Overheating - BMW Forum

csierra · 03-01-2005, 05:42 PM

I have a question. My fan belt broke on my 1991 318i about five miles from home in the middle of the night. It took me about an hour and a half to drive those five miles, stopping every few minutes and waiting for my temprature guage to go down after it would almost reached the red. I replaced the belt and the car some seems to run fine now. My question is do you think I did any internal damage to it. The engine got pretty hot and the radiator was steaming. Should I change the oil even though I changed it a week ago. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

german-speed-demon · 03-02-2005, 02:37 PM

you shouldn't have too much to worry about. If you shut the car off to cool down, then the engine shouldn't have gotten hot enough for long enough to cause any damage. The only way to check for radiator dmage is to run it for a while and shut it down, then listen and look... if there is any leaks, you have problems. If not then hooray, keep on drivin

Kowalski · 03-02-2005, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by german-speed-demon@Mar 2 2005, 01:37 PM
you shouldn't have too much to worry about. If you shut the car off to cool down, then the engine shouldn't have gotten hot enough for long enough to cause any damage. The only way to check for radiator dmage is to run it for a while and shut it down, then listen and look... if there is any leaks, you have problems. If not then hooray, keep on drivin

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if it didn't get into the red you should be good, you might have changed the propteries of your oil because it got so hot so to be on the safe side you might wanna change it but its up to you. if you did get into the red just pray and hope that everything is fine.

e30fanm3 · 03-02-2005, 06:53 PM

you are fine, you dont have to change your oil, as long as it doesnt use coolant then you are good

e30 dude · 03-02-2005, 08:54 PM

agree! these are BMWs man. they are meant to be driven hard. the engine can take the heat.

Kowalski · 03-02-2005, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by e30 dude@Mar 2 2005, 07:54 PM
the engine can take the heat.

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there is a red zone for a reason doesn't matter how its built the rings will burn at a certain temp and then you would either burn oil or if you burnt the gasket you wouldd burn coolant so no the engines can't take the heat they arn't rated for.

e30fanm3 · 03-03-2005, 04:09 PM

i wouldnt say they can take the heat cause no engine can take more heat than it is built for, but if he didnt let it go into red and he let it cool down and isnt loosing any coolant then he should be fine

e30 dude · 03-03-2005, 05:58 PM

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Originally posted by Kowalski+Mar 2 2005, 10:44 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kowalski @ Mar 2 2005, 10:44 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-e30 dude@Mar 2 2005, 07:54 PM
the engine can take the heat.

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there is a red zone for a reason doesn't matter how its built the rings will burn at a certain temp and then you would either burn oil or if you burnt the gasket you wouldd burn coolant so no the engines can't take the heat they arn't rated for.

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but he did say the needle never reached the red zone. that's what i mean by being to take the heat, up to the red zone. heck, i've had my needle in the red zone a couple of times, but just for a bit. never did any serious damage.

wilcolikesbmw · 03-07-2005, 03:03 PM

I hope the problem is solved, I think BMW build strong engines, I also discovered a problem with my BMW when I bought it, it was a lack of oil, the engine still runs very good, and I put some oil in it, never had problems with it again.

Kowalski · 03-07-2005, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wilcolikesbmw@Mar 7 2005, 02:03 PM
I hope the problem is solved, I think BMW build strong engines, I also discovered a problem with my BMW when I bought it, it was a lack of oil, the engine still runs very good, and I put some oil in it, never had problems with it again.

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so its all fixed then? you should havn't any troubles with the oil unless it wasn't reading on the dip stick.... but if it was and you added right away it shouldn't do any real harm.

csierra · 03-07-2005, 09:49 PM

Thanks to everyone for your info. I really appreciate it. I fixed the fan belt and changed the oil and discovered coolant in the oil. I hope its just the head gasket and that I did not warp or crack the head. I was so mad at myself

ghead I should have left it there and walked home.

longpole938 · 03-08-2005, 03:14 PM

do these suckers really heat up that fast....? i had a 92 maxima VE and the fans fell off the radiator and i just took them out cuz there dangling and not turning on. i went all summer never even came close to overheating

ps im just wondering cuz im in the market to buy a 318is in the next few months