cooling loop help

[d2007k]

i have a 1997 318ti . i recently replaced the two water outlet/inlet pieces. im not getting any leaks but i am also not getting any heat.

can anyone either post a pic of where the hoses go ? i wanna make sure i didnt connect any on the wrong place. main concern is where heater core is and heater valve. looking into the engine area towards back of car i have the right side of the heater core connected to the top of the heater valve (with small hose). the bottom of the heater valve runs over to the back of the engine (larger hose that comes off back off block. and then the left side of the heater core runs down to the heat outlet pipe.

thanks in advance

[Bluebimma]

You likely need to rebleed the system.

[d2007k]

yes ive been bleeding it and still doesnt help. i know its flowing cause i can squeeze the hoses and it builds up pressure..

i just have a feeling i have a couple hoses in the wrong spot...

sorry for the bad paint pic but this is the layout how its currently setup.. if anyone can verify if its correct or not id appreciate it

.

[cooljess76]

How have you been bleeding it? I ask because 90% of people don't know how to do it properly. It usually takes about 3 or 4 tries to completely bleed the air out of the system. The no-heat symptoms are almost always caused by air in the system. The only other thing that would cause it would be a faulty HVAC control, but in your case being that you've just worked on the cooling system and opened the loop, I'm fairly certain that you have air in the system. Bleed it properly and you'll have heat again.

[Mopho]

I just changed the rear Y fitting on the engine, yes, you have the hoses hooked up right.
Mine after parking in steep driveway, getting all air out, heater worked fine again (this morning) then I drove about 5 miles, overheated again, so now I'm looking at a head gasket.
Pressure is building up and blowing out the coolant everywhere.
So I would suggest trying to bleed the system again. At least your head gasket isn't blown.
I have spent an hour on this website, looking for someone that has done the head gasket.
Looks like I might need some professional help. LOL

[Bluebimma]

The head gasket is actually pretty easy. Lock the cams, static timing, new gasket kit, head check....pretty straight forward. Bentley details it just enough for your average diy. A mechanic will only need it for torque specs.

[d2007k]

well at first i was running the car without the radiator cap on...adding and adding until full.. after that i would run it for 10 minutes and then crack the bleeder screw until i got full coolant leak out of it. then i wait till it cools down a bit then refill. ive done this quite a few times still no heat ..

[cooljess76]

well at first i was running the car without the radiator cap on...adding and adding until full.. after that i would run it for 10 minutes and then crack the bleeder screw until i got full coolant leak out of it. then i wait till it cools down a bit then refill. ive done this quite a few times still no heat ..Well there's your problem right there. Follow these instructions and repeat as necessary until all of the air is out of the system and your heater blows hot air:wink:
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27983

[d2007k]

ok ill give it a try just as described. man i hope it works !!

ill check back and let you know how it goes

[DataTraveler]

i'm having the exact same issue after replacing both of the plastic cooling bits and the t-stat. I've bled it a few times already. the air blowing in the car during the bleed is the same temp as outside. Out of curiosity I reached thru the mess to feel the heater hoses going into the heater core. both cold. trying to see if I was getting any circulation at all after the car was warmed up I felt the rad hoses, top was hot, bottom cold no fan action at all after I'd been idling, warmed up, for 10-15 minutes. Gonna bleed it some more tomorrow. :p Wish I knew if it was safe to drive.

[cooljess76]

Just watch that temp needle like a hawk. If you see it start to rise above the 12 o'clock position, shut her down immediately. You may have a different issue than the OP. Sounds like your thermostat might be stuck in the closed position.

[d2007k]

i also stuck my hand back there to see if one side felt warm or not. i did not feel any heat on the hoses.

but i know my thermostat isnt stuck closed because i can squeeze the large radiator hose on passenger front and it builds up pressure and you can also feel flow. also having the radiator cap off you can see some flow.

unfortunetly no heat yet. we'll see tomorrow after i go for a drive. if i get my heat back the car will be back to normal and ill be one happy camper.

[d2007k]

ok im having no luck with this at all.. i followed the instructions and no luck. i cant believe that this is so difficult to accomplish

[Mopho]

ok im having no luck with this at all.. i followed the instructions and no luck. i cant believe that this is so difficult to accomplish

Did you try parking on a REALLY steep hill? My driveway works perfect.
But I still had to do it several times.

Wish I had known the head gasket was going out on mine, I could have saved a weekend changing the Y fitting on the back of the head....

:frown:
Got mine in a shop now to get'er done.
I'm not up to changing a duel overhead cam head. I'm an old Chevy guy...
And way too old to be buying any more tools just for one time job.

Maybe your best bet is to take into a mechanic and have them pressure check system, maybe something else is wrong, or maybe just your heater controls are disconnected or broken, or valve shut and won't open on the heater control valve. But you aren't getting any heat to the hoses.....hmmmmm........disconnect one on the heater valve under hood, see if coolant is flowing.

[d2007k]

yes i have a pretty decent hill in front of my house. and no luck. i also tried jacking up the front end of my car ..no luck ..

ive been thinking of taking a hose off and seeing if anything is coming out but the reason i havent was because the hose want even warm at all so i thought it would be pointless.

at this point i have nothing to lose i guess.. i will try to undo a hose and see whats going on

[Mopho]

Well, maybe taking a hose off will force the coolant to push out the air in it, and at least get coolant to your heater valve. Wish I knew how to check the valve itself...
I think it is hanging right off the firewall, but that might just be a junction fitting, I don't know....checking my Bentley manual, I'll get back to you. I know the fitting that the big hose coming off the back of the y fitting does go to the bottom fitting. My heater has always worked great. Burn your toes if you don't turn it down, LOL!

[d2007k]

lol .. mine will turn them into ice cubes .. yes the valve is just right of the heat core inlet/outlets ... i have no idea how it works either.. a little testing should be able to figure it out but first things first .. ill go undo one of the hoses

[DataTraveler]

I think I've fixed my problems...
My new tstat wasn't opening and my heat was cold after replacing these plastic connectors. I had massive air pockets in my cooling system and I think one of the massive pockets was around the water pump. Not allowing it to pump properly. So I cleaned up a bucket, drained the fresh coolant, removed my new tstat and verified it was opening properly by dropping it into boiling water. It was (yay!).

I ended up grabbing a funnel with a chunck of hose on it and poured coolant directly into the coolant channel below the tstat (make sure it's the coolant channel! I didn't look to closely at what the other hole was, if it even was a hole, but it sure didn't look like somewhere coolant should be), directly into the lower coolant hose since it was curiously devoid of coolant. I then put the tstat back on, hooked everything up, filled the reservoir to the top, jacked up the front end, and fired it up with the heat on full blast. Watched the temp, watched the bubbles, continued to add coolant until it started pouring out of the bleeder hole. Tapped and squeezed the heater hoses and coolant hoses, gently so as to not squirt coolant all over :p

In the morning the last 2 days omw out for work I jacked up the front of the car, fired it up with the heat on and repeated the process, tapping and squeezing the coolant hoses gently, adding coolant if it required, which it didn't.

I've put about 300 miles on it the last 2 days. Everything seems great.

[d2007k]

good to hear you got yours going .. i was thrilled with getting a good deal on this car .. now im really starting to hate it .. in fact im serioulsy thinking of selling it when its fixed ..

[DataTraveler]

good to hear you got yours going .. i was thrilled with getting a good deal on this car .. now im really starting to hate it .. in fact im serioulsy thinking of selling it when its fixed ..

Boo, every vehicle has it's quarks. My old CRX for instance. Living with Michigan roads can be a pain. Front suspension gets sloppy about every year because of me putting cheap parts on it. But I've learned how to rebuild the front suspension on the Honda in about 2 hrs. And it only costs 150$ a year. Considering that and oil changes is about all that POS needs as maintenance it's not too bad.

I like my ti. I'm learning it's quarks. Most cars really aren't bad when you learn their quarks.

[d2007k]

i agree .. ive been booing myself allot trying not to be so hard on the car. its just a pain like ya said to figure its quirks..

on a positive note .. great gas mileage. lots of options for such an old car compared to others ive had. love the hatchback because i have a nice subwoofer and love loud music. other than cooling seems pretty straight forward for repairs.

after all my overheating issues and if i get it fixed and all is good im probably gonna pick up another car at the end of fall and drive that while i pull the head off and have it sent in to be pressure checked, re-surfaced, and the valves done. and who knows if i have enough money i may just seek out a turbo or supercharger. always wanted a car to do some mods on and i think i found it..

CROSSES FINGERS that nothing is damaged from overheating and cooling becomes fully functional

i owned a mercedes before this car and love the german cars .. my first BMW .. little disapointed in the setup of things but hey .. like 2pac said .. thats just the way it is ..hahaha

[Mopho]

D2007K,
You ever get time to bleed those hoses?
Just curious.

[d2007k]

no i chickened out as of now .. im gonna do it tomorrow when it isnt snowing or raining ..

although yesterday i tried to bleed the radiator and still no luck .. when i have the cap on the fluid looks a bit low ..but when i pop the cap it raises back up to full ..

[Mopho]

http://weathersticker.wunderground.com/weathersticker/big2_cond/language/www/US/CA/Rodeo.gif


Eat your heart out. Hot today, had to turn on air conditioning...in my rental Kia (blech).
:wink:

[DataTraveler]

no i chickened out as of now .. im gonna do it tomorrow when it isnt snowing or raining ..

although yesterday i tried to bleed the radiator and still no luck .. when i have the cap on the fluid looks a bit low ..but when i pop the cap it raises back up to full ..

that sounds like the engine isn't running when you bleed it.
at least that's the way mine worked when it wasn't running.

[d2007k]

EDIT:
the bleeding procedure was extremely different this time around. lots of steam blowing out followed by large burps of air ..re-fill and it did it a couple times more

[d2007k]

well i fixed it !! turns out that im the one to blame .. i had the hoses backwards on the heater valve and i bled it again and full heat.

sooooo glad its over