I recently purchased a 1997 BMW & have been stranded on roadside EVERYDAY due to it Overheating... Mechanic has done a lot of work but it STILL OVERHEATS ... No matter what!!! Has ANYONE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM ? And if so .... Do you have ANY SIGGESTIONS??! I LOVE THIS CAR AND DON'T WANNA "Throw the towel" in yet.... But being Stranded with a 6 yr old in this Blazing Heat is getting OLD!!! Please help!!!! Thank You!!

Asked by Wendee Jul 31, 2012 at 04:30 AM about the 1997 BMW 3 Series 328is Coupe RWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Engine and Transmission run GREAT!! I keep overheating EVERYDAY WITH MY 6 yr old daughter in car with me,
in the BLAZING TRIPLE DIGITS!!! Needless to say its been in shop EVERYDAY SINCE I'VE OWNED IT!!!! I'm
OVER IT BUT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE, LOVE CAR!!! Any suggestions?? Now... I will say car sat for 2 yrs so
belts had to be replaced which is why I believe I'm having problems! I am a woman with BASIC KNOWLEDGE........
I have a gut feeling parts were NOT PUT BACK IN PROPERLY!!??? Please .. Any help would be MOST
GRACIOUSLY APPRECIATED!!! Thank You!!

6 Answers

9,785

Tom is pointing you in the right direction there. You obviously having issues with the cooling system not just the drive belts. On e36 cooling system problems were quite common and as tom said you need to do the whole cooling system not just pick at it. The common issues are the water pump impellars are made of plastic and will break off causing no coolant flow and the vehicle will overheat. Other are the thermostat being stuck closed (replace plastic thermostat housing with metal one to prevent future break downs when doing thermostat), radiator blocked, fan clutch leaked out all its fluid, electric front fan seized and worst of all head gasket. Of course if the coolant system is leaking then you will need to repair the leak, all I have mentioned above would not leak coolant. Also if you have had cooling system work done make sure the mechanic bleed the system right, air bubbles can cause the vehicle to overheat as well. Hope this helps and dont lose hope it can be fixed.

5 people found this helpful.
75

My '97 528i had 153000 miles when I replaced thermostat and flushed system. That did take care of the overheating but the beginning of a head gasket became apparent. If more developed that could cause overheating! I got rid of my car. Dean

5 people found this helpful.
65

How long can you drive before it overheats? My 92 325i was overheating a year a go and it was caused by the impeller shattering in the water pump. It would overheat within 2km of driving.

2 people found this helpful.
20

Desmond is on it, they cheaped out and had plastic impellers on many of these e36 engine models. I was shocked to find out the M44 blow out and that's that. I replaced it with a metal one. It's also one of the first things i always check. M20's don't have this problem.

1 people found this helpful.

their is no magic under the hood of any car .You need a pump, a heat transfer unit, a fan,and a medium to carry such heat.As you all call yourselves automotive enthusiasts you should know this! WOULD YOU PLEASE !?*

20

I've got the same car, you need a new water pump, they have a plastic impeller that will grenade after some time. swap that for an aluminum one and that will solve your problem. If it doesn't replace thermostat, make sure you don't have a coolant leak. Coolant systems aren't rocket science.

1 people found this helpful.

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