Author Topic: clogged radiator? (Read 6121 times)

jdirty · « **Reply #15 on:** October 15, 2011, 11:20:50 PM »

one of the thermostats that i have is working. ordered a replacement water pump since the one i had was messed up.

DesktopDave · « **Reply #16 on:** October 16, 2011, 09:37:28 AM »

What was wrong with the pump? Broken impeller?

mr.vang · « **Reply #17 on:** October 16, 2011, 10:54:40 AM »

you can buy 1 or 2 of these, you'll survive winter with no problem.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-rubberized-heater-with-fan-96144.html

jdirty · « **Reply #18 on:** October 21, 2011, 10:11:55 PM »

car is on the road again.

so the old water pump wasn't really messed up. it was just grimey from mineral deposits and had a plastic impeller. it looked fairly new but since i already had my metal impeller version on hand i slapped it in anyway but one of the bolts broke during the torquing process so we had to drill it out or whatever that process is called.

thermostat checked out good based on tests. at first i thought it was fucked and didn't open till very late when i put it in boiling water.. until i realized.. my infrared gun was on Fahrenheit and was showing 155 ish which is equal to around 88 Celsius. so that checked out.

also replaced the bleeder screw near the rad cap since the old one snapped. and replaced the o-rings on the lower bleed screw.

bled the car:
filled the rad tank with a special funnel that has a plug on it so air won't get in.
stacked the car in an inclined position.
warm up. (heater was bypassed due to bypass valve being nonfunctional.)
rev to 3 k. hold.
open up bleed screw near rad cap.
done.

car temp seems to be stable between 1/4 and 1/2 mark. sometimes goes to 1/2 when idling. seems like my fans need to be replaced. either check the aux fan wiring and aux fan.. or go ahead and do an electric fan conversion.

but! the car has been sitting for a month now and we did try to smog it earlier and it was showing 400 on the reading and the max here in NV is 200 something. so after running like 10 miles or so.. the car's rich smelling cat-less exhaust system seemed to be smelling not so rich anymore. so hopefully tomorrow we're gonna retry the smogging and get it reregistered.

jdirty · « **Reply #19 on:** October 21, 2011, 10:14:19 PM »

Quote from: mr.vang;107493

you can buy 1 or 2 of these, you'll survive winter with no problem.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-rubberized-heater-with-fan-96144.html

lol two of those are like $30! saw somebody selling their bypass valve for the same amount. but i've survived a winter without the heater already so i'm pretty sure it wouldn't be as bad. btw i messaged you about that survey thing before.

jdirty · « **Reply #20 on:** November 18, 2011, 04:59:32 AM »

Update:
after a lot of driving my tem reading has been great. sitting at 1/4 an sometimes nearing 1/2 when idling. it has gotten cold here in Vegas. avg 67 degrees outside which is pretty cool.

but my shit is leaking.

the radiator drain plug had a steady drip when i was on the way home. i filled up my rad. popped my hood and continued on my journey home. surprisingly my temp stayed at 1/4. as soon as i parked the car when i got home i could alteady see a puddle of coolant/water.

does bmw use a special oring?! i use proper sized ones when i replaced them before. from the looks of it.. seems like they gave out. i don't remember seeing that square plastic clip lookin thing though. too late and i'm sleepy. that bitch ass car can menstruate for now.

jdirty · « **Reply #21 on:** November 18, 2011, 07:53:24 PM »

pulled out coolant drain and surprisingly, the replacement oring turned into green and snapped. i thought the plug itself was damage so i replaced that anyway. idk if bmw uses "special" orings so i might as well.

tried bleeding out the car an coolant jetted out of the expansion tank relief valve. weird. an i noticed the temp gauge halfway. maybe because it was idling. but i have yet to find out.

DesktopDave · « **Reply #22 on:** November 18, 2011, 08:10:47 PM »

Coolant should shoot out of the bleeder if it's hot. The coolant is compressed at about 30psi warm if you believe the pressure cap.

I'm not sure the o-ring should be giving out...that's really odd. Did you replace the lower expansion tank seal or the drain valve seal? I thought the lower expansion tank is a square-section seal, not an o-ring. IIRC, there's a little o-ring on the side of the expansion tank too.

jdirty · « **Reply #23 on:** November 18, 2011, 08:57:03 PM »

Quote from: DesktopDave;108162

Coolant should shoot out of the bleeder if it's hot. The coolant is compressed at about 30psi warm if you believe the pressure cap.

I'm not sure the o-ring should be giving out...that's really odd. Did you replace the lower expansion tank seal or the drain valve seal? I thought the lower expansion tank is a square-section seal, not an o-ring. IIRC, there's a little o-ring on the side of the expansion tank too.

oh okay. so that's perfectly normal then. it's just that the last time i opened up that relief valve near the expansion tank cap up top, i was only getting bubbles. i honestly forgot how to bleed. lol

isn't supposed to be revving the engine at 3k while the engine is running on operating temperature..? (until there's nothing coming out of the relief valve? or was it the drain plug..? )

yeah that oring scenario was weird. it reminded me of a small chewed up mit bubble gum. as far as other orings. i only replaced one out of two orings on the drain plug. what's weirder is the oring that's further inside is the one that gave out yet nothing happened to the outermost oring on the drain plug.

i know what you're talking about the square section.. i haven't touched anything aside from the drain plug and relief valve.

jdirty · « **Reply #24 on:** November 18, 2011, 11:00:11 PM »

it seems all set now. i've been idling earlier and the temp was just between 1/4 and 1/2 like it was before! yay! still weird how that oring got mutilated.