m42 overheating?

[keada714]

alright today I really had a lot of time to work on the car. I took apart the cluster and found out it had a bad connection to the temp gauge. I fixed it and the temp is right at the middle so I'm guessing the car is good. I been driving it and everything is good with it. NO signs of over heating. But can anyone tell me how I would know if my car is over heating? I dont want to be driving the car if it is over heating.

Also does anyone know why i'm idling at 1100?? I need to get a smog soon and I know it wont pass with having that kind of idle. When I press the AC button it drops to around 800-900 still pretty high for a smog test. I've deleted the spider hose and also replaced and clean a semi new ICV and it is the same as before. Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated!

[Ryann]

I took apart the cluster and found out it had a bad connection to the temp gauge. I fixed it and the temp is right at the middle so I'm guessing the car is good.

Hmm..

[keada714]

can anyone confirm that i'm not over heating?

[bmwm42]

lets see after a long drive do you still have coolant in the tank? Does your car blow hot air?

[keada714]

Yes there is still coolant in the tank. Blows hot air? Are you talking about the engine bay? If so it does blow hot air. Not extreme hot air though.

[bmwm42]

Then your car isn't overheating. If it did you would notice it in your oil cause it would get milky. Your car is fine

[keada714]

thanks for everyones help!!

[keada714]

Bring this thread back to life. I am still not sure if the car is over heating or not since I'm not sure if the gauge is reading correctly. However, I noticed that my radiator is hot on one side only. Also the upper radiator hose is quiet hot that I wouldn't be able to hold it for to long. While the lower radiator hose is just luke warm. This is after I've idle the car for more than 10 minutes and taken it for a 4 min drive. The gauge read 3/4 and when I drive reads between 1/2 and 3/4..

Could it be that my thermostat isn't fully open or I haven't bled the system correctly? I'm thinking about flushing the system again and buying another thermostat once I get my paycheck since i've spend my last one on suspension. Does anyone know what temperature the coolant in the upper hose suppose to be? I'm going to get some temperature reading from it tomorrow. I hope my sensor is going to shit...

[bmwm42]

Hmm maybe partially clogged radiator, do a pressure test.

[KenC]

If your thermostat is functioning properly, you shouldn't have fluctuations in temp like that.

Does the lower radiator hose (passenger side) ever get hot? It should get hot when the thermostat opens.

[keada714]

after removing the thermostat again I toss it into some boiling water.. Opens up like a teen! haha. Put everything together and threw water into the system. This time I filled up the water from the upper rad hose. Then proceeded the tank with the heat on hot until I no more air bubble where found on the bleeder screw. Start up the engine with it on full heat and on number 1 setting for the fan. Close the cap and left the bleeder open and rev it a few time until I didn't see anymore bubbles.

The heater was working well (got pretty hot). I also took note of the radiator and the lower hose. The radiator eventually got hot and the lower hose got pretty hot as well (thermostat works!). But my gauge is between the 1/2 and 3/4 again. I think I have a bad cluster or something.. Going to change both temperature sensor soon. The aux switch never turned on my fan btw..

[keada714]

The engine head gets pretty hot. To the point where I wont be able to touch it for too long. :( still no coolant in the engine though.

[keada714]

I'm about to just run the car without a thermostat

[KenC]

I'm about to just run the car without a thermostat

Recipe for overheating your engine.


Again, here is the proper bleed technique:


Jack up the front of your car.

Take off the cap and bleed screw.

Turn temp selector to high heat (fan off).

Fill with coolant mix until the reservoir is nearly full.

Put cap and bleed screw back on. You need a closed system, or your coolant will boil.

Turn car on and warm up until thermostat is open (radiator return hose will begin to fill and get very warm).

Give your car a few good revs and slowly open the bleeder screw. Close and repeat a few times until you have no more air bubbles. Sometimes you have to rev it quite a bit to force some of the bubbles through.

Let your car cool off completely and assess coolant level in reservoir (there is a cold fill line).

[KenC]

The engine head gets pretty hot. To the point where I wont be able to touch it for too long. :( still no coolant in the engine though.

No coolant in the engine? I don't know what you mean. You're running it dry?