» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | 1999 M3 Swap 09-07-2023 10:10 PM 05-02-2024 08:18 PM 6 Replies, 401,259 Views | | | | | 02-16-2010, 09:58 PM | #1 | Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 181 | Am I crazy? Ok.... so I have read that the cooling system parts for our cars are made out of plastic and they are prone to being broken. So, why not have them machined out of aluminum? I contacted several companies with this proposal and I am waiting to hear back from them [should be by the end of this week]....however, if the cost is not too high, do you think it would be crazy of me to go this extra step or should I just stick to good old plastic? | | | 02-16-2010, 10:04 PM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 9,356 | There are aluminum radiators for 2.8, 3.0 and 3.2. __________________ ...steven BMW CCA #146825 1996 BMW 328ti • 2003 MINI Cooper S • 2016 M235i www.bmwcca.org | | | 02-16-2010, 10:15 PM | #3 | Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 181 | Yes but those are radiators. I am talking about the two parts that are hard to get to. One is near the bottom of the engine past the intake manifold and the other is at the back of the engine. I can't find any made out of aluminum or some metal. | | | 02-16-2010, 11:23 PM | #4 | That's not Millpoint Blue Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: BNA Posts: 3,161 | Yes, you're referring to the two infamous plastic fittings that are prone to failure. See this thread for more info. Just last week, I also inquired with a local company and he agreed that the cost of any metal replacement part would likely be far more than what people would be willing to pay. But if you get a reasonably solid estimate on a price, I'll go back to my contact and see if he thinks that he could beat that price. __________________ Real men know how to SEARCH! THIS IS A MILLPOINT BLUE INTERIOR Mods 'n' stuff: Star Spoke 43 wheels - X-Brace - Mason Engineering front strut brace - CF gauge overlay - ZHP shifter knob - Racing Dynamics cat-back - Doubled brake lights - M-tech rear spoiler From Page 68 of the 1997 Owners Manual: "Vehicles equipped with ASC+T remain subject to the laws of physics." | | | 02-16-2010, 11:36 PM | #5 | Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 181 | The plastic pieces are under $10 and don't need to be replaced often, there's no market for metal replacements and it isn't cost-effective. | | | 02-16-2010, 11:53 PM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: VIRGINIA Posts: 324 | Would people pay $100 for a metal part that wouldn't likely fail? If it would increase the reliability and decrease the likelihood of stranding me or blowing a head gasket, count me in! I'd like to pay a lot less than that, though. | | | 02-17-2010, 12:01 AM | #7 | Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: asdfasdf Posts: 10,002 | I think someone did look into this a while ago, they ended up being way to expensive for most people to bother so the project was scrapped | | | 02-17-2010, 12:10 AM | #8 | Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: VIRGINIA Posts: 324 | Since we're on the topic, those plastic parts changed over the years, didn't they? I thought I read somewhere that the 1995s and early 1996s might be different than later tis. I remember someone wrote up a cooling system rebuild and realoem.com listed the wrong plastic part for his ti. Can anyone shed any light on this? | | | 02-17-2010, 12:24 AM | #9 | Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 181 | Hi MacUser, The forum you are referring to is the Cooling system rebuild, link: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18066 He needed a different hose. Realoem.com listed the wrong hose for his 318ti. | | | 02-17-2010, 12:31 AM | #10 | Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: VIRGINIA Posts: 324 | Hey! Thanks! I have an 03/96 ti, so I'm affected. I guess I'll buy both hoses, only $5.50 each. | | | 02-17-2010, 04:10 AM | #11 | Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Elizabeth City, NC Posts: 3,877 | I looked into this and made a thread about it not too long ago. I was quoted ~$150 a piece for the parts, the price could drop if there was a serious demand. But for that money its just not worth it. The plastic parts last 100,000 to 120,000 miles, what is the life expectancy of the ti? this one http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28636 __________________ ~Dave~ 98 328ti Morea Grun slicktop 11 128i space gray slicktop 13 JGC WK2 Deep Cherry Search | RealOEM Last edited by spidertri; 02-17-2010 at 04:17 AM. | | | 02-17-2010, 05:30 AM | #12 | NOBODY F's with the Jesus Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ventura California Posts: 7,824 | +1 You could spend $15 and replace them every 100k miles, or you could spend over $200 to have aluminum ones made, but you'll likely have to remove them anyway after 100k miles to replace the o-rings. Most of us won't even have these cars long enough to put 100k miles on them. | | | 02-17-2010, 05:59 AM | #13 | Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 181 | Alright already.....it would be cool though to have all the parts made out of aluminum.... Make the engine bay look nice. But I guess that is just aesthetics. Anyways, thanks for your guys input.... I will post the prices on here when I here back from the two different shops. | | | | 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 | | | |