E36 M3 cooling system leak

mcquarrie > wrote:
>Wow, thank you all for the clear and informative answers. The car is
>going to Mr. Second opinion tomorrow; I'll ask him to inspect
>everything and tell me the worst-case-scenario. I will probably err on
>the side of caution and replace anything worth replacing because it's
>convenient with the hoses and rad being out.

You might as well.

>FYI KBB value for my car - 70k, "good" condition, all possible options
>are on the car - is just under 15k. I bought it for 19k 3 years ago,
>and have added 30k miles in that time. It's a great car to drive, and
>nice to look at too; I don't want to part with it. But if it asks me
>for another 2k too soon after I do the cooling system, it will be time
>we parted ways.

You have to do maintenance on cars. Too many people buy cars and just
think they're going to run and run without changing fluids and replacing
wear parts. For the most part, parts on the E36 will cost you more than
parts for a Chevette, but they will be a lot easier to replace than on
the Chevette.

At 70kmi, you're going to be hit with a lot of deferred maintenance issues
if you haven't been doing regular maintenance. But it's never too late to
start.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"Alan B. Mac Farlane" > wrote in message
...
> in article
> ,
> mcquarrie
> at wrote on 10/21/08 5:46 AM:
>
>> 1998 M3 E36 70k miles to replace the ENTIRE
>> cooling system (radiator, t-stat, all hoses, exp. tank...everything)
>> for $2000 out-the-door.
>
>
> wow ... only 70K miles on it ... and the recommendation is for a complete
> swap out of the radiatior system ... since there are lots of leaks in it.
>
> my guess ... is that someone put some acid to clean out the radiator
> system
> and it ate it out from the inside.
>

The plastic rots from age and heat, not miles. It is difficult to say if age
or heat is the greater threat, but clearly the miles is not even on the
list. My '94 E36 car went well over 150k miles when the radiator gave out at
the ten-year mark. This poster has just over 10 years on his car, so there
is no surprise that the plastic is starting to show signes of aging.

In article >,
Jeff Strickland > wrote:
> The plastic rots from age and heat, not miles. It is difficult to say if
> age or heat is the greater threat, but clearly the miles is not even on
> the list. My '94 E36 car went well over 150k miles when the radiator
> gave out at the ten-year mark. This poster has just over 10 years on
> his car, so there is no surprise that the plastic is starting to show
> signes of aging.

It seems to be heat as the V-8 engined models are far more prone to rad
failure than the sixes.

--
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Dave Plowman London SW
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"Alan B. Mac Farlane" > wrote:
> On the other hand ... for just a few thousand more you can trade it in and
> get an upgrade to a year 2000 model or better ... where all the new engine
> and transmission technology is in there.
>
> So .. for the extra 2K dollars ... I would do a trade in and get a better
> system all around and better mileage.

No it won't be a better system. Even more plastic is used in the newer
BMW cooling systems. You think it is expensive to rebuild an E36
cooling system, then watch out for those repairs on an X5 or really
any model from about 2002 onward! Along with newer technology
comes cost cutting, and that is exactly what BMW has done with the
cooling system.

BTW, want to know where some more high tech/cost cutting happened?
The electronics in the SRS. The plastic headlight adjusters. The control
arms and bushings. All of these are very high failure items on newer
models.