Anyone have experience with Turner Motorsports Budget Aluminum Radiator for the e36 M3? (E36 Aluminum Radiator Upgrade Part #: 17111469179-ALU) LINK Trying to decide between the TM, Mishimoto (but heard there are fitment issues), or the Zimmerman (more $$$). I most likely won't be tracking the vehicle. Just want a reliable daily driver. I'm considering overhauling my cooling system in my 95 e36 M3 and was considering purchasing all parts at Turner Motorsports in particular: - Stewart high performance water pump (STE 30330) - budget aluminum radiator (17111469179-ALU) *Undecided - expansion tank (#17111723520) - Samco black silicone hoses (TCS43C-BLK) *Undecided - not sure if worth the extra $ - coolant level sensor - E36 M3 -5/95 (61311384739) - Radiator Cap (17111742231) - Aluminum Thermostat Housing & Gaskets (11531722531K) - 88c Thermostat (11537511580) - OE BMW coolant (#82141467704) Thoughts and/or feedback on the budget all aluminum radiator? Thanks in advance.
I _think_ many suggest just replacing the oem radiator at some sort of preventive-maintenance interval, like every 50k or 60k or 70k, in the hopes of reducing the occurrence of having a plastic radiator end-cap inlet pipe unexpectedly and likely inconveniently, if not necessarily disastrously, snap off. Your answer may depend on how long you plan to keep the car; if it's beyond another 50k and the Turner radiator isn't that much more expensive than two oem radiators, it might well be worth it, because it would likely last about as long as a stock radiator should last.
Thanks! Yeah, I plan on never getting rid of the car. Thus the reason I'd like to overhaul and upgrade this supposed Achilles Heal in the e36. The cooling system was updated by the original owner before selling in 2012. Unfortunately I'm not sure exactly when it was updated. I was unsuccessful in tracking records for the update. I'm assuming it was done sometime before 2011, maybe even several years before then. More on that... I recently purchased the car with a slightly hefty premium as it's an unmolested example. I'm the 3rd owner of the car. When researching the history of the car I had tracked down the original owner dealership where the car had been serviced. Unfortunately the older service data was not available but what I did find out was the first owner was an enthusiast, confirmed by talking to the BMW service rep who actually still works at the dealership it was regularly serviced. When I inquired about the car and owner, he quickly remember that long term customer and his meticulous ways. The only record found was a battery replacement in Apr 2011, so I assume the radiator was updated sometime prior to that. The original owner sold to EAG in 2012 which in turn sold to another enthusiast who basically never drove the car and it sat in the garage, thus the only reason why he sold it to me. Other than a small ~ 1 inch scratch on the trunk lid the car is in showroom like condition. I had a Classic Car company do an appraisal on it before I purchased and basically they had "officially" commented on the report "This car is as perfect as any 1995 can be!..." Condition - Showroom New. I know too much information, I just started to type a response and this all just came out lol. On another forum someone suggest the new Koyo radiator which I think I'll look into as well.
You might call & ask the EAG guys what records they have - they presumably should have records of what they did and at what mileage it was done, which might have included a new radiator, & you could judge whether to do the radiator sooner, or later. They would be well aware of the issues with the cooling system, I would have expected EAG to take measures to address them before placing the car on the market. Does the radiator look original? Any date stamp molded into any plastic parts of the radiator, at least that you could see? (if there is, it might well be obscured at the bottom or front where you couldn't see it anyway). The failure of plastic parts, including water-pump impeller blades & radiator necks, is definitely an issue w/ these cars, which obviously has prompted marketable aftermarket alternatives to the o.e. parts. Are you local to EAG?
Unfortunately not local to EAG. I called the EAG guys and unfortunately they don't have information on when the radiator was services by the original owner. I'll start looking at the radiator for a production date as you had suggested. Thanks again.
