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    #1

    Weird Cooling Issue.

    I'm starting to have a weird cooling issue. It is even stranger due the fact that is seems to be getting worse the colder it gets outside.

    My needle use to stay right at the 1/4 hash mark, but now whenever I'm idling the needle starts to creep up. Today I was in a really long lunch line at a drive through, and I even got into the red. Thankfully I saw it and turned the heater full blast. That seemed to help a bit, but my heater has been a little weak lately so it didn't do much. I was able to get the needle back to straight up by revving the engine up to about 1500rpm for a couple secs. I'm thinking it kicked on the fan or something? Any way, I had to do that a couple times, but everything was fine after I started driving again.

    Also might be related, but my coolant is low, at dead cold it is barely visible in the expansion tank. This is another weird thing, as I have tried to refill the coolant up to the correct level a couple times and every time after driving for a while it goes right down to where it was. I finally gave up as I could still see coolant and I have no leaks, so I figured it was relieving pressure or something and ejected too much coolant. I hadn't had any cooling problems until this point, so I didn't bother figuring out what was causing it.

    So, my guesses as to what I need to do to fix this:
    • Test fan clutch
    • Take a look at the heater core and see if that is blocked or something
    • Look at the thermostat and confirm it is working correctly
    • Make sure my expansion tank is not leaking
    • New coolant and bleed system (bought the car in the summer and the PO said that the coolant was kinda old)


    Am I on the right track? First car, so I'm a total What else do I need to look out for. Any other tips or tricks appreciated
    Tags: None
    #2
    It could easily be a blown head gasket. It's plausible that your pistons are pressurizing the cooling system and pushing out some coolant somewhere - or just burning it off. If you start blowing hoses and springing leaks I'd have it checked out...
    "We praise or find fault, depending on which of the two provides more opportunity for our powers of judgement to shine."

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      #3
      I agree with above. What you should do is look at your oil on the dipstick to see if the oil has a milky appearance. I bet that the coolant that you are loosing is being burnt in the engine and coming out the exhaust, and that is why you see no visible leaks.
      Originally posted by cabriodster87
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        #4
        But after the initial drop in coolant (which is fairly quick), the level stays static. And this problem has been going on for a while before this happened. I will check the oil though, but last time I cheked there were no problems.

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          #5
          Ok, so I checked the oil and refilled the coolant. The oil is fine and when the engine is on there is no bubbling or anything in the expansion tank. No white smoke either. I still get needle creep (kinda fast too) when idling at a stoplight, but no problems when driving. Any ideas?

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            #6
            Sounds like a blown head gasket. Mine did the same thing except the oil was going into the coolant and my coolant was low. Ended up having a cracked head. Not a fun situation. Anyway, hope things work out for you.
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            Originally posted by nando
            also, I can't think of any BMW special tools you need to do a headgasket on an M20. you could nearly do it with the trunk tool kit, some bubble gum, and string.
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              #7
              /
              \
              /
              \ in the head willing to bet money on it...my friend has his 30 in my garage right now with the cracked head off and new head on for this same reason...happen to him twice now
              "God created turbo lag to give V8's a chance" Taylor D.

              Comment

                #8
                I think I'm going to isolate everything I can before I start pulling the head to check. Im going to check the fan clutch next. If thats fine then I guess I will have to resign my self to my fate.

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                  #9
                  I kind of had the same problem after replacing everthing (radiator, thermosta, fan clutch and hoses) it still got hot. Then i noticed a small leak from the water pump. It would only dribble out a little, after about 10min once i turned the car off.

                  Any how I figured it was letting air into the system and was not working efficently at idle, that is why it gets cooler at higher rpm.

                  It could also be your head jasket but if the oil and water are clean then you best bet is the water pump.

                  A word of advice the water pump is a challenge if it has not been replaced in a long time. I ended up smashing mine with a small sledge style hammer for about 2 hours untill it broke into 3 parts, it is an epic removal process. lol

                  good luck
                  sigpic

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                    #10
                    You might be on to something there. I will take a look at it and see what I find.

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                      #11
                      you say the heaters isnt working? clogged heater core?
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                      Originally posted by TimKninja
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                        #12
                        Well it is working, but not that well. Kinda puts out luke warm heat. Im going to check it as well when I get a chance. Really hoping its not the head. Although if it is it gives me a good reason to go 24v or do a stroker lol.

                        Comment

                          #13
                          If your heater is weak your heater core might be clogged as said before, or it might be leaking which you might not notice. Look at the top of the carpet in the passenger floor board for dampness.
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                            #14
                            Will check that as well. Dont have too many passengers, so it could have gone unnoticed.

                            Comment

                              #15
                              I just found the picture's of my water pump once out of the car this is what it looks like when it breaks.







                              That how it breaks apart the outer bit, then the inner chamber, and the propeler. Here is the damage that i did to the pully wheel mount.




                              So good luck.
                              sigpic

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