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Old 09-10-2007, 04:15 AM   #6
CirrusSR22
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Minneapolis
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Radiator and water pump time. Removing the radiator is pretty simple. Shove a small flathead screwdriver into the main clips (look for the arrow), then pull straight up on the clip. If you have an automatic like me, the trans cooler needs to be unscrewed from the main radiator. The are 4 sheet metal screws connecting them, and thankfully the trans line DO NOT need to be opened. Here's a shot of my tans cooler!! This one is sandwiched between the AC and main radiator, so I don't understand how it got so caked with junk. The AC condenser (?) in front wasn't very dirty at all.? Nice to know I've been running without a trans cooler for quite a long time.



With the radiator out of the way, you now have pretty good access to work on the water pump. This is another tough one. I ended up breaking the old pump using the threaded holes to pull/press it out. It came out by gently prying it out with a hammer claw. I was pleased that the water pump bore was very clean and pretty much corrosion free.



Old vs. New. I believe the old one was a Thyssen. The new one was straight from a dealer with BMW logo and all. They definitely were not the same part. Both had a plastic impeller.



I lighly greased the water pump o-ring before installation. The pump requires quite a bit of effort to press in. The o-ring is quite meaty and gets compressed a fair amount.



Now's a good time to replace your thermostat. I didn't because mine was replaced just a year ago after it failed (stuck open). Here's the trans cooler attached to the new radiator. I cleaning as good as I could without backflushing it with a hose. That would have been ideal, but the work was done in a garage. Some carb cleaner and a brush did a fair job.

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