83 320i 1.8 Manual ? about tempature running over

[hardyrxp]

Hello I am new at this so perhaps you could welcome me and give me some tips on how this works. I am happy to find a site like this...... Well I do have a question perhaps someone could take a stab at. I have a 83 320i 5 speed the problem is it runs hot a lot. The temp gauge will go over the half way mark (3/4) to be exact when sitting at a red light or when its hot. Is this normal for the E21's 81-83 for those years? If not please advise me as to what it might be. I have already gone over many things such as coolant flush, new radiator, installed new thermostat cooler Tempature (171F versus the factory 180F thought that would help it did a little). Everything else works great belts, fan, new water pump, wow the car is great no problems other then this one I am naming please advise me thanks.
Dave

[BG]

"Is this normal for the E21's 81-83 for those years?" It is definitely not supposed to be normal behavior. My 320i has never had any cooling problems. But, years ago, many people did complain of cooling problems in the hotter parts of the USA, so maybe it was common under certain circumstances. You have obviously done all the normal maintenance things like install a new radiator, so this is a mystery. One thing to check: does the auxiliary electric fan come on when the coolant temperature begins to rise?

[glotman]

well, one thing you can do is get a pyrometer, and check the actual temp of the engine. I used to have the 171 deg thermostat, on the guage it would be slightly less than 1/2, but the thing had no heat in the winter, so I change to the 180 thermostat, guage goes over 1/2, and I'm thinking, uh o...but at slightly more than 1/2, the rads actual temp is only 180 deg F. as measured with the pyrometer, which is really nice to know. The heat is much better, too. The pyrometer, is a handheld device that looks like a plastic gun, and will measure the temp of anything you point it at, from 0 deg to 1000F. Mine is made by Raytek, and comes in handy for a lot of stuff. Like if your car is suffering a miss, you can see which exhaust runner is cooler than the others, you know thats the one thats has a miss.
G

[bmaxcey]

I noticed my 81 doing the same thing the other day. Mine is a daily driver and I live in AL. So the warmer climates could be an issue however, its been pretty cool here for awhile! So not sure if that could be an answer. I did notice mine was low on water coolant in the radiator. My fan does kick on just fine by the way.

[BG]

My coolant weeps out very slowly at the joint where the plastic tank joins the aluminum radiator fins. Eventually I need to replace it but for now I check the coolant level regularly. This is radiator no. 2 in 29 years, so I suppose I should not complain. By the way, Mike Miller from Roundel Tech Talk warned to NEVER use any of the radiator stop leak chemicals, especially in a mature car.

Many years ago, I recall reading that some people installed a thicker Volvo radiator that had more capacity. I don't recall details.

[ascot]

First of all overheating is generally a case of poor coolant flow or poor air flow. Even though your thermostat is new, check it by putting it in a pan of water and heating the water with a thermometer in the pan to find out if the thermostat is opening at the correct temperature. Make sure the thermostat is opening completely as well. The only other thing I would check regarding your problem would be the temperature sender to make sure it is giving the temp gauge an accurate signal.
shermanmartinez@hotmail.com

[David Goerndt]

A timely thread since i have an 82 320i with exactly the same issue. I live in Florida and it is approaching the hot season. My gauge runs at the 3/4 mark. I recently switched to a lower temp thermostat (75 deg) which did nothing, next is a cooling system flush. I had a blown head gasket a year ago and since then it runs above the halfway point. Someone told me that if the head was decked and the gasket wasn't replaced with a thicker one the compression would be higher and run hotter. My aux fan did absolutely nothing to reduce the temp, just made a lot of noise. Still trying to track down the cause.

[euroe21]

CHECK YOUR IGNITION TIMMING, i BET YOU ITS IT IS ADVANCED...THESE CARS ARE WEEKEND WARRIORS, THEY NEED ATTENTION. REMEBER THESE WERE BUILT WITH THE UNDERSTANDING OF A TRAINED BMW TECH WOULD BE TUNING IT EVERY 10,000+ MILES.