Cold engine at freeway cruising speed

[andrewsarg101]

Does anyone else's ti run cold while driving on the freeway at cuising speed? I was driving home from Las Vegas and my engine was only at the 1/4 mark, but when I got in town it got back to the normal temp. It was 38 degrees outside and had plenty of cold air going through it on the freeway, but I have never seen this happen in other cars before in similar situations.

[mischief]

same thing here my car is doing the same and it take my car forever to worm up i think there is something wrong

[aceyx]

It may be the thermostat. Try turning the HVAC to cold, then turn on the heat. Engine temp should noticeably drop.

[andrewsarg101]

i would try that, but my heater control doesn't work :mad: hint hint vigilantemotors... it's fine around town so im not worried about it.

[Tyler]

Mine is the same also,i'll drive my car 70 miles to boston and it's at the 1/4 mark the whole time,then once in the city it climbs to halfway. I know this wasn't like this last year.

[Viper3812]

Same happend last night when I was going back to Orlando, but I am in warm Florida.

[DustenT]

That doesn't sound right. Might sits at the half way mark all the time. I'm in Wisconsin and even when it's below zero, it still sits in the middle. I would check your fluid level, make sure you have enough antifreeze. Also, the therostats on our cars are known to be junk. Replace it if you haven't already.

When the gauge is at the 1/4 mark, how hot is your heater? Does it get warmer in town when the gauge jumps up to 1/2 way?

[Tyler]

That doesn't sound right. Might sits at the half way mark all the time. I'm in Wisconsin and even when it's below zero, it still sits in the middle. I would check your fluid level, make sure you have enough antifreeze. Also, the therostats on our cars are known to be junk. Replace it if you haven't already.

When the gauge is at the 1/4 mark, how hot is your heater? Does it get warmer in town when the gauge jumps up to 1/2 way?


Mine did last year,i noticed within the past 4-5 months it's been really low even when cruising on the hgwy for an hour. But last year it was always at the half way mark. My anifreeze is at the cold mark on the car,was low during the summer and added more since then it hasn't dropped.

[mischief]

i would try that, but my heater control doesn't work :mad: hint hint vigilantemotors... it's fine around town so im not worried about it.

your not worried this could damage your motor i think you need to get it fixed

[L84THSKY]

I'm in New York....my temp is the same as DustenT


Mine sits at the half way mark all the time.

[CirrusSR22]

Your thermostat is stuck open. It should stay halfway, no matter what vehicle speed, engine speed, heater status, external temperature, etc. The cooling at cruising speed is due to the coolant flowing to the radiator when it shouldn't be.

Mine stuck open a couple months ago. I got a new assembly from PelicanParts for $19, but I see now they are $31. Also, buy new upper/lower radiator hoses while you're at it, like I should have :rolleyes:

It's quite easy to change, just four little bolts and two hose clamps. The worst part by far is draining/changing the coolant, it such a messy process.

Good Luck!

[AlaskaBlue]

Yep I second the thermostat. I had it happen to me last year. Took forever for it to warm up. At least a good half an hour of driving for it to warm up. Now it warms up after 5-10 minutes of driving, depending on the outside temperature.

[robcarync]

same here...thermo stuck open...takes forever to warm up...

[andrewsarg101]

i would agree with the thermostat in my situation, but my engine heats up to normal temps in 5-10 min like normal and will stay there when i drive around town. And right when i got off the freeway on my way home from vegas it went back to middle and stayed there. i dont know if it was just a fluke or not. im going to take it on the freeway tomorrow night and see if it does it again.

[cali-ti]

it may not stick every time. it likes to mess with your head ... and is waiting to TRULY fail until it's really cold out :)

[andrewsarg101]

i would only be sad if i could turn my heater on, so im use to driving cold. good thing it doesnt get below freezing where i live. i will replace the thermostat since it will be cheaper now then down the road when something fails. on a side note where is the valve that the red cable connects to for the heater control? i heard that it was a common thing for that cable to come loose and i cant find where it connects to.

[1996 328ti]

There is a cable that pops off the temp dial.
To gain access you need to remove the glove box and right sight knee bolster.
The fix is to pop it back one and drilla small hole to use a screw to secure it.
I had it done a few years ago but did not see the install.

[Tyler]

I can't wait till i get my bentley manual this week so i can do this myself. Just to let everyone know i found them for $45 brand new. This is probally why my car is running cold. Seems like it's a common thing on these cars.

[1996 328ti]

The T-stat may come with a gasket. If it doesn't pick one up anyway.

[Tyler]

Is this it here? $44.95 with gasket,is this a good deal?

[CirrusSR22]

Yep that's it. You can get it at Pelican Parts for $31 with the gasket.

[Tyler]

Yep that's it. You can get it at Pelican Parts for $31 with the gasket.


It's actually $30.85 and gasket is another $7.95,i was on there site earlier cause thats where you got yours. I might just take a drive up to NH to go to bavauto to buy mine. I need to go up there soon anyway.

[mischief]

mybe thia link can help you guys out http://auto-treff.org/bmw/vb/showthread.php?threadid=43956

[robcarync]

is this it here? $44.95 with gasket,is this a good deal?
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that is the thermostat housing, not the actual thermostat i do believe...i got a new thermostat from the local european performance auto store and it was 16 bucks i think, gasket included...

[Tyler]

that is the thermostat housing, not the actual thermostat i do believe...i got a new thermostat from the local european performance auto store and it was 16 bucks i think, gasket included...


I was emailing someone @ bavauto.com this morning asking them when there sale is ending on the bavauto springs they have,which he said end of dec. Anyway i asked him if he sold a thermosta for the ti and this is what he sent me.

[aceyx]

The tstat from Pelican Parts comes with a gasket.

If it doesn't, I'll send you the one I bought (I didn't think it came with one either).

[Tyler]

The tstat from Pelican Parts comes with a gasket.

If it doesn't, I'll send you the one I bought (I didn't think it came with one either).

Once i get home i'm gonna do some more research,i'll get back to you on this.

Thanks eveyone with there input.:smile:

[rendoll911]

so is their any need to do a radiator flush or whatever cause i just did that 2 months ago so i really want to avoid that mess if possible when installing my new thermostat

[andrewsarg101]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll get a new tstat ordered this friday and take out my glove box to try and fix my heater. One other thing, does my 96' need to use BMW's coolant or can I just get some of the normal ethylene-glycol stuff?

[aceyx]

rendoll; You don't have to do a full flush, but you will have to drain and refresh the coolant.

andrew; I personally use BMW coolant, but have run prestone in a pinch.

[Tyler]

that is the thermostat housing, not the actual thermostat i do believe...i got a new thermostat from the local european performance auto store and it was 16 bucks i think, gasket included...


I've been doing some research and it seems on the m42 which you have you can do that. On the m44 like mine you actually have to buy the whole unit itself,housing,thermostat and gasket and imo that kindof sucks.
I could be wrong,i see just the thermostats but only for the m42. I'll just buy the whole unit,i have to pick up a part from bmw on
thursday so i'll just add to the order.



andrew; I personally use BMW coolant, but have run prestone in a pinch.


I currently use prestone.

[drkblu318ti]

I have this same problem, except mine goes down fast. My coolant is lower than than the fill mark but there is still coolant in thter... i haev no idea when last it was replace or refilled. Could this also be a problem with the gauge fluctuating like that? And to do a flush do i need to be able to lift the car up at all?
Do u think if it is the thermo being stuck open will this hurt my car cuz if this cost alot to fix i dont realy have the money right now.

Thanks.

[robcarync]

gotcha...i was gonna say mine just pops out and pops in....it wasnt difficult at all really...

[Tyler]

Well i'm having a bad day. Finally get tthe thermostat out and pieces of plastic that were broken off are now inside of the engine. I'm f'in screwed. The thermostatwas in like 3 pieces when i took it out. I also lost a bolt in my driveway of stones.......



this sucks

[cali-ti]

Well i'm having a bad day. Finally get tthe thermostat out and pieces of plastic that were broken off are now inside of the engine. I'm f'in screwed. The thermostatwas in like 3 pieces when i took it out. I also lost a bolt in my driveway of stones.......



this sucks
sucking ... might be a good idea, how about a wet/dry vac, possibly with a smaller diameter flexible hoses attached at the end to increase the suction power? any idea how big they were? bolt is easy enough to buy a new one.

[Tyler]

i found the bolt now it's just the plastic piece. I didn't drain all of the fluid so i'm not sure if the piece of plastic went further in the engine. I don't know if i should put it back together and drive around town for a bit to see what happens..

[cali-ti]

i found the bolt now it's just the plastic piece. I didn't drain all of the fluid so i'm not sure if the piece of plastic went further in the engine. I don't know if i should put it back together and drive around town for a bit to see what happens..
i don't think i would, could get jammed in there or clog it up. how big was the piece?

[GDB]

i found the bolt now it's just the plastic piece. I didn't drain all of the fluid so i'm not sure if the piece of plastic went further in the engine. I don't know if i should put it back together and drive around town for a bit to see what happens..

I'd flush the system if I were you, you don't want that piece messing up your water pump.

[Tyler]

I flushed it out and the piece did not come out. After a little bit we decided to put everything back together and see what happens. Well got it running but no heat was coming out and after some time of adding more fluid to it and reving the engine a little the heat started to work and temp dropped to half way and looked like everything was good. I shut the car off went inside for a bit then needed to run to the store.
As i backed out of my driveway i noticed there was a slight hesitation while gently touching the gas. I touched the pedal a few times and the same thing hesitaion and idle dropped,then just started to move along and another problem occures. My ASC+T light and Automatic transmission light came on,i looked up the trans light since i've never seen it before. Then turned around and went home,now i'm just confused as hell & need a serious drink.

[rendoll911]

tyler you're scaring me about this repair now!

quick stupid unrelated question: should you bleed your coolant system everytime you open the radiator cap?

[rendoll911]

tyler any updates?

[andrewsarg101]

just ordered my tstat from Pelican Parts. i asked them if the gasket comes with it and they say it doesnt, but they are including one for free:biggrin: ! ill try and take some pics of the install and put it in the knowledge base.

[Tyler]

tyler any updates?

Thermostat is changed and everything went well after my issues. It's really a simple install but mine was just messed up But now i'm in the hole 4k with all my other problems i found out about yesterday at the dealership. If you want to know what else went wrong look at my transmission thread....

[prd318ownr]

i drive from vegas to hollywood every weekend and i get the same thing, my needle never hits 1/2.. but its been gettin colder so thats why.. else wise that hot ass drive keep the car at 1/2

[andrewsarg101]

since i got my heater fixed i can actually watch my temp gauge move when i drive around town. if i sit and idle it goes to middle but once i start driving it drops to just under 1/4. hopefully ill get my tstat for a weekend project.