Rebuilt engine - still overheating? Stumped

[mrgraphics]

Before, the car was overheating badly - couldn't drive it for 15 minutes before I had to turn the heat on full blast. So I rebuilt the engine:

• New Goetze head gasket
• Refreshed head - no cracks, is flat
• New water pump
• Engine block cleaned
• New 71 degree thermostat

Started it up, and it was running great. All the bogging down and hesitation is gone. Bleed it, drove it around on the streets and highway, temperatures were below middle mark. I thought I'd solved it.


Then I thought, I'll pull over and let it idle now that it's hot. The temperature slowly crept up to halfway between mid and 3/4. Drove it and temperatures dropped. Then when I shut it off, once again the bubbling and spitting out coolant from the overflow spout.


I was told it was the headgasket that was causing that overflowing. Now it's still doing it. What else is there!!!???

[jlevie]

Running normally when in motion, but hot idling suggests a bad fan clutch.

[lcoleman]

Put something to catch what overflows. Smell it. if it smells like gas, your head gasket it still bad or the block is warped. Probably just a sign of overheating, though. Definitely sounds like a fan clutch.

[Herr Faust Schinken]

fan clutch like jlevie said

to test it run the car to operating temp
then take a rolled up newspaper and carefully push it into the fan
if the fan stops its bad
if the fan starts to shred the paper your fan should be good and you have other issues
good luck

[mrgraphics]

Drove it from San Jose to San Francisco at highway speeds, and the temperatures ranged from 1/4 to a little under half. Then on the slow areas driving under 20 mph the temperature started to rise a bit over half (turned on heat full blast, temperatures wend under half) .

Did the fan clutch test, and when cold it shreds, but hot I can stop it. Fan clutch - got one on order. Hopefully this will end the saga.

[Supershafts]

Could put an elc fan and lose the clutch fan

[mrgraphics]

My car doesn't seem to rev high on cold start, and based on this link: http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showpos...57&postcount=2 I see that the two prong sensor isn't working. So I'm just replacing them all as routine maintenance. But I also don't think my aux fan is coming on either, so I want to replace the switches / sensors on the radiator.

My ETA has two sensors (that also look like two prong sensors) for the electric fan as stated in the bentley (picture attached - I know the picture says 4 cylinder, my 6 cylinder has the same thing just up at the top of the radiator). Where can I buy those? Pelican and rockauto don't have them.

[UserError]

High Temp Switch

Low Temp Switch

[mrgraphics]

Gosh thanks. I was referencing it by the wrong name.

[mrgraphics]

Installed my new fan clutch and she runs like a dream. No overheating, in fact she runs a bit cool thanks to the 71 degree thermostat. jlevie, after doing everything you told me to do, the car is a reliable vehicle again - no smoking, no water vapor, no stumbling, no climbing temperatures.