I put in a new thermostat when I recently did a timing belt job. The car blows cold air in the winter. The car does not have working AC. If I shut the fan off and drive for a little while I can men turn the fan on and get some nice warm air for 15 seconds or so. When the issue first arose a couple of years ago, I would get warm air for several minutes and then it would disappear and then it would come back again. But now it pretty much blows cold all the time. There is some sort of mixing valve at the firewall. I have hot water going into that. What is it and could that be the source of my problem? Any assistance is greatly appreciated. I want to drive this car in New York winter and last year it was pretty painful at times.
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Probably your heater core valve.
Also check this:
Your resource to do-it-yourself and interesting bmw and e30 stuff: www.rtsauto.com
Your resource to tools and tips: www.rtstools.com -
Does the heater core valve gets replaced or is there something to flush and clean?Comment
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My guess is (and after having this problem a few times) is that you have a large amount of air in your coolant system. The fact that you can get heat, and it goes away, suggest you have steam, and not water/coolant in the heater core.
Has your temp gauge gone up to the red in traffic? Or seemed like it lost power in traffic? If so, you might have already caused damage.
PS- an e30 is not a good NY winter car! If you have to drive it, buy two bags of concrete/gravel and put them in the trunk, 100-200 extra pounds back there really helps....and get some snow tires.Originally posted by Matt-BComment
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Car power is fine. Has gotten warm, but never overheated. With new timing belt, water pump and stat, coolant gauge is at 12 o'clock and coolant flows from bleed screw. Th this problem started where it would happen every once in awhile. It gradually got worse until I had no heat.Comment
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Replace it.Originally posted by clydesdale View PostYour resource to do-it-yourself and interesting bmw and e30 stuff: www.rtsauto.com
Your resource to tools and tips: www.rtstools.comComment
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It is most likely the secondary thermostat for the heater core. They get stuck and bypass the heater core so the flow is reduced. Either eliminate it completely or buy a new one!The difference between porcupines and BMWs is that porcupines have the pricks on the outside!Comment
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That might still be under recall? Not sure.Originally posted by wodcutr View PostOriginally posted by Matt-BComment
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Is there anyway to further diagnose this secondary stat possibility? Usual symptoms?Comment
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