After all I've done .... M30 overheating

[G-Man the Visionary]

Do you want to try using the heater core?

[glnr13]

The overflow at the radiator cap, where is that going to?

Also the top radiator hose has a tee, where is the tee going to?

Did you double check the thermostat is in the right direction.

[uturn]

There's a picture of the spliced hose here http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/i...ine_Swap_-_M30
My car's on loan or else I would have taken pictures of my setup.

[FencebusterTDI]

All good thoughts ---thanks. Big thanks for the e30zone link. Will probably go something more along that route. That coupled with some time in the Bentley manual ought to sort this out. Can't really imagine it's anything else.

I'd certainly like the heater core, as it can get pretty damn cold here, but not a necessity ---this car won't see much winter use (nor has it seen much by the looks of it!), at least when there's ice and slush out.

[FencebusterTDI]

Problem solved

It worked. Car now runs around the quarter mark to the half mark all day. Big lesson here: Don't expect that the previous owners of your car knew what they were doing when they worked on it. I typically just put things back how they were when I work on something (who wouldn't?!)

The original builder had it right as pictures show on the build site. Wish I wouldve noticed earlier that he had the hoses slightly different.

Really think there were two hoses pumping into each other, or at the very least some bad corners where air would get stuck.

Thanks for all the help. I'm sure the new reservoir tank, hoses, and caps won't hurt. Now time to take care of the last details and drive this thing a little ;D