1988 325iX with 11/87 build date.
Last year I replaced the timing belt and water pump as PM's since I didn't know how many miles were on the old belt.
Week before last I replaced my heater core and rebuilt my heater valve.
Heat worked, the car remained at operating temperature and everything was fine.
I drove to my dad's house 2 hours away over the weekend and the car ran fine.
I drove back to my house last night and the heat seems a little weak, but the temp gauge indicated normal.
I drove the car to the store and back today... about a mile each direction. The heat did not work, but the temp gauge did not indicate an overheat. However, it may simply not have had enough time due to the short distance.
I came out later this afternoon to find a puddle of coolant under the car.
The puddle appeared to have come from the surge tank overflow nipple.
I cracked the bleeder screw on the thermostat housing and topped off the surge tank... it only took a tiny bit of coolant. I had to start the car to get coolant out of the bleeder.
I started the car and let it idle until the temp gauge came up. Once off the peg, the temp gauge rose steadily to the right side of the gauge. I shut the engine off.
The upper radiator hose was hot. The lower hose was cold. The "recirculation" hose that goes from the thermostat housing over the distributor was a little warm.
Did my thermostat just spontaneously stop opening?
How would that keep me from getting heat? Doesn't the heater core circuit go around the thermostat instead of through it?
Last year I replaced the timing belt and water pump as PM's since I didn't know how many miles were on the old belt.
Week before last I replaced my heater core and rebuilt my heater valve.
Heat worked, the car remained at operating temperature and everything was fine.
I drove to my dad's house 2 hours away over the weekend and the car ran fine.
I drove back to my house last night and the heat seems a little weak, but the temp gauge indicated normal.
I drove the car to the store and back today... about a mile each direction. The heat did not work, but the temp gauge did not indicate an overheat. However, it may simply not have had enough time due to the short distance.
I came out later this afternoon to find a puddle of coolant under the car.
The puddle appeared to have come from the surge tank overflow nipple.
I cracked the bleeder screw on the thermostat housing and topped off the surge tank... it only took a tiny bit of coolant. I had to start the car to get coolant out of the bleeder.
I started the car and let it idle until the temp gauge came up. Once off the peg, the temp gauge rose steadily to the right side of the gauge. I shut the engine off.
The upper radiator hose was hot. The lower hose was cold. The "recirculation" hose that goes from the thermostat housing over the distributor was a little warm.
Did my thermostat just spontaneously stop opening?
How would that keep me from getting heat? Doesn't the heater core circuit go around the thermostat instead of through it?