I have a 97 bmw 316i, we have changed the water pump, checked heads and changed radiator, bleed it at a 40degree angle filled it with coolant and it is still overheating after a ten minute drive?

Did you also replace your thermostat? If it's stuck closed, engine will overheat.
When you did the HG, did you have head checked for cracks or warpage? A cracked head will cause severe overheating.A warped head may or may not show signs of external coolant leakage. Either of these conditions can occur if overheating is severe enough.
Are your hoses in good shape? An old hose can collapse when it's hot, and restrict flow. Feel them (when cool) for any sign of sponginess.
New radiator cap? The cap provides a seal to pressurize the cooling system.
Finally, how about your water pump? Any sign at the weep-hole of leaking coolant? Your water pump inner seal is bad, remedy is a new water pump. Or maybe the pumps' fins have corroded and not pushing coolant sufficiently. If there is corrosion, get the whole system flushed and start anew.
Pull your spark plugs and look for any sign of coolant in the cylinders. I know it's a pain to keep going back and checking, but you gotta be thorough. Plugs may be blistered white from overheating, but if you get it fixed, they should be alright.
Now, finally, really: sometimes, Randy, just a small air pocket in coolant can cause overheating. So, make sure you bleed the system if it has a bleed screw, or fill, cap loose, run engine till t-stat opens, level in radiator drops, then re-fill, and add coolant to your overflow reservoir to around the full hot mark. Tighten cap, and you are done. Good luck.

The thermostat and water pump are both common failure points on BMW 6-cyl engines of this era. I would recommend checking the thermostat first, then moving on to the water pump. If the vehicle has overheated several times, you may need to remove the cylinder head and have it checked for warp.

check if the water is circulating as you might have a blockage in the header tank. this can be checked by opening the radiator cap and check if the water is circulating on top.

the thermostat (on bmw replacement parts) have an arrow that has to be installed facing upward.if this was done correctly,to bleed the system usually there is a bleeder screw on or near the expansion tank(where you fill the coolant) and possibly on the thermostat housing. i would recommend opening both bleeders and keep filling the system with coolant closing the lower bleeder first and then allow the rest of the air purge from the other bleeder screw.make sure the coolant stays full and be patient you can't wait TOO long.

Good point above. Does the fan come on?

If you have no heat, you have air in the heater core.

You say the head gasket is ok because yoou have no oil in the water. Many times the head gaqsket blows combustion into the cooling system only. Get the car up to temp with the radiator cap off, put it in gear, hold the brake and load the engine. If you have a lot of bubblls out of the radiator, you have a blow heade gasket or cracked head.

Check the ignitin timing. Old BMW's would overheat in a heart beat with retarded Ignition timing.

My bet is head gasket because the heater core is air bound

good luck

Seeing as you just replaced the water pump, there should be little fluid remaining.

Remove the drain plug from the bottom driver's side of the radiator. Let it drain into a large pan. Once draining is complete, remove the bottom radiator hose from the passenger side of the radiator just to get everything out of the engine if the engine block drain plug didn't remove all of the fluid. Replace the plugs and lines if removed.

Fill the radiator reservoir and start the engine with heat controls on high. open the bleed screw beside the filler cap just enough to let air out. Keep refilling reservoir as the engine sucks it into the radiator. Only fill it to the cold line. Once it stops moving below the Cold/KALT line, replace the cap and close bleed screw.

One of two things, it is either leaking out somewhere, which you should be able to see puddles on the ground or while its running open the hood to see if its leaking out on your motor, hopefully its only a radiator hope or something, this is the cheapest fix. 2. It's burning out internally in your engine, if this is the case you should notice white smoke out of your tailpipe, bad news is if this is the case, its going to get pricey fast because that would indicate a bad head gasket or cracked head.

Also check the radiator cap. If the spring in the radiator cap is worn, it is not pressurizing the cooling system properly and therefore it will cause the vehicle to overheat. This is often overlooked and is a cheap repair. Every additional pound above atmospheric pressure that the cooling system is under causes the boiling point of the coolant in the system to raise 3 degrees F if memory serves me correctly. So, if the cap is old it will boil at 212 instead of 230 (for example)-and cause the system to overheat--even though everything else in the system is new/operating perfectly. If this is not your problem you may want to check to see if the cooling system itself is, indeed, holding pressure. You can get a gadget that fits on your radiator from any auto parts store to pressurize the system--after you pressurize it...leave it alone for about 20 minutes and see if it maintains pressure. If it doesnt, you have a leak somewhere. Hooah.

nooooo.
that's the problem
yes, you have to take the coolant filling cap off " expansion tank cap "
turn your car on for at least an hour
the bmw line has a very bad problem wich is " bubbles " inside your water system
you have to have your car inclined and running without the cap so he can bleed all the bubbles out.
sorry you spent all that money but after you replaced the radiator all you had to do was that, to get rid of bubbles.

so, do this. park your car on an incline position, engine up.
remove the cap. let it run for at least an hour.
refill as needed " coolant "
do that the following morning and for last refill the collant as needed.
problem should desapear.
hope this helps