IMPORTANT: Two plastic cooling system parts that WILL break.

[PrimeTimeSlime]

I've got the CAD, if someone has the dough to have a mould built, we could be rich.

[spidertri]

I asked gruvenparts last year and he told me ~$140 to $160 for each piece. There have been several threads on this subject.

The plastic parts are only like $20 for both, they last at least 100,000 miles, really no reason to spend $120 extra dollars for it when the orings are just as likely to go bad on the aluminum as they are on the plastic. This is just a part that has to be replaced.

[chudzikb]

Originally Posted by spidertri

I asked gruvenparts last year and he told me ~$140 to $160 for each piece. There have been several threads on this subject.

The plastic parts are only like $20 for both, they last at least 100,000 miles, really no reason to spend $120 extra dollars for it when the orings are just as likely to go bad on the aluminum as they are on the plastic. This is just a part that has to be replaced.

That's kind of hard logic to argue with...I guess the moral is stay a head of it and all will be well?

[Mopho]

Originally Posted by chudzikb

Gruven parts, makes stuff for VW's. I will bet that they will do this as well. I sent them a pulley that had gone bad, they sent it back to me in aluminium as the prototype. They are good, very good...

http://www.gruvenparts.com/website/cart/

What type of demand could we expect from these if made? I suspect if we could get 20 or 30 to agree, we could get them to make them?

Interesting idea. I think the problem would be that the stock ones in plastic do work, and are good for over 100K.
Mine had 146K on it, I overheated it with a leaky lower hose that was rubbing on the alternator belt (previous owner installation, dummy) and the water pump that went out the week before the head gasket finally blew the rear Y fitting off AND cracked the plastic tank on the radiator.
I just now found out all this from my mechanic buddy working on changing the head gasket and doing a valve job on it that they also had the wrong coolant in it, and it ate the Y fitting and weakened it.
I think like all mechanical things, one problem can cause another.
If I had the choice though, of using aluminum or stock, I would pay whatever the difference is (20-30 bucks more if necessary) just for the peace of mind.
I barely overheated mine, and ended up with a 2,000 bill. 20-30 bucks ain't s-!t.

[madhatch]

the higher $$ will only be initially as more sell price will go down alot ...the smaller plastic hose connector on the back of block cracked into 2 on my friends 1 owner super maintained low mile 70,000 ....it literally split into 2 like other have posted pics here..how can you say 100% that they last 100,000 mile the incident here alone disprove that fact..& we are only a very very small fraction of nutjob 318ti owners that actually post here in relation to the owners in general..& just for that small number their are alot of documented occurrences of 1 of these 2 plastic hoses cracking into 2..I really don't think it should be downplayed especially considered the $$$$ damage that could occur when they fail....btw...I found the easiest way to remove hose on back of head was from underneath with long socket extension & removing the cabin air filter section...if you do both their is plenty of room to remove & install.. its still a PITA though..which is why having had these in aluminum would have been great...I guess reality is our very unique E36 compacts are on mostly getting up there in mileage ..regardless I would still get a set

[spidertri]

I doubt the price would ever come down to anything considered reasonable. The only people who would know about the aluminum version would be those who are enthusiasts on this website. People who take their cars to the dealership will get the plastic version, and most people won't want to pay 5x the price of the plastic version. Not to mention the fact that we are talking about an engine that has been out of production for over 10 years now. The market just isn't there for this to be a volume seller.

I do agree that not having the part break randomly would be a huge plus, but it will still leak when the seals go. You'd also have to install these pieces before the plastic ones break to see any real protection. Most people only find out about the connectors after the coolant is dumping out.

[Mopho]

True dat.

[madhatch]

true their are alot reasons not to.. but IMHO catastrophic head gasket failure outweighs them all..their are plenty of examples of updated & improved parts in the muscle car & JDM classic world even though they are mostly obsolete our compacts are slowly becoming classics 2..not to mention zionsvilleautosport updated & upgraded E39 - E38 All Alloy Radiators for the 5 series..
"The plastic radiator tanks and expansion tanks are well known for failing. Glass reinforced nylon just doesn't hold up" ...yes they have higher temps than us but at least they have a solution option

..E39 guys buy these all the time (I did) even though they have high miles on their engines & the cost a bunch more..
http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/s...e/E389SDCK.htm

its true if someone had the insight to do it like 5 yrs or more ago they would be standard & not to far in price from the plastic by now..oh well u know what they say... Hindsight is 20/20....

[spidertri]

That's true, it's unfortunate that no one did this years ago. I think it is awesome that zionsville offers an aluminum radiator for the M42/44 but at $937, it's something most people wouldn't pay for.

I spoke to Paul at Gruvenparts last year and he wanted me to send him the plastic pieces to give me a more accurate quote but I didn't have any spares to send him.

It certainly wouldn't be horrible if there was another option on the market, I just don't think it is realistic to say that the price will be anywhere near what the current plastic part prices are.

[CirrusSR22]

Earlier in the thread I posted pictures of the crappy "MTC" brand block connector I got at Pelican Parts. I'm working on another M44 and I decided to try the "Uro Parts" brand connector that Pelican now sells. Here's what I got. It's next to a good, straight genuine BMW part. Just as bad as the MTC brand, and it actually appears to be the same part. The molding lines and every single detail is exactly the same. Most likely came out of the same factory. Pelican gave me a $20 store credit on the MTC connector I bought earlier, so I actually MADE money trying both of these

[CirrusSR22]

Now, some will say always go with OE. So I did, and here's what I received just today straight from the BMW dealer.

The one on the right is an old, genuine BMW connect that I took out. It's the same one pictured above with the Uro Parts connector; it is perfectly straight. The one on the left is the new, genuine BMW connector I got today. It's not as bad as the MTC or Uro Parts, but it's definitely off. I knew it the second the parts person handed it to me. I decided to bring it home to inspect it closer.

Bottom line is with MTC, Uro Parts AND Genuine BMW, you may still be getting crappy parts.

[blndweasel]

Originally Posted by CirrusSR22

Bottom line is with MTC, Uro Parts AND Genuine BMW, you may still be getting crappy parts.

What is it that makes these parts crappy? This seems like it could be due to a slight angle on the inlet side of the connector (potentially excess casting flash?) -- the mounting tabs and brass inserts will properly position the connector on the block. As long as the gasket is new and the inner bore of the inlet on the block side has a clean surface, the part will work.

Since these are parts that you want to pro-actively replace anyways, it shouldn't make much of a difference. You would never really want to take the chance of pushing them past 100K miles, from what I understand.

Furthermore, Pelicanparts does a damn fine job of standing behind the products they offer. As you point out, they gave you store credit for the part that didn't meet your expectations. You shouldn't look at it like you "made money" off of them, you should look at it like they stood behind the products they offered you, and hooked you up in an effort to keep your business.

Sorry if I don't see what the big deal is.

tbw

[CirrusSR22]

Originally Posted by blndweasel

What is it that makes these parts crappy? This seems like it could be due to a slight angle on the inlet side of the connector (potentially excess casting flash?) -- the mounting tabs and brass inserts will properly position the connector on the block. As long as the gasket is new and the inner bore of the inlet on the block side has a clean surface, the part will work.

Since these are parts that you want to pro-actively replace anyways, it shouldn't make much of a difference. You would never really want to take the chance of pushing them past 100K miles, from what I understand.

Furthermore, Pelicanparts does a damn fine job of standing behind the products they offer. As you point out, they gave you store credit for the part that didn't meet your expectations. You shouldn't look at it like you "made money" off of them, you should look at it like they stood behind the products they offered you, and hooked you up in an effort to keep your business.

Sorry if I don't see what the big deal is.

tbw

The big deal is that this happens. In person, without flash, this looked even worse.



If the seating face, and each of the two mounting tabs along the length of the connector are not in perfect alignment, the seating face will never be flush with the block. If the seating face is not flush, the o-ring will be in the bore crooked, potentially causing a leak. The perfectly-seated genuine BMW one in my car used to leak at temps below -15F. It needed silicone sealant to fix it. If a flush one leaks in the extreme cold, this stuff sure will.

Yes, Pelican does do a great job. That's why I've been ordering from them for many years. Sorry if it came off like I was ripping them. I was simply stating that they gave me $20 for my troubles.

[CirrusSR22]

Here's a better one I had stored on my computer. This is the piece bolted to the block and you can see right into the bore. This is not the way the part is designed to sit.

[spidertri]

Yeah, I had the same problem as Cirrus. I bought the non BMW part and it was angled so that the face was not flush with the block. This resulted in leaking when it got cold out. I took everything apart and used RTV to fix it but didn't think to get a new (straight) pipe. Oh well.