Raidator Replacement Recommendations

[Mitch90535im]

What brand replacement radiator would you guys recommend?
Cost and DIY difficulty?

('90 535im)

http://www.bimmer.info/bmw/mitch90535im/535i%20resized.jpg

[Mitch90535im]

Bump - Is bumping fair?

[RickyJ]

BMA said it was the only Nissens return they could remember. It failed after 10 months.

[Bill R.]

guys at www.radiator.com (http://www.radiator.com) I've used valeo,nissen, behr and gdn from them with no problems . They offer a lifetime warranty on them anyway and have warehouses in most major cities. I have probably gotten 150 from them in the last 5 years and have only warranteed one... That was a gm product using dexcool...yech. Its a very easy diy and you should buy these parts before starting , the clips usually break the first time you attempt to remove them. After you do it once you figure out how to remove them without breaking themhttp://www.bimmernut.com/%7Ebillr/images/radclips1.jpg














What brand replacement radiator would you guys recommend?
Cost and DIY difficulty?

('90 535im)

http://www.bimmer.info/bmw/mitch90535im/535i%20resized.jpg

[DrewZ]

The classic leaky-neck syndrome. Now I have Behr & hope it will last a good bit longer.

Drew Zacharda
6-speed Touring
http://members.aol.com/apzjd/newavatar.jpg (http://www.bmwe34.net/ASP/DURegistry/RegDetail.asp?id=100)



BMA said it was the only Nissens return they could remember. It failed after 10 months.

[Bill R.]

guys at www.radiator.com (http://www.radiator.com) I've used valeo,nissen, behr and gdn from them with no problems . They offer a lifetime warranty on them anyway and have warehouses in most major cities. I have probably gotten 150 from them in the last 5 years and have only warranteed one... That was a gm product using dexcool...yech. Its a very easy diy and you should buy these parts before starting , the clips usually break the first time you attempt to remove them. After you do it once you figure out how to remove them without breaking themhttp://www.bimmernut.com/%7Ebillr/images/radclips1.jpg

[Mitch90535im]

I was leaning toward Behr. I have read good comments regarding the brand. I think I remember reading where BMA substituted another Brand for Behr, or vias versa. I'm getting a little cautious about BMA, because evonthough i like their products and pricing, they're 0-2 in properly filling my orders.

[Bill R.]

car I have had a valeo now for the last couple of years with no problems.





I was leaning toward Behr. I have read good comments regarding the brand. I think I remember reading where BMA substituted another Brand for Behr, or vias versa. I'm getting a little cautious about BMA, because evonthough i like their products and pricing, they're 0-2 in properly filling my orders.

[George M]

guess I am surprised to hear of the necks snapping off the Nissen radiators. My understanding was Nissen deliberately has a straight versus corregated nipple design
(nipples are one of my favorite subjects) to keep the nipples from breaking off...theory being the low spots between the nipple convolutes are stress risers. Guess I am glad I bought a Behr last summer to replace the original Behr radiator in my E-32 based upon the comments here.
George

[Unregistered]

The radiator on my 1994 e34 went out about 3 months ago while going up a mountain pass. I took it to an experienced radiator shop and the guys there strongly recommended that I replace it with the OEM radiator made by Behr for BMW. The total cost for P&L was just about $600. I think the parts were about half of that, which included a new thermostat. If you plan on keeping your bimmer for a long time, only use the BMW oem parts. As for DIY, I am not sure how difficult it would be. I had a shop do it simply because I was out of town at the time. If it happend at home I would have considered doing it myself. Hope this helped.

[Tiger]

Nissen got thicker nipple... isn't that scary? My nissen is still fine after 3 years

[George M]

Thicker nipples isn't always desirable...depends on the proportion of the woman. Tiger, believe overtightening the clamp aside from radiator heat aging is the leading cause of failure. One could argue that without the convolutes, one must tighten the clamp up a bit more to achieve adequate sealing which may negate some of the benefit of a straight section neck a la Nissen.
George

[Tiger]

hehehehe... true... overtightening seems to be the major culprit.

[Keith]

What brand replacement radiator would you guys recommend?
Cost and DIY difficulty?

('90 535im)

http://www.bimmer.info/bmw/mitch90535im/535i%20resized.jpg

Behr and nothing else!
Got mine from BMA and it was a piece of cake to remove and install.
I sent the procedure I did to Bruno (just in case he wanted to put it on his website) but I don't know if he used it?

Keith '95 540

[Keithp 1994 530ia]

I ordered a Behr - the original BMW one had the Behr symbol on it, so Behr was the OEM for my model, at least.