Temperature gauge sitting below half

[screeptureblack]

Hie guys ... so i recently had my E36 318is engine done, it had blown a head gasket. this was because it was over heating all the time.

So i replaced the thermostat, new radiator and connected the engine fan to manual and also replaced the head gasket and had the top skimmed. pretty expensive if you ask me..but that was done .

After all that the car continued to over heat , so i sent it back to the mechanic to fix...now its back....doesn't over heat but the temperature gauge now is below its usual half mark....

Now my question....is this normal and can i drive around like this

wont it cause me other problems...given the car has done over 300 000ks

 

[ChefDJ]

I wouldn't trust it. Thermostat once more? Maybe the mech broke it when you sent it back and didn't realise?

 

[Lizzard]

The fan is only suppose to kick in once the car is hot, not from the word get go. Maybe relook at the fan as, is it turning on when the car is turned on. Cause then the car will run cold and your fuel consumption is going to be high.

I drove 3 different models, E36, E46 and now the E90 and all their fans worked the same way. You start the car, the fan doesnt spin, temp gauge picks up (well this stupid E90 of mine doesnt have a temp gauge), and the fan kicks in after it has reach the half mark for a while. The fan also only spins for a limited time and not always, like when you drove a distance the fan will come on while at the robot but will stop when you started driving again.

Look at the fan, maybe the problem lies there as you said you replace the thermostat. The thermostat also has stages where it opens and closes, so preferably you bought the oem one or atleast one from goldwagen or bemow. The thermostat controls the fan and has 3 stages.

Hope this helps a little bit

 

[Donovan2412]

Hie guys ... so i recently had my E36 318is engine done, it had blown a head gasket. this was because it was over heating all the time.

So i replaced the thermostat, new radiator and connected the engine fan to manual and also replaced the head gasket and had the top skimmed. pretty expensive if you ask me..but that was done .

After all that the car continued to over heat , so i sent it back to the mechanic to fix...now its back....doesn't over heat but the temperature gauge now is below its usual half mark....

Now my question....is this normal and can i drive around like this

wont it cause me other problems...given the car has done over 300 000ks

You can drive like that for now, but it's not ideal as it will likely increase you consumption.

Had the exact same problem with mine, and it was the thermostat that was stuck open.

Where did he/you get the thermostat?

 

[hoosain]

maybe the mech didnt put the thermostat back

 

[screeptureblack]

Hie guys ... so i recently had my E36 318is engine done, it had blown a head gasket. this was because it was over heating all the time.

So i replaced the thermostat, new radiator and connected the engine fan to manual and also replaced the head gasket and had the top skimmed. pretty expensive if you ask me..but that was done .

After all that the car continued to over heat , so i sent it back to the mechanic to fix...now its back....doesn't over heat but the temperature gauge now is below its usual half mark....

Now my question....is this normal and can i drive around like this

wont it cause me other problems...given the car has done over 300 000ks

You can drive like that for now, but it's not ideal as it will likely increase you consumption.

Had the exact same problem with mine, and it was the thermostat that was stuck open.

Where did he/you get the thermostat?

I just got it from Master parts....strand......still don't trust the car to drive it very far

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maybe the mech didnt put the thermostat back

That did cross my mind.. however the old one is laying in my boot and don't know any other way to find out, unless i take it off again

---

I wouldn't trust it. Thermostat once more? Maybe the mech broke it when you sent it back and didn't realise?

That could be it...but i don't know if i should be more worried if it over heats or take the knock on fuel consumption...

---

The fan is only suppose to kick in once the car is hot, not from the word get go. Maybe relook at the fan as, is it turning on when the car is turned on. Cause then the car will run cold and your fuel consumption is going to be high.

I drove 3 different models, E36, E46 and now the E90 and all their fans worked the same way. You start the car, the fan doesnt spin, temp gauge picks up (well this stupid E90 of mine doesnt have a temp gauge), and the fan kicks in after it has reach the half mark for a while. The fan also only spins for a limited time and not always, like when you drove a distance the fan will come on while at the robot but will stop when you started driving again.

Look at the fan, maybe the problem lies there as you said you replace the thermostat. The thermostat also has stages where it opens and closes, so preferably you bought the oem one or atleast one from goldwagen or bemow. The thermostat controls the fan and has 3 stages.

Hope this helps a little bit

The reason i ended up on a manual fan was because the bloody thing wouldn't go on..my has on fan and the main was removed...don't know why bought it like that from previous owner, anyway every time the engine got hot, it didn't switch on, so i bought a new switch and tried it again and nothing happened, so i had the mechanic connect it manual so at least it would work....at the same time i changed the radiator and fan belt......

The car is a bit of a project but its not driving well although the engine has no modifications

 

[hoosain]

Start the car in the morning feel the hoses on either side of the thermostat if they getting equally hot then there's no thermostat if the hose before the thermostat gets much hotter than the hose after the thermostat then there is a thermostat present

 

[Ricky318i]

I had exactly the same issue on my 535i (e34 1991 M30B35). Turned out there was NO thermostat installed. :skit: