Hi, i just purchased an 86 325es, and after driving it for a few hours i realize that the engine temperature goes high when ever i'm idling or driving at low speeds. However when i drive the car above 30mph, it goes into normal temp. or a little above normal. Is this a common problem, and what to do with it without spending too much money. THanks in Advance!
Cooling problems
- Thread starter Blue_E30
- Start date
Hi blue_e30
It is almost definitely your fan clutch. It is a very common problem with the 325's. I forget how much mine cost but what it does is gives the fan two different speeds. If your engine gets hot and the fan clutch will in a sense make your fan "shift gears" which causes it to rotate faster even though the engine is at the same speed.
Your engine gets cool when you are moving from the wind blowing through your radiator. When you are just sitting there the fan operating at low speed does not produce adequate wind through the radiator.
You can check to make sure it is the clutch and if you need tips for installing one, do a quick search in the forum. It has been discussed a few times. If you can't find it let us know. I'd be glad to discuss it again.
It is almost definitely your fan clutch. It is a very common problem with the 325's. I forget how much mine cost but what it does is gives the fan two different speeds. If your engine gets hot and the fan clutch will in a sense make your fan "shift gears" which causes it to rotate faster even though the engine is at the same speed.
Your engine gets cool when you are moving from the wind blowing through your radiator. When you are just sitting there the fan operating at low speed does not produce adequate wind through the radiator.
You can check to make sure it is the clutch and if you need tips for installing one, do a quick search in the forum. It has been discussed a few times. If you can't find it let us know. I'd be glad to discuss it again.
I, like the others believe it is most likely the fan clutch, but if it isn't check out the cooling system for a partially opening thermostat restricting the coolant flow especially at low speeds. I have had that happen on my 1989. Above 35 mph it was fine but below the temp climbed. The thermostat should be changed every 2 or 3 years or so as a preventative. The BMW thermostats do not have a good longevity record.
Help!!
Hi.... I´m new to this forum and first of all i want to excuse myself for my english (i´m from Chile). Second, i´ve seen a lot of people with overheat problems, and that is a very common thing in the 3-series. I own a E21 323I '82 and got from the last five years enourmos problems with temp. I changed the fan clutch.. then I removed it and made the fan "directly pluged". worked for some time but nothing.. then i had it made a new radiator with more cooling capacity.. again one year ok. Changed the water pump, nothing.... I played also with the timing ("delayed" (para el que sepa castellano, pensé que podia estar adelantado)). I changed the thermostat, the indicator bulb.... Everything... maybe i´m missing something.
(i´m thinking to put an electric fan to see what happens or maybe control the on/off capability of the one from the A/C). Please help.
Hi.... I´m new to this forum and first of all i want to excuse myself for my english (i´m from Chile). Second, i´ve seen a lot of people with overheat problems, and that is a very common thing in the 3-series. I own a E21 323I '82 and got from the last five years enourmos problems with temp. I changed the fan clutch.. then I removed it and made the fan "directly pluged". worked for some time but nothing.. then i had it made a new radiator with more cooling capacity.. again one year ok. Changed the water pump, nothing.... I played also with the timing ("delayed" (para el que sepa castellano, pensé que podia estar adelantado)). I changed the thermostat, the indicator bulb.... Everything... maybe i´m missing something.
(i´m thinking to put an electric fan to see what happens or maybe control the on/off capability of the one from the A/C). Please help.
mjbst111
It didn´t have a waranty of any kind... but it´s clearly working more than the "old one" ... it seems to be working ok. And yes, it is the one for the air conditioner. (i think i can buy a taurus electric fan and replace the original fan .. and control it with a integrated chipboard(i can make the software for it)
Steve
I have this two speed electric fan but i dind´t understand what you meant with "If you short one of them out the fan should come on and stay on all the time".
It didn´t have a waranty of any kind... but it´s clearly working more than the "old one" ... it seems to be working ok. And yes, it is the one for the air conditioner. (i think i can buy a taurus electric fan and replace the original fan .. and control it with a integrated chipboard(i can make the software for it)
Steve
I have this two speed electric fan but i dind´t understand what you meant with "If you short one of them out the fan should come on and stay on all the time".
if your interested, there is a company called flex a lite that makes dual stage fans for universal applications, supposed to keep the car up to 25% cooler or something like that, had one on a buddy's car seemed ok. Installations a breeze (pardon the Pun, intended) just take out the old fan and mount this instead. Took us about an hour to do
DO NOT put a flex-a-lite fan on your car. The flex-a-lite fan is supposed to be a two stage fan because the blades flatten out at high engine speeds to reduce drag. Mounting a flex-a-lite fan to your engine requires getting rid of the fan clutch. You will see a decrease in fuel economy (sometimes a significant decrease) and much louder operation since the fan is directly coupled to the water pump.
But, the biggest problem I have with installing a flex-a-lite fan is that they are widely known to fly apart!!! Flex-a-lite fans used to be pretty popular on American muscle cars because most of these cars had pretty crappy stock cooling systems, and with modifications, they needed a lot more airflow than the original fans could provide. I have personally talked with several people who have had flex-a-lite fans on their cars that have come apart and thrown blades. You do not want to see the carnage this causes in the engine compartment - it almost always results in significant damage to the radiator and the hood. In addition, there have been numerous people who have been killed by getting struck in the head by a fan blade from one of these fans while adjusting the timing on their cars. Don't take the risk!
But, the biggest problem I have with installing a flex-a-lite fan is that they are widely known to fly apart!!! Flex-a-lite fans used to be pretty popular on American muscle cars because most of these cars had pretty crappy stock cooling systems, and with modifications, they needed a lot more airflow than the original fans could provide. I have personally talked with several people who have had flex-a-lite fans on their cars that have come apart and thrown blades. You do not want to see the carnage this causes in the engine compartment - it almost always results in significant damage to the radiator and the hood. In addition, there have been numerous people who have been killed by getting struck in the head by a fan blade from one of these fans while adjusting the timing on their cars. Don't take the risk!
If you pull the connectors off one of the switches and stick a piece of wire between the connectors the wire acts like the switch and turns the fan on.
Try both switches and just use the low speed one at first. The fan will run any time the ignition is on but it will keep the car from overheating when stopped in traffic, at least until you fix the real problem.
Steve
Try both switches and just use the low speed one at first. The fan will run any time the ignition is on but it will keep the car from overheating when stopped in traffic, at least until you fix the real problem.
Steve