Overheating 328i

[erebus1013]

My 328i is still overheating. I changed the radiator, thermostat and water pump. Any ideas what could be causing the over heating?

[JKRIT]

Purged all the air bubbles out of the cooling system when refilling it? This may take several attempts to get all the air. Does the cooling fan work, especially if you drive in city traffic? Also the auxiliary electric fan, when A/C is turned on? Extreme, worst case would be blown head gasket that leaks hot combustion gases into cooling system.
'03 525i Sapphire Blu/Grey, SP, Nav
'02 325it Orient Blu./Grey, SP, Nav
'98 323is Arctic Sil./Blk, SP
'95 M3 Cosmos Blk./Blk

[Robert Platt Bell]

Park the car nose high - I used ramps. Fill the coolant through the upper hose, NOT through the overflow bottle. Run it and bleed it - with the heater on full bore.

Bleed some more - then some more.

Keep a bottle of pre-mix in the trunk for at least a week, in case you missed some.

The radiator is lower than the head, so air pockets can form in the cooling passages in the head.

Let it overheat, and you'll be looking at a blown head gasket or warped head.

These are NOT cars that you can just overheat on a whim. This isn't a small-block chevy.

Many an E36 will go to the boneyard after a fatal overheating incident.

Do not take overheating lightly!