(non 914) Need BMW help! Options

[bembry]

Well, I fixed my "new" BMW up to non-drivable, and now need help.

I live in Germany, and bought a beater, 150K mile 1994 316i. It runs strong, and I picked it up cheap. Anyway, I changed the oil, oil filter and air filter--all was going good.

But we had freezing weather hitting, and I checked the antifreeze with one of the little prestone antifreeze gauges. It showed hardly any protection at all, so I went and grabbed a jug of Prestone to put in so I wouldn't crack the block.

I know that BMWs are supposed to have phosphate free "genuine BMW" antifreeze to prevent aluminum corrosion, but I figured in a pinch, anything was better than nothing.

I did not flush out the whole system. Instead, I just drained the radiator from the bottom when it was warm. I filled it back up with a mix of Prestone and water.

Now the problem: (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) The car now overheats, but the heater stays cold. The main hoses to and from the radtiator to the block heat up though, and the water in the radiator gets hot too, indicating to me that the themostat is still working.

What did I do? Did I air-bind the water pump? Did I knock loose a chunk of corrosion and clog up a passage somewhere? Or maybe something else? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

[PeeGreen 914]

Sounds like you're water pump is shot which happens on those. They are plastic and break after time. You may have a clogged radiator as well. Change the thermostate no matter what you do. It could in fact just be the thermostate not opening.

Run your car and check the hose leading to the thermostate. When your car is at temp check the hose going back to the radiator to see if the two hoses become the same temp. If not the thermostate is bad and is your problem.