Wants to overheat ?!?

[jrawk79]

Ok here's what's going on with my 87' 325.
I left ohio last week and was driving down to Florida. No issues at all, car running just great ! While driving the Temp. reads around 1/4 on the gauge ( really cold ) again, No thoughts about this.... Running great !

I hit a dead stop in Atlanta, This is when SH!t$ starts acting odd ?!?!
When I come to a stand still the car will start to overheat ! When the temp. gauge hit's half I crank on the heat and it'll normally stay right about there, sometimes it starts to head toward the 3/4 mark and then I pull over shut it down and let it cool...

But, If I get moving really quick, It'll cool itself back down to the 1/4 mark again !

Head gasket is fine, What could this be ? HELP ME FIX THIS PROBLEM !!!

I'm now in Wilmington,DE. I'll be staying here for a little while before I head back to Ft. Myers, FL. So, If there are any E30 guys around I'll love to get together ! I'm staying with my Ex and her mother.... Long story, I need some FRIENDS !!!!

[slo325i]

From the way it sounds, maybe the thermostat is sticking? Cuz even when the the car's running it should be just below or right at 1/2 mark. Not 1/4.

For the overheating prob, maybe air in the system? Do you have a aux fan? I gotta tell ya that i just installed an electric fan in front of the condenser and it's never been above the 1/2 mark sitting in traffic.

[strad]

Assuming of course that you've got a properly bled system, this sounds very much like a bad fan clutch. Possibly also a partially clogged radiator. Do you know what temp thermostat you have installed? A 75 C, like I have, will make the car run at between 1/4 and 1/2. If you've got an 80 C (stock) it should be close to 1/2.

[jrawk79]

I'm jnot sure which thermostat is in it ? I'm going to bleed the system and hope it's just air causing the problem. I might just replace the thermostat when I have some cash.
How do I tell if the radiator is clogged ? or go about un-clogging it ?

The clutch driven fans are huge pieces of sh!t and I plan to replace it with a electric unit ASAP ! Can you tell that I'm mot a fan of them ?!?!

[jrawk79]

Any one in the Wilmington,DE. area ? Come on, I need some freinds... I'm jobless and broke, which leaves me hangin with my ex and her mom.... HELP !

[jrawk79]

So ! I came across this posting and it sounds like what i'm going through... Can someone tell me WTF he's talking about ?!?! I don't undersatnd it ?!?
>
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I recently went through a problem with the dreaded temp guage creep and wanted to share the troubleshooting and fix procedure.
Symptom: Properly operating temp guage creeps up into 3/4 area while in stopped traffic.
Checked: Fan clutch, (newspaper interference test). Fan seemed to work fine.
Auxillary fan operation: Fan never kicked in when guage went almost to red zone. First checked low speed fxn: fan kicks in on low speed when ac button is pressed. High and low speed aux fan work when radiator switch terminals are jumpered. Replaced temp switch at radiator just to make sure this wasn't a problem. Just for kicks also checked K1 and K6 relay function (unplugged relay while temp switch connections were bridged- resulting in dysfunction of fan).
Water pump worked fine and the radiator was relatively new.
Thermostat: Replaced it after all of the above...and this last item fixed the problem.
Temp guage now sits at 1/4-1/3 under the same conditions that it used to creep up.
Hope this helps someone...
-MJ

[jlevie]

Overheating when idling in traffic is almost always going to be a bad fan clutch. A problem with the thermostat is as is a partially clogged radiator, but those usually also cause hot running at speed in moderate ambient temperatures (70F or above).

The fan clutch is easy to test. With the engine and radiator cold and the engine idling it should be easy to stop the fan by dragging a rolled up newspaper against the blade tips. With the engine and radiator at normal operating temperature it should be difficult to stop the fan with a rolled up newspaper. Note that in cold weather the air flowing through the radiator may not be hot enough to fully engage the fan clutch.

jrawk79The clutch driven fans are huge pieces of sh!t and I plan to replace it with a electric unit ASAP ! Can you tell that I'm mot a fan of them ?!?!

The engine driven fan and clutch is a very simple system that works very well and lasts quite a long time. While it can be replaced with an electric fan, the cost of doing so correctly is well less than an brand new OE fan and clutch. In my experience, the minimum electric replacement is a 16" fan rated for at least 1800CFM. And it needs to be controlled by a thermo switch that trips 2-3C above the rating of the thermostat. You'll also have to add a relay for the fan. But the larger problem is how to mount the fan. Don't even consider using "through the rad" type mounts. In time they will wear holes in the radiator tubes and you'll have to replace the radiator.

[jrawk79]

My problem seems to be a shitty fan clutch ! I can stop it with a rolled up news paper at high temps. I bled the cooliant system. and the radiator looks really new* and all four corners are hot. Looks like I'll be buying a new clutch for it.... Still hate em and will go with electric set up in future !