Who's changed their radiator in an E34 540i?

[Beez540]

I'm just wondering how tuff the labor is...

I think my radiator or the outlet/inlet neck is leaking... it appears to be the only thing that could be causing my coolant leak. So, if possible, I'd like to change it out myself... save some $$$ on labor.

Any help or tips is appreciated.

Thanks again to everyone on this forum who has offered so much help and info to the noob. I've already fixed my window troubles, and this coolant issue looks like the last thing for now.

Damn I love this car!

-Brandon
94 540i - 225k (alusil)

[shogun]

thinking is not knowing exactly respect. you are not sure (sorry for my bad English). Try to save money and make sure that it is the radiator.
Usullay you can make a pressure test. For that you need something special. DIY: a second cap with a gauge from the next tool shop for checking the pressure and the loss over a certain time (hope you have a Bentley Repair Manual, saves time and money).
Coolant leaks can appear in many places, but first look for the 'weak' spots': connections, clamps, plastic parts. especially the area of heater valves and the aux pump (underneath!).
Wherever you look, have an eye for spots:
http://evansweb.info/images/articles/20030118230916346_5.jpg

I do not have an instruction for the 540, what I can offer you is for the M30 and the M70 engine on my website.
Check out either/and/or Jon Evans website from there or the site of Johan and Sean.
It even can be that you might not find something (seldom), cause the wind force from driving takes the coolant away and it is dropped somewhere on the street,
But usually you can see the spots.

[DaCan23]

The main outlet neck on the radiators is famous for breaking. You'd have to take that hose off to inspect it. Better do it soon cause if the neck is broken you could be driving and have that hose blow off.

A Behr replacement radiator is about $300, might wanna get the clips too that connect it at the top as they break sometimes when removing/reinstalling. Of course the best thing to do is also drain the system and replace w/ BMW Stealer coolant. Not a difficult job, probably about 2hrs even for a novice.

[Beez540]

The main outlet neck on the radiators is famous for breaking. You'd have to take that hose off to inspect it. Better do it soon cause if the neck is broken you could be driving and have that hose blow off.

A Behr replacement radiator is about $300, might wanna get the clips too that connect it at the top as they break sometimes when removing/reinstalling. Of course the best thing to do is also drain the system and replace w/ BMW Stealer coolant. Not a difficult job, probably about 2hrs even for a novice.

Thanks. Yeah... I can vaguely tell where the leak is originating from... it is right around the area of that neck, but the hose wasn't wet and the connection to the neck felt good / dry... but further towards the front of the car you can see where fluid has dripped down thru all the frame and plastic parts towards the lower grill. I'm gonna crack into it this weekend... I still have my other car, so I'm not gonna be stuck at home.

[Tiger]

I changed mine... not hard at all... just two hose clamps and just cut away the hose (why not change it at the same time?) and two clips to hold the fan shroud,,, and two clips to hold the radiator in (use screwdriver to pry via built in hole so you can unclip it from the body)... take out two bumper stop on radiator to transfer to new one... and reverse.

At this point, if you still have plastic thermostat housing,... change it too.... these are proned to leak too.

[PhilipJCaputo]

I did mine to... same leaking area.... there are some decenly good write ups, just search the posts... Patrick at BMA suggested the $200 radiator.... and I replaced upper and lower hoses while I was at it.

It didn't take all that long, but leave yourself a couple of hours and you'll be fine.... also, order / got to the dealer and pick up two of those plastic clips that hold the radiator down.... I guarantee you'll break em trying to take them off :-)

and while your at the dealer pick up some BMW antifreeze..... and might as well replace that thermostat housing (I did in mine, but at seperate time from radiator), it will be MUCH easier to do without the raditor in there....

[PatrickPGH]

Ordered my radiator from BMA as well. Mine came with the clips though, ask Patrick for them when you call. You are going to call BMA right? ;)

I had some trouble with the transmission cooler. Spilled a good deal of fluid on the floor detaching the fluid lines from the cooler. The problem I found was that the T/C was attached to the front of the radiator so you had to disconnect the lines, then pull the radiator and detach the T/C. Install in reverse.

Anyone been able to come up with a workaround?



It didn't take all that long, but leave yourself a couple of hours and you'll be fine.... also, order / got to the dealer and pick up two of those plastic clips that hold the radiator down.... I guarantee you'll break em trying to take them off :-)

and while your at the dealer pick up some BMW antifreeze..... and might as well replace that thermostat housing (I did in mine, but at seperate time from radiator), it will be MUCH easier to do without the raditor in there....

[Beez540]

The main outlet neck on the radiators is famous for breaking. You'd have to take that hose off to inspect it. Better do it soon cause if the neck is broken you could be driving and have that hose blow off.

A Behr replacement radiator is about $300, might wanna get the clips too that connect it at the top as they break sometimes when removing/reinstalling. Of course the best thing to do is also drain the system and replace w/ BMW Stealer coolant. Not a difficult job, probably about 2hrs even for a novice.

Well, it is the radiator. Since I'm really new to the car I decided I want to have a pro handle this job... but I got in good with the local BMW expert.
How does $432 sound for a new behr radiator, hoses, clamps, other misc. parts, OEM BMW fluid, and labor?

I thought that sounded pretty reasonable.

[uscharalph]

I guess I'm either going to plug or clamp the tranmission lines.

[MantecaBMW]

Found a receipt from the Radiator Doctor and they replaced it free of charge....actuall replaced it twice as the first one only lasted about 2 months before cracking at the upper hose again.

The overall process isn't too bad.

Jack up the car or place on ramps. Open cap from the coolant tank. Unscrew the drain plug and drain into some container.....don't want the neighborhood cats or dogs drinking the crap and dying in your yard. Remove the top hose and overflow hose. Remove the fan shroud. Remove the ATF lines being careful of the rubber o-ring (should be replaced just in case)....not too much fluid leaks from the top line, but the bottom will leak a bit more so I placed a sandwich bag over it secured with a rubber band. For the other side, I removed the air filter box.....just made it easier to get to the lower hose. Remove the lower hose. Unplug the temp sensor. Remove the 2 clips on the top and it should just pull right out. Remember to pull your sensor from the old radiator and replace the clips on the top as they tend to break when you take them out. Just reverse the process to install.....not too bad. Also, use the BMW coolant when re-filling and remember the radiator end caps are plastic so be careful when tightening your hoses and ATF lines.

[Cambridge]

There was more angst in thinking about the work than in actually doing it. :)

Here's the procedure and pictures: How to replace a 540 radiator (http://www.bmw-540i.com/1995-540i-radiator-replacement/index.php)

I actually did this twice. The first replacement radiator I put in was defective. Looks like it was damaged in shipping. If you do this a couple times you can get quite good at it! :)

Although my car is an automatic, there were no connections to the transmission to worry about. Maybe that is also the case on 94 540i's.

This diagram may be helpful: Radiator Parts Diagram (http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HE63&mospid=47410&btnr=17_0084&hg=17&fg=05)

Since I had to be up under the car anyway, I took the time to flush the cooling system. This is a little more involved; you need to drain coolant from the block, too. There are drain plugs on either side of the block.

[Pixcutter]

Well, it is the radiator. Since I'm really new to the car I decided I want to have a pro handle this job... but I got in good with the local BMW expert.
How does $432 sound for a new behr radiator, hoses, clamps, other misc. parts, OEM BMW fluid, and labor?

I thought that sounded pretty reasonable.

Where did you get the radiator. The BEST my mechanic could find was $800!! I'm in S. Cal (Los Angeles) and he tried all the way to san Diego.

[dacoyote]

Where did you get the radiator. The BEST my mechanic could find was $800!! I'm in S. Cal (Los Angeles) and he tried all the way to san Diego.

Darn... I think BMA is cheaper then that.....

[mattyb]

beat me to it! I was just going to recommend that awesome write up with pics that u did.

[Tiger]

Not hard at all... just take your time.

[MBXB]

It took me and a buddy about 40 minutes to swap out the 540 radiator using Cambridge's well documented procedure.
We did use a wet/dry shop vac to suck up the old coolant to minimize the mess. That helped a lot.
The old clips were brittle, so we just broke off the old ones and replaced them.