blizzard + 98 m3 = overheat...fml

[jecain]

alright any insight into what i'm looking at here, drove to the gym earlier and the car started to overheat, pulled over and popped the hood and the larger hose coming off the radiator (right side if your looking from in front of the car) came off. I replaced the hose retightened the clamp, refilled any lost coolant, and proceeded on my way. Car never went into the red and barely over the white line...still overheated a 1/2 mile up the road...any thoughts???

[hinzm3]

is the thermostat stuck? is the water pump working?
Does the system build high pressure causing the hose to pop off/overheat?

I would check the first two items. If it the second one then you may have bigger problems

[jecain]

no the hose stays on, my thoughts were the thermostat, i just dont have time to do it, so i'd like to have an idea of how large my bill is gonna be when i take it to the shop. its only a 2 mile drive to i'm letting it cool down completely and then i'm gonna take it over there.

[hinzm3]

just to replace a thermostat it should be an hour labor. If you had time to write out this thread though, you have time to change the thermostat. Just remove the fan, a couple of bolts on the t-stat housing, take out old tstat put in the new one, bolt the housing back on, and put the fan back on. It's a 15 min job depending on how quickly you remove the fan.

[GotBHP?]

You didn't say that you bled your cooling system. Anytime that air gets in (and it did if a hose came off), then you need to do this or many overheating incidents will follow.

[jecain]

how do u go about bleeding the system

nvm figured it out

[hinzm3]

yeah, sorry I always forget the routine checks. Def make sure its bled properly.

[99MPower]

yeah, sorry I always forget the routine checks. Def make sure its bled properly.

thats because we are so used to doing it ourselves, we forget to recommend it to everyone else:lol

[vioilio]

overheats again because there is air in the system.

[Poppa Boner]

^this.

[jecain]

yea i took it to the garage and told them to just replace the thermostat and water pump...i didnt wanna risk it, im sure they are probably fine but i have the money and i cant remember if the guy i bought it from said he did them...figure better safe than sorry driving back from work at 11pm on the side of 84 with the temps around -4 with wind chill...gotta love winter

[desynch]

I'm shocked. Your car should be running cooler in the winter. To see you overheat with winter weather like that makes me think you've got major cooling problems.

[mmark.]

I'm shocked. Your car should be running cooler in the winter. To see you overheat with winter weather like that makes me think you've got major cooling problems.

The engine has to reach its normal operating temp to comply with Government enforced emissions standards. A healthy engine runs at the same temp during *normal* use no matter what ambient temps happen to be.
With air in the circuit =Airlock, the coolant will not circulate.
The coolant in the engine will then be trapped there and the engine will overheat.
If there happens to be an airlock at the radiator side of the thermostat, the engine will over heat in 15 minutes, as the thermostat will not open.


He did not ignore the gauge, so he should be ok.

m

[desynch]

Ahh gotcha. You learn something knew everyday. Didn't know there were government enforced emissions governing operating temperatures.

[M-technik-3]

Proper coolant mixture as well, temps too low will cause Ice in the radiator and it will overheat this way.

[Nadroj]

air is in your system you need to bleed it.

PS do not let these engines overheat it will blow your HG

[m3luckyoo]

Make sure to inspect your plastic radiator necks. Those will crack/ break eventually with normal vibration. Yet another quality part installed into our BMWs from the factory. If it is cracked, you will need a new radiator- I suggest all aluminum.

[GotBHP?]

Make sure to inspect your plastic radiator necks. Those will crack/ break eventually with normal vibration. Yet another quality part installed into our BMWs from the factory. If it is cracked, you will need a new radiator- I suggest all aluminum.

The plastic cracks from heat cycling, not vibrations.

[Volf]

Your radiator neck broke. Fun times.

[m3luckyoo]

The plastic cracks from heat cycling, not vibrations.

You are correct, the heat cycling makes the plastic brittle but the vibrations are the killer. If it was completely stationary I think it would take a whole lot more time for a big enough crack to kill your cooling system so I think its a combination of both that spells the end for the plastic radiator neck. In my case, a drag race start resulted in a broken OEM radiator neck.

[GotBHP?]

You are correct, the heat cycling makes the plastic brittle but the vibrations are the killer. If it was completely stationary I think it would take a whole lot more time for a big enough crack to kill your cooling system so I think its a combination of both that spells the end for the plastic radiator neck. In my case, a drag race start resulted in a broken OEM radiator neck.

Unless you are a dummy and hard mount your radiator, the assembly is pretty much isolated from any significant vibration. Heat and pressure cycling, along with the load it is sees from things like the hose clamp and maybe engine movement will do it in. If vibration was actually the issue, eventually you would see the aluminum versions failing as well.