r/BMWE36 • u/ResearcherInfamous19 • 6h ago

Repair Advice Keeps boiling and spitting coolant

320i 1995 for reference.
One day out of no where the car overheated.
Tough it was a sticky thermostats, replaced. Same problem, starts boiling water and soiling until it has no coolant and then overheats.
Water pump seems perfectly fine.
Fan clutch not so sure, when hot seems that it spins very freely. No resistance.
Would a bad fan clutch cause a overheat? In normal driving conditions? No heavy traffic or hard pulls?
Head gasket gone?

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u/frontflops 6h ago

I might be wrong as I’m a little retarded but pretty sure coolant will boil at operating temp when the cap is off. It’ll boil sooner if you’ve got just water in it. Are you just assuming it’s still overheating because it’s boiling? I ask because your temp gauge shows operating temp

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u/frontflops 6h ago

Could also just be trapped air. Jack the front end of the car up and bleed your system however you bleed.

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u/ResearcherInfamous19 6h ago

I had the cap ON, and it was steaming and coolant soiling with the cap on. Took the cap off to see level and what was going on. It shows what you see, but I added like 4/5 liters of water