Oh no! BMW's infamous cooling system strikes again it seems....

What is it that is so weak about the coolant systems on these era of BMW's? We nearly didn't get to Le Mans due to my mates E34 520 overheating.

Have the cooling systems got any better in the later models?
 
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Gaijin said:
What is it that is so weak about the coolant systems on these era of BMW's? We nearly didn't get to Le Mans due to my mates E34 520 overheating.

Have the cooling systems got any better in the later models?
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I don't think so when we were at the ring last year a 335i went into limp mode as it overheated on the track. The driver said the oil temperature was 150c :eek:
 
Nothing wrong with it, bar the filling and bleeding it. Same with all systems though, one component goes wrong and it creates trouble for the whole lot.

My 'stat stuck closed which created high pressures and busted the radiator, combined with the viscous unit of the fan not working properly it meant it overheated loads.

I think the worst part of the system is the viscous fan to be honest as it's prone to failure. A lot of people convert the system so it has an electric fan which has a much lower chance of failing. :)
 
Dangerous Dave said:
I don't think so when we were at the ring last year a 335i went into limp mode as it overheated on the track. The driver said the oil temperature was 150c :eek:
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I can sort of forgive track use as its not really what the car was designed for, but I guess it should be able to handle a few laps (depending on the driver's mechanical sympathy)

I think Fox had his water pump blow up on his 5 - are the E46 and later 3 series and 5 series models any better in general?
 
Part of it is that an I6 won't tolerate overheating as well as an I4, requires less distortion before you've warped the head enough for the gasket to fail. And they seem to have common points for a leak/failure which quickly drains the whole system.
 
Gasket normally fails on 5 & 6, which tallied with the water spewing out the back of the block with mine, compression test said 3 & 4 were off though. :S

Problem with the I6 is it's a long reach to the back to cool 5 & 6, so they get hottest and so this is where they fail most often.
 
Dangerous Dave said:
First thing I would do is stop driving it until it is fixed properly as all you will be doing is causing more damage to the engine.
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In an ideal world, obviously.

Alas, I don't have access to another car that'll get me to work ( which is a good half hour away) nor can I afford to take time off, public transport is not available either....

So, the cars getting limped along. I'm carrying lots of water and took over an hour to get to work today! - every time the temp guage started to climb above 1/2, I stopped, opened the bonnet & left the ignition on (fan) so she cooled down.... A bit of a pain in the rear, but thankfully the guage only moved twice and on both occasions went happily back to normal (with no coolant loss) after 15 minutes or so sitting at the side of the road - fingers crossed it'll be kind to me..... sods law however dictates this will end the way of Invader's 328i I fear and I freely conceed that I'm taking one hell of a risk albeit with a car thats worth in real terms,bugger all.

This tactic has stopped it blowing out water which its been doing over the weekend...

Its booked in for Thursday (the only day the garage had a loan car available), and its getting its "Inspection 2" plus a new water pump & thermostat.

miniyazz said:
Chuck an egg in it? What's the worst that can happen? ..
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A Chickens life is wasted? :D
 
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To be honest driving it and doing that isn't going to be good for the engine, but then as soon as the needle started moving on mine there was no stopping it from hitting red. I'd pull over as soon as I could (often in a space of a couple hundred yards from the needle moving a tiny bit) and it'd fly up to near the red before I'd even stopped. :(

Your's doesn't sound as bad as mine but I can't help but fear the worst with the fact it's being driven. :(
 
InvaderGIR said:
To be honest driving it and doing that isn't going to be good for the engine, but then as soon as the needle started moving on mine there was no stopping it from hitting red. I'd pull over as soon as I could (often in a space of a couple hundred yards from the needle moving a tiny bit) and it'd fly up to near the red before I'd even stopped. :(

Your's doesn't sound as bad as mine but I can't help but fear the worst with the fact it's being driven. :(
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I hear what your saying mate, mine sits on 1/2 as normal and then very gradually starts to climb toward 3/4.

Never mind engine damage, I nearly went into the back of a Merc Sprinter yesterday, I was too busy watching the sodding temp guage and missed him slowing down infront of me.... :o:o:o
 
Update.

New Thermostat,Water pump, Viscous Fan & assembly,something else for the cooling system but I forget what:o, cooling system flush & replacement coolant, gaskets for said pump etc and an "oil service"* but I got them to change the fuel & air filter whilst they were at it, finally, new rear brake pads and ABS sensor wires.

£40 short of £500 including VAT & labour,a lot to spend on a car thats probably worth a similar amount I suppose, on the other hand, this is the first time I've had to spend any money on it in nearly 7 months since I bought it so, I'm happy.

An added bonus, I'd always assumed the climate control was shafted in this car as I could barely get any heat from it regardless of what temperature I set it to, driving it back this morning, I found to my surprise that my heaters work after all! :D - gives an idea as to how little circulation was going through it I suppose....

I count myself lucky in the extreme given what happened to Invader's 328.


* Initially the plan was an Inspection II but we decided that thats due next time.:)
 
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