I bought my 89 325i November 1st and have been dailying it since then. I've had very few problems out of it up until about a week ago. Last Tuesday on my way home from work I looked down to see the temperature gauge climbing quickly. I did all I could think of to help stop the temp continuing to climb (slowed down, turn the heat to max). It kept it from going into the red but still stayed high. At the next exit I pulled off and put the car in neutral to coast up the ramp. Before I even made it to the top of the ramp the temp had dropped to below the 3/4 mark, so I pulled into a parking lot and left the car idling. The temp continued to drop until it hit the normal range around the 1/2 mark. I popped the hood and had a quick once over of the engine. Fan was spinning, hoses were warm, there was coolant in the tank. Not sure what else I could do in a parking lot I nursed the car home taking the route with the most stop lights. As I was going home I noticed the car starting to act up electrically. When ever I turned on the turn signals the radio would cut out and the heat would blow slower. Don't know if that's related but I thought it was interesting they started around the same time.
I left the car parked for a couple days and did a couple basic things like topping off the coolant and checking battery terminals. Everything seemed okay so I drove a cross town for dinner (not that far, I live in a small town). The temps stayed right around normal range and the electrics didn't act up. I after talking with a friend over dinner he said it could be something electric and we'd look at it over the weekend.
Friday came around and I guess I felt bold that morning and decided to drive the BMW to work. That morning was uneventful. The car ran a little warm but not even past the 3/4 mark. When I left work my luck changed. I stopped at the gas station after work and after refilling the tank the car wouldn't start. The first try was a slow crank that didn't start. I turned the car off, turned off all electrics, and tried again. This time nothing. No slow crank, just a click. After a couple more tries I decided to push the car off the pump so the lady in the E92 behind me could get gas. Luckily as I was trying to get a hold of someone to come jump me one of the guys from work showed up. He didn't have cables but we were able to get it push started. It caught just fine on the first kick. I thanked my friend and was on my way.
Temperature seemed okay all the way to the interstate, but that changed quickly. Before I could get down the ramp and onto the interstate the temp had climbed past the 3/4 mark and showed no signs of slowing. As soon as it was safe I got on to the shoulder with my hazards on and limped to the next exit, maybe a 3/4 mile away. I let the car cool down on the ramp before making up my mind that I had to get it home. I slowly worked my way home taking as many stop lights as I could. Eventually we made it with out anymore drama. A couple scares on sections with out stop lights or making a couple consecutively but nothing major.
Saturday I took it over to a friend's. We dropped the oil. Everything looked fine. Dirty and a little less than the recommended amount, but no noticeable traces of coolant. Same with the coolant, no noticeable sign of mixing. I also replaced the battery since I didn't know the history of the one that was in it. We bled the cooling system until there was just coolant coming out of the screw. During this the temp stayed right around the 1/2 mark. I took it around the neighborhood a couple times, everything seemed okay, so I took it out on a longer stretch. Running around 3500 in 4th (to simulate the rpm I'd be at on the highway) the temp soon started to climb again. The whole afternoon of work and I'd fixed nothing. I pulled it over, let it cool down, and slowly worked my way back. We checked the bleed screw and got a small amount of air out but it didn't seem like a lot. At that point we broke out the computers and started trying to research it more. We checked the fan clutch. It turns stiffly with the motor off, but since the motor was still warm we didn't try stopping the fan. We even messaged the previous owner. I knew some work had been done at a shop while he had it but didn't remember what. He said it was the timing belt and water pump. So that should rule out the water pump. After that I'm pretty lost.
As far as electrics it seems like the battery fixed those issues. I tried running the car with everything on. Radio, headlights with high beams, hazard lights, heat on full blast, rolling down both windows. Everything seemed to work just fine.
Sorry if this is a little long, I just wanted to let you guys know what all has been done. I'm really lost as to what this could be.
I left the car parked for a couple days and did a couple basic things like topping off the coolant and checking battery terminals. Everything seemed okay so I drove a cross town for dinner (not that far, I live in a small town). The temps stayed right around normal range and the electrics didn't act up. I after talking with a friend over dinner he said it could be something electric and we'd look at it over the weekend.
Friday came around and I guess I felt bold that morning and decided to drive the BMW to work. That morning was uneventful. The car ran a little warm but not even past the 3/4 mark. When I left work my luck changed. I stopped at the gas station after work and after refilling the tank the car wouldn't start. The first try was a slow crank that didn't start. I turned the car off, turned off all electrics, and tried again. This time nothing. No slow crank, just a click. After a couple more tries I decided to push the car off the pump so the lady in the E92 behind me could get gas. Luckily as I was trying to get a hold of someone to come jump me one of the guys from work showed up. He didn't have cables but we were able to get it push started. It caught just fine on the first kick. I thanked my friend and was on my way.
Temperature seemed okay all the way to the interstate, but that changed quickly. Before I could get down the ramp and onto the interstate the temp had climbed past the 3/4 mark and showed no signs of slowing. As soon as it was safe I got on to the shoulder with my hazards on and limped to the next exit, maybe a 3/4 mile away. I let the car cool down on the ramp before making up my mind that I had to get it home. I slowly worked my way home taking as many stop lights as I could. Eventually we made it with out anymore drama. A couple scares on sections with out stop lights or making a couple consecutively but nothing major.
Saturday I took it over to a friend's. We dropped the oil. Everything looked fine. Dirty and a little less than the recommended amount, but no noticeable traces of coolant. Same with the coolant, no noticeable sign of mixing. I also replaced the battery since I didn't know the history of the one that was in it. We bled the cooling system until there was just coolant coming out of the screw. During this the temp stayed right around the 1/2 mark. I took it around the neighborhood a couple times, everything seemed okay, so I took it out on a longer stretch. Running around 3500 in 4th (to simulate the rpm I'd be at on the highway) the temp soon started to climb again. The whole afternoon of work and I'd fixed nothing. I pulled it over, let it cool down, and slowly worked my way back. We checked the bleed screw and got a small amount of air out but it didn't seem like a lot. At that point we broke out the computers and started trying to research it more. We checked the fan clutch. It turns stiffly with the motor off, but since the motor was still warm we didn't try stopping the fan. We even messaged the previous owner. I knew some work had been done at a shop while he had it but didn't remember what. He said it was the timing belt and water pump. So that should rule out the water pump. After that I'm pretty lost.
As far as electrics it seems like the battery fixed those issues. I tried running the car with everything on. Radio, headlights with high beams, hazard lights, heat on full blast, rolling down both windows. Everything seemed to work just fine.
Sorry if this is a little long, I just wanted to let you guys know what all has been done. I'm really lost as to what this could be.
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