Overheating.....
 

my first unscheduled stop.....

I had to pull over on the hard shoulder to let my baby cool down... and I'd only done 10 miles from work. Luckily the traffic wombles came along and topped me up so I could get home...

SO - whats the first thing to fix guys?

last summer I ran with the bonnet sides and top "propped" open at the top and back to let more air out until I got my louvres. had a few "warm" days but on average she never passed 85 on the dial. The louvres are now in and we passed the 100 mark easily yesterday!

I have the E36 2.5 l with the extra Vanos bump giving me less romm at the front but I've just read through the thread about Patricks rad upgrade and heres my conclusions.....

My Rad is in the flickr link below but has a 17"x14" core with the water tanks top and bottom;
I have a 14" fan bolted to the front;
I had a grille which I've removed this evening to see it improves the airflow enough - it looks nice may not have enough holes;
I currently have no expansion tank - something which I knew but had completely forgotten about so I'm probably regularly losing water.....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7757983@N07/

So my thoughts are
1. get expansion tank - I assume it has to be fitted higher than the rad top to work?)
2. lift the rad up an inch to stop the bottom hiding behind the chassis.
3. bigger rad / better fan...

comments please??

Ta
Andy

Hi Andy,
sorry hear about your troubles.

If it ran OK last year then maybe something has failed. i had a thermostat stcick shut on my M20 which is the easist and cheapest thing to change.

Also, I think i've read that ther is a problem with e36 water pumps failing (plastic impellors??)

Worth checking before embarking on any major upgrades although an expansion tank should be fitted or you will loose all your coolant?

cheers

peter

Cheers peter - I did wonder if it was a lost coolant problem to start with - Mrs D has been driving it a bit lately and she wouldn't notice it overheating unless it stopped.....

Andy

I have an M50 in my Cabrio and have almost completed the water system now(I just have to make yet an other bracket to hold the expansion tank to the bulk head). I'll post some more pictures on my flickr site over the weekend.

How have you been able to run the engine for so long without an expansion tank? - Is the water system a closed loop? - if yes, I can not understand how you have not blown a pipe off! - if no, you will certainly lose water as it heats up and expands - that is what an expansion tank is for!!
Be careful with your M50 engine as they do not like being overheated - the head is aluminium and will warp. So you are right, first job - get an expansion tank fitted. Be careful to avoid air locks in the system. - Have you fitted a heater?

Peter is right about checking the thermostat next - cheapest and easiest items first, and then, the waterpump being plastic and can fail after a period of being laid up. It is easy to change for a steel impeller pump - GSF can supply a pattern pump but make sure you order the steel one - I did, and even then they still sent me a plastic one first time!!
Regards
Mike

EDIT, never mind just seen Mikes mentioned the pump already :) Check the water pump, a lot of these were shipped with plastic impellers that fail. Easy to change on an M52. As the others have suggested also try the thermostat while your unbolting stuff at the front.

You can check for excessive overheating with diagnostic software, it logs the number of overheats.

I've recently swapped my fan for a 16" one no idea how that will do as I've not been for a drive with it yet - it just fits on my mega sized rad! I got it cheap on E30Zone so I thought, why not? :D I've also now got louvre holes in the bonnet tops at the back.

Cheers everyone for the answers so far...

How have I lasted without an expansion tank? hmmm, theres a pipe that lets the overflow dribble out under the car... and it didn't have any problems last year so the challenge of fitting one into the limited space under the bonnet slipped further and further from my mind!

have taken the grille off to see how much difference it makes as well, just fitting some new number plate mounts - the plate was attached to the bottom of the grille!

thermostat seems OK, the fans kicks in and out but haven't checked the water pump... wa strying to avoid dismantling too much this close to stoneleigh!

Andy

Andy

Which day are yoiu planning to go to Stoneleigh - I would like to see an M50 in a Roadster.
Regards
Mike

Not sure to be honest - the driest day usually...

I live close enough to be flexible but if they're both the same it'll be the Sunday - my folks are looking after the kids whilst we're at stoneliegh and the night before so it works out if Sundays dry...

I live off the M5 J4 so if we're around on different days let me know - feel free to come by and have a look...