130k on stock radiator how bad is this?

[chadwick405]

Well my radiator is the stock one, the date on it is January 1996. Should I be concerned about it? Or is it a good thing that I might of gotten one of the rare few that has not cracked.

[Balthazarr]

Well my radiator is the stock one, the date on it is January 1996. Should I be concerned about it? Or is it a good thing that I might of gotten one of the rare few that has not cracked.

Very rare, if original.

[chadwick405]

You must be thinking of someone else ive had this one for a little while.

[mike02]

my stock one lasted about 120K miles. its just a matter of time before the neck cracks and it starts leaking. save up a few bucks, for a new radiator, thermostat, and waterpump. i replaced mine with another stock radiator, i think i got it from pelicanparts. it wasnt to expensive. ive also read something about a z3 radiator that fits? it might not be the z3, maybe someone else knows what im talking about. other options include the zionsville all aluminum radiator, its like 4 or 5 hundred though... thats why i got another OEM one.
be prepared though, its pretty much a timebomb.
peace
mike

[Balthazarr]

You must be thinking of someone else ive had this one for a little while.

Yes, I was...ohnoes.:laugh

[ParadigmGuy]

You should replace it soon. Breaking down for cooling issues sucks.

[kornkid8600]

Change it. I gunned it yesterday I guess the pressure in the system just made it crack but maybe a 1/10th of an inch ring was left in my hose that got popped off. I took it out and it literally crumbled into my hand.

[E36 Shifter]

there is a great groupbuy at the vendors section on a new cooling system- may save you money in the long run. I would not take that chance.. get it

[chadwick405]

Do you know anyone that has bought this package? Just want to know how trustworthy he is and how trustworthy the parts are.

[M13]

I JUST finished swapping everything out. During the bleeding process, I took a quick drive around the block and had to pull in right as the temperature was starting to pass the middle point to let some more air out.

Also I forgot to tighten the expansion tank cover so fluid sprayed all over the place (before test drive).. :shifty

Moral of the story: Fixing anything related to your radiator is a PITA, even when you're at home. Imagine dealing with that one the road.





130k.. you needed it done yesterday.

[stupenal]

do everything all at once to save yourself the trouble. while you're at it, do your belts too. I first did my tstat and housing. several weeks later, the radiator neck cracked so I had to redo everything again. then today to do the belts, I had to remove the upper hose as I must have gorilla arms. had to bleed the system yet again afterwards. just do everything at once to save the headache

[M13]

Don't forget the pulleys.. expansion tank..and hoses... maybe even the tensioners.

[chadwick405]

Yah the belts are in very good condition already.

[art@rmeuropean]

I bet the neck already has some fine cracks in it. I replaced mine at 115K and the upper neck was almost ready to brake off.

[JeffsE36M3]

I replaced mine at 118k. The neck was fine but it had developed a small leak where the plastic meets the aluminum. I tried to break the neck off but it would have taken some real force. At 130k I would say you have been very lucky. Seriously consider replacing that sucker. I bought all of the parts except the radiator from Bill in the Group Buy section and had no problems. I did an aluminum radiator.

[colleran]

I did my coolant system two years ago at 65k miles so I wouldn't have to worry about coolant related issues...that included replacing the radiator, water pump (with metal impeller), hoses, t-stat (left plastic housing on)...and this week my water pump went...2 years and 30k miles and the thing goes out...yes, very premature...I am now switching over to a Stewart Water Pump and an Aluminum t-stat housing...I don't want to get another water pump that fails and I no longer trust the OEM...the Stewart is just over twice the cost of the OEM WP (90 v 190) from what I can tell...good luck.

[Balthazarr]

I replaced mine at 118k. The neck was fine but it had developed a small leak where the plastic meets the aluminum. I tried to break the neck off but it would have taken some real force.

The leak from those tank gaskets can be ever so slight it's nearly undetectable.
I had a leak on mine at 90K and thought it was the little recovery to tank nipple near the top engine/rad supply hose.

[art@rmeuropean]

I did my coolant system two years ago at 65k miles so I wouldn't have to worry about coolant related issues...that included replacing the radiator, water pump (with metal impeller), hoses, t-stat (left plastic housing on)...and this week my water pump went...2 years and 30k miles and the thing goes out...yes, very premature...I am now switching over to a Stewart Water Pump and an Aluminum t-stat housing...I don't want to get another water pump that fails and I no longer trust the OEM...the Stewart is just over twice the cost of the OEM WP (90 v 190) from what I can tell...good luck.

It is pretty unusual for an OEM pump to go out this early. Most Genuine BMW pumps last at least 100K. Was yours Genuine BMW or something like Graf, Geba?

[colleran]

It is pretty unusual for an OEM pump to go out this early. Most Genuine BMW pumps last at least 100K. Was yours Genuine BMW or something like Graf, Geba?

Hi Art,

I didn't buy the WP...a shop did the work...I'm looking at the receipt, here's what it says:
11 51 7 527 910....Water Pump Metal Impeller....$80.75
Yeah...I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with this durability/reliability issue.

[art@rmeuropean]

Hi Art,

I didn't buy the WP...a shop did the work...I'm looking at the receipt, here's what it says:
11 51 7 527 910....Water Pump Metal Impeller....$80.75
Yeah...I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with this durability/reliability issue.

For $80 it better be a Genuine BMW pump, you never know though. Graf used to have problems with bearings, they seen to be better now. When you pull it out, if it has a cast iron impeller it is definitely aftermarket. BMW metal impeller pumps had stainless steel impellers.

[radialaced]

Well my radiator is the stock one, the date on it is January 1996. Should I be concerned about it? Or is it a good thing that I might of gotten one of the rare few that has not cracked.

If I were you I'd be worried about the belt driven fan and the water pump too. Here is what recently happened to me:

My fan blew up!!!!!!!!
I officially joined the FDM club yesterday, unwillingly!!!!

I was doing some cat and mouse with a new Civic Si rev'ing up to red line through a few twisties, (btw he couldn't shake me an I had 4 large people in my car including me). I didn't know it but my fan exploded.

A couple miles later on the highway my temp needle climbed to red, I got off immediately and pulled over and had a look and sure enough...gone! The fan blades were gone. And my radiator was hissing and leaking.

Doesn't seem like I hurt the motor, but I should change the oil right away.

I suspected that it would get me someday. My car has 164k on it and I don't know how old the fan was.

What a pain. I had three other guys with me out for a little jaunt during our lunch break. A nearby realtor lent me two 5 gallon jugs of water from his water cooler which I immediately picked up wrong and hurt my back...bad.

So I drove a couple of miles and pulled over and one of my buddies would jump out and top up the radiator. It worked good, It got us all back to work.

I then took a couple of tylenol and 15 gallons of water and started for home, 32 miles away. I would accelerate to a decent speed and shut the motor off and coast. After a couple of miles of this I stopped and topped up the water. It worked fine. By doing it this way I never saw the temp gauge go over 1/2 way.

I got it home and raced to Turner Motorsport before they closed and bought a new radiator, expansion tank, BMW antifreeze and a new thermal switch to turn the aux fan on sooner.

I already had all new belts and hoses sitting in my garage. And a month ago I replaced the thermostat, it's housing and the water pump with a metal impeller water pump.

Last night around 9:30 I started the job and quit at 11:30. This morning I finished the job and bleed the system. I now have a completely new and updated cooling system except for the clutch fan.

So I'll try this and see how it goes with no clutch fan. I like the idea of it being deleted.

[KingKong]

Where do you find the date on the radiator?

[colleran]

For $80 it better be a Genuine BMW pump, you never know though. Graf used to have problems with bearings, they seen to be better now. When you pull it out, if it has a cast iron impeller it is definitely aftermarket. BMW metal impeller pumps had stainless steel impellers.

It was a Geba and there's a good chance it was leaking from day one...I have been putting 1/2 to a full cup of coolant/water into the reservoir every 2-6 weeks the last 2 years...anyway...I'm hoping the Stewart that's in there now does a better job...it really can't do much worse:-)

[Crosswire]

My original radiator is still running strong at 140K. I check it pretty often for cracks and haven't found a thing...I'll rue the day.

[M///BMW]

you know i wonder why bmw uses suck shitty parts for cooling? we pay a premium for the cars, and what do we get? Plastic radiators LOL.

[Simann]

When in doubt, replace it!



-Jonathan

[heatmizr]

My original radiator is still running strong at 140K. I check it pretty often for cracks and haven't found a thing...I'll rue the day.

Heh Heh... you are doing what I did for years... waiting for the inevitable. I took my car to the BMW performance Center in SC last weekend to run on their track. First time in a year or two the car was stressed that hard, and the radiator neck for the upper hose broke off while on track! It has 136k miles on it!

I could tell the plastic was deteriorated. I got VERY lucky in that there was enough neck left to re-attach the hose to. Got if re-filled and bled with some difficulty, but I made the 1.5 hour drive home without incident.

So I just ordered the $220 cooling kit from BimmerParts.com (Zygmunt motors), which comes with rad, hoses, water pump and both belts. You can add a fan clutch for anothr $75. Replacing the blades as well - don't want one breaking off and going thru my new radiator!

Bottom line - be prepared to replace your rad At Any Time with that mileage.

[zmmnm3]

At 125k my water pump failed resulting in the fan destroying itself on the shroud. Since the fan neck was very slightly leaking, white stains visible, i replaced all parts, water pump, neck, radiator etc. Fix it once, fix it right.