325CI overheating please help

Workin on a E46 325Ci thats been overheating i replaced the thermostat replaced the water pump checked the heater core valve i guess you kno the valve tht gives u warm air for your heater but anyway it functioned jus fine and when i fill the tank up with water it gets full but the water dont seem to go any where unless i take the bleed screw out all the way ive tried bleeding the system multiple times. Can anyone give me any suggestions?

Describe the steps you take to bleed the system ....

1. put key in ignition and turn to position II.

2. set fan to lowest speed, and set temp to max (91 degrees).

3. remove bleeder screw. also remove reservoir tank cap.

4. with ignition still in position II, pour coolant/water through reservoir tank until coolant/water spills out of bleeder hole without any bubbles.

5. reinstall bleeder screw and reservoir tank cap.

6. start engine and drive car around till engine reaches operating temp.

7. let engine cool and check coolant level. top off coolant to proper level if necessary.

when your engine over heats, does the radiator appear warm?

Originally Posted by EDawg

1. put key in ignition and turn to position II.

2. set fan to lowest speed, and set temp to max (91 degrees).

3. remove bleeder screw. also remove reservoir tank cap.

4. with ignition still in position II, pour coolant/water through reservoir tank until coolant/water spills out of bleeder hole without any bubbles.

5. reinstall bleeder screw and reservoir tank cap.

6. start engine and drive car around till engine reaches operating temp.

7. let engine cool and check coolant level. top off coolant to proper level if necessary.

if your steps don't match this exactly then you're doing something wrong.

I have my thermostat rigged to b open constantly also

What do i do after those steps? and if my radiator dont warm up does that mean its blocked up?

It seems to take a minute to start heating up it takes like 10-20 mins to get completely hot depending on how the weather is outside

Originally Posted by zooyorkE46

It seems to take a minute to start heating up it takes like 10-20 mins to get completely hot depending on how the weather is outside

I am thinking your thermostat is still stuck shut if the radiator is not getting warm.

Originally Posted by BMW-North

Why do you need to drive the car "around"?

I've successfully bled 50+ times and never moved the car from the garage?

Raising the front end and revving the engine has sufficed?

I think most of the probs I read about on here with bleeding coolant is due to folk not waiting till the thermostat is open to ensure the circulation is occuring and then topping off.

driving the car "around" just facilitates the warming up process to get the thermostat to open up. if you want to rev the engine up in your garage/driveway, then by all means, go for it. i just don't like to subject my neighbors to excessive noise, nor do i want to subject the people around me, including myself, to breathing in excessive exhaust fumes.

Originally Posted by EDawg

driving the car "around" just facilitates the warming up process to get the thermostat to open up. if you want to rev the engine up in your garage/driveway, then by all means, go for it. i just don't like to subject my neighbors to excessive noise, nor do i want to subject the people around me, including myself, to breathing in excessive exhaust fumes.

rev the car - drive the car around

6 of one, half dozen of the other

...the bottom line is to get the thermostat open.

Originally Posted by BMW-North

I hear you and I understand why you are driving the car around - but if you're working on a coolant system - say a component replacement or a flush - you've removed the belly pan to drain the block, possibly removed belts and replaced, disconnected and re-attached the fragile paper clip BMW hose connectors -if anything went wrong - i wouldn't want to be far from where I could easily fix it. Plus I put the belly pan back on last thing before lowering car.

Driving the car around is unnecessary to open the thermostat - just didn't want newbies thinking that the motion of the vehicle contributed anything.

I agree. much easier and safer to stay in the driveway. no reason to complicate the situation.