Water Temp Gauge

[BigEasyBird]

I just bought a 1993 325i, and I have a question about the normal engine temperature. When I start the car, the temp gauge is in the blue, but after driving for a minute or so the needle goes to the middle of the gauge. Even when I drive the car a little harder and rev it a little higher, the needle stays in the middle of the gauge. I might just be paranoid because I've heard of all the overheating problems that E36's have, but I thought I'd see if anyone could offer some advice.

Thanks

[camnipotent]

I'm quite sure that is supposed to happen. It should stay in the middle. That is the ideal temp. When you smash the gas, the engine will get hotter, but will be quickly cooled off by the cooling system. I wouldn't worry about it unless the needle is at one of the extreme ends.

[dutchbmw]

Where do you live? In hotter climates it goes faster then when you should living in colder ones. No reason to worry about, everything is fine when the needle stays in the middle!

[BigEasyBird]

Thanks for the help. Like I said before, I'm probably just paranoid about things breaking down. Since this is my first BMW I thought I'd rather go safe than sorry and ask somebody who knows how things are supposed to run. I live in western Kansas, so it gets quite hot in the summers. I'll be sure to keep a close eye on the cooling system this first summer especially.

I look forward to asking more questions and learning more in the future. My first project on the car will be to replace the water pump with a metal one, so I'm sure I'll be asking some questions and tips during that process.

Thanks again.

[dutchbmw]

Do you know if Euros already have a metal one? Or have they all (around the world) plastic ones? used