E46 Radiator DIY

Just to bring things in perspective

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.d...23&hg=17&fg=05

Hopefully I will not spend too much time on this tomorrow

A major drawback on getting a Behr radiator compared to an OEM is if you need a replacement drain plug, nobody has it. Yes, I have checked several internet suppliers and none seem to carry it. I managed to lose the drain plug over the weekend while changing the coolant.

Does anybody know who may carry a replacement drain plug?

According to AutohausAZ, their Behr 17-11-9-071-519 radiator is:

"For models with automatic transmissions. This is an OE replacement version, perfect in fit and functionality but does not include provision for the proprietary drain petcock baffle assembly. A standard drain plug is used in place of that assembly."

'Standard drain plug' should mean a metric sized drain plug, probably M12x1.5mm (like the oil drain plug) or from the photo probably a bigger size (M14 or M16). Did it have an o-ring or just a washer like the oil drain plug?

i put this under my favorites. Im going to do the overhaul kit soon. I just need to find a radiator. I want to know if the radiators from the more powerful cars such as a 330, 328 or 325 will fit my car a 323? And if so will it be more beneficial to my car than simply swapping out to another 323 radiator?

I had replaced my radiator on my 328i. When I put the radiator mounting plate back in place, it started to leak even when it was not under pressure....can anyone help??? Is there o rings or something im overlooking???thanks

Originally Posted by mr_328i

I had replaced my radiator on my 328i. When I put the radiator mounting plate back in place, it started to leak even when it was not under pressure....can anyone help??? Is there o rings or something im overlooking???thanks

The mounting plate to the expansion tank needs to securely be mounted together with the tank. You will know it is securely mounted when the push-in clip "clips" into place. If you simply push it, but don't feel/hear it "snap" into place, then the tank isn't mounted properly. This will result in a leak. It takes some good elbow grease to mount that tank securely. Just push hard while wiggling it back and forth. The sealing ring is very tight so it takes lots of pressure to mount correctly.

A good tip for doing this is mount the mounting plate to the radiator and the expanion tank to the mounting plate while OUTSIDE of the car. So have the radiator outside the car then mount all three pieces together before dropping it into place. This ensures you have everything snug.

Originally Posted by beberle

The entire plastic 'bolt' is the drain plug. I used a crescent wrench and checked that it is indeed threaded before I installed it.

How does this bolt come out. I just a cooling overhaul and it leaking from the black bolt. Is just a 1/4 turn counter clock wise and it pulls out?

Thanks

...I have a leak. I cant tell if its the expansion tank or the radiator. Its in between those two. When I fill up the expansion tank and drive car, when I come back i have puddles.
I got the car up but I cant tell if its the expansion tank or the radiator. Im thinking its the plstic **** around the radiator, but 80,000 miles is too early for a radiator to go..no?
any help would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by TrickTizzle

...I have a leak. I cant tell if its the expansion tank or the radiator. Its in between those two. When I fill up the expansion tank and drive car, when I come back i have puddles.
I got the car up but I cant tell if its the expansion tank or the radiator. Im thinking its the plstic **** around the radiator, but 80,000 miles is too early for a radiator to go..no?
any help would be appreciated.

..bump, any insight on this?

i have the same problem let me know what u find out....

Quick question: to do the radiator alone, do I have to remove the E/T [again]? I did the E/T sometime back, now the Radiator is leaking and would want to replace it soonest. I guess, I will do belts also!

^^^

Originally Posted by TrickTizzle View Post
"...I have a leak. I cant tell if its the expansion tank or the radiator. Its in between those two. When I fill up the expansion tank and drive car, when I come back i have puddles.
I got the car up but I cant tell if its the expansion tank or the radiator. Im thinking its the plstic **** around the radiator, but 80,000 miles is too early for a radiator to go..no?
any help would be appreciated."

It could be your Transmission thermostat which sits between expansion tank and bottom black piece that aatached to the radioter.
Might want to try a dye that gets added to the coolant.

GL

Originally Posted by mp333

It could be your Transmission thermostat which sits between expansion tank and bottom black piece that aatached to the radioter.
Might want to try a dye that gets added to the coolant.

GL

Thanx for the reply, ..but I have a manual!

nice dude, how long do you think it will take to do just the radiator?

Originally Posted by TrickTizzle

...I have a leak. I cant tell if its the expansion tank or the radiator. Its in between those two. When I fill up the expansion tank and drive car, when I come back i have puddles.
I got the car up but I cant tell if its the expansion tank or the radiator. Im thinking its the plstic **** around the radiator, but 80,000 miles is too early for a radiator to go..no?
any help would be appreciated.

Have your radiator pressure-tested. Any shop doing BMW work will have a European adapter for their tester.

I had a similar leak that would only appear under higher pressure so I could not find it with the car idling. Connected the pressure tester, pumped it up to ~10 psi, and the leak made itself apparent immediately.

Originally Posted by Many330i

Quick question: to do the radiator alone, do I have to remove the E/T [again]? I did the E/T sometime back, now the Radiator is leaking and would want to replace it soonest. I guess, I will do belts also!

It is possible to remove the E/T bracket from the radiator with the E/T still attached to the bracket, but I don't think it would leave enough clearance to remove the radiator. Probably best to remove the E/T.

There are only 2 screws total that hold the radiator (1 passenger, 1 driver side)?

I just replaced my radiator and have a major leak where the inlet on the expansion tank bracket snaps into the radiator. Did I miss an O ring or something? I'm not sure if E46 Mango had the same problem but the OP is right, Bentley doesn't go into much detail about this.
Is there something I'm missing?

I replaced my Vanos, water pump, thermostat, plugs, coil packs and gaskets all in one shot last spring and found it to be much easier than anticipated. This however has been one PITA between stubborn hose connectors and this leak!
Thanks,
Jerry

If you have a manual transmission, you need to make sure to get a radiator for a manual - otherwise it's probably leaking at the fitting (hole) for the Automatic Transmission cooling line.

Originally Posted by 325myAZ

If you have a manual transmission, you need to make sure to get a radiator for a manual - otherwise it's probably leaking at the fitting (hole) for the Automatic Transmission cooling line.

Is it because there is only 1 single O ring on the manual radiator adjusting screw holding it all back? I noticed it is shorter.

Has anyone been able to use an automatic radiator 17119071519 with manual adjusting screw part 17111437359 for a car with a manual gearbox? I noticed that the adjusting screw for part just noted does seem to block out coolant trying to come out of that hole for the auto tranny cooling line, but have not pressure tested it like this yet. The adjusting screw also appears to be designed differently.

Just wondered why BMW could not source out design for a radiator that fits both, if that is even the case.

325myAZ: Have you seen both adjusting screw/drain plug areas for both radiator for a manual 17119071518 and the adjusting screw/drain plug area for a radiator for an automatic?