Installed new radiator, now cap won't fit

[graysonrobb]

Hey guys, first time poster on this forum! I have a silver 1997 318ti with about 150k on it.

So I buy a new radiator from my local Performance Radiator store. It installs great, looks just like the OEM one, ect... After filling it with coolant I realize the cap doesn't fit right, and it causes coolant to leak! Anyone ever encounter this with an aftermarket radiator?

[tiFreak]

did you reuse your original cap? make sure the rubber seals aren't damaged or just flattened

a lot of members on here go with Behr radiators off eBay, might be worth looking in to one of those if you can't get the cap to fit right

[graysonrobb]

Yeah I was trying to reuse the original cap. The rubber seals are in pretty good shape.

I can tell that it just isn't the right fit by how easily and tightly it screws on to the old OEM radiator.

On the box the aftermarket radiator came in I noticed that it says "Z3" on it. Maybe I should try out the Z3 cap since it seems to be a different part number than the 318ti cap.

Z3 cap= http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...20%28all%29%20

318ti cap= http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...C%20Each%20%20

[tiFreak]

that's possible although I would have never guessed they were different, were the radiators the same dimensions and everything?

EDIT: the caps definitely shouldn't be different, checking the realoem cross-reference BMW uses the same cap for most of their cars

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partxref....17111742231%09

[graysonrobb]

Yeah it looks like your right. I will just have to call performance radiator tomorrow and see what they have to say.

[graysonrobb]

Well just got off the phone with Performance Radiator. They seem to have no idea why the OEM cap isn't fitting. Great.

What I'm going to try to do is buy a new cap from autozone just too see if that works for some reason. If not I have to wait till Monday for the "tech" to be back at the store. Wish me luck.

[graysonrobb]

Well just so it's out there and archived I have to get a whole new radiator. Apparently the manufacturer Banco isn't great at making BMW OEM replacement radiators. Hope I save someone from making the same mistake in the future.

[bmvw]

Similar story, I got a Behr, the old cap wouldn't fit. A new Autozone cap worked. All the old hardware from the old radiator fit. Except the cap.

[graysonrobb]

Okay so now I get another aftermarket radiator, this one is made by Spectra Premium. I flush it 3 times, install it, bleed it, and everything seems to be going fine. I take it for a test drive and the stupid thing LEAKS. The coolant is coming from the bottom of the expansion tank. Must be a bad gasket or something. What the the f@#king odds?

So now I want to get a BEHR from ebay like a lot of members on here have. Is this the seller members have bought from?

http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/a...id=p4340.l2559

[cooljess76]

Awe man that sucks! I got a behr from these guys a few years ago:
http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/r...id=p4340.l2559

They don't have any behr's listed anymore, but perhaps you could call them and order one. They do have this brand which I never heard of:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-R...Q5fAccessories


FWIW, when I bought mine, I asked if I could come pick it up since I live about 30 minutes away. They said no because they ship from a warehouse, plus shipping was included in the price. I figured I'd be waiting for a few days. Nope, the freakin thing arrived the next morning, less than 24 hours! The Behr radiator looked identical to the stock radiator. It looked like it was probably made in the same factory.

[graysonrobb]

Thanks man, I will contact them and see if they can get me a Behr. Im not installing anything other than a Behr after the hell I have gone through. I know the shop is going to try and blame my car for causing the radiator to leak so I want to go through the checklist of reasons why I know its the radiator.

My car has NEVER overheated, I don't mysteriously lose any coolant, my heater works amazingly. The only reason I even bought a new radiator was because the oem one that had 150k on it was leaking.

Is there anyway possible my car could have caused the radiator to start leaking? I only drove it for about 15 minutes with the new one installed.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by graysonrobb

Is there anyway possible my car could have caused the radiator to start leaking? I only drove it for about 15 minutes with the new one installed.

Nothing comes to mind offhand, I mean if it's leaking from the bottom, they should at the very least replace it under warranty. My Mishimoto aluminum radiator came with a lifetime no questions asked warranty. Even if it's my fault or I get into an accident, they'll replace it for free. But that's for a 6cyl radiator, I don't think Mishimoto makes one for the 4cyl.

[graysonrobb]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

Nothing comes to mind offhand, I mean if it's leaking from the bottom, they should at the very least replace it under warranty. My Mishimoto aluminum radiator came with a lifetime no questions asked warranty. Even if it's my fault or I get into an accident, they'll replace it for free. But that's for a 6cyl radiator, I don't think Mishimoto makes one for the 4cyl.

Okay cool. I am hoping for a refund instead of a replacement since I now only trust Behr radiators for this car. This has been the 2 most annoying weeks of my BMW life.

[zoner]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

My Mishimoto aluminum radiator came with a lifetime no questions asked warranty. Even if it's my fault or I get into an accident, they'll replace it for free. But that's for a 6cyl radiator, I don't think Mishimoto makes one for the 4cyl.

I don't think they do either, or at least I couldn't find it. I bought the 6-cyl. Mishimoto and will have to run an expansion tank when I install it into an M42. Paid about the same price as a Behr, but it is solid aluminum. However, Behr makes quality components and you shouldn't have any problems with it. They are an OEM supplier for several European makes, including BMW. Get the Behr and be done with it. Which brings up another point- of all of the cars I've owned in the past 25 years, I've found that German cars, more than any other, tend to have very precise mechanical and electrical systems, and are often very sensitive to the replacement parts being used. Whether it's a relay, water pump, bearing, bushing, sensor, starter, radiator, brake component, etc., nothing will function as well as genuine manufacturer parts or parts from a German OEM supplier. They tend to cost a more for a reason and over their lifetime, they probably save you money... do it right and do it once.

[graysonrobb]

I am starting to get borderline suicidal....

So I order a Behr radiator off of ebay here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ht_3308wt_1165

It wasn't incredibly cheap but the price seemed fair and I really wanted to buy a Behr. Finally the radiator comes today. It took awhile shipping ground from FL to WA. It came packaged very nicely in original Behr packaging, no dents or anything. I look the radiator over and this is what I see:





Tons of fins bent to hell, the entire radiator almost looks as if it was bent! What is happening to me? This is my 3rd damn radiator!!!!! What would you guys suggest? Would you install this radiator in your car?

Has anyone replaced the expansion tank on the OEM radiator? If so how did you do it? I cannot get mine to budge.