URGENT HELP needed

What happened : Engine Overheated

While as I was driving into town to pick my mom up...driving like how I normally drive, now on the N1 I give it some beans and drove like a mad person for about 500m then I noticed the TEMP Gauge is pass the middle dial and is getting to the red side very quickly and also the dashboards showing "COOLANT TEMP" - so I was on the N1 heading into town (next to CTICC) and about 400m I stopped the car and checked what the hell was going on.

I suspect that its the waterpump as this thing still had the original stock (plastic) impeller...the viscous fan was working though.

What I looked at;

-There was a obvious leak under the bonnet where I parked and its the antifreeze/water

- I let it cooled down and opened the radiator cap and theres nothing
inside the expansion tank and when I filled it up again (now driving back) - there was steam coming out the bleed cap and it took me like 4l of water to fill up the expansion tank.

- I pressed the hoses leading in and out of the engine block and its "squishy" (like theres nothing in it)

So being in town, I needed to get back home (milnerton)...luckily enough there was a gentleman who said he owned a E34 520i before and he had the same problem...he advised me to leave the top radiator bleeder screw open and fill up the expansion tank (and check / fillup regularly as you are driving) /

There are no visible breakages that I can see.

@Max...too tired to think now but i hope the gurus like Rick and Zl will respond

sounds like you have a leak some place have a look tomorrow and change what you need...

probably a good idea to change all the rubber and plastic bits in your cooling system now or you will probably just pop one after the other...

That's a nasty thing to have happen! But good thing you were able to stop and let things cool down! So you were able to nurse the car hope at least?

Hope our many resident Gurus will be able to help! :thumbs:

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moranor said:

sounds like you have a leak some place have a look tomorrow and change what you need...

probably a good idea to change all the rubber and plastic bits in your cooling system now or you will probably just pop one after the other...

Click to expand...

+1

Yep, the fact that you found a spongy feeling pipe, chances are there's a leak somewhere. Of course, from running low on water the water pump may have taken some punishment!

See you on Sun max

Sent using Tapatalk for Android.

you have the m50 right? i know my engines suffer from leaking at the waterpump behind the viscous. its hard to spot as it only leaks now and then. but ya get the leak and you should be on the right track.

Philip Foglar said:

That's a nasty thing to have happen! But good thing you were able to stop and let things cool down! So you were able to nurse the car hope at least?

Click to expand...

Yip it's home now. And since now I need to replace some components...I was thinking of doing the viscous fan delete and put an electric fan on :grin:

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Update:

I can't spot any more leaks or leaking places (the expansion tank still has water in it...I will check tomorrow if it has gone down or not)...however the guy that was helping me said there may be air inside the system now.

However I checked all the fuses and fuse no. 19 which is the Heater Blower - is a little alarming...

The fuse's plastic part was melting


And the plastic around the plastic slot has also melted..although the metal connectors (talking about the fuse box and not the fuse) are still intact.


Compared to a spare one




These are just the pool of coolant/water of which I think just spilled out






Crystal-like deposit on one of the house to thermostat housing

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Although, come to think of it, I did ask the petrol attendant to check water and he did fill up the expansion tank (maybe I shouldn't have) earlier today and I havn't driven until 7 (when I had the problem)...perhaps it is just air trapped in the system?

I can't tell much right now.

The crystal like substance is the water coming out and normally its the hose clamp that needs tightening . I have had the temp fluctuate and go close to red , but after about a km or so it comes down , goes up in stop start again . Unfortunately I replaced both the visco and waterpump , so I do not know which one was the culprit .

I was thinking of just doing a complete cooling system overhaul....

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I'll check the thermostat tomorrow

Ok so I started the engine (while cold) and drove around the block. When the temp gauge needle hits the middle mark, I drove back and opened the bonnet.

I touched the top radiator hose and it was very hot - the lower radiator hose is warm. So does that mean the thermostat is fine?

Sounds like the viscous is not working.

Can you spin the fan freely by hand or is there some resistance?

rick540 said:

Sounds like the viscous is not working.

Can you spin the fan freely by hand or is there some resistance?

Click to expand...

Theres a little resistance.

never check the water when the car is warmed up do it before you leave the house... you could have gotten air in the system and the attendant could have not put the cap on properly...

maybe you just have air in the system and it caused this... bleed the system let the system warm up and see if there is any water coming out anywhere...

the fuses look scary :yuck: no idea what could cause that

moranor said:

never check the water when the car is warmed up do it before you leave the house... you could have gotten air in the system and the attendant could have not put the cap on properly...

maybe you just have air in the system and it caused this... bleed the system let the system warm up and see if there is any water coming out anywhere...

the fuses look scary :yuck: no idea what could cause that

Click to expand...

Lesson learnt! :thumbs:

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Is this how you bleed the system?

Radiator-Mounted Expansion Tank

1

Place the catch pan underneath the radiator.
2

Place your key in the ignition and start the E34's engine.
3

Open the hood. Locate the bleeder screw on top of the expansion tank, which is mounted atop the radiator. Turn the screw counterclockwise with a screwdriver to open it and bleed the cooling system.
4

Open the coolant reservoir tank by turning the cap on the top of the tank counterclockwise. Pour engine coolant into the reservoir when the coolant starts to escape the bleed screw. Continue pouring the coolant into the tank until there are no more air bubbles coming out from around the bleed screw.
5

Close the bleed screw, turning it clockwise with the screwdriver. Shut off the engine.

....

Ok time to go buy some BMW engine coolant (R59 per litre).

Sounds like there was air in the system. BUT, you say you filled 4 litres of water??? Where could that much leakage have occured, even if the petrol attendant didn't replace the radiator cap properly?

sclass said:

Sounds like there was air in the system. BUT, you say you filled 4 litres of water??? Where could that much leakage have occured, even if the petrol attendant didn't replace the radiator cap properly?

Click to expand...

Well part of it did turn into steam and escaped via the bleeder screw 'hole'...

dont know how to bleed the e34, but on the e46 there is a plastic screw up top on the inlet to the expansion tank...

you undo this screw pour coolant into the expansion tank till water starts coming out...
then you start the car and with the engine running you pour coolant into the expansion tank till there are no more bubbles coming out of the bleed screw hole...
put the screw back in then turn off the engine and put the expansion tank cap back on...
once the water is completely cool (maybe the next day) check the water level to make sure its right

must be pretty similar for the e34...

Sounds just the same :grin: Yeah, will do :thumbs:

OK, I just flushed it... Made sure there was no more air bubbles escaping out the bleeder hole.

Will wait until nightfall once car has cooled down and check for water level and if its returning to normal.

lets hope thats the end of the cooling problems... now whats going on with the fuses :fencelook: