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

  1. #151
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    NorCal
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    e39
    hi Guys Im new here,my name is Vlad, just got myself a 2001 BMW 525i with a sport package and a 5 speed,97Kmiles. i like this car a lot, very much and enjoy it every minute i'm close to it...
    it's got a radiator leak though.it's from a crack on the plastic on the side of the radiator.
    it's not very big but I add coolant everyday. so i m gonna buy a new one tomorrow and some coolant too. is it difficult to change it ? my biggest concern is not to let air inside the system.
    thanx in advance.

  2. #152
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    Feb 2008
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    Burnsville, MN
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    4
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    2000 BMW 528i, 1987 325i convertible

    528i overpressure, without overheating

    528i cooling system overpressure
    I seem to have a system that is overpressure at normal operating temperature. I recently replaced the old expansion tank and cap as the old one had developed a crack at the top seam. I filled and bled the system per the Bentleys manual. After about a half hour of operating at full temperature I noticed the guage swing due to a bubble in the system. Coolant had leaked out from the cap. I suspected a bad tank or cap, so replaced them with a second set. Same result. I took it to Motorwerks BMW for a pressure check and diagnosis. They drained, refilled and bled the system and ran it with no leakage. I paid for the service and took the car. With no bubbles in the system, the guage stays centered and the heating system operates normally. Aftter about a half hour I noticed a guage swing again, indicating the same problem again. When I got home, sure enough coolant had leaked from the cap again. What could cause this overfilling of the expansion tank or overpressure of the system?

  3. #153
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    NW Indiana
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    m52 powered
    if the guage moves from center it's overheating or about to.

    This sounds like it might be a bad fan clutch, or low coolant.

  4. #154
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    03-540i, 98-528i, 32 Auburn, 65 Ford Galaxy
    Do any of you have a list of the torque settings for the cooling system. What should the hose clamps be turned to on the plastic housing? What is the required torque for the Water pump, thermostat, tensioners etc?

  5. #155
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    03-540i, 98-528i, 32 Auburn, 65 Ford Galaxy
    I replaced the entire cooling system, belts, hoses, pullies, tensioners, fan, expansion tank. I put a Hepu pump in, a OEM thermostat. The result is I have water splattering over my belts and the front end of the engine compartment. It is a challenge to see where it comes from. I want to be sure I did not under torque something.

    Thanks John

  6. #156
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    United States
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    03-540i, 98-528i, 32 Auburn, 65 Ford Galaxy

    VOLDKA Replace your Radiator question

    Replace your radiator, it is not difficult. You will have to drain your system, so you will have to bleed the air out.

    I suggest, like others here will, that you replace all the stuff at the same time. Like your belts, hoses etc. For the 528i the biggest pain is getting the radiator and the shroud out. just be patient, and gentle, don't force things.

    John

  7. #157
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    Feb 2008
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    Gaza
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    Bimmerz
    wow! great thread! you guys should start one about rebuilding the suspension.

    cooling questions:

    does Samco or anybody else make a hose kit for the 528i ?
    would you recomend installing a high-performance/EMP water pump instead of OEM ? .

  8. #158
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    UK
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    My Cars
    1997 BMW 528i
    I am new to this and again want to say what a useful thread this is.

    As with many post I believe I have air in the system and have had the fixed previously at a garage. As this costs to do each time (every couple of months) I have attempted to follow the bleeding instructions posted before.

    Questions
    When bleeding a hot engine how long might it take to get all the air out? I have opened the thermostat bleed valve, got a lot of steam for serveral minutes but not bubbles or fluid.

    What is the likely cause of air getting in, in the first place. Other posts have suggested fault bleed screws but as these are at the top of the system surely this would have a similar effect to drilling the thermostat.

    Once the overhetating problem has started sometmies the car will run for several miles at normal and the heater working. Other times it will barely go 1/2 mile before hitting red again. Could this just be a massive air lock?

    Oh yes. Coolant levels are normal with no obvious leaks.

    Any help or suuggestions greatfully received to avoid another trip to the garage

  9. #159
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    Mar 2008
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    UK
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    1997 BMW 528i
    Further to my last post I gave this some more thought over the weekend and seem to have fixed / improved the situation

    After another attempt to bleed the system nothing was coming out of the thermostat bleed valve yet the car overheated at idle in about 10mins.

    Assuming an air lock was present and giving a false coolant level (which appeared normal) after cooling I tried putting an empty water bottle in the coolant filler, making the best seal I could and squeezing to blow air into the expansion tank (I know it sounds a bit counter productive). After several sqeezes, the coolant level in the resevior had fallen. So I topped up and repeated. I must have added nearly 2litres before deciding to give it a try. The heater worked strainht away and temp guage stayed in the centre despite my best efforts to get the the engine hot.

    So my question is, given that coolant does not seem to be leaking onto the drive what are likely ways for that amount of air get in overy couple of months? Could it be something serious?

  10. #160
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    NEW JERSEY
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    528I

    fan replacement

    i would like to replace my primary mechnical fan with an electric fan on my 1998 528 m52 engine, any thoughts on where i should hook up the thermo switch to turn the fan on/off. any help would be great. thanks in advance

  11. #161
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    May 2008
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    jakarta, indonesia
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    528i
    I have some questions regarding the 528i cooling system

    If I only open the cap of the expansion tank to see the coolant level but not adding the coolant (the expansion tank is old and very difficult to see the coolant level from the outside) ...do I need to bleed the system (condition: the engine is cold and has never been use since yesterday), and if the coolant level is between cold and empty...and I add the coolant level to KAlt.....do I need to bleed the system??

    thank you for your help..

  12. #162
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    NW Indiana
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    I check mine in the same manner, there is no need to bleed it out every time you open the cap on the expansion tank.

    The bleed procedure ensures that all air is out of the passages of the motor and the radiator/ hoses. You will always have air space in that expansion tank- that is how it is designed. When your car starts to get too hot the coolant expands and that space in the expansion tank is crucial to the system, its where the excess coolant goes instead of blowing out a hose or the radiator.

  13. #163
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    Jun 2008
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    Australia
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    mitsubishi, bmw

    528i overheating

    i got a bmw 97 528i model and facing problem with overheating.
    I changed thermostat, water pump, fan shroud and fan clutch.
    But still my problem is not solved. After driving 5km the guage goes to red and within 0.5km it is coming back to normal.

    Any suggestions is much appreciated

  14. #164
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    hey Sam, it sounds like there is still air in the system and or a low coolant situation. Did you bleed the air from the system after you changed parts?

  15. #165
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    Aug 2006
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    Dallas, TX
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    '69 02, M Shoe, Monster
    I have a question. I have been following the advise in this thread b/c of an overheating issue. I keeping checking the coolant level when my engine is cold, always needs to be topped up with like 1/2 qt. Then when it is hot I bleed it. I was wondering if low coolant is my problem, or others problem in this thread, why do we not get a low coolant warning light on the dash?

  16. #166
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    Mar 2008
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    AZ
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    00 323ci Coupe Auto
    Well I've got a bigger problem then I think. Just the other day after a 15 min drive I was sitting in my car for a few minutes. I noticed the ac wasn't cold anymore. It was getting humid. I got out of my car and there was a pool of coolant. Popped open the hood and found a big ass crack in my expansion tank. I got some duct tape and wrapped the crack. Then re filleded the tank. I only lived about 5 miles away so it was fine.

    I got my new expansion tank today and the system is building alot of pressure. Maybe thats why my expansion tank cracked. the lower radiator hose feels empty and cool to the touch while the top is hot. When I turned on the heater the air is warm but not hot. Could there be a restriction keeping the coolant from circulating?

    When I had the cap on and the bleed screw tight it started to warm up but when I had the cap off it stayed cool. Does anyone know what this might be? Thanks

  17. #167
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    Quote Originally Posted by phillie View Post
    I got my new expansion tank today and the system is building alot of pressure. Maybe thats why my expansion tank cracked. the lower radiator hose feels empty and cool to the touch while the top is hot. When I turned on the heater the air is warm but not hot. Could there be a restriction keeping the coolant from circulating?

    When I had the cap on and the bleed screw tight it started to warm up but when I had the cap off it stayed cool. Does anyone know what this might be? Thanks
    this could be a failed waterpump or thermostat. On some occasions the waterpump's blade will come off inside the block where you cannot see it. It appears to be working as it should but it's doing nothing to circulate the coolant. I would check the water pump first and foremost, especially if it is the original.

  18. #168
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    e39+gd7
    I've been watching this thread for 3-4 months, trying to diagnose and fix my cooling issue. I think I finally got it figured out, so I figured I'd post it for other people. Hopefully it helps.

    Symptoms:
    * Increasing temperatures quickly at idle after about 5-10 minutes.
    * Temperature cooled off after driving.

    Checked the fan clutch using the "newspaper" trick well documented in this thread. Everything checked out there.

    Checked fans at idle, main fan spinning fine. Helper fan spinning fine when A/C on.

    Decided it was probably air in the system, so bled the system using the instructions also posted here using the thermostat bleeder.

    At this point, the symptoms changed.

    New Symptoms:
    * Temperature quickly rising at speed and idle.
    * Eventually my upper radiator hose blew off while driving, spewing fluids everywhere.

    I put the radiator hose back on, filled up on coolant, and bled the system. Temperatures quickly rose to the red zone upon driving, within a minute. Found that the pressure seemed a little weak in the upper radiator hose. Bleeding barely released any coolant at all.

    Finally replaced the thermostat and housing, and now all seems fine!

    Thanks to e39dream!

  19. #169
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    May 2009
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    Michigan
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    98 528i
    Whats up e39dream... Check out my thread that i have posted and try and help me out if you can !! THANKSS!!!

    http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1238124

  20. #170
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    Quote Originally Posted by JQuenga View Post
    ... I came home and bleeded the system on not a warm engine...but a hot engine.
    ...and also the other bleeding procedures recommending bleeding on operational temperature.


    First I would like to state I don't intend to offend anyone or say this does not work. But whenever I read/hear something like this it makes me twitch.

    You see, as e39Dream writes, you cooling system is pressurized. It is pressurized mainly do prevent your coolant from boiling. When your BMW engine is at operating temperature, the coolant is anywhere between 110-130°C (depending on model etc.) If you open the system at this temperature you convert it from pressurized to open system and it starts to boil immediately. Two things happen:
    a) local overheating of engine in the thermally most strained parts (water conducts heat better than steam) - namely in the cylinder head. Engines does not like this.
    b) you will introduce steam bubbles in the system. These will condense back to liquid when your car cools down causing lower than atmospheric pressure and drawing air from outside to the system. Now air should come in only trough the expansion tank but who knows...

    Basically opening a hot pressurized cooling system is not recommended (and explicitly forbidden in user manual - albeit for different reasons). It may help in some cases but I must say I cannot see how is it possible.
    However I am sure BWM bleeds the cars some other way. So there is the question, what is the BWM bleeding procedure?

    And one more: does anyone know about some nice writeup (with pictures) on cooling system overhaul on 540?

    EDIT: is the e39 thermostat electrically operated? There are some wires on 540 thermostat but it seems like only position sensing... so probably not. If it were electrically operated thermostat (like on some modern cars) then it would be possible to open it on cold car to allow for better bleeding. But it is probably not the case.
    Last edited by Regis; 05-25-2009 at 08:07 AM. Reason: posting before thinking

  21. #171
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    Dec 2005
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    m52 powered
    I post the methods that have worked for me and kept my m52 cool for the past 40k miles- how bmw does it is of no concern to me.

  22. #172
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    Dec 2008
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    Houston Tx
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    1996 E39 528i european
    I had the same problem, and i was completely nuts because i replaced thermostat, radiator cap, anticoolant, bleeding cooling system, and finally i sent the radiator to clean and wash and the expansion tank too , and replaced fan clutch, and it was the solution.

    But i have a cuestion,why the gauges are always on the mid, and never its cold, just in the morning when i turn on the car?

  23. #173
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    Oct 2006
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    New York
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    Mazda Miata/ Saturn /Honda/ Toyota

    overheating issue

    Is there a way to identify if an overheating problem has warped or cracked the aluminum motor head? I understand how to bleed air out of the cooling system/ check for a bad cooling fan clutch/check for coolant leaks/ the possibility that the radiators down tubes may be plugged/ and the possibility that the plastic vanes on the water pump maybe spinning freely from the pump shaft. But if the high motor temperatures have damaged the head, what are the symptoms and how can you detect them. I ask these questions because I am considering purchasing a 1997 BMW 528i with overheating issues. Thanks in advance.

  24. #174
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    head gasket or head warpage can be hard to diagnose. Usually you will begin to notice a loss of coolant but no leaks. In extreme cases you may find a large amount of "smoke" coming out the tail pipe- it's actually steam from boiling coolant in the exhaust.

    If you are considering a car with cooling problems I would most certainly recommend taking the car in for or otherwise doing a cylinder compression test. The numbers should all be relatively close to each other on each cylinder if the head and gasket are good.

    If it passes a compression test, you can also pressurize the cooling system with a test tool to try and identify a leak.

    Good luck with your 528i purchase- they are great cars that just need a little attention now and then. If the previous owner could not give them that attention it should be evident with a pre purchase inspection and compression test.

  25. #175
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    Jan 2010
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    uk
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    528i
    Hi, Can anyone help me with this problem? I've just taken on a 1996 528i (M52) which I got off a friend, the car was running fine untill he drained the cooling system to renew the antifreeze, after which the heater would only blow cold & the temp started to rise but did not go into the red, he replaced the water pump & thermostat but still no joy so he sold the car to me. I followed the bleeding advise on here & all seemed to be fine, no overheating & heater working great! The following day before starting the car, I noticed that the expansion tank was full, not half way on the cold mark? (not sure if that is right?) I started the car anyway & it wasn't long before it started to overheat, I turned it off right away, there was water leeking from the expansion cap? I've now also replaced the radiator, expansion tank, & cap, drained the coolant, rebled, but within 1 minet of starting the engine water is still leaking from the cap? A sniff test was also done when I got the heater going and proved to be good. Any advise most welcome?? Thanx in advance..
    Last edited by bu508df; 01-20-2010 at 04:49 PM.

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