F*n radiator just blew...

[Boone.Msi]

I just spent 3 hours washing, cleaning and vacuuming my car at the rents house, finally after all the work i drive home happily to my apartment. Stopped to get some gas, only to find out theres clouds of grey smoke bellowing out from under my hood

Lift the hood to find coolant pouring out everywhere so i think "oh great, the fatal BMW radiator flaw" after closer inspection i notice the culprit is two hoses on the drivers side of the radiator. The main hose which has popped off, and a smaller hose above that. Relieved to find a simple problem, i make sure that is all that is leaking. Upon further examination, the nipple on the radiator connected to the smaller hose has broken off

so i drive it a whole quarter mile home to let it rest. Please, for the love of god, tell me that i don't have to replace my radiator over this small nipple



I swear everytime i baby this car, it breaks something so i can replace it with a new one...
__________________

[yaofeng]

A blown engine or $160 saved because you didn't buy the radiator? You choose.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_540/DSC_2753-1.jpg

[Boone.Msi]

^ thats the piece right there, i looked some more and found out the lower inlet has deteriorated and that was the cause for the hose to pop off. Is that plastic piece able to be bought separate?

[yaofeng]

Don't think so. Shell out $160 for a new radiator. It is not that bad.

[BillionPa]

i think im gonna just buy a radiator in advance of this happening to me...

[632 Regal]

I did last summer just incase.
i think im gonna just buy a radiator in advance of this happening to me...

[Alexlind123]

This stuff probably wouldnt happen if people would actually flush and replace their coolant every once in awhile.

[Ferret]

Izzit the coolant that eats the plasticwork here or izzit a manufacturing fault / bad design causing stress?

[70383roadrunner]

A blown engine or $160 saved because you didn't buy the radiator? You choose.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_540/DSC_2753-1.jpg


Where do you buy a radiator for $160? All the Behr ones I see are around $235.

[Boone.Msi]

This stuff probably wouldnt happen if people would actually flush and replace their coolant every once in awhile.

Coolant was flushed less than a month after i bought it, which was 5 months ago. They're $160 on ebay. I dont have a problem getting a new one, my problem is i have to drive to work for the next 4 days and i dont have a way to get to work...

[yaofeng]

Where do you buy a radiator for $160? All the Behr ones I see are around $235.
Check Ebay.

[yaofeng]

Where do you buy a radiator for $160? All the Behr ones I see are around $235.

Also here

http://www.eeuroparts.com/productdetail.aspx?searchResults=1&code=7912

if you have a 525.

[70383roadrunner]

Check Ebay.

Thanks. Will do. I have a leak around what looks like tranny cooler lines going into the side of the radiator. I havn't been able to check the fittings. Maybe one of them is loose.

[Tiger]

I think it is mostly people who overtightened the clamp. Plastic will become more brittle as it age from contraction and expansion. Acid attact from the coolant doesn't help either.

[Boone.Msi]

i should search, but just out of curiosity what models (535,540,740, etc.) would have a radiator that fits mine?

[Tiger]

$126 w/ shipping on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/94-95-BMW-530I-RADIATOR-AUTO-CAR-PART-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33602QQitemZ3300957 87524QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

I have bought body parts from this ebay seller... they are good and wholesale cost.

Mr.Auto Parts has the Nissen for $209 with free shipping for automatic.

AutohausAZ has the manual tranny one for $289 and free shipping.

[DallasBill]

Regular coolant changing does nothing to prevent that break. It's a common issue on old e34s. The plastic just gives way due to heat and ozone. Changing hoses and tightening the clamp too much can hurry it along.

It happened to me at 60mph last summer. Luckily, I saw the temp rising fast and was able to pull off the tollway.

[repenttokyo]

so basically, a design flaw :(

[Tiger]

That I don't know... If you have automatic, then 530 and 540 use same radiator. I would imagine 740 and 840 also uses the same raditator. Anything else would be too small... the 525 and 535.

The key problem is that oiur car has two rubber seat where it must sit... on the side in addition to the bottom.

[Tiger]

All plastic radiator would have this 'design' flaw. No one use all metal radiator anymore... it cooks the paint on our hood and body too much. That is a much bigger repair bill.

In old days, we had metal radiator because we have huge engine bay and lots of wasted space. Now we have aerodynamic design and compact engine compartment... so that is why they start using plastic radiator... to insulate the body from the radiator heat.

[RallyD]

had this happen on my vw.
it was a kick in the nuts because i had just flushed, filled, w/new stat and hoses. I went to squeeze the upper hose to make sure it was full and the damn thing broke off, spewing coolant all over the shop floor.
I replaced that one with an all metal radiator.
Not sure if there is one available for the m60 cars though.

[Qube]

Wooo is this time to hawk the cooling rebuild kit I have available? :)

http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=31234

[70383roadrunner]

Also here

http://www.eeuroparts.com/productdetail.aspx?searchResults=1&code=7912

if you have a 525.


My car is a 1989 535i auto with 92,000 miles. I guess I am due!!! I checked this website and could not find any radiator for my car.

My next question is which is a better radiator? The Nissens or Behr?

[yaofeng]

The site specializes in SAAB parts and it very popular with SAAB owners. It also carries some BMW and Volvo parts. I don't know if Nissen is better or Behr. I think Nissen is cheaper. Behr is original to my understanding.

[repenttokyo]

my 94 lincoln had an aluminum radiator without these problems....that is why i mentioned it as a design flaw. It never cooked the paint off my hood, but the hood was also composite...so I guess someone made a decision along the line somewhere for cost reasons.

[yaofeng]

You could also design the engine to run without coolant indefinitely in case of coolant loss. But at what cost? Do you also term that a design flaw?

[Tiger]

I am pretty sure it is not the cost reason when these radiators goes for $400-500 a pop at the dealer.

You are right... it really depends on who made the radiator for the manufacturers.

[repenttokyo]

You could also design the engine to run without coolant indefinitely in case of coolant loss. But at what cost? Do you also term that a design flaw?

i don't see why it's necessary to bring up extreme examples or get defensive. All cars have weak spots, or wear parts that need to be replaced just a little too often.


I am pretty sure it is not the cost reason when these radiators goes for $400-500 a pop at the dealer.

hehe, or if you believed in conspiracies, that could be EXACTLY the reason ;)

[yaofeng]

Plastic/aluminum radiators are in most cars. SAAB, Volvo, BMW, likely all other car models use the same design. They work within the design parameters given. It is not a design flaw.

The example given is just to show every part of the car is engineered to some specification. That specification is for normal operation of the vehicle with some tolerance out of the specification. If the vehicle operates outside of the spec you can't expect the parts to last very long. That' all I am saying.

[DallasBill]

My car is a 1989 535i auto with 92,000 miles. I guess I am due!!! I checked this website and could not find any radiator for my car.

My next question is which is a better radiator? The Nissens or Behr?
Just call Patrick at BMA and he'll get you one. Since it will last another 70-100k miles anyway, it doesn't matter. Do it now, as you will have it blow sooner or later.

FWIW, I got a Behr.

[70383roadrunner]

Just call Patrick at BMA and he'll get you one. Since it will last another 70-100k miles anyway, it doesn't matter. Do it now, as you will have it blow sooner or later.

FWIW, I got a Behr.

I was loooking at BMA and ebay and I found one on ebay OE# 17111723467 for $158 Free shipping and another for $175-$10 shipping. I believe BMA was around $260 for the Behr. I wonder why the wide price swing? I have bought from BMA before and thought their prices were reasonable.

[70383roadrunner]

Being on the subject of radiators I noticed my radiator hose clamps have the snap off type heads. I guess when the clamp is torqued to the right pressure the heads break off. Should I get those from BMW or is it ok to use regular hose clamps? Also how do you get the plastic head BMW clamps off the hose?

[Tiger]

Use european style clamp... they are skinnier style. Not only they are skinny, the torque screw section is also narrow so three is more even tension on the hose. They are cheap in bulk.

As far as the crimp on/snap on style clamp? Cut them off with a nipper. Replace with small euro style clamp.

[70383roadrunner]

Use european style clamp... they are skinnier style. Not only they are skinny, the torque screw section is also narrow so three is more even tension on the hose. They are cheap in bulk.

As far as the crimp on/snap on style clamp? Cut them off with a nipper. Replace with small euro style clamp.

Thanks. Are the euro style clamps the ones with the heads that are cone shaped?

[Barney Paull-Edwards]

After all that I went out and looked at my Rad. Good news for all,if you can find one,`91 M5`s have Alloy end tanks and the tranny oil cooler is connected to the engine oil. the clips you want are "Jubillee" clips, they are much wider than normal and spread the load better.That said you people are lucky, here in UK my 525TDS rad was over £285($450ish)!

[Boone.Msi]

thanks for all the reference sites to get a new rad. it looks like i will have to order the upper and lower tubing as well since all the local autopart stores dont carry mine.

For a temp fix, i have aplied some JB weld, it seems like it may do the trick for a week or so. I may just jb weld the damn tubing on while im at it, to prevent it from popping off until i get my new one.

Im gonna have to get a new T-stat when i change my rad right? what else do i have to have? My waterpump seems to be fine, theres no wobble in the fan.

[Tiger]

Don't really need t-stat... however, check your t-stat housing... if it is brown, plastic and original, that is the next thing that will go... so change it to metal one.

[Boone.Msi]

alright, added some more coolant let the jb weld dry and got it up to running temps. With it idling warm there is no leaks, sounds like there might be a small leak since i can hear the pressure of the gasses. Im gonna go grab some more coolant and top off the overflow.

If theres no leaks now what do you say my chances are at driving it down a block and back?

[Boone.Msi]

Nevermind, the top still leaks...

Looks like the e34 will be out of commission for a while. Time to look up the radiator swap write-ups...