Radiator Quality

spidertri · 03-30-2012, 03:25 PM

Background: I changed every hose, fitting, and part associated with the cooling system two years ago. (except for the head gasket and heater core) Probably 20,000 miles put on the car since then.

Recently my radiator has been slowly leaking from the bottom of the expansion tank. There is an o-ring there which is replaceable but I have read a few threads that say it is a huge PITA to change and that it may not even stop the leak.

My current radiator is one from AC Radiators on Ebay, I guess it is supposed to be a Behr. Anyway, I see there is a Nissens, Behr, Valeo, and Genuine BMW available from different sellers.

I just want to get a radiator that won't leak, I've only had the current one installed for a couple of years. I've even considered moving to an all aluminum mishimoto 6cyl radiator but apparently quality isn't consistent with those either.

So does anyone have good experience with a certain brand of radiator?

Or should I just pull mine apart and put in the new O-ring with some extra RTV to help seal it?

BimmerBum · 03-30-2012, 04:09 PM

I sell Behr radiators and I like them because they fit perfect and I have never had anyone have an issue. That said it sounds like your radiator might not be the issue. I would start with the seal at the base of the expansion tank before replacing the radiator.

The radiator's BMW sells are Behr radiators. Aside from an aftermarket Fluidyne, they are the only radiators I would use (and have used) in my own cars.

spidertri · 03-30-2012, 04:24 PM

Out of the few threads I have found about the seal on the expansion tank (there aren't many), in most cases it starts leaking again after being replaced. The people who have done it also state that the expansion tank is pressed into the base and is very difficult to remove and install.

I would rather just buy a new radiator and be done with it than mess around with a seal that may or may not solve the problem.

BimmerBum · 03-30-2012, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spidertri

Out of the few threads I have found about the seal on the expansion tank (there aren't many), in most cases it starts leaking again after being replaced. The people who have done it also state that the expansion tank is pressed into the base and is very difficult to remove and install.

I would rather just buy a new radiator and be done with it than mess around with a seal that may or may not solve the problem.

Then I would replace it with a Behr radiator... I just replaced the radiator in 318tiClubSport.com with an OEM Behr unit.

slow_ti · 03-30-2012, 04:28 PM

My mishimoto has been great. The best thing about them is, a no questions asked insurance policy. You can rear end someone, mess up your radiator, and get another one from them for free. Pair it with a aluminum fan shroud and expansion tank and spal fan And you don't have to worry about leaks. Can't beat the price either...

BimmerBum · 03-30-2012, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slow_ti

My mishimoto has been great. The best thing about them is, a no questions asked insurance policy. You can rear end someone, mess up your radiator, and get another one from them for free. Pair it with a aluminum fan shroud and expansion tank and spal fan And you don't have to worry about leaks. Can't beat the price either...

The mishimoto is not a direct replacement for the 4 cylinder ti. While the warranty is nice the quality is not on par with the fluidyne... as reflected in the price difference.

spidertri · 03-30-2012, 04:58 PM

Yeah, mishimotos have mixed reviews, some people have no issues others have spotty welds and leaks. Fluidyne are nice for sure, I would just adapt a 6cyl radiator for use in the 4cyl.

slow_ti · 03-30-2012, 05:01 PM

Yea, Dave said he wanted a 6cy radiator. So that's why I suggested it. I'm going to eventually upgrade to a big Fluidyne but mishimoto is great right now. No Leaks so I'm happy

BimmerBum · 03-30-2012, 05:16 PM

I missed the part about switching to a 6 cylinder radiator... I would still go Behr or Fluidyne. I should be set up with Fluidyne in the next few months.

That said, I'm not sure 4 cylinder parts that failed prematurely justify the work to swap to 6 cylinder parts. Occasionally parts do fail earlier than they should but you have about the same odds of the same thing happening with 6 cylinder bits. If the goal here is reliability it seems like replacing what's leaking with quality OEM stuff is the way to go.

spidertri · 03-30-2012, 06:09 PM

The only reason I was looking into an aluminum 6cyl radiator is because the only aluminum 4cyl radiator available is from Zionsville and it costs $1000.

I'm just hesitant to get another Behr when I have had this issue and a person wrote a review on pelican stating the exact same thing happened with their brand new Behr.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...20Transmission

BimmerBum · 03-30-2012, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spidertri

The only reason I was looking into an aluminum 6cyl radiator is because the only aluminum 4cyl radiator available is from Zionsville and it costs $1000.

I'm just hesitant to get another Behr when I have had this issue and a person wrote a review on pelican stating the exact same thing happened with their brand new Behr.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...20Transmission

Interesting... I'm curious to see if I will have any issues. I can also get a Nissins brand radiator which I have used before without issue when I cannot get Behr's.

spidertri · 03-31-2012, 01:59 AM

Well, I think I'm going to try out a Nissens radiator. I was reading a lot of threads today and there were several people who claimed to have actually seen a Behr and Nissens side by side and said the Nissens looked stronger and "beefier" than the equivalent Behr. Most of these threads were discussing E36 6cyl radiators but I'm hoping the same is true for the M4x version as well. I'll take pictures when I get them side by side.

spidertri · 06-25-2012, 03:41 PM

Finally got the Nissens and installed it yesterday, hopefully it will hold up longer. Seems like really good quality. The packaging was excellent and it was only $130 shipped from RockAuto, comparable price to the ebay ones.

Here's where my old one was leaking. It's only 2 years old.

jca · 06-25-2012, 06:56 PM

Plastic!

mreroc · 06-25-2012, 09:16 PM

I have a Nissens and posted elsewhere the other day about a brass stud where the temp switch is supposed to go. Are you pulling that stud and plugging in the switch or leaving as is?

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