Temp needle @ dead center, 540I M60

[alekseykorzun]

I might be paranoid but after doing radiator/cooling/water pump swap and running 50/50 BMW coolant with water-wetter I noticed that gauge needle after warm up stays exactly at center.

I think before it was maybe 2mm before middle all the time but not right on the center.

Any ideas?

[Bonzo]

Water Weter is a great product, but it works better with LESS anti-freeze. Actualy it is designed to work best with no antifreeze, just distilled water only. Its great for summer and spring but not recomended in temps below 40. It was designed for race engines that don't use antifreeze.

[alekseykorzun]

Thanks but results are still better when adding it in antifreeze plus 4 drops of red-line water wetter should not cause overheating.

My question is; is that temperature normal?

[Bonzo]

I have used Water Wetter in both my E34 and Dodge Ram with just about the same results you spoke of. While the write up on the bottle's lable says you can expect to see up to 30 degree differance in cooling- I dont think thats going to happen. You may see a 5 to 10 degree improvement, and thats only if DO NOT use a glycol based antifreeze. Straight water and Water Wetter mix is about 32-1 useing one 12oz. bottle. As for your temp guage needle being centered, this is where it should be. If your mixture is 60-40 or 70-30 your needle will move acordingly but too much coolant can be just as harmful. Try Bleeding the system one more time and see if your needle moves after warm-up.

[Bonzo]

The center of your temp guage is about 180-185 degrees. These VDO guages are fairly accurate, but not exact. This is where your needle should be. Did you do the last coolant change yourself? Do you know for sure the coolant mixture was 50-50 befor your recent coolant change?

[KangaBoy]

Mine sits dead centre after replacing my thermostat, before it would take ages to warm up in cold weather and if I was on the freeway I could drive 20 mins and it wouldnt get much over 1/4. SUmmer and it sat dead centre unless stuck in traffic.

Now it warms up in 4-5 mins to halfway and sits there unless I am sitting idling for a VERY long time, then it will move slightly up. It is winter here again however :)