Coolant heating up

[Aznhiga]

Hey guys, just to let you know i have done a search and i really could not find any relevant information to my problem. I have a 318is that just started having overheating trouble. It overheats while driving, and doesnt cool down when stopped. I have checked the clutch fan, and the coolant level. I put more coolant in cause it was pretty low, so it helped a little and it doesnt overheat as fast, but the temp gauge still rises after like 5 mins of driving. Im wondering if I will need a coolant flush or if it could be another problem.

Thanks

[jlevie]

My first thought would be a bad thermostat.

[Aznhiga]

okay, bigger problem now. Smoke is coming from the engine itself. I think ive heard of this somewhere before, but the smoke smells sweet, so its probably coolant. If this is correct, does this mean i have a blown/cracked headgasket? If so, how much would it cost to get this repaired?

The car is a 318is and i remember hearing of this model engine having an overheating/headgasket problem in the first place right?

[PiercedE30]

not necessarily. It could be that a hose near the block has a small hole in it letting coolant get onto the block and steam up. Or you could also have a leaky thermostat gasket or waterpump gasket. What is the condition of your waterpump and thermostat? If you want get the thermostat and put it into a pot of boiling water, it WILL open up, if not, bad thermo.

[Aznhiga]

the one thing i forgot to mention is that the smoke is coming from under the intake manifold which made me believe something might be wrong with the headgasket. But when i have time ill check the thermostat since that always seems to be a problem with our cars too. Worse case scenario is take it to a stealership or a shop to have it fixed.

[jlevie]

The throttle body heater and the heater hoses are under the intake manifold and could be leaking.

[Ray McCooney]

+1 to what the above posters have stated.

The first thing you should probably do is try to make note of any possible leaks that are visibly detectable. From there I would opt for a coolant system pressure test and see if anything leaks out under induced pressure before I'd hit the cracked head/head gasket panic button.

[Aznhiga]

thanks for your response guys. Its a lot of help since i don't have any backup car. I'll see what i can do.

[TwoJ's]

Did you let the car overheat? How hot has it gotten? It's possible that you had a bad thermostat and it overheated and blew a head gasket or cracked the head.