That is good to hear. I am guessing probably my radiator is just old and cruddy-
Although, isnt Las Vegas heat very dry?
I suspected at least in my case the humidity is a factor too-
However, I will defer to you !
Car Still Overheats
Las Vegas is very dry. However that doesn't mean anything to the car even though it makes a world of difference to you. I hadn't noticed when I posted that you have a 530i, if you still have thermos on it all bets are off, those things are afterburners in the engine compartment and generate a huge amount of heat along with the less than optimum distributor and timing. Of course if your radiator is old and half plugged it will have a large effect too. E28 radiators while they do require a bit of work to make them fit, also cool significantly better.CBradio wrote:That is good to hear. I am guessing probably my radiator is just old and cruddy-
Although, isnt Las Vegas heat very dry?
I suspected at least in my case the humidity is a factor too-
However, I will defer to you !
Mike W.
02 525ita. Wife's, aka grocery getter
02 530i. New to the fleet, 3 pedals.
08 Toyota 4Runner. 4WD vacationmobile. No enthusiasm, but it didn't leave me stranded or use any oil. Reserving judgement for now.
02 525ita. Wife's, aka grocery getter
02 530i. New to the fleet, 3 pedals.
08 Toyota 4Runner. 4WD vacationmobile. No enthusiasm, but it didn't leave me stranded or use any oil. Reserving judgement for now.
No thermoreactors... Had the radiator flushed a year ago,
But I need to check it. I do have an exhaust leak on the down pipe just below the flange that connects to manifold (shoddy welding job)...
That could be causing me some issues to I suppose.
Regarding the distributor- I have a 528i system on the way.
I will post if it cools things down!
Also, I will add that my temp guage has only hit 3/4 of the way over..
After doing my last overheat and head swap, this makes me nervous...
Maybe its normal.. I wasnt worried too much bec it was so hot out, but when I shut the car off the coolant leaked a bit from the expansion tank..
Maybe its normal, and I just had too much coolant.
Im going feel the radiator for cold spots....
But I need to check it. I do have an exhaust leak on the down pipe just below the flange that connects to manifold (shoddy welding job)...
That could be causing me some issues to I suppose.
Regarding the distributor- I have a 528i system on the way.
I will post if it cools things down!
Also, I will add that my temp guage has only hit 3/4 of the way over..
After doing my last overheat and head swap, this makes me nervous...
Maybe its normal.. I wasnt worried too much bec it was so hot out, but when I shut the car off the coolant leaked a bit from the expansion tank..
Maybe its normal, and I just had too much coolant.
Im going feel the radiator for cold spots....
1977 530ia
This may or may not help Sev out, but here are some results/observations after spending the entire weekend with the car and upgrading my ignition system-
1. I installed new ignition system, timed the car to 528i spec {I have the 528i cam too}, and car still gets too warm. It would not go to red, it would go past the second white line, and start to boil over. I knew it wasn't air in the system..... I bled the air out like 100 times.
2. I went and replaced my radiator cap- this didn't stop the needle from going up a little, BUT it seems it stopped my boil over.. So I would check your radiator cap or just splurge for a new one. I didn't realize it was a mechanism in its own right that releases pressure only when it gets too high.
3. Take this with a grain of salt, despite spending exorbitant amounts of hours and dollars on my car, I still consider myself a newbie.
Spec timing seemed far too retarded for me- my car would just get warm no matter what. All day today I did the whole timing by feel- drive -time -drive thing that I'm losing hair over. At the end of the day, my car ran much cooler with vacuum retard disconnected AND the timing advanced. I think it ended up probably being timed around 13-1500 rpm.
4. MAKE SURE THERE IS NO AIR IN YOUR SYSTEM@
1. I installed new ignition system, timed the car to 528i spec {I have the 528i cam too}, and car still gets too warm. It would not go to red, it would go past the second white line, and start to boil over. I knew it wasn't air in the system..... I bled the air out like 100 times.
2. I went and replaced my radiator cap- this didn't stop the needle from going up a little, BUT it seems it stopped my boil over.. So I would check your radiator cap or just splurge for a new one. I didn't realize it was a mechanism in its own right that releases pressure only when it gets too high.
3. Take this with a grain of salt, despite spending exorbitant amounts of hours and dollars on my car, I still consider myself a newbie.
Spec timing seemed far too retarded for me- my car would just get warm no matter what. All day today I did the whole timing by feel- drive -time -drive thing that I'm losing hair over. At the end of the day, my car ran much cooler with vacuum retard disconnected AND the timing advanced. I think it ended up probably being timed around 13-1500 rpm.
4. MAKE SURE THERE IS NO AIR IN YOUR SYSTEM@
1977 530ia