Radiator just blew.. awesome.

[E36DJ]

Well a few weeks ago I drained / flushed / refilled my cooling system with 70% water 30% coolant and water wetter.. this is what I get..

Well, all hell started breaking loose basically.. at a light my low oil pressure light came on, so I shut off the car.. light turned and there was a gas station ahead so I started the car.. everything was fine (no valve tick or anything) drove like 30 feet and bam, car started missing and I saw steam.. shut it off on the road, coasted to a safe spot.. and my radiator neck had blown off.

Is this just a cracked neck or something worse?

And what should I upgrade assuming my engine isn't blown (coolant needle wasn't on red yet.. shut it off DAMN quick..) will the E46 radiator fit?

Ugh. :(

[iateyourcheese]

That sucks... do you know why the low oil pressure light triggered?

[E36DJ]

Nope.. no idea. It wasn't like flickering either, went on solid (obviously the motor wasn't siezed or something though) at the time the neck blew off the motor felt fine (except for the hesitation just before I shut it off.)

[BoostInduced]

throw in a PWR 40mm rad and electric fan or go to zionsville and get their 38mm setup with over flow fanshroud and fan. Both are really good... but that zionsville is just sexy as hell... *hits head* (why did I have to go with PWR 57mm???)

[E36DJ]

Got any links for me? Thanks :)

I'm just worried about the motor now, it has 106k on it.

It's got a 2200CFM 16" on it right now, coupled with the aux fan at high speed.

[BoostInduced]

Here is PWR's site. Dont go with the 57mm its way too big and there's no room for a fan. TRUST ME.
http://www.pwr-performance.com/auto_main.htm

Here's zionsville:
http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/store/shop.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=6134&Product_Code=E36CCKI&Category_Code=AR1
You dont have to get the whole kit you can get just the rad if you want

[GUINNESS]

throw in a PWR 40mm rad and electric fan or go to zionsville and get their 38mm setup with over flow fanshroud and fan. Both are really good... but that zionsville is just sexy as hell... *hits head* (why did I have to go with PWR 57mm???)


Links and prices please.

[///MPwr]

Why not just upgrade to the S54 rad? Its 3-row instead of the S52's 2-row and is an OEM part. When the rad in my 97 M3 went at 80k, I went for an S54 rad from bimmerzone. It was around $220 I think. Perfect fit with no problems. My coolant temp is now, on average, 10 degrees F cooler, which just happens to be in the adaptive range of the factory thermostat.

[CABimmer]

I bet your waterpump went, then your rad. broke

[BoostInduced]

Links and prices please.
check post #6

[E36DJ]

I bet your waterpump went, then your rad. broke


Just replaced the waterpump, tstat, tstat housing, etc..


Well I went back over there and took the clamp off, the plastic ring that broke off was VERY brittle and kinda crumbled when I pushed the ring in, I mean plastic rots too after 106k miles / 10 years.. thats why the necks go.

There was a lip left on the radiator that I was able to clamp down on VERY hard, I pulled and the hose wasn't going anywhere.. what kind of pressure do the cooling systems operate at? I heard of someone else doing this, bleeding the system, and getting it to a shop. I WORK at a shop where I could easily do this after hours too, ugh..

So a guy is coming to tow it later tonight at 8:30 but if I can get it working that'd be nice too.. what do you all think?

Also, what would cause the car to hesitate when it blew?

[E36DJ]

Ugh not having search sucks! Anyone know about the S54 radiator DIY? I know it drops in and all, but what about the thickness and compatability with bleeding system / expansion tank?

[Avalon]

Your car is fine. Engines don't need coolant to run, they just need to stay cool. Really you could run your engine with no coolant whatsoever for a few minutes, but it would heat up and eventually overheat very quickly, and the extreme heat would cause the molecular structure of the oil to break down, and then it'd get screwed up.

[E36DJ]

Eh that's not what I've heard - the cooling channels in the head and motor are pretty delicate (and aluminum.) I mean if any portion of the motor is off/warped by +/- ~ 1/1000th of an inch all hell will break loose.

I'm going to tighten that hose on the remainder of the neck, bleed the system (REALLY WELL) and start the car so I have power to move it on/off the trailer.. I'll just drop it off at the shop and hopefully I'll be ok.

I'll probably have bimmerparts overnight an E46 M3 radiator and whatever parts I need. Next mod is samco hoses and by then hopefully my coolant system will be bullet proof.

I'm guessing the low oil pres. light was a result of slight low oil level and the fact that the car was stopped / at a low idle.

[iateyourcheese]

I guess I consider the Aluminum radiator a luxury item. How long do you plan to keep the car? Super long time? Maybe upgrade to Al. Another 40k miles? Plastic would be fine. Remember, you can buy several OE style radiators for the price of one Aluminum one.

[MJFX328]

Just replaced the waterpump, tstat, tstat housing, etc..


Well I went back over there and took the clamp off, the plastic ring that broke off was VERY brittle and kinda crumbled when I pushed the ring in, I mean plastic rots too after 106k miles / 10 years.. thats why the necks go.

There was a lip left on the radiator that I was able to clamp down on VERY hard, I pulled and the hose wasn't going anywhere.. what kind of pressure do the cooling systems operate at? I heard of someone else doing this, bleeding the system, and getting it to a shop. I WORK at a shop where I could easily do this after hours too, ugh..

So a guy is coming to tow it later tonight at 8:30 but if I can get it working that'd be nice too.. what do you all think?

Also, what would cause the car to hesitate when it blew?


Something could have been happening to your belts.. My belts squeeked and my car ran like crap when my rad blew, since there was coolant all over them.

[E36DJ]

New belts too :)

I'll check the tensioner though.

[BoostInduced]

I'll probably have bimmerparts overnight an E46 M3 radiator and whatever parts I need. Next mod is samco hoses and by then hopefully my coolant system will be bullet proof.
.

ummm no... plastic parts are what failed before, and you're going to replace with more plastic? Go all aluminum for a bulletproof setup

[Avalon]

Eh that's not what I've heard - the cooling channels in the head and motor are pretty delicate (and aluminum.) I mean if any portion of the motor is off/warped by +/- ~ 1/1000th of an inch all hell will break loose.

Truf. I was just thinking in theory it doesn't really need coolant. You're right though, the aluminum passageways can be quite delicate.

[fpa1974]

ummm no... plastic parts are what failed before, and you're going to replace with more plastic? Go all aluminum for a bulletproof setup

Assuming you do the work yourself, you can get at least 3-4 OEM radiators for the price of an aluminum one. So that makes about 320,000 miles or so before the aluminum one will start paying for itself (80K miles average per radiator).
Something to think about...

Florian

[Def]

I think something far worse happened to make you lose oil pressure. The climb in coolant temps from the increased frictin is probably what made your weak radiator blow.

Hate to say it, but I don't think just replacing the radiator is going to do it...

That said, if you can clamp the hose on there and it doesn't come off with a pull, you should be fine for a very short drive. Cooling systems typically operate at just a few psi, if you run it hard it'll get up to around 12-18 psi depending on the car. Just make sure you top the car off with distilled water before driving it. Bring 2 gallons, and fill up the overflow tank, crank it up then keep filling it. Crack the bleeder to let out some air. You should be fine after a quick and dirty bleed like that to drive the car anywhere close you need to go to work on it.

All that said - if the low oil pressure light is still there when you crank it up, IMMEDIATELY turn the car off. You probably lost your oil pump nut if the light won't go out.

[BoostInduced]

Assuming you do the work yourself, you can get at least 3-4 OEM radiators for the price of an aluminum one. So that makes about 320,000 miles or so before the aluminum one will start paying for itself (80K miles average per radiator).
Something to think about...

Florian

You drive an M3.. Be cheap blow radiators, makes messes, risk your engine, or stick your neck out for 500 bones and be bulletproof. No one said modding was cheap, i can get you a deal on a civic though

[fpa1974]

You drive an M3.. Be cheap blow radiators, makes messes, risk your engine, or stick your neck out for 500 bones and be bulletproof. No one said modding was cheap, i can get you a deal on a civic though

Thank for the Civic offer. I will take that if it is a good deal indeed.

What I said is changing the radiator in a preventative fashion at a certain number of miles/years. This is what I did on mine. I changed it because it was 8 years old, not because it had a lot of miles on it (only 50K). If you keep on doing this and treat it like maintenance item, the risk is nil (or almost there, certainly not higher than a Al radiator).
The way I look at this is that the OEM radiator is design wise pretty good since the car cooling system is working very well with it (with the exception of the plastic tanks). The cooling system on this car is so efficient that you can actually do a FDK as you probably know. So you tell me what I am gaining by spending $500 up front.
BTW when I did the fan delete kit I went ahead and spent the extra to get an additional electrical fan - just an example that when I feel necessary to improve on something I will do it and not only look at cost (FDK works well without the extra electrical fan but not well enough for me).

Florian

[Def]

You drive an M3.. Be cheap blow radiators, makes messes, risk your engine, or stick your neck out for 500 bones and be bulletproof. No one said modding was cheap, i can get you a deal on a civic though

News flash - an E36 M3 is about half the cost of a new Civic Si. You're acting like he's driving a brand new M5 or something.

[BMWManiac]

I went to a S54 radiator and its a direct fit...no issues, better cooling, and just feel same in the extra dough spent on quality parts.

[jon95m3]

I just re-did my whole cooling system a month ago to get ready for the Florida heat. Nothing was wrong with it but just a saftey for me. I started with a Fluidyne core, Stewart pump, Samco hoses, 70 degree stat and aluminium housing, distilled water and 2 bottles of water wetter......Good to go. I did the fan delete and put a lower temp switch on the aux. fan. Oh and threw a set of Turners pulleys on it just for fun. Everything is great and no problems.

[aus]

So you changed out all the cooling pieces EXCEPT the radiator on a car with more than 100k miles??? It's only an extra $140 for the radiator.

[///MPwr]

Ugh not having search sucks! Anyone know about the S54 radiator DIY? I know it drops in and all, but what about the thickness and compatability with bleeding system / expansion tank?

The S54 is slightly thicker but I was still able to run the hoses properly. Maybe an inch thicker. Complete compatability with the bleeding system and expansion tank.

[black_box]

i'm thinking its a freak accident that the radiator neck blew at the same time the oil pump nut fell off.

[E36DJ]

ummm no... plastic parts are what failed before, and you're going to replace with more plastic? Go all aluminum for a bulletproof setup
Not really understanding your logic here - there's plenty of plastic in these cars, doesn't mean it's bad. FWIW I've never heard of the E46 radiator necks cracking, it's a form of plastic "rot" and after 106k miles of heating / cooling.. shit happens. My guess is that it's a different plastic alltogether.

Even IF there was zero improvement on the plastic (or neck for that matter - which I know isn't true) that means I'll be at well over 200k miles before it happens again.

Can't really justify paying $600 for a radiator on a car generating the same heat as stock, maybe if it was bored out or FI or something, or tracked (low speed tracks, etc..) but no.. $140 for stock or $220 for 3 core S54? Sounds good to me!

ALSO, the car is fine, I clamped the hose back onto the ring that was left over and it's fine, I'll bring her to the shop tomorrow and deal w/ it there.

Thanks for the help everyone, STILL I'd love to know why it bogged down when it all happened. I know it shot about a gallon of coolant in the engine bay.. thank god for my ghetto home made heat shield or it would have shot right into the cone filter.

[E36DJ]

So you changed out all the cooling pieces EXCEPT the radiator on a car with more than 100k miles??? It's only an extra $140 for the radiator.
I was doing other stuff too, car wasn't at 100k yet. Gotta draw the line somewhere, I'm sure there's a whole list of stuff I could have replaced.

At least I can check off another one of the famous ghetto E36 M3 problems.

diff bolt, radiator neck, waterpump, window switch, brakelight switch, random ABS/ASC light, random SRS light, etc etc etc..

Should be coming to the end soon, right...right? :stickoutt

[E36DJ]

The S54 is slightly thicker but I was still able to run the hoses properly. Maybe an inch thicker. Complete compatability with the bleeding system and expansion tank.

Hmm, I have a mr. gasket 16" puller fan on there and it's fairly close to the waterpump shaft right now, I'll measure stuff tomorrow. Sounds like the best bang/buck if it's a semi-stock car.

We broke a heat record today at 96 degrees (record was 94 set 15 years ago..) still pretty early too.

I'll finish wiring my console mount fan switch thing too (sounds ghetto but it's nice being able to control on/off/auto for my fans, depending on traffic or parasitic loss control..) it's wired to the stock aux fan at full speed as well, so when they work together you can feel it sucking in like a vacuum through the kidney grills lol.

[iateyourcheese]

i'm thinking its a freak accident that the radiator neck blew at the same time the oil pump nut fell off.

You're an evil person if that ends up being true. Yikes. :eek:

[E36DJ]

Nah, car is fine now. :) Roadside fix too.. *patonbacksmiley* haha.

OK people hook me up with a source for the S54 roadster/coupe radiator, all te parts catalogs don't stock stuff for the S54 cars (minus M3)

[E36DJ]

I found this, but isn't the tank on the wrong side?

<img src="http://63.150.115.104/CommerceGateway/pictures/BMW%20J-Pegs%5C17111469176.jpg"></img>

[old skool]

A new factory spec radiator can be had for $130 shipped. I bought nissens from eeuroparts on Ebay. These are a wear item, but last a long time. You won't have to worry about it again for a long time. However, if you have the cash and the drive to do so, you can always buy the all aluminum radiator.

When I did the water pump, thermostat and fan delete, I went ahead and replaced all the hoses, the radiator, the therm housing, the coolant expansion tank and the cap. It is simply preventative maintenance. Luckily you didn't damage your car, or so it sounds. But now you have to buy more of that expensive BMW coolant. :D

[ultimachi]

I've got the PWR 40mm all alum radiator and Stewart high performance water pump. The reason I went with the all aluminum rad was because I'm planning on going FI in the future, and plan on tracking my car. I was originally going to get the S54 radiator but said screw it and went ahead and upgraded. If you aren't planning on going FI or tracking your vehicle then stay OEM....it'll be a waste of money otherwise. But then again, I also like the peace of mind of never having to worry about a busted radiator neck....:dunno:

[bimbum]

I was doing other stuff too, car wasn't at 100k yet. Gotta draw the line somewhere, I'm sure there's a whole list of stuff I could have replaced.

At least I can check off another one of the famous ghetto E36 M3 problems.

diff bolt, radiator neck, waterpump, window switch, brakelight switch, random ABS/ASC light, random SRS light, etc etc etc..

Should be coming to the end soon, right...right? :stickoutt


the last thing I want to have is another blown rad, period, so I went zionsville and did the job once and for all. that's worth it to me not getting stuck again, maybe out on the town or maybe out in the boonies!? wait who knows how long for a tow, possibly overnight? the car would be gone by then. freak that noise.

I like to save money as much as the next person but some money is well spent. another dorky radiator wasn't the answer in my case. YMMV.

[GUINNESS]

The S54 is slightly thicker but I was still able to run the hoses properly. Maybe an inch thicker. Complete compatability with the bleeding system and expansion tank.


Does it fit with the fan or force you to do a fan delete?

[rustydawg]

I'd like to know too. I changed the water pump, t-stat & t-stat housing this past weekend. It did not seem as if you have an extra inch between the fan and radiator.

Off topic - how do you install the fan with out removing the radiator? I could not do it nor could my small handed friend.

[fpa1974]

You pull the 2 clips that hold the fan shroud in place to the radiator and then lift the fan shroud a bit. The fan can be then lowered to its place from above.

Florian

[iateyourcheese]

I'd like to know too. I changed the water pump, t-stat & t-stat housing this past weekend. It did not seem as if you have an extra inch between the fan and radiator.

Off topic - how do you install the fan with out removing the radiator? I could not do it nor could my small handed friend.
Yeah, like fpa said... just need to undo the shroud. Basically like they do here: http://www.understeer.com/fanclutchmod.shtml

[rustydawg]

I tried that. The fan just would not catch on the water pump so out came the radiator. No big deal. I guess I'm lucky.

[GUINNESS]

Bump - Does the S54 rad fit with the E36 fan or does it force you to do a fan delete??