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.
03 QX4, AKA the Datsun. Finally got the 4WD vacationmoble to stop smoking.
07 Xterra. Still on the DL, a purchase from hell.
02 525ita. Wife's, aka grocery getter
02 530i. New to the fleet, 3 pedals.
03 QX4, AKA the Datsun. Finally got the 4WD vacationmoble to stop smoking.
07 Xterra. Still on the DL, a purchase from hell.
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