E36 Cooling System Service

At 112k and 11 years old, the radiator in my 328i decided it no longer wanted to hold coolant. I suppose I should be thankful that it lasted a bit longer than many, but I'm annoyed as I just dropped the cash to replace the clutch / tb / cam seals on the wife's Suby. Really, I'm annoyed that I didn't do this as preventative maintenance this summer when I knew it should have been done. But anyway...

Bimmerzone and Bimmerworld both have E36 cooling system overhaul kits. Both have the big stuff including the radiator and water pump, but a few different other parts.

Which would you recommend, oh great throbbing brain of GRM?

BimmerWorld is $300 plus $20 to ship:

Kit Includes:

* Radiator - new OEM Behr
* Aluminum thermostat housing - upgrade from factory plastic
* Thermostat housing gasket
* Thermostat - 88 degree, ask us if a different temp is preferred
* Water pump - metal impeller pump
* Upper and lower radiator hose
* Radiator/expansion tank cap
* Accessory belt

BimmerZone is $340 and ships free:

Contents:

1x Radiator - BEHR 17 11 1 469 179

1x Lower Radiator Hose - 11 53 1 726 344

1x Upper Radiator hose - 11 53 1 708 499

1x Radiator to Expansion Tank hose - 17 11 1 723 521

1x Thermostat Housing - Aluminum (MTC) - 11 53 1 722 531

1x Housing Gasket - 11 53 1 740 437

1x Thermostat WAHLER 88 Deg - 11 53 7 511 580

1x Expansion Tank BEHR - 17 11 1 723 520 (does not included coolant level sensor)

1x Radiator Expansion Tank Cap - 17 11 1 742 231

1x Water Pump GRAF (Metal Impeller) - 11 51 7 527 799

Get the Bimmerzone kit (or at least the parts they list); you want to replace the expansion tank, as they crack just as often as the radiators do. Plus, you get the small radiator-to-expansion tank hose, which can leak as well and is often overlooked in cooling system overhauls.

Either is a great place to buy parts, dependable and reasonably priced. It sounds like the BimmerZone kit is the better deal though, only $20 extra for the tank and little connector hose is a no brainer. When I did the cooling system in my 328i, I got some parts from Bimmerzone, but I used the most recent OEM water pump. Not that I've heard anything horrible about the Graf units they sell. I probably would have just ordered the kit if it had existed over two years ago when I did the job.

If you haven't replaced all the other stuff besides the radiator I'd do the Bimmerzone kit. You may want to look into an all-aluminum radiator instead of the stock-style with the plastic end tanks that fail.

Sweet. Bimmerzone order has been placed. Thanks guys!