind. again, all the major cooling components are brand new and the car was overheating with the old ones. i should know soon from my mech what's going on

 

[m5runner]

well they changed the radiator today and apparently its still overheating. not even sure what's left to replace. my buddy told me that there might be a leaking hose between the engine and the firewall. he said his was doing the same thing. i will let u guys know what was up with it the minute i find out.

 

[m5runner]

i take back my last post......the radiator was replaced and it fixed the problem. turns out it was clogged up. i couldn't believe it because it's a fairly new radiator. so this makes radiator #4 in 5 years of ownership. my mech said he drove it for 15 miles and it stayed on norm the entire way. i am going to pick it up in the morning....wish me luck

 

[m5runner]

ok, the problem is still there. i guess it wasn't the radiatior after all. nothing left to change but the sensor on the engine block. i guess i will do that this week and see what happens

 

[m5runner]

gonna do it soon, i swear....work is killing me