» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | | | | | | 01-07-2010, 03:45 PM | #1 | Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Waldorf, MD Posts: 32 | Radiator life expectancy Guys, I have a '96 Ti base w/140K. I'm the original owner. Other than spirited cornering, I'm pretty easy on the old goat. I am not mechanically gifted. I had the t-stat replaced 3 years ago and the water pump almost 1 year ago. Other than those items, the radiator system is original. The radiator has been flushed 2-3 times. Am I pushing the limit on the radiator? If not, should I just have all the hoses/connectors replaced? Thanks. | | | 01-07-2010, 03:57 PM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Gilbert Posts: 621 | if anything id have the radiator tested to make sure it doesnt leak antifreeze/compression then go from there as to rebuilding the whole cooling system or replacing just the hoses. id recommend changing the plastic thermostat housing up front and the plastic cooling housing in the read of the black too if and when you replace hoses. __________________ *IF ITS FAST AND CHEAP, ITS NOT RELIABLE* *IF ITS CHEAP AND RELIABLE, ITS NOT FAST* *IF ITS FAST AND RELIABLE, ITS NOT CHEAP* | | | 01-07-2010, 03:58 PM | #3 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 2,525 | Quote: Originally Posted by BigDaddySmooth Guys, I have a '96 Ti base w/140K. I'm the original owner. Other than spirited cornering, I'm pretty easy on the old goat. I am not mechanically gifted. I had the t-stat replaced 3 years ago and the water pump almost 1 year ago. Other than those items, the radiator system is original. The radiator has been flushed 2-3 times. Am I pushing the limit on the radiator? If not, should I just have all the hoses/connectors replaced? Thanks. | Wow.. You are very lucky that thing is still working. I would say that radiator is way over it's life expectancy. I think I've had two or three radiators in my Ti. '95 with close to 150k miles. Florida heat and track driving definitely affect my radiator life, but I tend to think they are a 60-80k mile replacement item. What will happen is that the top hose attachment point will crack/explode, or the bottom where the expansion tank connects will crack and start to leak. It isn't a catastrophic failuer if you catch it quick enough and turn off the car before it overheats.. | | | 01-07-2010, 04:00 PM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Gilbert Posts: 621 | yea but your under different driving conditions, my radiator is at 121k and seems just fine. i've snooped around and nothing within my cooling system seems out of check. __________________ *IF ITS FAST AND CHEAP, ITS NOT RELIABLE* *IF ITS CHEAP AND RELIABLE, ITS NOT FAST* *IF ITS FAST AND RELIABLE, ITS NOT CHEAP* | | | 01-07-2010, 04:14 PM | #5 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 2,525 | Quote: Originally Posted by THAT318 yea but your under different driving conditions, my radiator is at 121k and seems just fine. i've snooped around and nothing within my cooling system seems out of check. | My car was never once tracked in the first 125k mile. The radiator was replaced at least once during that interval. My 328, that I no longer own, had two radiators replaced in 135k miles. While you may not have any obvious problems, I still stand by my original post that you are dealing with a ticking time bomb on a stock plastic BMW radiator with more than 60-80k miles. The same goes for any of the plastic components in the E36 cooling system. You can either wait until they fail, they will eventually fail, or do preventative maintenance. | | | 01-07-2010, 04:18 PM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Gilbert Posts: 621 | i see what your saying. it would be cheaper to do it now instead of sitting around waiting for a problem to occur before changing it. __________________ *IF ITS FAST AND CHEAP, ITS NOT RELIABLE* *IF ITS CHEAP AND RELIABLE, ITS NOT FAST* *IF ITS FAST AND RELIABLE, ITS NOT CHEAP* | | | 01-07-2010, 05:46 PM | #7 | Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Waldorf, MD Posts: 32 | Estimated labor cost Okay, WTF...I just put $1500+ into the car for other issues, what is a few more hundred??? Pelican Parts has a kit for $225. They also rate this a "4" on difficulty. How long would it take any self-respecting independent pro to do the job? Should this "pro" also be expected to have the required fan removal tool? Thanks. | | | 01-07-2010, 06:17 PM | #8 | Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Larkspur,CO Posts: 19 | I have 174000+ miles on the original radiator and waterpump. I think the waterpump is just now starting to fail. so I have the majority of parts ordered. | | | 01-07-2010, 07:52 PM | #9 | Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Elizabeth City, NC Posts: 3,877 | Quote: Originally Posted by BigDaddySmooth Okay, WTF...I just put $1500+ into the car for other issues, what is a few more hundred??? Pelican Parts has a kit for $225. They also rate this a "4" on difficulty. How long would it take any self-respecting independent pro to do the job? Should this "pro" also be expected to have the required fan removal tool? Thanks. | The fan on the ti is electric not a clutch type. No special tools needed. __________________ ~Dave~ 98 328ti Morea Grun slicktop 11 128i space gray slicktop 13 JGC WK2 Deep Cherry Search | RealOEM | | | 01-07-2010, 10:50 PM | #10 | Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Posts: 31 | Quote: Originally Posted by spidertri The fan on the ti is electric not a clutch type. No special tools needed. | On my one it is definately not electric... Don't know what the set up is in America but in UK they are not electric unless it has been replaced with an aftermarket item. | | | 01-07-2010, 11:18 PM | #11 | Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 678 | My car has 222,000 miles (90,000 with DASC) on the original radiator and I replaced the thermostat @ 180,000. Hoses have been replaced here and there. You got me thinking if maybe this is something to do come summer... And yes, the fan over here is electric. __________________ BostonGreen 97' w/ DASC & Technique Stage 1 software M3 front bumper. BavAuto Springs. Bilstein Sport Shocks. Xbrace. BA Short Shifter. Angel Eyes Headlights, doubled brake lights 225/50/16's Yokohama Advan S4's Panasonic 70Wx4 CD/MP3 player + 4x Alpine 6x9's rear | | | 01-07-2010, 11:36 PM | #12 | Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Elizabeth City, NC Posts: 3,877 | Quote: Originally Posted by Zerotonine On my one it is definately not electric... Don't know what the set up is in America but in UK they are not electric unless it has been replaced with an aftermarket item. | Yeah we had a thread a while back and all of the US owners were determined to have electric fans while other parts of the world weren't necessarily so. I believe it came down to whether or not the car had AC, non AC cars had a clutch style fan. __________________ ~Dave~ 98 328ti Morea Grun slicktop 11 128i space gray slicktop 13 JGC WK2 Deep Cherry Search | RealOEM Last edited by spidertri; 01-07-2010 at 11:40 PM. | | | 01-07-2010, 11:39 PM | #13 | Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Posts: 31 | Ah I see. Every day is a school day! | | | 01-08-2010, 12:29 AM | #14 | Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Los Lunas, NM Posts: 52 | I'm at almost 130,000 miles and 175 months, and the radiator is fine. I had the cooling system pressure tested yesterday to find an annoying very small leak, and it ended up being a hose clamp. Note that the E36 6-cylinders have a much higher radiator failure rate than the 4-cylinders, at least from what I can gather. Vic | | | 01-08-2010, 01:43 AM | #15 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Raleigh/Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,233 | Quote: Originally Posted by 2ndBimmer My car has 222,000 miles (90,000 with DASC) on the original radiator and I replaced the thermostat @ 180,000. Hoses have been replaced here and there. You got me thinking if maybe this is something to do come summer... And yes, the fan over here is electric. | Wow. Really? That is just dumb. Anyways, after 100k BMW radiators become a ticking time bomb. They may never fail, but when they do, you have about 30 seconds if your at highway speed to turn the car off before you blow your head gasket. __________________ -Jeff | | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |