is it headgasket issue? help

[redc36]

hey guys
well just purchased a 1995 red c36. love the car. speed and handling are awsome. the cars feels bigger then it is. i like it :-).
now on my home i started noticing that cooland needle stays around 80C and goes up a bit and then down. and its like that every 2-5 min or so. now in 25F weather on the heighway it usually hangs around 80C but the minutes i get off and slow down it starts going up but then i guess my fan kicks in and tries to lower the temp.
is it my Thermostat? Waterpump or Headgasket?
it doesnt seem to eat any cooland though thanks god. but then again let i;ll drive more 2day and check it.
is it hard to change any of those parts on this MB.

also headrest seems to be no functioning on drivers seat. i head the motor when i am trying to raise it but doesnt seem to catch the headrest and lift it. sometime it does though but not as smooth as pasangers side.

and another question . do those cars come with alarms. i just got two keys thats all. no remote or anything.

thanks guys in advance

[GDawgC220]

hey there,

congrats the purchase...i've been looking at a C36 for a while :)

anyhow, the temp gauge does fluxuate, doesn't necessarily mean that theres a headgasket leak. Best way to check that is either look inside the coolant tank and see if there are droplets of oil. That will sometimes happen when oil seeps into the coolant or vice versa. Temp sometime will make the needle go into the red if you have a bad leak, but i haven't seen that yet.

2nd is to look underneath your car (put a piece of cardboard overnight underneath the engine area) and check it out in the morning to see if there is oil. One thing to look out for is under the hood to see if parts are soaked in oil, a good indicator.

since the engine is a 3.6 litre bored out from the 2.8I6, it does work a little harder, so the temp will rise to about 80C, normal. Even up to 100 is normal, as long as it doesn't reach the red zone, you should be fine. But usually, it stays right about 80C. At about 25F, those temps are around here now, my temp stays between the 50 and 80 line, right in the middle. As I drive on the highway, kicking down once in a while, it goes up a little then back down as the cool air gets fed in. So I wouldn't worry too much.

So no worries about your temp gauge, should be normal, waterpump should be fine, as if that did fail, it should overheat the car and send the needle into the red zone. The fans are normal, as when they go over the 80C mark, it will kick in to cool down the temps.

Hope this helps you!

-G-

[redc36]

thanks
will definatelly try doing that. the reason why i am paranoid is that my bmw used to go to the middle and stay there. here its up and down like its trying to warn me. i mean it never went beyond like 90-95 but i got worried.
thanks again will look for leaks