Radiator problem

[Tyler]

I posted a thread yesterday my car was over heating and realized the low fan relay was faulty.
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12641
I also noticed my radiator was low so i added coolant and some water to top it off. This morning i checked the level and it was at the cold mark. Tonight when i got home from work and doing some shopping i popped my hood to put the new relay in and i checked my coolant again. My coolant level was about 2 inches from the bottom of the tank,it seems like it dropped about 6-7 inches down. I did not see any leaks on the hose nor did i see any antifreeze coming out. My dad thinks the water pump could be letting go or let go.

Any ideas or suggestions on what my problem might be? I'm going to keep a close eye on it tomorrow to see if it's low again.

[Mad-Machine]

I recently discovered that I seem to have the same problem. I was out and about in normal traffic around here and while my temp gage never climbed (I saw it once do that in bumper to bumper) I could smell hot coolant. When I finally got to where I was going, I popped the hood and you could hear the coolant trying to escape the cap on the side of the radiator.

I know the fan works as it comes on when I turn the air on (try that next time she overheats) so I may have to swap the relay too before I drive a few miles to get another from the dealer.

[campaiar]

This is strange, I am having the same problem. I've already replaced the thermostat, and temperature sensor in the head.

I too have a working fan when the air is switched on, but it doesn't engage when the temperature gauge goes beyond half way. I'm losing coolant daily.

I need to determine which temperature setting my fan sensor is. There are two listed for a 1995 for some reason.

I'm getting pretty tired of driving around with the heater on.

[pdxmotorhead]

There is a UV sensitive dye you can put in the system and use a little UV-LED flashlight to look for leaks.

If the inside of the tail pipe glows you have an internal engine leak. Bad Thing (TM)

Dave

[campaiar]

I'm really hoping I don't have a cracked head, or blown head gasket.

The oil and coolant haven't mixed yet.... fingers-crossed.....

[pdxmotorhead]

Don't forget that the radiators on these cars are NOTORIOUS for the neck the hoses hook to cracking. Thats why I reccomend the Dye treatment. The cracks will glow big time once the engine is warmed up. Water does not just vanish....

Dave

[aceyx]

Originally Posted by campaiar

I need to determine which temperature setting my fan sensor is. There are two listed for a 1995 for some reason.

The fan has low (80C) and high (88C) speeds.

[m3outtanowhere]

O.k. I have posted this before; buti'll help you guys again. In my 94 318is my coolant would always drop to 2-3 inches no matter how often I checked it and filled. I was so worried that is was a head gasket or something bad. After a year of messing around with a lot of diff. ideas I saw a circular spray line on the interior padding under the hood. I kinda noticed it too late. 2 days after seeing this whitish colored line my water pump seal blew out and I was pumping out coolant to the ground.
Come to find out the the water pump's seal had a very small leak that would push the coolant down the shaft and onto the pulley (I could see old dried spray lines from the center of the back side of the pulley--->outwards). The pulley would spin the dripping fluid all around. Therefore not allowing me to give an accurate diagnosis of where the leak is coming from. If you have not changed your water pump, are not dripping, and cannot figure out where the coolant goes? This IS happening to your car. Under closer inspection, the seal had a needle sized crack in the o-ring.


edit:THe car would not leak unless turned on! Pulley needs to spin, or pressure in line?

[weezer]

This happened to me after I flushed the radiator and put a new coolant in.I didn't know the sytem had to be bled......notice the bleed screw next to the expansion cap? If there's a bubble in the system, sometimes, the coolant won't touch the temp sensor......(another clue: make sure when refilling the coolant, have the temp sensor half screwed in, so the fluid will dribble thru a little bit). I was travelling, so it as a scary moment to see the temp gauge going up and the fan won't turn on without the A/C on.
Good luck.

[CirrusSR22]

Originally Posted by m3outtanowhere

I saw a circular spray line on the interior padding under the hood. I kinda noticed it too late. 2 days after seeing this whitish colored line my water pump seal blew out and I was pumping out coolant to the ground.

You know what, I've got a white residue on my hood padding fabric, near where the radiator cap is (I think). I've never really thought much about it though. I'll have to check that out.

[Mad-Machine]

so, which relay controls the fan normally? I want to switch the a/c and cooling relays to see if that works

[campaiar]

Originally Posted by aceyx

The fan has low (80C) and high (88C) speeds.

Damn, that's the one the Cincy dealer doesn't stock. How do you know its not the 91/99 sensor? The BMW guys said there is no way to tell which one came in the car without looking for a number on the sensor.

Course, the sensor is 11 years old, so there is no number anymore. Just curious.

[Tyler]

Well my car is fine now,all i did was change the low fan relay and after a few days of monitoring it was fine.