Hey guys, I'm having some overheating issues. Common enough problem but it's being a real bastard. I've got it down between air in the system, thermostat, and poor airflow. Here are the symptoms:
On a hot day (Ambient ~85-95 F) at low speeds it slowly starts creeping up, getting damn close to the 3/4 mark. If I get back up to highway speeds it slowly starts going back down to 1/2. I took it out for a spin on a cold summer night (~60 F) and the temp gauge was buried down around 1/4.
Coolant sensor is new and correct for the gauge. Entire system was pulled from my old e28 and was in good working order before the swap. I'm running a big Permacool 16" "Finger-Chopper" setup as a pusher. I am also running an E34 coolant overflow mounted to the firewall. Here are my thoughts:
There seems to be a lot of air coming up between the radiator core and the top of the core support so I'm wondering if I'm not pushing enough air through the core. Possible solutions would be to make some kind of block off plate to duct the air through the radiator.
The fact that the temps are dropping so much when it's cold out is making me wonder if my thermostat isn't opening all the way. What kind of temps are you guys seeing? Is this normal? I don't remember my e28 getting that cold but then again I mostly drove it during hot summers.
Any other thoughts? Questions? Here's a pic of my engine bay to help with the assessment. Oh so dusty! Amazing what sitting for two years will do to you.

Thanks guys!
-B
On a hot day (Ambient ~85-95 F) at low speeds it slowly starts creeping up, getting damn close to the 3/4 mark. If I get back up to highway speeds it slowly starts going back down to 1/2. I took it out for a spin on a cold summer night (~60 F) and the temp gauge was buried down around 1/4.
Coolant sensor is new and correct for the gauge. Entire system was pulled from my old e28 and was in good working order before the swap. I'm running a big Permacool 16" "Finger-Chopper" setup as a pusher. I am also running an E34 coolant overflow mounted to the firewall. Here are my thoughts:
There seems to be a lot of air coming up between the radiator core and the top of the core support so I'm wondering if I'm not pushing enough air through the core. Possible solutions would be to make some kind of block off plate to duct the air through the radiator.
The fact that the temps are dropping so much when it's cold out is making me wonder if my thermostat isn't opening all the way. What kind of temps are you guys seeing? Is this normal? I don't remember my e28 getting that cold but then again I mostly drove it during hot summers.
Any other thoughts? Questions? Here's a pic of my engine bay to help with the assessment. Oh so dusty! Amazing what sitting for two years will do to you.
Thanks guys!
-B
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