Possible HGF on e36 328i?

[homerjay]

hi all

my dad has a 328i and has just broken down.

apparently his car was "steaming" so topped up the coolant with water, then drove 20 miles at 60mph.

at which point started "steaming again" then cut out.

currently waiting for green flag to collect him.

sorry, only details i have.

diagnosis and cost?

[CampDavid]

Could be the HG, which I can't imagine is too cheap. I know they go on occasion

[TheEnd]

It's pretty rare, the usual problem is a slow coolant leak for months, then an overheat, and an airlock remaining.

Driving it when overheating then can cause the problems after, a bit like a self fulfilling prophecy.

Overheated alloy blocks run a good chance of stripping the threads when swapping the head.

[thinfourth2]

Plastic water pump impeller has just exploded

[Phil Dicky]

Brother had a 528i had a similar problem, turned out to be knackered radiator, quick £100 fix.

[JayPee]

Phil Dicky said:

Brother had a 528i had a similar problem, turned out to be knackered radiator, quick £100 fix.

This, same thing happened on my mates e36 328i, apparently the bottom of the radiator begin to leak, either with corrosion or taking a knock, I can't remember exactly but he said it wasn't an uncommon fault. Very similar symptoms to yours, didn't blow the HG, but it could happen in a situation like that so keep a check.

[homerjay]

thanks all,

booked into garage for wednesday and i'll report back with the 'actual' issue

[Liquid Knight]

thinfourth2 said:

Plastic water pump impeller has just exploded

+1 they're st!

[NiceCupOfTea]

Impossible to diagnose without a look - IME cooling system faults that appear to be one thing are often caused by something else.

As already said, plastic water pump impeller is apparently a common problem on an e36. Radiator is now 10-5 years old, could be shot. Could also be an old split hose. Any of these can lead to a head gasket failure if driven with resultant low/non circulating coolant.

What you have to do is pull over and kill the engine as soon as you seen the gauge rise. Then fix the problem.

Question: was the steam from the exhaust or the engine bay? Former means likely HGF, latter could be serious overheating or a split hose...

[homerjay]

It's just had a new rad a couple if weeks back. Dunno if that's relevant?

[TheEnd]

could be if it had a big airlock afterwards, or it was a different component which caused the rad problem and this overheat.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Disturbing hoses can cause splits/leaks.

[*Al*]

thinfourth2 said:

Plastic water pump impeller has just exploded

I'd certainly go for this! Obviously the car would then overheat spitted it's coolant out, you then top up and suffer airlocks which are very common on these engines.All depends how far the car was driven with this problem as heat hotspots will damage the head.

[wombat172a]

Just went through this on my e34 525 (same M50 engine). The waterpumps are notorius for failing, and apprarently don't make it much further than 80,000miles at a push. How far has your BMW gone on it?

It's fairly straight forward to change the water pump (follow this) http://www.bmwedia.com/wiki/Water_pump_replacement... At the same time you should replace the thermostat (and possibly the housing to suit).

[SlipStream77]

I had a similar problem on my E36 recently, it would overheat after the car was stopped and would pump out coolant from the rad. After waiting for it to cool and topping up with water it was OK again whilst running until it was stopped again.

It turned out to be the thermostat, a £16 part and it was fixed.

I had the water pump go a while ago so it was unlikely to be that.

[homerjay]

ok its been in a friendly garage today, who reported it definate HGF

he said the recent new radiator fitted by another garage due to an insurance claim was not connected up properly so was pissing coolant.

the friendly garage is going to speak to the previous garage to see if they will claim responsibility.

i think this is gonna get messy.

Edited by homerjay on Monday 13th September 20:59

[NiceCupOfTea]

Did it completely boil, or just drop the coolant? If you just lost the coolant and stopped, then:

• Connect rad properly
• fill/bleed

And Bob's your uncle. If it boiled, do the above, then:

• run to temperature
• block test
• compression test

Maybe do that anyway to be sure. This is why you need to keep an eye on the gauges when you are driving. There's no reason a coolant leak should cause any problems at all unless you keep on driving.

The danger is if you completely lose all the coolant in one go the temp gauge doesn't have a chance to register, as the sender is now in air The next thing you know is your engine has seized...

[shalmaneser]

thinfourth2 said:

Plastic water pump impeller has just exploded

This.

[homerjay]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Did it completely boil, or just drop the coolant? If you just lost the coolant and stopped, then:

• Connect rad properly
• fill/bleed

And Bob's your uncle. If it boiled, do the above, then:

• run to temperature
• block test
• compression test

Maybe do that anyway to be sure. This is why you need to keep an eye on the gauges when you are driving. There's no reason a coolant leak should cause any problems at all unless you keep on driving.

The danger is if you completely lose all the coolant in one go the temp gauge doesn't have a chance to register, as the sender is now in air The next thing you know is your engine has seized...

dont know exact details, but i think its seized as he drove it, was only a mile from home so tried to limp.

[homerjay]

right guys, im back.

car has been in mates garage for a while now.

basically its fked. needed helicoils for one reason or another, but could get any 7mm ones. so he tapped it out to 8mm but that didnt work either.

so source a new engine or sell it as fked?

what the hell is it worth without an engine?

shame really, because its a cracking, clean example.

Edited by homerjay on Wednesday 20th October 16:10