M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Engine + Driveline => Topic started by: ///digitalme on June 16, 2010, 09:59:38 PM
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so i was driving from LA last week and then the car felt slow and heavy... drove it for 26 miles parked, and notice coolant on the floor..
the radiator brackets failed and the radiator fell and was hanging by the hoses...so one of the hoses was torn from hitting the pulley..
i replaced the hose...put the radiator back...now i have a leak in the radiator....and the fan clutch is not working....
the car doesnt overheat temperature is always in the middle...it never moves? could be a bad cluster? or is it normal to be in the middle when the fan clutch isnt working??
my old 325i when it had a bad fan clutch the temperature would be past the middle also noticed my cluster is put there without many of the screws that hold it...could be its not plugged in how it should be..?
everything else works...
so i let the car idle for about 15 mins and the temperature moved to the middle and stays there when i swapped the engine i have now on the car, the thermostat was not working and the temperature would go to the red, now it doesnt but the clutch isnt working?
things to check?
heres a video of the clutch not working..
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/ooinreverieoo/th_VID00024-20100616-1640.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v256/ooinreverieoo/?action=view¤t=VID00024-20100616-1640.mp4)
a picture of the car after idling for about 15 mins
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/ooinreverieoo/IMG00467-20100616-1901.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/ooinreverieoo/IMG00466-20100616-1843.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/ooinreverieoo/IMG00461-20100616-1840.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/ooinreverieoo/IMG00463-20100616-1841.jpg)
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I'll bet your fan clutch is shot from it sticking on the hose & overheating the oil. You might not have any oil left in the clutch so it's just free-wheeling. It always has little resistance, right? Hot or cold?
If you have a leak the system won't build pressure and the temp won't be right. But if the system is bled properly it'll still work pretty well without the engine fan working. The aux fan in front of the rad works as a backup to keep it cool. You might be able to get that radiator off to a shop for them to seal it up, or get a new one (They're less than $200 new IIRC).
I'm pretty sure your cluster is OK. I read this after I PM'ed you. I think your themostat and the aux fan thermo switch are working too.
You can see the cluster programming chip I was speaking about in the middle picture under the anti-lock light BTW.
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my fan clutch is dead too (just did E-fan conversion) and the temp would rise if i wasn't moving fast enough, but highway driving resulted in slightly below middle temp. reading on the cluster.
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some weird thing happened today...the fan started working again
it doesnt stop anymore...but i still have a leak i can see if i can get it sealed up if not then a new one...i was told my temperature was ok...and my fuel is always full i think its the sending unit in the tank...