My E36 Cooling System Overhaul DIY - NOT 56K Friendly!

[azukko]

Great write-up, very informative. I'll definitely use it when I worked on the t-stat and replace the coolant

[BimmerM3inGA]

where is the bleeder screw located ?

"C" in the 5th Photo (the one showing the screws to remove the fan shroud).

[mball19]

I used your write up this weekend to replace water pump, t stat and coolant and it was extremely helpful.

Note: My serpentine belt tensioner had a 16mm nut instead of a 8mm hex.

[sirius600]

Thanks, i'll be using this when these radiators come in:

[BimmerM3inGA]

Note: My serpentine belt tensioner had a 16mm nut instead of a 8mm hex.

Since writing this, I have learned that BMW used at least 2 different types of tensioners for the serpentine belt on the E36 M3. I guess they just like to keep things interesting! My wife had a 2000 323i and its tensioner was a Torx socket!

[mikea128]

great write up! I just did this job a couple months ago and this would have helped a lot. The only thing I'd add would be the proper torques for all the bolts, but I'm kinda anal about that. If I had it handy, I'd add them here myself. It's all in the Bentley though, which I highly recommend anyways.

I'd also recommend doing tensioners and pullies while you've got the belts off and fan clutch/radiator out of the way.

One other little tip - the t-stat housing nuts are M6 I believe, and are perfect for getting the waterpump out.

Edit - make sure this gets linked on bimmerdiy.com

[CRYPTiC]

Great write-up!

In case anyone wants to go the extra mile and replace ALL the coolant hoses, I've got a list of part numbers compiled in this thread:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=524678

[M3Armand]

bimmerM3inGA, very nice thread and writeup! Thanks for the contribution.

Why do you state "only use BMW coolant" but the stuff that came out of your car was green. I thought BMW coolant was a different color. Is there any harm done by using Prestone or similar? I will need to perform this service on my car soon.... thanks!

[BimmerM3inGA]

M3Armand: First of all, thanks! I'm working on one now for replacing the clutch master cylinder and fixing the clutch pedal squeak.

About the coolant, I was wondering how long it would take someone to point out that the coolant in the pan is the wrong color (BMW coolant is an aqua color). That's because it's from another car - a Honda. I filled up one pan with coolant from the M3 and used another one in case I spilled any more - it was already partially filled from the other car.

It is my understanding that BWM OE coolant is phosphate-free and other "store-bought" brands contain phosphates along with other chemicals that can react badly with and damage BMW internal engine and cooling parts. This may or may not be true, but why risk it? The way I see it, the E36 cooling system is delicate enough as it is. Why tempt fate?

[M3zie]

Very informative, thanks alot. I'm doing my complete cooling overhaul next summer, along with rotors and pads. 85k miles right now.

[LeftHook]

Today when I got home from work, I looked down at the OBC and saw "Check Engine Coolant". It was 3pm and I had someplace to be at 7.. Crap. Popped the hood and my upper hose is detached, neck is nowhere to be seen. It had SPLODED.



I had already bought the hoses, new water pump, belts, t-stat housing (mine was still plastic), t-stat, coolant... but had not bought the radiator yet.

I jumped on the phone and called Mac's Radiator to order a new radiator, which my pops picked up, went to bimmerforums and searched "E36 radiator DIY". took the lappy out to the car and set it on the intake and went to work.

Your DIY saved me valuable time where I did not have to head scratch or take care while I figured out how something came out... it went just as if I had done it 30x before. And I made my 7pm appointment.


You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. May the gods smile upon you for your good deed.

[BimmerM3inGA]

Aw shucks! *stares at feet with hands in pockets and kicks imaginary rock* - you are too kind. I'm just glad it was able to help you out!

[Tochenzo]

awesome write up! I plan on doing a cooling system overhaul very soon as well and hopefully this will make it less of a headache!

[dsp420]

Amazing. You have given me the courage to try this myself. Doesn't look that bad.

Thanks!

+1

[BimmerM3inGA]

If you can change your oil, then you can do this job.

[ESMcBlurM3]

Yea, I'm gonna vote this as the best diy write up of the season. Can't wait to tackle this project by the end of the summer.

[mikea128]

a note on the coolant choice: valvoline makes a phosphate free coolant that they specify for BMWs, Mercedes, and other cars that require such coolant. They call it Zyrex G-05 and it's a light yellow color. By all accounts, it's almost identical to the BMW coolant in composition and should be safe for our cars and their radiators. If you can get the BMW coolant, it's not much more expensive so you might as well, but I wouldn't hesitate to use Zyrex G-05.

[Petrucci]

This is just what I need.

+++Rep for you. Thanks dude we all needed this.

[reborn]

Nice write-up, man.

Made the job easy. Worst part was getting the clips off the radiator.

[///M LIFE©]

Great work

[cngizbleevng]

Major props! I'm swapping out the water pump in my z3 this weekend (and changing the coolant). Thanks for the excellent contribution!

[bmwpower]

Good writeup. Which t-stat did you use?

[JeffsE36M3]

I used this write up along with my Bentley yesterday. I just wanted to say thanks. I replaced a few more parts than what is covered in the write up but it was pretty easy to figure out the extra stuff. Everything went well except for my brother accidentally chipping the waterpump pulley when removing it. Luckily the local stealership had 4 in stock and was open yesterday afternoon. Bro bought the new pulley (would not let me pay for it) so it's all good. I actually found this to be a pretty easy DYI, thought it was a little messy. Did the work while the car was on jack stands so I threw on an X-brace while I was at it.

[Jlawton]

Yup, the write up made it much easier...

The worst part was get all the splash guards/sheilds/plastic crap out of the way. The actual radiator swap only took 45 minutes. Taking the other crap off and putting it on took about 1 1/2 hours!! I actualy got the radiator (that's all I was changing since the other stuff had been done recently) without removing the fan. It was a PIA so I'm not sure I would try it that way again.

I followed the bleeding procedure in the Bently...........Got 5 minutes in to my commute and the temp gauge went up.....and up.....and up.......

Pulled over, called the wife and she came out with a rag, coolent and a screw driver. I unscrewed the bleed valve and for 3-5 seconds had nothing but air come out... I wasn't sure if that was the problem so she followed me home. Drove the 5 minutes back....NO problem. Turned around and drove the 25 minutes to work with the temp gauge right were it always is........

[kainam00]

Great writeup! I'm ordering the parts tonight, looks like a fairly easy job. Thanks!