ok ,had enough now..need help!..RESOLVED!

[joey]

i'm applying my PMA into being cool about whatever it ends up being..!

but yes its always good to have a positive outlook..

I will update you gents tomorrow...I will be sleeping with fingers and toes crossed..

 

[joey]

morning chaps!

daily update..

this morning went down and replaced the rad cap and got the car up to temp and there is still a leak from the bottom of the car..at this point I can only assume it is the bottom hose that is failing under pressure or maybe collapsing and causing an airlock.

so as a final blast at this i'm going to ring either Sopers or vines and get replacement hoses for the entire system, drain and refill..

I am a little concerned that the exhaust looked a bit white and cloudy but water condensate is a normal by product of combustion so fingers crossed, oil still looks fine and the coolant has no oil in it..and it was 6am so it was cooler outside than it has been..

to be honest I can't really tell a thing until the coolant system is able to pressurise properly and that means fixing this leak, but I suspect the recent heater matrix hose failure that led to the initial overheat and the subsequent drains and refills has put some strain on the cooling hoses.

therefore I have been dealing with multiple problems that have surfaced in sequence like dominoes going over..

I will probably get to this tomorrow now so I will update as I go...

just a word of warning to all the M44 owners out there the more research I do the more I realise that the cooling system on these engines is the significant weak point and is the reason that head gasket failures are more common place than they should be.

worth looking up 3 series posts and e36 rather than z3 when you search and its shockingly common..

if you have a higher mileage car I suggest you replace pump, thermostat, viscous fan, or delete mod if you have an electric AC fan in the car.

however IMHO the most important and cheapest and easiest..HOSES! as they have been the single biggest issue on mine.

had replaced both water pump and stat not even 4k ago and it has not averted this situation, on inspection both were fine and had another 20k in them maybe more had I have done the hoses I would be ok now my water pump had a metal impeller so no need to change it!.

At this point I still haven't been able to conclusively prove yet if the head gasket is intact but this could easily end up there..I hope not but I have a nasty feeling in my water..

cheers

J

 

[zedonist]

Did you change the expansion tank Joe? This might have a crack in it, or it could be the rubber plugs that it attaches with?

 

[joey]

Came as new with the new rad rich,

I would be very unlucky to have blown 2 rads and expansion tanks!..

I have to assume that's ok to proceed with the process..If the bottom hose replacement doesn't fix it then I will go back and look at it again..

I'm methodically replacing things that I haven't so far..

Let's hope this sorts it..!

 

[jonco]

Good Luck Joey.

You should be able to see the coolant deposits where it is leaking from.

Also big well done to @Barry Gadd - brilliant support.

 

[Cooper]

Surely there is a florescent dye you can put in there, circulate, and locate with a black light right?

 

[joey]

I could do that but my thinking was 16 yr old rad..change it...16 yr old hoses change them..

As long as I have the general location right at this point it's less costly to just replace..

I mean what else can it be..?

Not rad , changed it not expansion tank comes as new unit with the rad..that leaves hoses it has to be right.?

But


If this doesn't work black light and dye it will be..!

 

[joey]

further update..

the new radiator was faulty!..leaking from the side of the expansion tank after barely 2 minutes..

on the + side compression test done and the reading were 200-210 psi on all four cylinders, still no milky oil and still no oily coolant, this all but rules out the head gasket...

but have decided even if it turns out to be that it's a job I can handle with barry's help and as rich said in an earlier post with parts and skim and pressure test can probably do it for under £200 ..

eurocarparts have ordered a replacement rad FOC and are throwing a 5 litre bottle of coolant as I mentioned to them that I shouldn't really have to pay again for that.

I will also enquire about the 80c fan switch and if they have it I may well do the fan delete Mod whilst i'm in there..if guys in the southern states of the US are running this with no problems it should be perfect for our cooler climate I have always wondered why we had two fans especially in europe, it seems like overkill.

as my car already has AC electric auxiliary fan its just a simple job of replacing the current rad fan switch with OEM part no 6131 8 376 440, this ensures the electric fan comes on 10c cooler than normal and will be more than enough on the 1.9 engine.

on the plus side it should free up some ponies take stress of the water pump bearings and most importantly eliminate the possibility of pieces of plastic flying around the engine day at frightening velocity.

We also got to the bottom of Barry's problems and the car now has a working coolant system with no leaks, it turns out it was the radiator cap!..we have ordered 2 new ones form euro's to be picked up with the rad today at £5.99 a pop its just another thing we can rule out if my car still doesn't stabilise..we will also fit the new hoses.

interestingly the hoses (from BMW Guildford) cost more than the Radiator from eurocarparts...which we hope works this time..
I may just fork out another £50 for the Hella if they have it in stock..

we also got Barry's seat bushes fixed and the car is now ready for it's MOT..he was chuffed and can't wait to get it on the road.

as of yesterday between us we have completely overhauled 2 M44 coolant systems one manual and one Auto and we have learnt loads along the way..!

best to all from Joe and Barry Z Roadsters resident coolant system specialists!

 

[t-tony]

Well done Joe, I'm really chuffed that you and Barry have hit it off and been able to help each other out. I had a sneaky feeling his problem could be the pressure cap ( a fairly cheap fix ) also that yours was a faulty Rad. To be brutally honest we have lots, and I mean lots, of faulty spare parts these days at work. Not just from ECP but other factors too, at least once a day someone will have to do an F. O. C.

Cheers,Tony.

 

[joey]

me and Barry have had a real good laugh doing all of this stuff and we have both learnt a lot due to our different ways of thinking and different skill sets..I can't say enough what a top class fella he is..

both seats in his Z took less than an hour on the bushes with the two of us..mine on my own took nearly four ..admittedly the second took 30 mins so I learnt along the way!..

its really shocking how many new parts fail...I have decided to go with the Hella radiator this time in the hope that it is better quality than the EIS..its costing double the amount but at £103 is still good value IMO as well as Hella and Behr being sister companies and OE suppliers to BMW and you can't put a price on peace of mind..

euro's had the 80 c fan switch so my viscous will be coming out as well and hopefully it will be all good from here on in!


wish me luck..


cheers


Joe

 

[jonco]

............its really shocking how many new parts fail........

Yup ........Fitted a new Behr expansion tank from Carparts4less (ECP sold same version) last year and it leaked on installation due to flaw in moulding. Out it came again and old one went back in with new seals. Don't mention fan blades to @GazHyde .

Good Luck with repair
PS - the pencil was from Tesco and that worked OK.

 

[joey]

no I won't..!

Gaz has had the same luck with fans i have had with Rads...re the fan delete mod am I right in saying all you have to do is put a lower temp fan switch in and this will engage the auxiliary fan at a lower temp?..

so step one remove old viscous fan and clutch

step two replace rad temp switch with new lower one..

step 3 drive the car?...

is it really that simples..?

 

[Aceman]

no I won't..!

Gaz has had the same luck with fans i have had with Rads...re the fan delete mod am I right in saying all you have to do is put a lower temp fan switch in and this will engage the auxiliary fan at a lower temp?..

so step one remove old viscous fan and clutch

step two replace rad temp switch with new lower one..

step 3 drive the car?...

is it really that simples..?

Yep that is all there is to it, simples !

 

[joey]

fan-tastic..excuse the pun.

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/B...s/car-cooling-parts-and-car-heating/cooling/c

if the rad is fine then this should all work perfectly.


I have high hopes!

 

[Aceman]

I would give BMW a call too as they are not much dearer for originals. give Sopers a call you might be suprised.

http://zroadster.org/threads/welcome-to-soper-of-lincoln-bmw-parts.3137/

 

[joey]

I contacted vines BMW of guildford before going to euro's and they wanted £286+vat for a radiator!..

and then Sopers for the hoses and the price was the same as guildford as its standardised across BMW dealerships apparently..

picked up the new rad from Euro's and its not a Hella as advertised but a Nissens, I'm happy with that, and out of the box the build quality looks much better than the EIS we fitted that failed.

It just weighs a bit more and feels sturdier in your hands, all the plastic moulding looks much more robust so fingers crossed!..

we will start on the job about 5.30 so I will be posting the outcome of all of this this evening...the rad switch requires a minor modification of the plug to go in the socket but all done and she is ready to be fitted when I have a second set of hands.

its tricky on the auto as you have the transmission rad to attach to the engine rad and the hoses need support as do both rads..

if this was a manual car I would have finished it myself no problem.

update later!

 

[GazHyde]

Don't mention fan blades to @GazHyde ..

Did someone mention fan blades?

I wasn't going to mention after market fan blades as I didn't want to scare Joey anymore than he already is

 

[joey]

3 words gaz...

fan


delete


mod

 

[zedonist]

Joey can you do a how to on the fan delete for the Massive archives please, and also because I want to do it later.

Thanks

Rich

 

[t-tony]

Nissen radiators are the best ones we sell at work Joe.