replaced radiator, and now...

nyle · 09-05-2008, 01:17 AM

it still leaks...?

I replaced it as recommended by the dealer (doing it myself, not letting those bastards take my money) because as soon as you would put coolant in it would just drop out the bottom. Now it will hold coolant, sort of. I did the bleed method, then turned the car on the first time let it heat up and turned it off. When i turned it off a bunch of coolant dropped out the bottom. This is repeatable. Also, my heater isn't getting hot now.

could this be a thermostat problem? I don't see why the coolant would leak like that though. It doesn't leak at all while its running. The temp gauge stays at the middle unless i press that little button on the heater that looks like a recycling symbol, in which case it begins to overheat.

trickiekid · 09-05-2008, 02:58 AM

The coolant would drop out of the bottom of what? The radiator? If so, check the drain plug on the lower drivers side of the rad.

trickiekid · 09-05-2008, 03:00 AM

Ok, I was hoping you were on aol, but you aren't. So when you say the recycling button, do you mean ASC? That shouldn't have anything to do with the cooling system.

nyle · 09-05-2008, 03:22 AM

no, the button i was talking about is on the heater control. If i am running my engine, and the temp gauge is at the middle where it should be, then i turn that button on, it will start to go past it. If i turn it back off, it'll go back to the middle.

As for the drain plug. It would leak all the time, yes? It ONLY leaks when i turn the car off. The car running it doesnt leak, and when its off it doesnt leak.

nyle · 09-05-2008, 06:40 PM

ok. so i think the leakage was from the exp. tank cap not being on tightly enough.

i think the thermostat works. the upper tube from the radiator gets hot when the car starts to heat up, but coolant doesn't flow through before that.

i am thinking this is just a bleed issue. when i replaced my little y-shaped sonofabitch in the back of my engine head it wasn't causing this much of a problem. it was pretty much just fill, unscrew the bleed valve a little, let it bubble until it was done, then that was it. i've done that a few times now. still no hot air from the heater, didn't overheat this morning when i took it for a spin, but i just tried to go to work and it started to. didn't make it far luckily.

aceyx · 09-05-2008, 06:42 PM

Make sure the HVAC is set to the highest heat setting with the fan running when you bleed.

nyle · 09-05-2008, 06:45 PM

yeah it has been. i think i just need to keep at it.

aceyx · 09-05-2008, 09:06 PM

Several people have mentioned it took two or three times to get all the air bubbles out. Good luck!

nyle · 09-05-2008, 09:54 PM

i flushed the coolant and started over. this is starting to get really frustrating. i followed the understeer bleed method. waiting for it to cool down now.

trickiekid · 09-05-2008, 10:04 PM

I did the coolant flush when I re-did my cooling system. Sonofabitch doesn't even begin to describe that little y connecter on the back of the head. To check for leaks I originally ran distilled water. After bleeding it and seeing zero leaks i got lazy and just threw in a bottle of water wetter. I have been running that for months now. I am getting ready to flush that out and replace it with zyrex. Just don't rush it and double check your work and you should be fine.

nyle · 09-05-2008, 10:25 PM

lol yeah. that connector was a week of hell. i was initially hurrying because i was supposed to work at 2. oh well. i'll just screw with this all night.

i found another thread on bimmerforums saying to jack the front of the car up. his description seems the most thorough.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=664095

nyle · 09-06-2008, 12:47 PM

still without a car..

I would just about bet my life that its bled.

i found that my radiator fan WORKS when i turn the AC on. but doesn't ever come on without the AC. this would lead me to the temperature sensor? but then at the same time, i felt the radiator right next to the sensor and its cold when the engine is hot.

can someone please verify via comparison that this is correct or incorrect?

I'm still leaning away from thermostat. The top rad hose gets hot after the engine gets to operating temp. coolant is definitely circulating. still no hot air from heater.

nyle · 09-06-2008, 06:52 PM

bump.

would that sensor cause these problems?

nyle · 09-07-2008, 08:34 PM

radiator, headgasket, warped head, maybe cracked......

time to start shopping

trickiekid · 09-08-2008, 12:38 AM

oh man that sucks, what did you end up doing, pulling the head?

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