1997 5281 getting hot! Help

[sebastian luciano]

My 97 528i temp guage shows that the car is overheating but then the temp guage drops all the way dwon to normal when turning on the defroster/heater. I dont see any steam or see any of the normal signs that car is over heating...anyone know what the problem might be? I had a "mechanic" look at the car only to tell me that the problem is the water pump but seeing as though I live in a very remote part of AZ, there are NO BMW service centers for 100 miles...thanks for your input!

 

[Big Daddy]

Could very well be a water pump, they are not too difficult to replace. See this tech article at Pelican Parts for information. Make sure there is no air in the system by bleeding the coolant at the bleed screw. If you decide to replace the water pump make sure you replace the thermostat as well. There is another tech article here on that. Good luck!