[CloutJones]

i have a new radiator close to a year old but my car still over heats well according to the dashboard.. on the out side all appears to be fine no smoke or anything like that. it only does this when i just sit with the car on and goes away when the car is moving any idea what this could be?

 

[witeshark]

A look at the clutch fan may be a good start.

 

[BimmerE39]

^^^What witeshark said.

 

[CloutJones]

ok not excatly familiar with what the clutch fan is but i will research it and take a look ima kinda new to the car thing just know a few things like how to change breaks oil spark plugs lol that is about as far as my knowledge goes but im always willing to learn more.
thanks guys

 

[witeshark]

The fan on the front of the engine is "clutched" on by a thermostat. It may be worn so there's no action from the fan.

 

[Cas]

Like Whiteshark said,it's clutched,if its not spinning(or spinning very slow) when the engine is running,its dead.

 

[climber boy]

I share your pain. My 97 528i does similar things. It started w/ an exploding expansion tank, then I replaced the thermostat, fan clutch, and so on. I'm $1-2K into this and it still shows signs of overheating, mainly at idle. I can watch the needle climb into the red and the light comes on. I rev the engine and it drops down to normal. The next day I'm making the same drive, same time of day, same outside temp, same traffic light, and no signs of overheating. I'm not a mechanic by any means, so I'm not giving you mechanical advice. I'm just letting you know I'm farther down this road than you are and still haven't figured out what's wrong. The previous replies offer good suggestions, but make sure $ you spend is worth it. I replaced many parts because some mechanic assumed they were defective, not because they actually were. By the way, my issue started 3-4 years ago. My saga is recorded on this forum a few years back if you want to search for it.

 

[panda]

last year in summer time I faced the same in my 93, 520i and my mechanics changed the fan clutch and the thermostat ( he replaced the thermostat with new one which opens at lower tempreture I guess) and since then no over heat again.

Panda