My major problems - BMW Forum

BlackTape · 05-13-2003, 01:26 AM

Ok well as you all now I have a 325is

last week when I got new tires the place also gave me an oil change and supposedly changed the coolant and other fluids....

Since them the car has been getting hot and I was thinking maybe they forgot to add coolant.....

Today at lunch I was driving and the car got to the red area and the light turned red. When I parked I heard a CRACK and all the coolant flowed out the area started smoking... I just turned of the car and poped the hood to let it cool.

My dad picked me up and now I am home and the car is still there.

Could this be....

Radiator...
Water Pump...
ect.................................

Also the coolant that came out was green and it did not look diluted... Do you think maybe they just poured in 100% coolant and thats what made the coolant thank crack... What else could it be...

Aslo should I take it a mechanic shop or dealer??? I have about 1000 dollars to throw away HELP

triggrhaapi · 05-13-2003, 02:28 AM

as much as 40% coolant can look opaque. as for the crack, my first guess would be a dead hose or overflow tank, but the most likely cause of the overheat is a bad thermostat and/or fan clutch/switch. This is one you need to take the car to a mechanic for, to make sure that you didn't blow your head gasket or warp the head.

Ski · 05-13-2003, 02:54 AM

Sorry to hear that Dan..If I was you, I'd grab your Dad and someone else that knows cars and head back to the tire place w/ car in tow and start asking questions..do not go by yourself and do this since you're only 17, and then they may take advantage of you whereas you and 2 adults you might find out what happened and get a fix w/o getting raped..

I do not trust mechanics I do not know, whatsoever..past experiences..of course I could blow this whole thing out of the water and it just may be your thermo like trigg stated..Good luck and let us know..

325i2NV · 05-13-2003, 03:33 AM

I have a feeling that either your thermostat is stuck or when they put in your coolant they forgot to bleed out the air pocket in you system.

did you notice where you coolant was coming out?

MrM3 · 05-13-2003, 04:09 AM

i'm pretty sure the same thing happened to bmwg84, cant remember what it was tho

maybe u should try to get in touch with him

triggrhaapi · 05-13-2003, 05:04 AM

Gary had the overheating problem, it was the thermostat.

Ski · 05-13-2003, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by triggrhaapi@May 13 2003, 05:04 AM
Gary had the overheating problem, it was the thermostat.

But bmwg84 is Chris..

BlackTape · 05-13-2003, 07:41 AM

UPDATE

Well I live with my ste dad and my mom.... MY real dad knows everything about cars so he drove 1 hour down here and looked at the problem....

The coolant "expansion tank" was cracked so we went to discount auto parts and my dad bought a expoxy and glued the damn thing shut. also he put a wire arount the tank and with pliers force the seal TIGHT. then we ducked taped the mother f#$@er.

Any ways this saved me about 200 dollars because I was able to drive home.... We added just 100% distilled water because when the thing boiled over all of the coolant spued out.

Now my car is in MY garage and tonight I am going to buy the following....

NEW TANK
Termostat
Water Pump - may not be related but WTF

My dad says he can install all of these.....

The tank he took apart in like two minutes is their a DIY for termostat and water pump and if any one has done this do you have any pointers????

ALSO im am going to buy ALL of these parts from Car Parts Go .com they seem to have really good prices and the pictures look correct.

My dad has never owned a car worth more than 3000$ but he knows what hes doing

DesmoBob · 05-13-2003, 09:33 AM

many, many DIY pages here:
http://www.geocities.com/e36rulz/DIY.html

Furious · 05-13-2003, 10:47 AM

i think it could be any of the following. desending from most probable to least.

1-cracked thermostat housing
2-thermostat
3-cracked water pump housing
4- waterpump
5-loose hose
6-radiator return blocked
7-ummmmm cant think of anything else at the moment

twckxbzd · 05-13-2003, 10:49 AM

nearly the same thing happened to me. my radiator outlet busted. I have a 94 325is. my water pump impeller was plastic and came apart causing hte over heat. i got a new water pump(metal impeller) a new radiator new thermostat. it only took about 1 1/2 hours to replace in the driveway. my new problem is the strange noises the engine now makes and the brown smoke coming from the exhuast.. i hope you have better luckthen me.

Furious · 05-13-2003, 10:54 AM

ya. when i had an over heat. it was because my thermostat was stuck open. once it was fixed my water pump blew like a week later, (fate it seems) anyways, that waterpump problem in turn cracked the housing on the water pump (not enought to leak) but also cracked the thermostat housing causing a small leak (enough to spew green antifreeze shit all over my engine) :angry: .. so get it checked out dude.

twckxbzd · 05-13-2003, 11:13 AM

i am leaking around the thermostat housing right now. not enough to bother me near as much as the horrible sounds my engine is making. now i know the pain parents feel when thier kids are hurt. only good thing is my dad has working on bmws for nearly 20 years and one of his buddies is a master bmw mechanic. I am gonna have him look at it this weekend.

Furious · 05-13-2003, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by twckxbzd@May 13 2003, 09:13 AM
i am leaking around the thermostat housing right now. not enough to bother me near as much as the horrible sounds my engine is making. now i know the pain parents feel when thier kids are hurt. only good thing is my dad has working on bmws for nearly 20 years and one of his buddies is a master bmw mechanic. I am gonna have him look at it this weekend.

changing the thermostat housing is relatively easy.. it could be as easy as a bad gasket. but chances are you have a hairline crack. dont let it go to long. good luck. lemme know how it goes.

twckxbzd · 05-13-2003, 11:23 AM

http://www.ohiomotorcycle.com/understeer/w...waterpump.shtml
hey red tape the fan is a tough one to get off. i used a big wrench and a hammer the threads are reversed. get the wrench on and hit it till it frees. i am sure theres a tool to do that but that works fine. if you have any qustsions post them here this stuff is all fresh to me.
furious
i replaced the gaskets so i am leaning to the houseing being bad.
i just dropped all my cash on my jetski engine the other day thinking all my problems were sloved...