Introduction thread / Cold temps question as well

[Fantastipotamus]

Hey everyone, I joined up a while ago when my wife and I bought our 128i automatic and did some lurking/research/browsing.. whatever you want to call it. Within a few months of having bought that, my wife replaced her STI Subaru with a Volvo V60 Polestar, which meant we went from having a manual transmission vehicle, to not having one.

So, I decided that I'd take that opportunity keep my eyes open for a 1-series manual, mostly because I didn't want to forget how to drive a stick. I also have a Nissan Titan, but of course that's an auto.. and I figured I'd also take the opportunity to find a 135i instead of the 128. The 128 was fine, but I mean, it was so close to being the perfect car. Bless her heart, she either fell for my excuses.. or just let it slide.

I eventually found a 2008 135i in Monaco blue (I think? I don't know at this point.. super dark blue, looks black at night) with 62,000 miles over in Vermont (I'm in NH). I... neglected to review the 'read this before you buy!' thread on here, BUT.. after several worrisome hours browsing on here and youtube, I determined the noise I was hearing at idle was the injectors, not the turbo/turbos being kaput in my new (to me) car. It also had an issue where the rear window had detached from the soft top, but there's a local place which specializes in soft tops, and they were able to re-seal it for relatively little money, so it should be good for a little while.

Overall, the car appears to be in good shape, it's got the M-sport package, iDrive, Nav, manual adjustment heated seats. It is EVERYTHING I was hoping it would be.

What I've done to it so far:
a) bought Lux H8 V5's and failed to install them (convertibles have an extra structural support bar RIGHT behind the lights, so it's extremely hard to remove the covers).. basically to install these I need to remove the bumper cover and pull the headlights. So that's springtime work (no garage). sigh.
b) bought a set of steelies/snow tires from Tirerack for the occasional winter drive
c) bought a car cover for use during the winter (mostly).

And now... my question:

I had no operating temp problems during the summer, but now that it's cold here in the Northeast this car takes a LONG time to warm up (per the engine oil temp gauge). When I say 'long" time, I mean "20+ miles on the highway at 80mph". In looking here, most people agree the thermostat usually does not go before the water pump.. but this reeks of a stuck thermostat to me. Far as I can tell, the water pump is also original, so god knows that POS could crap out on me at any time (have 65k miles now). Is this slow-to-warm indicative of any other problems instead of the thermostat? I would probably prefer to wait until spring and get both the pump and thermostat replaced at the same time considering it's $700-$900 or whatever for P&L (non-dealership, but a BMW specialist). The heat does work though, even after 3 or 4 minutes (which is the normal time for the engine to heat up).

Is there any risk to me driving it with this engine temp issue such that I should move on the water pump/thermostat sooner than Spring?

Thanks..

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Fantastipotamus

Hey everyone, I joined up a while ago when my wife and I bought our 128i automatic and did some lurking/research/browsing.. whatever you want to call it. Within a few months of having bought that, my wife replaced her STI Subaru with a Volvo V60 Polestar, which meant we went from having a manual transmission vehicle, to not having one.

So, I decided that I'd take that opportunity keep my eyes open for a 1-series manual, mostly because I didn't want to forget how to drive a stick. I also have a Nissan Titan, but of course that's an auto.. and I figured I'd also take the opportunity to find a 135i instead of the 128. The 128 was fine, but I mean, it was so close to being the perfect car. Bless her heart, she either fell for my excuses.. or just let it slide.

I eventually found a 2008 135i in Monaco blue (I think? I don't know at this point.. super dark blue, looks black at night) with 62,000 miles over in Vermont (I'm in NH). I... neglected to review the 'read this before you buy!' thread on here, BUT.. after several worrisome hours browsing on here and youtube, I determined the noise I was hearing at idle was the injectors, not the turbo/turbos being kaput in my new (to me) car. It also had an issue where the rear window had detached from the soft top, but there's a local place which specializes in soft tops, and they were able to re-seal it for relatively little money, so it should be good for a little while.

Overall, the car appears to be in good shape, it's got the M-sport package, iDrive, Nav, manual adjustment heated seats. It is EVERYTHING I was hoping it would be.

What I've done to it so far:
a) bought Lux H8 V5's and failed to install them (convertibles have an extra structural support bar RIGHT behind the lights, so it's extremely hard to remove the covers).. basically to install these I need to remove the bumper cover and pull the headlights. So that's springtime work (no garage). sigh.
b) bought a set of steelies/snow tires from Tirerack for the occasional winter drive
c) bought a car cover for use during the winter (mostly).

And now... my question:

I had no operating temp problems during the summer, but now that it's cold here in the Northeast this car takes a LONG time to warm up (per the engine oil temp gauge). When I say 'long" time, I mean "20+ miles on the highway at 80mph". In looking here, most people agree the thermostat usually does not go before the water pump.. but this reeks of a stuck thermostat to me. Far as I can tell, the water pump is also original, so god knows that POS could crap out on me at any time (have 65k miles now). Is this slow-to-warm indicative of any other problems instead of the thermostat? I would probably prefer to wait until spring and get both the pump and thermostat replaced at the same time considering it's $700-$900 or whatever for P&L (non-dealership, but a BMW specialist). The heat does work though, even after 3 or 4 minutes (which is the normal time for the engine to heat up).

Is there any risk to me driving it with this engine temp issue such that I should move on the water pump/thermostat sooner than Spring?

Thanks..

That is oil temp, not coolant, completely normal. When it is -20, the oil pretty much never warms up to full operating temp.

[Fantastipotamus]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

That is oil temp, not coolant, completely normal. When it is -20, the oil pretty much never warms up to full operating temp.

Oh snap.. of course.. that makes perfect sense. Thanks for the reply.. I'm now quite happy. Just what I was hoping to hear!