Rad or head gasket?

cantdecide

(the short version is underlined below)


I have a 209000 mile 1995 316i at home that I drove briefly last year but de-commissioned it. I was told last Autumn that the head gasket was gone. I replaced the car and was going to scrap the 316 but was told subsequently that the car just needed a new rad.

It always heated and cooled perfectly until it first overheated. I didn’t let it boil but I noticed the needle was ¾ ways up and pulled in to let it cool. Having always checked oil and water regularly, I was surprised that the bottle was nearly empty. I re-filled it and the car kept it’s cool and maintained it’s water level thereafter. I kept an eye on the water and it never needed more than a few drops until maybe a month after the first episode, the whole process repeated itself.

This time, I had the car looked at and the garage said they found the rad’s bottle was split. They replaced the bottle on it’s own but found that the car still overheated if left running long enough. They said they’re sure the head gasket must be at fault. Having said that, there had been no mixing of oil and water.

The car is a beautiful example and my uncle, who is a mechanic looked at the car with the intention of replacing the head gasket so that the car could be re-commissioned as a ‘spare’ car should anyone near and dear need it. I brought the rad to a specialist who told me that it’s nearly impossible to seal the bottle if replaced on it’s own. He noticed that there was definitely impeded flow in the rad but also found a split in the tank.

‘Happy Days’, I thought. I replaced the rad and the thermostat (which was almost the same price as the rad) and everything was rosy in the garden. We re-filled it with coolant/ water and tested it. It heated and cooled again bang on and I was very pleased. My uncle left and said that I must just double check the level after the car cools down. I did this several hours later. It needed just a tiny amount to bring it to the max mark (I didn’t fill the bottle up completely). I then started the car and went inside for a couple of mins to get my coat etc and go for a small spin to go and pump tyres etc.

By the time I got back out, the coolant level had risen up the bottle and appeared to be escaping from somewhere under the collar of the rad cap (see red arrow in photo). Not out of the cap itself but from somewhere under that area, like there was a hidden split at the top of the bottle being hidden by the black plastic trim running the length of the rad.



Now the question:

** If a brand new rad was faulty and had a split in the bottle around the cap area, would the coolant level rise up and out of this split? If the head gasket has been gone all along, would it cause this damage to the rad? **


My dear uncle can often create false hope with his over-optimism and all I need now is to find out if I have to have a fight with the rad guy or not and if I’m still in trouble with the head gasket so I can make some plans.

Thanks for reading

DublinDilbert

If the system can't pressurise it will boil up.

I didn't think the coolant bottle could be replaced separately on the e36.

Are you sure the water/steam isn't coming from the rad cap? Has the rad cap been replaced?

Slidey

Is the viscous fan working correctly?

cantdecide

I looked very closely at the cap and decided it wasn't the source of the leak. Nevertheless I bought a new cap today and I'll have a look tomorrow and see if it improves things.

I'll make sure the fan is doing it's thing too.

Slidey

When the car is at running temp jam a rolled up newspaper into the fan, if it is ok it should shred the newspaper.

If it stops the fan, it is borked

cantdecide

Slidey wrote: »

When the car is at running temp jam a rolled up newspaper into the fan, if it is ok it should shred the newspaper.

If it stops the fan, it is borked

Replaced rad cap. Was certain it wasn't at fault. Completely wrong of course!! Happily, the system is pressurizing up perfectly now and there's no more leakey new rad.

As for the fan... it spins away mad all the time but you can stop it without much trouble. Am I right in thinking that it should have a clutch system that's supposed to engage meaning that the fan itself should be almost impossible to stop? If it's errr... 'borked', will it not cool the rad flying about without the clutch assistance? Sorry if that's a dumb question.

Slidey

As it warms up the fan should 'lock up' and be nearly impossible to stop.

During driving that will make no difference but when stuck in traffic or left ticking over it could cause the engine to overheat.

If your leak has stopped now, just keep an eye on the temp gauge in traffic

cantdecide

Slidey wrote: »

...If your leak has stopped now, just keep an eye on the temp gauge in traffic...

Well I left it idle for an hour (watching it closely) and it wasn't a hot summers day or anything but the needle didn't budge off normal. Happy days.

Having virtually always had old cars, I watch the temp more than the speedo so I'll continue keeping an eye on things and I'll revisit the fan issue after I get the car through the NCT.

Many thanks.

Bmw123d

cantdecide wrote: »

(the short version is underlined below)


I have a 209000 mile 1995 316i at home that I drove briefly last year but de-commissioned it. I was told last Autumn that the head gasket was gone. I replaced the car and was going to scrap the 316 but was told subsequently that the car just needed a new rad.

It always heated and cooled perfectly until it first overheated. I didn’t let it boil but I noticed the needle was ¾ ways up and pulled in to let it cool. Having always checked oil and water regularly, I was surprised that the bottle was nearly empty. I re-filled it and the car kept it’s cool and maintained it’s water level thereafter. I kept an eye on the water and it never needed more than a few drops until maybe a month after the first episode, the whole process repeated itself.

This time, I had the car looked at and the garage said they found the rad’s bottle was split. They replaced the bottle on it’s own but found that the car still overheated if left running long enough. They said they’re sure the head gasket must be at fault. Having said that, there had been no mixing of oil and water.

The car is a beautiful example and my uncle, who is a mechanic looked at the car with the intention of replacing the head gasket so that the car could be re-commissioned as a ‘spare’ car should anyone near and dear need it. I brought the rad to a specialist who told me that it’s nearly impossible to seal the bottle if replaced on it’s own. He noticed that there was definitely impeded flow in the rad but also found a split in the tank.

‘Happy Days’, I thought. I replaced the rad and the thermostat (which was almost the same price as the rad) and everything was rosy in the garden. We re-filled it with coolant/ water and tested it. It heated and cooled again bang on and I was very pleased. My uncle left and said that I must just double check the level after the car cools down. I did this several hours later. It needed just a tiny amount to bring it to the max mark (I didn’t fill the bottle up completely). I then started the car and went inside for a couple of mins to get my coat etc and go for a small spin to go and pump tyres etc.

By the time I got back out, the coolant level had risen up the bottle and appeared to be escaping from somewhere under the collar of the rad cap (see red arrow in photo). Not out of the cap itself but from somewhere under that area, like there was a hidden split at the top of the bottle being hidden by the black plastic trim running the length of the rad.



Now the question:

** If a brand new rad was faulty and had a split in the bottle around the cap area, would the coolant level rise up and out of this split? If the head gasket has been gone all along, would it cause this damage to the rad? **


My dear uncle can often create false hope with his over-optimism and all I need now is to find out if I have to have a fight with the rad guy or not and if I’m still in trouble with the head gasket so I can make some plans.

Thanks for reading

If ur around Dublin Kildare are area I’ll have a look at it for ya used to love the owl 316 318is e36
Giz a shout if u need so help I work for a bmw merc and land rover specialist so pal I’ll sort ya out if ya need to

biko

Thread from 2011 closed.

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