Cooling problems

[ingi]

Hi.
I have an 520i '93 M50. The car overheated due to a fan clutch failure ( ran idle for a long time ) and the radiator cracked.
Decided to put in all new cooling parts, pump, clutch, thermo, hoses and ofcourse the radiator. Took me a while to get it in place.

I then filled the radiator with BMW cooling and water 50/50. Let the car run for a while, switched it off, let air out using the small valve, and added water, and again and again until...
The temp raised to ca. 55%, just over the middle, never got higher though when running idle.

Then there came steam out of the air valve on the radiator. Added more water and let out some more air/steam. I noticed that some cooling water was dripping from the bottom of the radiator ( close to the expansion tank ) . But the water level in the expansion tank was not dropping. When I stopped the engine the dripping soon stopped.

Checked all three hoses and they are all dry. No dripping from the thermo housing or the water pump.
Anyone have an idea, can´t really believe that the radiator is leaking! One thing I didn't by new, the expansion tank cap. I'm doing that asap.

Well, maybe someone has some idea.

Anyways, thanks in advance.

Best regards, Ingi.

[Kalevera]

Ingi. Sorry to hear about the overheating fiasco!

If the NEW thermostat isn't a BMW OEM part -- from the dealer -- there's a chance that it's rated for a higher temperature than the original one (maybe a V8 tstat, not sure if it would fit, but...). Overheating messes things up, as you probably know.

As you know, the high(er) temp may be due to a malfunctioning temp sensor. Or, worse case scenario, a cracked block or head (if it got very hot and continues to get very hot, with all of the other signs).


best, whit