Solve Overheating On 3 Series BMW
You may encounter you own one of the BMWs that suffer from an overheating problem. The BMW 3 series E36 example is known for an intermittent overheating problem. It seems to affect the 316 4 cylinder models roughly around the years of 1996 to 1999. This particular 3 series BMW cars For Sale in this time period tended to leave the factory with suspect water pumps and head gaskets on certain cars.
Drivers of this BMW age car heard their water pumps getting louder. This meant the plastic impellers inside the pump had probably snapped causing the cars to begin overheating. This means although the pump is spinning it may not really be pumping any water through the system. If your pump sounds noisy and your temperature gauge seems to be going into the red then get this pump changed as your first precaution. The new pumps contain modified impellers made of metal which are better.
If the car is still overheating and the heater is also blowing out cold air, check the thermostat is not jammed shut, preventing the water from circulating and causing an air lock.
Some garages have pointed the finger straight at the head gasket or the head might be cracked and passing water by. It has been known that people have found that after going to the expense of changing the head gasket they have still had the same problem. Thermostat housings can also be at fault every so often. The thermostat houses are known to somewhat warp, enabling a slight gap for air to be drawn in. An airlock can then happen, causing the water to stop flowing round the engine. It has been established that this fault is not easily found even when the engine is pressure tested for leaks.
So my advice would be to check this item as your next port of call as it is a less costly option than going to change the head or gasket and then finding out that this was the cause all along. Any hoses that look like they might need changing, should be done at the same time, to make sure there are definitely no other leaks in the system. The newer versions of the BMW 3 series and BMW 5 Series normally didn’t seem to suffer from these type of overheating trouble.