Page 3 of 9 FirstFirst 123456789 LastLast
Results 51 to 75 of 225

Thread: 528i M52 cooling system bleeding, overhaul, overheating

  1. #51
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    7
    My Cars
    BMW 528i
    Similar problem to others in this thread on my 1997 528i with 120,000 miles on it. Overheats at idle when engine is at operating temperature if I'm forced to idle for 5 minutes or so. Needle moves up but if I rev the engine a couple of time it comes right back down. When moving, there is no problems. I've changed the fan clutch but that did not fix the problem. There is no evidence of coolant loss. I'm still unclear about how to properly bleed all the air out of this system. Should both bleed screws be opened at the same time? If not is there a sequence that should be followed? Should the engine be at operating temperature with engine running and radiator cap on tight? Thanks.

  2. #52
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    I do not use the bleed screw on the expansion tank, just the one on the thermostat housing.

    Bleed instructions:

    1. bring engine to operating temp, needle at halfway point of guage.

    2. With engine idling open thermostat housing bleed screw with long screwdriver. Let all air and steam escape, tighten screw.

    3. switch off motor and allow to cool to a cold engine state.

    4. top off expansion tank with coolant to the full cold line.

    repeat until no air comes out of the thermostat bleeder, you may have to do this 2-3 times. Some prefer to put the car on ramps to help burp the system.

  3. #53
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=605750

    fix your aux fan yourself! Thanks Pener!

  4. #54
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    7
    My Cars
    BMW 528i

    Bleeding System

    Thanks for the instructions. Have followed this procedure 4 or 5 times. I get air and foamy looking coolant every time I open the bleed valve next to the thermostat. After 30 seconds or so the hissing and foamy coolant stop and nothing comes out. Should I leave it open until coolant starts to flow again or is it normal for nothing to come out once the pressure is releaved. Still am getting overheating at idle. Overflow tank is full to the cold mark when I check it.

    I have changed the fan clutch and belts so that did not seem to be the problem.

    Any ideas, anyone?

    thanks,
    Frustrated

  5. #55
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    if after releasing steam and bubbles theres no coolant flowing out the bleeder you either have too little coolant in the system or you may have a major problem such as a head gasket failure.

  6. #56
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    interesting info regarding coolant, just posting for discussion purposes.
    http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...&postcount=100

  7. #57
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,300
    My Cars
    00' 528i, 11' Legacy
    Got a question, don't wanna start a new thread if i dont have to...

    My battery died out today, I had to get a jump start. While I was idling, I noticed the car was slowly overheating (according to the guage). I turned on my blower, and the temp guage went down rather quickly. My question is could there be a link between the battery dying and the car overheating? The needle has never moved past half way before until today.
    Thanks, and great thread!!!

    *2000 528: 86K miles....*
    UNDER CONSTRUCTION

    - 2000 528i Sport
    -
    Got any questions about my car? Feel free to PM me!

  8. #58
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    I am no expert but I would check to see if your belt is intact and all the things it turns are in working order under the hood- that can cause a low battery/ overheat situation if the belt is gone/ slipping badly. If the belt is still there perhaps your coolant is low or you have air in the system. wait until it's cool and open the expansion tank. is the coolant to the full cold level?

  9. #59
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,300
    My Cars
    00' 528i, 11' Legacy
    Thank you sir... will do.
    UNDER CONSTRUCTION

    - 2000 528i Sport
    -
    Got any questions about my car? Feel free to PM me!

  10. #60
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Raleigh
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    1997 528i
    I just recently went through the whole overheating deal with my 1997 528i. It would climb into the red at idle and sometimes at road speed. It would climb into the red for only around 20 to 30 seconds and then fall back to normal. I knew that I had air in the system and I bleed it 3 times with no sucess. I met a BMW mechanic that actually trained in Germany and he solved the problem for less that $1.00!! The bleeding screws have a small rubber o-ring that becomes easily damaged by the heat. My bleeding screws were not sealing and this allowed air into the system. I replaced both rubber o-rings with o-rings made of another material (polyurathane I think) and the problem disappered!!! I drove it the entire weekend in extreme heat (92F) and had absolutely no problems. I do have one question, I have only seen the electric fan come on twice since I owned the vehicle. When should it be on??????

  11. #61
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    glad to hear you got it fixed cheap! Thanks you for taking the time to share your experiences- one more thing to check

  12. #62
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Huntsville, AL
    Posts
    48
    My Cars
    '99 528i Sport
    I have a 99 528i that I'm about to HAVE to do a cooling system overhaul. e39, you were nice enough to chime in on my post Tuesday night. I'd like to thank myself for a total lack of respect for cracks in the seprentine belts for busting, car overheating, and cracking the side of my radiator .

    Question is:
    In cn90's detailed writeup of Complete cooling system overhaul - http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/199986, he shows drilling a 1/16 hole in the 12 o'clock position of the new thermostat before it goes back in the housing. This will allow the system to bleed.
    My parts show a complete thermostat housing with the thermostat already in place "Thermostat; Thermostat Kit with Housing and Seal". Do I need to take the thermostat out of the housing when I get it from Autohaus and drill the hole, or does this design not need the 1/16 bleed hole?
    Last edited by matt24; 06-28-2007 at 03:59 PM. Reason: typo
    matt24 - '99 528 Sport
    117k miles, Luvin it! Best car I've ever had...
    except for the busted water pump, cracked radiator, overheating thing

  13. #63
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    that is a great write up, thanks for posting the link for the rest of us.

    As for the drilling of the thermostat I have really no idea. I personally do not drill holes in anything where there are no holes from the factory. I think my t-stat is from the factory 140k+ miles on it.

    by design most thermostats have a small hole in them in the middle area. The thermostat always allows coolant to flow, it just regulates how much is flowing. If it were completely sealed when closed you'd be blowing hoses left and right. by drilling it again all I could see happening is it might take longer for the engine to reach normal temps- would a lil take longer for heat to work in the winter. I don't understand why he's drilling his thermostats- ask him to explain and let us know.

  14. #64
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Huntsville, AL
    Posts
    48
    My Cars
    '99 528i Sport
    Quote Originally Posted by e39dream View Post
    As for the drilling of the thermostat I have really no idea........... I don't understand why he's drilling his thermostats- ask him to explain and let us know.
    Hello e39dream,
    Here's what he wrote below. This guy has been a great source of confidence for me (from the bimmerfest forum) with his feedback this week and detailed writeup of the cooling system change.

    ---------------------------------------------
    Here you go
    If you Google "drilling hole in thermostat", you will see alot of discussion on this topic from VW, to Porsche to BMW etc. In the past, Wahler and Behr made themostat with hole pre-drilled. See the VW tstat that is pre-drilled from factory.

    For some reasons unknow to human beings, Wahler and Behr stopped doing that recently.

    Your 1999 528i has an electrical thermostat.

    If you are skillful enough to remove the thermostat itself from the housing, then drill at 12 o'clock position. See pic.

    Otherwise, you can still drill with the thermostat in place, just use a good drill bit and make sure you do not drill through the plastic housing on the other side or damage the spring.

    Having a small hole prevents the phenomenon of "air lock", which is very difficult to get rid off. The hole virtually does not affect the operation of the cooling system.
    When the car runs, there are hundreds of gallons of coolant/minute going through the opened thermostat anyway, so the hole has no effect during normal operation. What the hole is useful is when the car stops, air develops behind the tstat, and there is a hole to get out.

    This is a trick taught to me by my cousin who has fixed bimmers for 20 years. He owns an independent shop in L.A. Mechanics have been drilling holes in thermostat for 20 years +++ (they just don't tell you...)

    Hope this helps.
    matt24 - '99 528 Sport
    117k miles, Luvin it! Best car I've ever had...
    except for the busted water pump, cracked radiator, overheating thing

  15. #65
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered

  16. #66
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Wisconsin US
    Posts
    224
    My Cars
    98 M3 sedan
    99 528i 116K miles
    Well, I've read through all these posts and I wanted to post my situation to see what I should do. On a trip home this weekend my AC was on and I saw the temp gauge in the red. I immediately pulled over and popped the hood. I checked all hoses and belts, everthing seems intacked. However, there is a plastic looking part that seems to have a phillips head scredriver part right infront of the oil filter. That was bubbling out liquid and sprayed a small amount of what I think is coolant around surronding parts. Is this a bleeder for the system? I read o-rings can go bad. I checked the fluid level, it does look low but I also don't really know what I'm looking for when it should be full. (anyone with a pic of the cap off where the level should be?) I turned the AC off and the temp returned back to normal and drove nerveously 1.5 hrs home with no more problems. I read about the fan clucth test and I was able to stop the fan pretty easily with the news paper, but I also don't know if I applied too much presure to stop it. But that appears to be OK for now.

    My delima is I'm 25 and don't get paid enough to over haul the whole system even though I'm sure it could use it I bought the car with 80K on it and I haven't replaced anything. I'm somewhat handy but reading through these posts I'm not sure it's a job I want or can tackle. What are your thoughts on what can be fixed first to make the car driveable? What things should be replaced first and some expected costs for the dealer to fix? I don't know of any independent shops in the Madison, WI area. Thanks for the help in advance!

    Andrew
    99 528i Sport

  17. #67
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    That thing is the bleeder, you can get a new one at the dealer with a brand new o-ring for next to nothing, they have them in stock, or should. You probably just have air trapped in your cooling system, you can handle a top off and bleed if you read the info here. Go get a bleed screw and a gallon of coolant from bmw, put the new screw in and top off the expansion tank to the line that says full cold or full kalt. Then do the bleeding procedure. let it cool off all the way and check the level again, add fluid as needed to be in the full cold area. good luck.

  18. #68
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Wisconsin US
    Posts
    224
    My Cars
    98 M3 sedan
    Thanks! I'll pick that part up tomorrow. Questions about the system then, so since I had my AC on does that pull coolant from the rest of the system causeing it to run lower? Would that explain why if my levels were low and with the AC off there was enough in the system to keep the engine temp from jumping back up when I drove with it off?

    For filling this thing i see the red floaty looking device. It doesn't push down, I would assume when in the cold position that should be suspened in the liquid and would bouce like a bobber. That picture they have on there doesn't tell me much about where to fill it it to, i just want to be sure to not over fill it. I have some Preston 50/50 mix in the basement. It says don't add water. Is that suff OK to put in?
    99 528i Sport

  19. #69
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    the AC system does not use or reroute any coolant. the ac system does generate a good bit of heat under the hood when running however, shutting it off may have helped cool the motor back down. The cars heat system uses coolant, and an old trick when your car is overheating is to turn the heat on high and it will help cool the coolant cool faster.

    Your expansion tank is a little different than mine, mine does not have a float, just a line that says full cold. I do know on a cold engine if it's at the correct full cold level it's just over halfway full in that expansion tank.

    You need to use coolant that is approved for use in aluminum engines. read the bottle, it will say phosphate free if it is the right stuff.

  20. #70
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Wisconsin US
    Posts
    224
    My Cars
    98 M3 sedan
    hmm, well now I'm a little stuck. I tapped the float with a screwdriver, turns out it was just stuck down low. It now floats and is at the correct level so it's not low on coolant. Now what would be next on the list to check?
    99 528i Sport

  21. #71
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    mechanical fan's clutch.

  22. #72
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    CA,
    Posts
    110
    My Cars
    1997 528i
    NEED SOME HELP!!!!!! WIFE CAME HOME LAST NIGHT AND THE CAR WAS SMOKING (white smoke)she said the gauge did not move up. i know i have a bad fan but did not have the money to fix it at the time, i had just had the ac compressor replaced when the mechanic told me my fan was bad and said not to use the ac untill i fixed it, well it's been hot here so we have been using it. anyways i put some coolant and she drove it to work today i told here not to use the ac. she called me and said when she got to work(1hr 15min drive)it was smoking again and she did not use the ac and the gauge did not go up. can someone help. i know i need to replace the fan but if the gauge didnt go up can the smoke be something else than the cooling system...

  23. #73
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Lowell, MA
    Posts
    1,633
    My Cars
    Drat
    Hey Mark,

    So, with my 2000 Touring, I have now experienced the VANOS issue (unresolved), the rear axle carrier bushings issue (unresolved), the A/C FSU issue (resolved), the ABS Module issue (resolved), and the broken cupholders (unresolved). You can probably see where I'm going with this...at this point, if Vegas would give me odds on when my cooling system was going to explode, I'd take "90 days" and the under. My question to you: do you think I need to overhaul the complete system, or can I just change out the points of common failure (i.e. hoses and expansion tank) and be "safe" (relative term) with that? I obviously want to do the preventive (and pre-emptive) maintenance, but I don't have a ton of cash laying around thanks to the ABS module failure, so a complete overhaul is really iffy.

    What do you think?

    Stephen

  24. #74
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    12,550
    My Cars
    m52 powered
    Honestly if cash is not too much of a concern I would do it all.

    radiator/ hoses/ expansion tank/ thermostat and housing/ water pump/fan and fan clutch

    I think you can get a package deal from www.oembimmerparts.com under 4 bills.

    It might be better to run what you have while you recover your $ than to piece it together, especially if you are using the bmw coolant at 20 a gal.

    The cooling system isn't alot of fun to work on so I suggest doing it all at once and being done with it. I know that's not what you want to hear but that's the best advice I could give.

    My 528i has 143k miles now on the original thermostat, fan clutch and fan, with the hoses and expansion tank looking original as well, radiator and water pump replaced at same time, radiator was cracked in accident, water pump replaced because it was pretty hard to turn, feared a bad bearing.

  25. #75
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Lowell, MA
    Posts
    1,633
    My Cars
    Drat
    Quote Originally Posted by e39dream View Post
    Honestly if cash is not too much of a concern I would do it all.

    radiator/ hoses/ expansion tank/ thermostat and housing/ water pump/fan and fan clutch

    I think you can get a package deal from www.oembimmerparts.com under 4 bills.

    It might be better to run what you have while you recover your $ than to piece it together, especially if you are using the bmw coolant at 20 a gal.

    The cooling system isn't alot of fun to work on so I suggest doing it all at once and being done with it. I know that's not what you want to hear but that's the best advice I could give.

    My 528i has 143k miles now on the original thermostat, fan clutch and fan, with the hoses and expansion tank looking original as well, radiator and water pump replaced at same time, radiator was cracked in accident, water pump replaced because it was pretty hard to turn, feared a bad bearing.
    OK, thanks for the input. I didn't realize the complete package was in the $400 range...should have done some more research, I just assumed it would be a lot more than that. I agree that it would be harder to piece it together, but my main concern was/is shoring up the known issues for as little cash as possible. I'm never gonna get those Beyern Mesh wheels if I keep having to spend money on ABS modules and radiators. (Kidding.)

    Thanks again!

Page 3 of 9 FirstFirst 123456789 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •