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      03-16-2018, 06:35 PM   #1
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Running a bit hot

So my car has about 128k km on it and in the past year i've had the car run a tiny bit on the hot side at times. initially it seemed to be the thermostat lagging as it would take a while to get warm, then be inconsistent with cooling. at it certainly was a laggy thermostat and i changed it a few thousand km ago. since changing it, the car holds temperature a lot more consistently, but the temps are a tad bit high. when usually it used to run right below or at 100c on the needle, it sometimes seeps a bit past 100(middle).

now, what i wonder is if these are early signs of rod bearing failure (usual scare) as i'm on the original ones, or if it may be something as trivial as an oil temp sensor (also original unit) as the coolant temp sensor was changed at about 90k km.

other than these possibilities the only other thing i can think of is the oil cooler thermostat?1? because the oil temp does come down to normal rapidly after a minute or 30 seconds, almost behaving as a laggy coolant thermostat would but without the great varience.

any advice from experts like Malek is greatly appreciated.
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      03-16-2018, 06:48 PM   #2
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Is your felt undertray in good condition? It plays a major role in cooling.
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      03-16-2018, 09:18 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VrooM3 View Post
So my car has about 128k km on it and in the past year i've had the car run a tiny bit on the hot side at times. initially it seemed to be the thermostat lagging as it would take a while to get warm, then be inconsistent with cooling. at it certainly was a laggy thermostat and i changed it a few thousand km ago. since changing it, the car holds temperature a lot more consistently, but the temps are a tad bit high. when usually it used to run right below or at 100c on the needle, it sometimes seeps a bit past 100(middle).

now, what i wonder is if these are early signs of rod bearing failure (usual scare) as i'm on the original ones, or if it may be something as trivial as an oil temp sensor (also original unit) as the coolant temp sensor was changed at about 90k km.

other than these possibilities the only other thing i can think of is the oil cooler thermostat?1? because the oil temp does come down to normal rapidly after a minute or 30 seconds, almost behaving as a laggy coolant thermostat would but without the great varience.

any advice from experts like Malek is greatly appreciated.


To be clear, the gauge in your cluster is showing oil temp, not coolant temp.

It will fluctuate slightly during normal use.
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      03-16-2018, 10:04 PM   #4
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A little over or under the middle is normal depending on the circumstances.
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      03-16-2018, 10:14 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
Is your felt undertray in good condition? It plays a major role in cooling.
it's in adequate condition, i have it modified to run brake cooling ducts. what would be the main concern for it to interfere with cooling?
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      03-16-2018, 10:16 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dparm View Post
To be clear, the gauge in your cluster is showing oil temp, not coolant temp.

It will fluctuate slightly during normal use.
i was under the impression that it's some vague oil/coolant combination gauge and not 1:1 for oil temp based on other threads. how certain is this info that it's most definitely an oil only gauge?
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      03-16-2018, 10:49 PM   #7
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It is oil only and it is very accurate.

The under tray aids in creating a low pressure zone behind the oil cooler where the outlet is. Air will flow around the cooler- rather than through it if the felt is gone, which decreases efficiency.
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      03-16-2018, 11:57 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
It is oil only and it is very accurate.

The under tray aids in creating a low pressure zone behind the oil cooler where the outlet is. Air will flow around the cooler- rather than through it if the felt is gone, which decreases efficiency.
i see, well in that case the oil temp fluctuates anywhere between approx 95c and 105c (circa 200-220F) and i don't recall it fluctuating as high but i could be mistaking. also, this is in 10c weather, not exactly scorching hot ambient temps either.

i'll be replacing my front rotors soon so that will give me a chance to take another look at the undertray. thanks for the tips.

i just want to make sure this isn't an early sign of rod bearings going, anything else i can put up with and slowly figure out. how do you feel about replacing the rod bearings at my mileage? the car has been tracked some 7 or 8 times, oil changed regularly at around 10k km and i drive it hard but also warm her up properly etc and it's a daily driver but here in vancouver the winters aren't that cold, usually above freezing.
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      03-17-2018, 08:42 AM   #9
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temps fluctuating like this being an early indicator of bearing failure is going to be looked at as speculation- even amongst the most superstitious enthusiasts. lol
i somewhat buy into that theory because my car did it. bearings were shot when replaced, and she is back to being cold blooded now. i don't believe in it enough to preach it, but you seem to have heard about it as well.
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      03-18-2018, 01:09 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
temps fluctuating like this being an early indicator of bearing failure is going to be looked at as speculation- even amongst the most superstitious enthusiasts. lol
i somewhat buy into that theory because my car did it. bearings were shot when replaced, and she is back to being cold blooded now. i don't believe in it enough to preach it, but you seem to have heard about it as well.
yah i've been keeping track of the various bearing discussions as 130k km is nearing so i think i should be wise and do them one of these days. still wondering if i should go the BE route or stock clearance as i think malek on these boards has been with good results.
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      04-10-2018, 02:04 AM   #11
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after a lot of reading and observation on how the oil temps go up and come down, i'm pretty certain it's most likely a bad oil bypass/thermostat in the filter housing.

looks like the whole housing has to be changed as there is no part number i could find for the thermostat alone.

has anyone else experienced this? doesn't seem to be that common of a problem if that's what it is, any ideas or experience anyone?
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      04-11-2018, 09:52 PM   #12
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bump, anybody, anybodyyyyyyy?

i wanna order the part but it's a fair bit of work and not exactly cheap, so any insight or advice from you guys would be appreciated.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...l/11427841525/

oil temps fluctuate more than what i remember to be normal and will shoot over 100c (middle mark) to about 105-110 for half a minute or so on occasion, sometimes when pushing the engine a bit and sometimes just randomly, and then kinda like the symptoms of a slow reacting coolant thermostat return to normal right after. this is at any ambient temperature btw.

Last edited by VrooM3; 04-11-2018 at 10:48 PM..
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      04-17-2018, 08:03 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
Is your felt undertray in good condition? It plays a major role in cooling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
Is your felt undertray in good condition? It plays a major role in cooling.
My undertray is pretty torn up when I bought the car. My oil temp goes from 210/212 to 219/220(224 the highest I've seen it) when street driving normally and getting on the freeway but eventually cools down after cruising. Weather temp is currently 75F+ in California. AC is on when this happens too. Last oil change was about 4K miles ago. Only started happening recently. Would my undertray be the culprit or something else is going on ?

Oil temp reading is from my M performance wheel.
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      04-17-2018, 08:19 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeremyuhh View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
Is your felt undertray in good condition? It plays a major role in cooling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
Is your felt undertray in good condition? It plays a major role in cooling.
My undertray is pretty torn up when I bought the car. My oil temp goes from 210/212 to 219/220(224 the highest I've seen it) when street driving normally and getting on the freeway but eventually cools down after cruising. Weather temp is currently 75F+ in California. AC is on when this happens too. Last oil change was about 4K miles ago. Only started happening recently. Would my undertray be the culprit or something else is going on ?

Oil temp reading is from my M performance wheel.
This is my temp with normal driving for about 25 minutes, with about 20 minutes of freeway driving in similar conditions.
If your undertray is jacked up, that is likely the cause.
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      04-19-2018, 02:23 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
This is my temp with normal driving for about 25 minutes, with about 20 minutes of freeway driving in similar conditions.
If your undertray is jacked up, that is likely the cause.
i'll be addressing the undertray soon since i have to install some parts i ordered and we'll see if that helps. however, i have a sneaking suspicion that it may be a bad oil thermostat since the way the fluctuations occur is very sporadic and not air speed related as one would rationally expect. instead, it fluctuates up and down the middle mark with a mind of its own, usually coming to the mid line within 30 seconds or a minute, even when waiting in traffic or the like.

so far i'm speculating but i'll keep you guys posted once i get the tray figured out.

however i wouldn't doubt it could be the oil thermostat seeing how i recently had my coolant thermostat go bad and replaced, we'll see what's going on soon.
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      04-19-2018, 09:22 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeremyuhh View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
Is your felt undertray in good condition? It plays a major role in cooling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
Is your felt undertray in good condition? It plays a major role in cooling.
My undertray is pretty torn up when I bought the car. My oil temp goes from 210/212 to 219/220(224 the highest I've seen it) when street driving normally and getting on the freeway but eventually cools down after cruising. Weather temp is currently 75F+ in California. AC is on when this happens too. Last oil change was about 4K miles ago. Only started happening recently. Would my undertray be the culprit or something else is going on ?

Oil temp reading is from my M performance wheel.
Mine settles in a similar place and fluctuates from there. I also thought it odd since my previous M3 ran cooler like the other pic.

My current M3 is manual and my previous was DCT. That couldn’t make a difference could it?
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      04-20-2018, 05:15 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
This is my temp with normal driving for about 25 minutes, with about 20 minutes of freeway driving in similar conditions.
If your undertray is jacked up, that is likely the cause.

That seems pretty far to the left of the normal spot. Even on very cold winter days I don't think mine ever settled that low after 15-20 minutes of normal driving. Seems like a flaky thermostat.
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      04-20-2018, 05:27 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dparm View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
This is my temp with normal driving for about 25 minutes, with about 20 minutes of freeway driving in similar conditions.
If your undertray is jacked up, that is likely the cause.

That seems pretty far to the left of the normal spot. Even on very cold winter days I don't think mine ever settled that low after 15-20 minutes of normal driving. Seems like a flaky thermostat.
After about 40 minutes of driving, it settles to around two to three needle widths below the mid mark... it just takes a while.
The car has been cooler everywhere, including the track, since the bearings were done and the undertray was replaced.
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      04-22-2018, 02:57 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
After about 40 minutes of driving, it settles to around two to three needle widths below the mid mark... it just takes a while.
The car has been cooler everywhere, including the track, since the bearings were done and the undertray was replaced.
bimmerworld recommends 220f before beating on the s65 and they are a race shop. quite a lot of varying information about oil temps regarding this powerplant if you ask me.
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      04-22-2018, 10:44 PM   #20
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Quote:
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bimmerworld recommends 220f before beating on the s65 and they are a race shop. quite a lot of varying information about oil temps regarding this powerplant if you ask me.
you're right. there is a ton of varying info. every time i track, the temp is near the center as i pull into the pits. the first lap is always a warm-up lap, gradually increasing to full track driving.
the point i was trying to make, was the car has been very "cold blooded" after rod bearings and the front felt were replaced.
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      04-23-2018, 11:38 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
you're right. there is a ton of varying info. every time i track, the temp is near the center as i pull into the pits. the first lap is always a warm-up lap, gradually increasing to full track driving.
the point i was trying to make, was the car has been very "cold blooded" after rod bearings and the front felt were replaced.
Did the felt and shells in one go so not possible to say what cold the engine down is it?
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      04-23-2018, 08:33 PM   #22
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Did the felt and shells in one go so not possible to say what cold the engine down is it?
i don't daily drive this car anymore, so i didn't have much seat time between the new undertray going on and the bearings being done. not even enough to speculate and make my automotive conspiracy theories. lol
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