1997 BMW Z3 6 cylinder
Changed the water pump, changed the thermostat, changed the fan/ fan clutch. No major leaks but the coolant resevoir needs to be topped off every week or so. Car overheats after driving for 10 - 15 miles, especially when I stop the car. There is no water in the oil, and the guy I have help repair my car doesnt believe it is a head casket problem.
There are 2 hoses with temperature differences. The one with the red arrow seen barely on the right, is really hot. Can barely touch it. The one on the left is much cooler, with the green arrow. I can grab it with my hand. The blue arrow points to a metal thing in bewtween the 2 hoses. I can hear a slight hissing noise coming from it, but no visable steam / water coming from it.
Any ideas? Im in Hawaii and we dont have many mechanics, so any help would be great.
Mahalo Nui Loa
enginehoses.jpg
The one the right is the upper radiator hose the left hose is the lower, if the thermostat was not working correctly there could be large temperature differences. Water goes in to the radiator thru the top hose and back out to the engine thru the lower hose. The hot water at the top off the radiator travels down thru the core air moves across the core and air removes the heat of the coolant. So you could read the temperatures with a infrared heat temperature gun, you could remove the thermostat all together and see if the overheating changes. You could test the thermostat in hot water on the stove, to see when it opens. So try a few things, the infrared heat temperature gun is good for these kind of things
While you are doing what jclausen suggested, you might as well replace plastic thermostat housing that could be cracked and hissing already. It's only $10.
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