I pulled the radiator to install an electric fan in my 95 m3, and now I’m thinking about upgrading to a Stewart water pump and aluminum radiator while everything is out. My current water pump and radiator only have about 5,000 miles on them and work fine, but they're stock units. What do you guys think? Would these be worthwhile upgrades at this point, or am I just wasting my money and falling victim to scope creep again?
You're fine, leave it alone. If your current stuff is that new, its fine for another 50k miles...
^what he said. The good thing about BMW cooling systems is that they are very predictable. You have at least 50k left in the water pump and 95k left in the radiator.
The thermostat housing has been the unknown in my experience. An aluminum unit fixed those issues.
Thanks guys. That’s what I figured. The thermostat housing was what failed on mine last time too.
Any other cooling related tips? I’ve never done any track driving, but I’m hoping to take the car to a few events this year
I'd replace the hoses/clamps if they are looking a bit grungy or are of unknown quantity, other than that, you're good to go.
z31maniac said:I'd replace the hoses/clamps if they are looking a bit grungy or are of unknown quantity, other than that, you're good to go.
Let me pass along a little nugget of knowledge I learned over the years. When you install new hoses and screw type clamps the almost always seem to loosen up. I don't know if it' the rubber shrinking, or the clamp stretching, or both, but if you replace them check them after a few days of use. You will probably need to tighten the clamps up a little. Keep doing this every few days or once a week until they stop needing tightened. Then they are fine til forever. (Not forever, you know what I mean) I learned this by blowing a lower hose off my car going down the road. Since then I've always rechecked new hoses and they have always loosened up.
If spring clamps are an option they avoid this.
As others have said, if you just replaced the water pump and radiator 5K miles ago, you'll be set for a long time. When it is time for a refresh, yes, the Stewart pump is an impressive piece---- when you see it, the impeller is so much larger than stock you won't believe it will fit. It fits perfectly and flows much more volume than the stock unit. Here's what I did to mine:
If your radiator and pump had 70K miles or more on them I'd say, absolutely go with an aluminum radiator and Stewart pump. As your stuff is fresh, I'd keep it for a while. Be sure to bleed your coolant system properly though. They can be a little tricky.
A brass bleed screw isn’t a bad idea but if you’re not careful it’s easy to strip the overflow tank.
Maybe check the tank too. Those sometimes leak. I have to replace mine but my car had 200k on it. The only other cooling issue I have had was a plastic connecter on the firewall. That was at 225k though. For the bad rap these cars get their cooling system is surprisingly good. I converted to an electric fan too and it never turns on unless I’m in traffic during summer (90+ here in SoCal).
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