328 water leaking via overflow

I have had this issue in the past when the coolant level was too high. When cold, what is the coolant level in the expansion tank? It should self regulate once the level is correct.

 

The proper depth of coolant is approximately halfway filled. The level should be right at about the seam inside the tank.

 

This. Exactly at the seam (when cold, of course...)
(And the heating should be turned full "on" from time to time)
Rgds

 

Update the 0.9 bar cap to the 1.1 bar (16lbs)

 

Right, and burp the thermostat housing and radiator to get the air out. It may take a few rides ..

 

My fans kick on at roughly 195F... or, just before the middle mark. You shouldn't need a manual switch hack.

 

Mine kick in when the needle on the temp gauge is about one needle width beyond the bottom center index on the gauge. I have no idea what the actual temp is. I have not seen a need for a manual override switch on my 328 in the 13 years I have owned it. The only way a 328 will overheat under any circumstances is if something is broken/not working properly.

Remove your radiator cap and hold it in it's normal position. Look at the small circular metal disc on the underside. If it is spring loaded closed, it is the correct type of cap. If it is dangling open, it is the wrong type of cap for the system and will cause routine spitting and failure to properly pressurize.

 

Well - based on my experience, something is wrong - mine come on when the left side of the needle is just touching the right side of the 195 index. BUT, it could be the temp gauge or sender producing an incorrect reading rather than a problem with the switch. Do you have an IR temp gun or a fancy multimeter with a temp sensor probe? If so, measure at the thermostat housing as the engine warms up and see how it correlates to the gauge.

Of course, it could also be an incorrect or faulty switch.

 

NO doubt about that!!!

 

The owner's manual has a note saying that (sorry, on my side of the Channel, units are in Centigrades) if the temperature reaches 110° celsius (= more or less 230 F) the engine MUST be SWITCHED OFF.

On the whole, I totally concur with Mike: the cooling circuit of the 328 is efficient and not a source of any trouble, unless something is broken.
Once correctly bled of air bubbles (heaters "open") and with the level of coolant in the expansion tank exactly at the middle seam (which, incidentally, is exactly what the owner's manual says = 6 cms below the neck) you should need nothing, that is not even a 1,1 bar cap, the standard 0,9, if it is the correct one, is perfectly sufficient. Once the system has "regulated itself", it should go on without any trouble whatsoever.

As also said by Mike, the fans should kick in at about "a tad over 195", perhaps 200 (95° celsius to us continentals).
Again: don't let the temp go over 230 (110° celsius)

Rgds

 

Your owners manual probably states that the fans should kick on at 185. Mine tend to kick on at 90 celcius, 194 Fahrenheit. I checked mine with an IR gun and the gauge was surprisingly accurate!

 

No mention of checking the fan fuse??

Easy check of fan switch/circuit is to pull the wires off the switch and connect then together. Fan should run.

 

My temp gauge would quite often rise to that sort of reading in my 308 QV. I tried a lot of stuff to fix it, nothing worked - then I got an infrared temperature gun and found that the coolant pipes out of the engine were only at 190, even though the gauge said 220, usually without the fans running.

I finally fixed the problem in November - took out the instrument panel, cleaned the electrical connectors to the temp gauge and to every single gauge and bulb connector on the panel, and added an extra ground wire to the instrument panel. End of "overheating" problem, which was actually poor condition connectors to the temp gauge problem.

Try an IR gun to read the coolant pipe temperatures at the engine when the gauge is showing 220...

Gordon

 

And the gauge stays constantly below 195 in traffic and highways ? I mean really at one value only, not moving down or up ?

Mine reaches about 180 in a minute or two and only in slow traffic and standstill reaches 195 when the fans kick in.

 

Standard behavior, I would say; my '89 GTB normally runs "a tad" below 75°c (on the water temp gauge) - which is 167° Fahrenheit - at cruising speed of about 90km/h (55 miles per hour). The needle moves slightly up as soon as I cross any village and has to slow down or stop here or there.
I use that car to cross a city on the same itineray from time to time, where there are exactly 36 red lights from my point of entry to the place I am going. Depending on the frequency of the red lights and my luck with these being green or red, having to stop or not, the fans might kick in once or twice during the city's crossing; sometimes not at all. Has been exactly the same since I have the car, i.e for the last thirteen years. The fans kick-in at "a tad" above 90°c, which would be 200° F.

Rgds

 

Mine does the same. I have been stuck in traffic for over an hour at 108F outside temps. The coolant temp rises to the high side of the 195 index, fans come on for a minute or two, temps drop almost to index below the 195 index then slowly rise again, fans come on...rinse repeat. It seems happy to do this all day if necessary.

 

That all points to the fan thermo switch - easy fix. Also easy to test if you've an avo, thermometer and hot water.