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

  1. #51
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    M3 LTW

    Post

    Great Job!!! I look forward to reading your Master Cylinder replacement DIY write up as well when you get it done.

  2. #52
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    E36 M3, X5 4.6is, E85 Z4
    I'm glad ya'll are finding this DIY helpful! I enjoyed doing it and hope to make more in the future.

    Quote Originally Posted by bmwpower
    Good writeup. Which t-stat did you use?
    I used part #11-53-7-511-580, which I believe is the 88 degree unit. I live in southwest Georgia and it gets close to 100 degrees in the summer. Even on the hottest days, the temp needle always stays pointed straight up.

    The Clutch master cylinder DIY is posted here:
    http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=785827

    1998 ///M3/4/5 | 1999 528iT | 2003 Z4 3.0i

  3. #53
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    00 2.5RS | 95 M3
    I got well into this last night, should finish it up today once I have all the belts.

    A few things I would like to add which will hopefully make this easier for people -

    Fan clutch nut removal
    * You need a thin 32mm wrench to get the nut off. It needs to be about 12-13mm wide or it will not fit between the clutch and the pulley bolts. Maybe I just have bad luck with wrenches, but I've gone to a bunch of stores before finally finding one at Sears (they actually have a couple of them as well, so look for the thinner one).
    * The special tool isn't unnecessary at all. It comes off easy using the 'jam the screwdriver between the bolts' method the OP described.

    Coolant spillage
    You will get a lot of coolant coming out of every hole you open up and every hose you disconnect. When the OP says a 'rush' of coolant coming out when you take the water pump off... imagine about a gallon coming out in under 2 seconds. It goes all over the place, so be ready. I had a large piece of cardboard covered with a bunch of newspapers to soak most of it up. I have two pans under there too, but it honestly goes all over the place anyway... so if you are concerned about your floors, get a HUGE pan of some sort that covers the entire front of the car. Prepare to be swimming in coolant either way though...


    Tightening bolts
    Be SUPER careful tightening the nuts and bolts. Most of them are tiny and go into aluminum. The torque specs are something like 7.5 ft/lb which is just snug with a normal sized ratchet. The bigger thermostat bolts are spec'd at 17... I stripped the holes tightening them to that. I'd do something like 12-14 and just use blue thread locker or something to be safe.

    Thermostat orientation
    When putting the thermostat in, the little arrow should be pointing up.

  4. #54
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    Good points! Thanks for the additional info.

    For the fan nut, I bought a cheap 1 1/4" wrench at an auto part store and then took it to a metal shop where they ground it down to be thinner. I had to do this because I couldn't find a thin enough wrench on a shelf anywhere.

    It is definitely a messy job. No way around that. One thing that might help would be to drain all the coolant by also draining the block. That ought to cut down on the mess somewhat. But like mentioned above, if you really love your clean floor, take some precautions!

    Good point on the bolts. One must take care not to overtighthen them.

    I forgot about the thermostat orientation. Thanks for pointing that out!

    1998 ///M3/4/5 | 1999 528iT | 2003 Z4 3.0i

  5. #55
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    97 Hellrot M3
    Great write up, thank you for adding this info to the community!
    San Diego Ad Agency
    1997 Hellrot M3

  6. #56
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    00 2.5RS | 95 M3
    Quick question - In your picture you have a separate o-ring for a thermostat as well as the one on the thermostat itself. Are there two of them? My thermostat came with just one o-ring, but when I put it back in it fit ok, but it wasn't snug by itself, meaning that I could take it out easily (it would pretty much fall out) without tightening the cover on top of it... not that I think an o-ring would have made any difference there, but just wondering.

    Same thing for the water pump, I think I have the same one as you put in (Graf?) and it came with an o-ring already on it, I didn't get a separate one. That fit in there pretty snug.

    And another addition

    Overflow tank
    If you're replacing this, make sure you get order a new clip that holds it at the top (the one through which the bleed screw goes). That part is super brittle and you will probably break it taking it out. A new hose and clamp is a good idea too. ... I with I would have thought of ordering these Sourcing them locally is a pain.

  7. #57
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    Both the thermostat and water pump include an o-ring. I bought extras because I wasn't sure if they'd be included. You only use one per item. I ended up with extras, but they cost less than $1, so I didn't worry about it.

    I managed to not break that clip, but it can be quite brittle. It's part #17111723580 and only costs $1.50. So it would be wise to order one. The hose clamps for the little hose at the top of the expansion tank are both the same part #07129952104. They are also less than a buck.

    1998 ///M3/4/5 | 1999 528iT | 2003 Z4 3.0i

  8. #58
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    [quote=reborn;10141118]Nice write-up, man.
    Made the job easy. Worst part was getting the clips off the radiator.[/quote]
    EXCELLENT WRITE UP !!
    Found anoter DIY and the CLIPS are actually EASY.
    They're rachets.
    (1) Push average screwdriver into slot, press down,
    (2) Still pressing, lever the handle of screwdriver toward engine (away from you),
    (3) PULL toward you the large part of the Clip which has an arrow on it.

    It may pop then, may need another push and pull sequence,
    but mine came off without any effort.

    ALSO --- Nice thin 32mm wrench can be bought at a high-end bicycle shop - cheap. $10+/-
    Place I went to was out of stock and the guy LOANED me the tool. (Lucky )

    Fan-clutch-Nut removal was what I feared most, but was actually EZ.
    Hint about not removing belts to ease nut removal on water-pump pulley was classic.
    Cannot believe that the d*mm pulley was made out of plastic, but there it was.

  9. #59
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    My car has 104K miles and hasn't had any problems, however I just got a new radiator installed in my car (while it was at the body shop for repairs) and I was wondering if I should just go ahead and get the rest of the parts and do the overhaul.

    What do you think?

  10. #60
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    Might as well.

    Another thing I want to note is that you want to make sure to connect and clamp all of the hoses before putting the radiator shroud and fan back in. It's a lot easier that way.

  11. #61
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    BimmerM3inGA: This is clearly off topic but... don't you notice that your clutch pedal is starting to move to towards the footrest? Don't you just want to fix that and post the same great instructions on how to do so as you did in this thread?

  12. #62
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    M3Armand: Believe it or not, my clutch pedal is tight. But it sounds like you need new bushings on yours.

    It just so happens that I wrote another DIY on replacing the clutch master cylinder, and that job entails 99% of what it takes to replace the clutch pedal bushings. So, check out that DIY here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=785827

    1998 ///M3/4/5 | 1999 528iT | 2003 Z4 3.0i

  13. #63
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    Just another spot to pickup a THIN 32mm wrench -
    Search ebay for "32mm headset wrench"
    Currently least expensive one is $12.50 delivered

  14. #64
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    ^ Or you could 'loan' one from Sears for free
    Last edited by kainam00; 08-21-2007 at 03:08 PM.

  15. #65
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    headset wrenches are easily available from bike shops and are very thin - perfect for this job. I bought a dual 32/36mm one, which should work perfectly for doing tie rods in the future.

    1998 BMW///M3/4/5

  16. #66
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    Has anyone been able to re-use their radiator mounting brackets during their overhaul? The kit I just ordered does not include them and was curious as to whether or not they could be carefully removed and re-installed on the new rad.

  17. #67
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    The brackets are actually attached to the car. The radiator sits in the lower ones and is 'clipped-down' by the upper ones. I ordered new ones, but I could have reused my old ones easily. There is a chance of them braking (especially the upper ones) when you're taking them off, so people order replacements just in case.

  18. #68
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    spp5508: I ordered two of the upper brackets when I did my swap, but was able to not break the originals. So I still have the new ones. If you're careful, you probably won't break them either. But if you do, PM me and I'll send you the ones I have left over.

    1998 ///M3/4/5 | 1999 528iT | 2003 Z4 3.0i

  19. #69
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    Just finished my cooling system overhaul this weekend. Everything went according to plan until I took it for a first drive. After a few miles the temperature began to rise. I immediately turned around and headed home to find that the upper rad hose clamp had broken (the kit did not include new ones) and was slightly disconnected from the t-stat housing. Steam and a little fluid were coming out of it. It was getting late so I decided to wait till after work today to replace the clamp and let it cool. It looks like I should be able to remove the fan and attempt to reconnect the hose and re-clamp. I realize that some fluid may come out if something is to go wrong however, I would rather not drain the entire system and have to remove the plastic underbody parts again. Does it sound like this would be the reason as to why it was overheating or is it something else?

  20. #70
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    Did you bleed the system? Basically, if there is air in there, it will overheat. The air might have gotten in there when the clamp broke, or might have been in there if you haven't bled the system.

  21. #71
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    After you re-clamp the hose, you should be able to top it off and bleed it again without draining the entire system. With the engine cold, you won't lose a huge amount of coolant while doing it.

    1998 ///M3/4/5 | 1999 528iT | 2003 Z4 3.0i

  22. #72
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    I may not have bleed it properly. I simply added coolant to the expansion tank until it coolant began coming out of the bleeder valve. I then let the car heat up to the proper operating temperature, shut it off and rechecked the coolant level. I was planning on checking it again once cold in the AM before the hose came off.

  23. #73
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    Why remove the hose & lose any more coolant ???

    Undo the clamp completely, and remove.
    Push hose up tight to t-stat housing.
    Open completely the new clamp, and install loosly around hose.
    Move clamp to correct position (toward middle or upper end)
    and tighten until you see hose swelling SLIGHTLY above edge of clamp.
    (Too tight and hose will get cut/abraded and eventually fail)
    ---- Done ----

  24. #74
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    Well, I finally decided to do this since I was working on something else anyways.

    Couple of quick questions..

    Is there a right way to remove these? Yank it, cut it ?




    Also.. here's a dumb question.... Is there anything under this hose that shouldn't have coolant spilled all over it?




    I guess you can't really prevent it from spilling but just curious if I should try and absorb it up or if I could just leave the spilled coolant and let it evaporate. I don't believe coolant is corrosive.
    Last edited by M13; 09-01-2007 at 11:30 AM.

  25. #75
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    Well....

    Quote Originally Posted by M13 View Post
    Well, I finally decided to do this since I was working on something else anyways.
    Couple of quick questions..
    Is there a right way to remove these? Yank it, cut it ?
    Remove connector at bottom of OVERFLOW TANK -- Slide out of bottom of plastic radiator shroud.
    I guess this hose should eventually be replaced, I just ignored it, since I think it connects at upper end at .....cylinder head??
    (( I see you pulled airbox out - I did the same; more room, little effort. ))

    Quote Originally Posted by M13 View Post
    Also.. here's a dumb question.... Is there anything under this hose that shouldn't have coolant spilled all over it?
    Coolant not corrosive, but dries a little sticky for a while, then powder.
    Clean it up by hosing off (diluting) also keep DOG away, they like the taste -yuk... horrible!- but is poisonous.

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