Changed water pump/t-stat/radiator etc with only hand tools

[Quiksilver7]

Yep... I managed to change the whole cooling system with no special BMW tools to get the fan off the water pump, or even a 34 mm wrench. It was pretty ghetto how we did it (perhaps innovative is better) so I don't want to mention it... I had to destroy my old plastic water pump to get the fan off :)

Here are some things I found out why doing this:

1) Car had 2 different kinds of coolant in it. Orange GM stuff and green Autozone stuff. :nono
2) Previous owner had removed the thermostat, and for some reason cut it in half and ground down the edges. So... that's why it took so long for the car to heat up (t-stat wasn't functional, just a restriction in the system) :shifty
3) There is a sensor unplugged and ziptied to one of the power steering lines... I don't know what it is I'll take a picture of it tomorrow and post it.

Overall I'm happy with how smoothly it went. It was VERY easy to remove the radiator (I could do it again in probably 10-15 minutes) and I think it was replaced before since it just slid out.

Now the car has a metal water pump, a functional thermostat, and new, fresh ONE COLOR ONLY (blue) BMW OEM coolant! :redspot

Anyone that needs their cooling system serviced should consider doing it themselves... I recently remember reading someone paying $700 to have their radiator changed... :( I'd do it for anyone around here for free... it's very simple... a trained mechanic could easily do the whole swap and refill/bleed the system in an hour if they hurried.

[SHOracer]

Great job, the only tool I ended up buying was the 32mm wrench for the fan when I did this the first time. The last time I did it this was about an hour job, BMW's are well designed for working on.

[BMWg84]

the 32mm wrench what the only tool i needed also. but i spent literally 5 hours doing my cooling system. Did you make sure you flushed the radiator of all fluid and engine of all fluid? just pulling the drainage plug wont do it. There was also a lot of crusty looking dried out coolant stuff around the thermostat housing and thermostat. i made sure to clean and wipe down everything.. I do agree with you about how mechanics charge to do the cooling system.. it's ridiculous, but you pay for a job done right- sometimes..

[RotaryBzzz]

isn't that $30 "fan clutch removal tool" needed to undo the fan-clutch? Or something fabricated from sheet steel?

I've seen the write-up from understeer.com but don't understand (translated: haven't taken off the alternator cooling duct yet) how you guys hold the fan clutch in place w/o a fan-clutch tool/juryrig.

OH...btw...what 32mm wrench did you guys buy? The standard open/closed ender? ---> O------C ?

[Quiksilver7]

I didn't have a 32 mm wrench or the fan removal tool...

I managed to remove the water pump without removing the fan. Once I had the whole assembly out I stuck the pump in a vice (destroyed it) and used a set of vice grips to remove the fan :shifty

My engine was amazingly clean... It doesn't leak anything, anywhere. I don't know if the previous owner always cleaned the front of the motor (doubtful) but my hands were barely dirty when I finished this entire job. The dirtiest part was the radiator...

[tcarswell]

Man so did I what bitch it was ... I replaced my water pump , thermostat , fan clutch , fan and radiator with all hoses in one day and did belts. Talk about a day of agony.

[Quiksilver7]

Man so did I what bitch it was ... I replaced my water pump , thermostat , fan clutch , fan and radiator with all hoses in one day and did belts. Talk about a day of agony.

Are you serious? You should try working on an MR2 sometime!! The BMW is really easy to work on... which is why I'll probably keep buying them from now on :)