E34 525i overheating

[Torque]

After the car is warmed up fully, if I stop at a stoplight for a minute the temp starts to go higher. When the engine is at any rmp besides idle it stayes at normal. This makes me look at my gauges constantly, and I have to keep reving my engine like a ass at a light in order for my fans to come on and cool it down.

would a new fan clutch help, or is there another solution ?

any help would be greatly apreciatted

[sp0rky]

have you checked your coolant level?

It does sound like a fan clutch to me though.... but im sure everyone else on here knows better than i do.

When i had my overheating issue, it turned out to be a bad hose and a leaky gasket at intake manifold, but that was constant, revving it wouldnt help it.

Hope you figure it out soon.

[Torque]

no leaks, coolant level is always at or near max. it never loses a drop of it. I have to fix it somehow before hot summer days...just imagine how it's gonna be driving it when temp outside is 95-100

[2Crucial]

sometimes my coolant level goes in the red also. i'm not sure where my coolant tank is located to check the fluid. any help? thanks!

[Torque]

in 5 series with M20 engine it is next to the drivers side light assembly

[njtech]

Chances are that the waterpump is at fault. It's a very common problem, the impeller is plastic and after a while it gets brittle and separates from the shaft. From the sound of your symptoms it's just starting to separate, thats why the temp climbs at idle. If you need some pointers on changing the pump[ let me know. HTH
Steve

[Torque]

I'll probably replace the fan clutch, radiator cap and the water pump althogether...dont feel like changing one thing at a time, because it is just a waste of time, plus i pay like 2 times as much shipping.

[chagousa]

Torque, did you fix this problem??
I'm in the same situation...The difference is that I replaced the Water Pump already, because my old one broke...
When I replaced it, this VERY ANNOYING Habit of constantly looking at the temperature started to occur....

do you think they did a crappy job when replacing the water pump???
PLEASE let me know.

[beautyland]

Hi Torque,

Even though the fluid level is high you can still get drastic temp variance. B'cos you have too much water in the radiator. check the radiator fuild. This is what happened to my previous car (non bmw). over the time the radiator fuild level goes down, and previous owner added water to compensate the level. Finally fluid got diluted and could not cool the engine.

Hope this helps.

[Torque]

Originally posted by chagousa@Aug 2 2004, 04:15 PM
Torque, did you fix this problem??
I'm in the same situation...The difference is that I replaced the Water Pump already, because my old one broke...
When I replaced it, this VERY ANNOYING Habit of constantly looking at the temperature started to occur....

do you think they did a crappy job when replacing the water pump???
PLEASE let me know.

Try replacing the thermostat as well... it will cost you like 10 dollars and you can do it in 5 minutes. It might not be opening at the right temp (in other words it might be slow).

I had a cracked radiator, and after changing it it still was doing it... problem was that I didn't bleed all the air out of the system... when there is air in the cooling system, all your water pump is doing is pumping it instead of coolant.

Check that you don't have any leaks and try bleeding the system... it will take like an hour of constant bleeding. Check www.bmwe34.net for more information on how to bleed the system (it's under troubleshooting>overheating).

hope that helps.

[Torque]

oh also, when your car is off, try turning the fan. it should spin with some resistance and not just spin freely. if it spins freely, chances are you need a new fan clutch.

[silverlea]

Ahy Torque............Don't ya hate overheating...........
My 540 had a similar situation...........Yes it was our friend,the BMW waterpump.
They are probably the weakest part of our cars !
Replace it,and all the other stuff you plan to do will probably not be required.
That was my case.
Hope you get it sorted.

Chers.

SILVERLEA...................PS: Alloy engine quick to blow a headgasket if they get hot.

[chagousa]

Thanks torque,
thanks to all,

I tried turning the fan...it was ok (passed the test).

I'll try the bleeding next...it makes sense what you said.
thanks again