[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by GSB

Oh, that's nothing! You should read the rest of my oil and cooling system horrors!

My engine is the N54 turbo, and ALL of the plastic parts crack on that engine. I'm on my 5th water pump, 4th radiator, 3rd thermostat, 2nd coolant reservoir, and I've had to replace every single hose, fitting, and plastic part that comes in contact with oil or coolant, sometimes multiple times. I've even had the pressure relief valve inside the oil filter housing explode, sending shards of plastic and metal into the engine, unfiltered.

The worst culprit of all, is that infamous flimsy rubber Oil Filter Housing Gasket that separates pressurized engine oil from coolant. It seems designed to fail, and when it does, oil leaks undetectably into the coolant, and sometimes, coolant into the oil. The chemical reaction between synthetic oil and BMW coolant causes extreme corrosion to all plastic and rubber parts in the system. But even when that gasket is in perfect condition, the N54 finds a way to blow up, and EVERY time, it spews all of the coolant, leaves me stranded, and leaves me out of hundreds of dollars in spare parts... and of course... another $30 of coolant. I'm beginning to lose count now, but I've had to replace that $30 coolant at least 15 times, following yet another plastic catastrophe! That's over $450 (plus tax) on coolant alone.

If you're ever in the mood for some "entertaining" bedtime reading, here's a post with a small fraction of the issues... https://www.e90post.com/forums/showp...8&postcount=27

I have to disagree in that I really don't think the factory installed radiators are poor quality. Yes, in all industries and maybe especially automotive, they have to make parts a compromise of weight, sustainability, long-lasting, and affordable. Let's not forget, to make a profit, BMW has to have margins and people would undoubtedly complain if they increased the prices.

I've had 4 e90s, and have only had one rad failure after 16 years. I think they did a fine job with this part.

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Curious why you went with the TYC option? I'm in the middle of this debacle now and I was thinking:
- Shell out for BMW Genuine
- Nissens and risk the plug leaking, but at least people have mentioned what to do

You a sucker for the "heart" on RockAuto, as well?

I absolutely adore everything about RockAuto lol. I give them my business every single time unless I want a genuine part in which case I'll go FCP or Tischer.

I went with the TYC because:
1) It was the only one I couldn't find any negative reviews on
2) My dad and I have had good luck with their offerings on our Toyotas
3) It had a lifetime warranty. If it fails prematurely, I won't use the warranty but and will just go CSF but I liked that they offered it

It came nicely packaged and seems of good quality. It had all of the little reinforcements near the coolant mouths that the original one did and fit perfectly, just like genuine.

[bmw325i]

I used the denso radiator on my 06 325i no issues.

The upper hose I tried 2 different brands and the smaller hose that connects to it was loose and leaked. I used an oversized o ring on that. The second one was rein and it was just as bad as the first one I think it was Dorman.

[GSB]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Come on man, my original radiator lasted 14 years and 350,000 miles. I replaced it after a deer hit. And it wasn't even leaking. You are convolving poor manufacturing with poor engineering design. Radiators have been plastic with metal core for the better part of 45 years. It's industry standard.

Oh, so YOU'RE the one. I've heard about you. Well, you're very fortunate. The rest of us are suffering cracked radiators and water pumps on a regular basis. I'm on my 4th radiator and 5th water pump at 130k miles. My plastic Honda radiator cracked too. Industry standard, as you say.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by GSB

Oh, so YOU'RE the one. I've heard about you. Well, you're very fortunate. The rest of us are suffering cracked radiators and water pumps on a regular basis. I'm on my 4th radiator and 5th water pump at 130k miles. My plastic Honda radiator cracked too. Industry standard, as you say.

Sounds like you must be buying cheap, substandard parts or are getting counterfeit parts from the sources of supply you use. I've replaced one non-leaking radiator at 350,000 miles and 2 coolant pumps on the 5 BMWs I've owned since 1988. The Z3 coolant pump housing cracked when I was removing it to reseal the cam chain cover at 20 years old and 177,000 miles.

You make it sound like BMWs constantly breakdown due to cooling system failures. My extensive experience with 5 different BMWs and 1M+ miles of ownership tells a different story. I keep my cars a long time and to high mileages.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by GSB

Oh, so YOU'RE the one. I've heard about you. Well, you're very fortunate. The rest of us are suffering cracked radiators and water pumps on a regular basis. I'm on my 4th radiator and 5th water pump at 130k miles. My plastic Honda radiator cracked too. Industry standard, as you say.

My original radiator lasted 19 years but only 150,000 miles and only 1 water pump 12 years ago 🤞

[Paulpt]

Just saw this post, but for those whose car is SULEV, I think the radiator is covered by the extended warranty. Maybe worth checking before buying a new radiator

[GSB]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Sounds like you must be buying cheap, substandard parts or are getting counterfeit parts from the sources of supply you use. I've replaced one non-leaking radiator at 350,000 miles and 2 coolant pumps on the 5 BMWs I've owned since 1988. The Z3 coolant pump housing cracked when I was removing it to reseal the cam chain cover at 20 years old and 177,000 miles.

You make it sound like BMWs constantly breakdown due to cooling system failures. My extensive experience with 5 different BMWs and 1M+ miles of ownership tells a different story. I keep my cars a long time and to high mileages.

Have you read my full story? I drive an N54 335i, which is a problem for several reasons. I am certainly not buying substandard parts. After 2 genuine BMW radiators cracked and 2 genuine BMW water-pumps cracked (sourced from FCP Euro), I became truly fed-up and started searching the aftermarket. I found alternative radiators and pumps that promised the world, but looked just like stock, and failed just like stock. So wherever possible, I've replaced any plastic parts with aluminum, and not had a single failure since.

That nasty plastic water-pump on the N54 is pretty much guaranteed to fail. Brand new BMW OE pumps arrive with molding defects on the plastic impeller housing that always crack right there. That pump is made by Continental/VDO, and all aftermarket pumps are rebranded VDO pumps. After my 4th pump cracked, I sent emailed complaints together with close-up photos of the molding defects, before and after failure, and they admitted that it's an issue, but they claim that they have a 1% failure rate (within their lame warrantee, of course) so they have no interest in fixing it.

Thankfully, Pierberg finally designed an all-aluminum water-pump to replace it, and it's been perfect ever since.

[BMW Guy]

Originally Posted by GSB

Have you read my full story? I drive an N54 335i, which is a problem for several reasons. I am certainly not buying substandard parts. After 2 genuine BMW radiators cracked and 2 genuine BMW water-pumps cracked (sourced from FCP Euro), I became truly fed-up and started searching the aftermarket. I found alternative radiators and pumps that promised the world, but looked just like stock, and failed just like stock. So wherever possible, I've replaced any plastic parts with aluminum, and not had a single failure since.

That nasty plastic water-pump on the N54 is pretty much guaranteed to fail. Brand new BMW OE pumps arrive with molding defects on the plastic impeller housing that always crack right there. That pump is made by Continental/VDO, and all aftermarket pumps are rebranded VDO pumps. After my 4th pump cracked, I sent emailed complaints together with close-up photos of the molding defects, before and after failure, and they admitted that it's an issue, but they claim that they have a 1% failure rate (within their lame warrantee, of course) so they have no interest in fixing it.

Thankfully, Pierberg finally designed an all-aluminum water-pump to replace it, and it's been perfect ever since.

My original rad lasted 100k miles. When it failed, I did replace it with the CFS aluminum one, but I'm sure I would have gotten close to another 100k out of a genuine one. Using the proper coolant and flushing when it becomes old is probably a big part of why some people's cooling systems last longer.

[ericold]

have the original on for 15 years and 171.000km. started a small leak on the head corner plastic next to the rad.i still keep it bcs. it doesn't need refil often ,well every 4-5 months.but the leak is there.

Attachment 3833067

do you advise me to replace it now? is it possible a sudden crack to happen?

now as far as radiators.

oe radiator is probably modine or behr,we will see when its being replaced.

for those that think they still have modine oe radiator ,dont..
actually the last member that bought one oe-modine is probably e90yyc bcs. he bought it on 2022 and modine next year sold all of its factories in germany . modine now focus on EV and batteries and has give up ICE autos and everything around it.

https://investors.modine.com/news/ne...e/default.aspx

i asked a bmw car parts expert and says we dont know who produces oe parts for new bmw models anymore.its getting more and more difficult for us to know,bmw doesnt put the name of the company that makes the parts ,next to the bmw stamp logo like they used to do.well at least in some parts.he said we try to find the brands that is close to OE but we have no luck.

now behr used to produce for bmw.that was good quality.now that behr is under mahle ,they dont produce parts anymore,they just use the name behr but they give the production to a third party provider/producer for some parts like radiators,its not a behr product anymore,behr doesnt have a factory under the name behr-mahle.the same thing does mahle for some of their filters,they find a third party factory to produce for them,not one of their own.for some filters,not all of them e.x i have the oil filter made i austria,thats a mahle fectory.i have an air filter mahle made in bulgary,thats not a mahle factory.

mahle behr is made in south africa

bmw oe which doesnt have a company's provider is made in the same place ,so we assume its from mahle behr.if oem mahle behr is bad then the bmw oe is bad,its the same thing.waste of money!

nrf is made in india but there are no reviews,that is strange.

nissens has a lot of reviews with satisfied customers,except these that put it the wrong way,its their fault.its made in slovakia.

now there is also bbr-cool expert ,german companies,probably made in china.cant find any reviews either ,but i hear many owners that are satisfied.

since i wasn't that lucky to catch modine radiators and have a verified good product, i am thinking of nissens more.its made in a European country and it costs less than the others.

too bad that cant be fixed there, the radiator is in very good shape

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by ericold

have the original on for 15 years and 171.000km. started a small leak on the head corner plastic next to the rad.i still keep it bcs. it doesn't need refil often ,well every 4-5 months.but the leak is there.

Attachment 3833067

do you advise me to replace it now? is it possible a sudden crack to happen?

now as far as radiators.

oe radiator is probably modine or behr,we will see when its being replaced.

for those that think they still have modine oe radiator ,dont..
actually the last member that bought one oe-modine is probably e90yyc bcs. he bought it on 2022 and modine next year sold all of its factories in germany . modine now focus on EV and batteries and has give up ICE autos and everything around it.

https://investors.modine.com/news/ne...e/default.aspx

i asked a bmw car parts expert and says we dont know who produces oe parts for new bmw models anymore.its getting more and more difficult for us to know,bmw doesnt put the name of the company that makes the parts ,next to the bmw stamp logo like they used to do.well at least in some parts.he said we try to find the brands that is close to OE but we have no luck.

now behr used to produce for bmw.that was good quality.now that behr is under mahle ,they dont produce parts anymore,they just use the name behr but they give the production to a third party provider/producer for some parts like radiators,its not a behr product anymore,behr doesnt have a factory under the name behr-mahle.the same thing does mahle for some of their filters,they find a third party factory to produce for them,not one of their own.for some filters,not all of them e.x i have the oil filter made i austria,thats a mahle fectory.i have an air filter mahle made in bulgary,thats not a mahle factory.

mahle behr is made in south africa

bmw oe which doesnt have a company's provider is made in the same place ,so we assume its from mahle behr.if oem mahle behr is bad then the bmw oe is bad,its the same thing.waste of money!

nrf is made in india but there are no reviews,that is strange.

nissens has a lot of reviews with satisfied customers,except these that put it the wrong way,its their fault.its made in slovakia.

now there is also bbr-cool expert ,german companies,probably made in china.cant find any reviews either ,but i hear many owners that are satisfied.

since i wasn't that lucky to catch modine radiators and have a verified good product, i am thinking of nissens more.its made in a European country and it costs less than the others.

too bad that cant be fixed there, the radiator is in very good shape

Genuine replacement parts for aging cars are the wild wild West today. So many mergers, acquisitions, going out of business, offshoring, etc. BMW still seems like their own Genuine parts are a safe, if expensive, bet even if the supplier changed, but for other makes not-so-much. Volvo in particular is very guilty of supplying craptastic Chinesesium parts at Genuine prices for their older cars today. Not terribly surprising given their current ownership. I guess we should be thankful there are ANY parts available for old cars.

Ultimately, I find the forums to be the best source of "has anybody bought one of these lately, and was it any good"?

As to your actual question. Yes, I would replace the radiator now, small leaks can very definitely turn into catastrophic leaks with no warning, and at this point the hoses too (some will likely break when you try to remove them anyway). I would just buy a Mahle-Behr or Nissans and figure it just won't last as long - but what are the chances you are going to have this car in another 16 years anyway (and I say that as someone who DOES plan to hav his pair of these cars that long)?

At least assuming you don't have an N51 and so actually have a legit choice in the matter.

[StradaRedlands]

Avoid Behr/Mahle, Nissens is fine (what I use) but has some hassle with their plug system, genuine BMW if you want to be sure and no hassle.

[ericold]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

Genuine replacement parts for aging cars are the wild wild West today. So many mergers, acquisitions, going out of business, offshoring, etc. BMW still seems like their own Genuine parts are a safe, if expensive, bet even if the supplier changed, but for other makes not-so-much. Volvo in particular is very guilty of supplying craptastic Chinesesium parts at Genuine prices for their older cars today. Not terribly surprising given their current ownership. I guess we should be thankful there are ANY parts available for old cars.

Ultimately, I find the forums to be the best source of "has anybody bought one of these lately, and was it any good"?

As to your actual question. Yes, I would replace the radiator now, small leaks can very definitely turn into catastrophic leaks with no warning, and at this point the hoses too (some will likely break when you try to remove them anyway). I would just buy a Mahle-Behr or Nissans and figure it just won't last as long - but what are the chances you are going to have this car in another 16 years anyway (and I say that as someone who DOES plan to hav his pair of these cars that long)?

At least assuming you don't have an N51 and so actually have a legit choice in the matter.

what a nice description of the car part market! well car market is just like any other market,cheap products ,not lasting.

i am planning to keep the car at least 8 years, another 100.000 km would be fine for me. probably 1 or 2 radiators if i am lucky ..i understand that its not like old times,where you could keep a car for double km than that with good parts.

[ericold]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Avoid Behr/Mahle, Nissens is fine (what I use) but has some hassle with their plug system, genuine BMW if you want to be sure and no hassle.

genuine bmw is mahle -behr and according to members posts and photos they are exactly the same with a bmw logo on it.so its a no for me.

i am between bbr/coolexpert, nrf and nissens

bbr/coolexpert is german company.they used to produce in germany.many owners in europe prefer that brand even if they now produce their rads in china(maybe) . many bmw service shops suggest that brand .

nrf was the company that made rads with modine when modine wanted a partnership in europe back then.

.At the beginning of 1980, NRF opened its first location abroad in Valenciennes (France). In the following years we opened new locations across Europe. In 1989, NRF became a subsidiary of the American Modine Manufacturing Company. NRF became Modine’s head office for aftermarket products in Europe.

modine moved away from ICE and broke their partnership with nrf . nrf doesnt produce in europe anymore bcs. ,they are bought from an india group ,cant find any reviews yet.

[ericold]

guys there is more to it

i call my bmw expert part shop to ask where this bbr is made in.he went to the storeroom to check the product label and he answers me that..its bbr/modine label and it is made in germany!

now what the ..bbr and modine,how the??
so i started searching again. these are my results from AI ,i could not find more details on internet so these all the info i got:

. Modine acquired the German company Längerer & Reich in the early 1990s to expand its European presence, and it was this acquired company, L&R, that made radiators and heat exchangers

wikipedia modine company info verify that :

.The American company Modine acquired the German company Längerer & Reich,early '90s
Why: This move bolstered Modine's expertise in thermal management and was part of its vision for global leadership in the heat transfer industry.

so modine apart from that colaboration with nrf back in the '80s,had a colaboration with a german company to produce radiators there too.
later on ,sold those 3 factories created with Längerer & Reich to an afiliates of Regent Lp,another us based company.

. The Buyer: The sale was to affiliates of Regent LP. While the search results don't explicitly state that BBR was the buyer, BBR is a German company that specializes in heating and cooling systems and might be associated with the sale.

finally,this adventure comes to end

so if modine produced radiators with bbr at the end of its presence in germany,then these radiators are left from 2023 and they are the last ones from modine..this is a modine quality radiator,what i was asking for at the begging of my post. now i know why it costs as much as the mahle/behr..its modine , an oe bmw one.edit,this bbr is made in india also,so pass.i go for nissens slovakia made.

[GSB]

Originally Posted by GSB

I've ordered the Nissens radiator (made in Slovakia) from FCP Euro instead. Of course, it's plastic, so we'll see how long that lasts, but so far, the reviews are looking good...

So far, the Slovakian Nissens Radiator from FCP Euro has been reliable. But it is still fairly young (just under 1 year). Of course, this is mounted in the N54 335i, so the bomb is ticking...

[NYCwagon]

I installed a Mahle/Behr radiator from ECStuning about a year ago when the OEM one cracked at the junction of the top radiator hose.

So far it’s been fine, and ECStuning covers the radiator under their lifetime warranty program. I actually have used the the warranty to exchange the aftermarket budget water pump they sell in their kit for the Pierburg one, and it was a good experience, so I feel ok with it. I have no regrets getting the Behr one vs OEM for twice the price.

The water pump for sure is worth spending extra for the Pierburg though.

[Hoody007]

Chiming in:

OE is Modine. They still make radiators as I bought a new BMW radiator for the E46 earlier this year, and it had a date code of 2024.

OE is still the best way to go outside of CSF. Nissens is a decent aftermarket solution, and Mahle/Behr is junk.

[sonofsun]

Wonder how much longer people are going to keep making parts for the E90. I take extra care to avoid accidents even if the other driver is at fault. These days insurance companies total cars even for a fender bender.

But I have the GM automatic transmission. Wonder how long that would last before it gives in.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by sonofsun

Wonder how much longer people are going to keep making parts for the E90. I take extra care to avoid accidents even if the other driver is at fault. These days insurance companies total cars even for a fender bender.

But I have the GM automatic transmission. Wonder how long that would last before it gives in.

There will always be parts for these cars, just like there are still parts for 1980s Corollas. The question will be the quality and the price. Luckily BMW historically has great support for older vehicles. But even with them, the prices go up and the quality goes down.

[kkasson]

Originally Posted by sonofsun

But I have the GM automatic transmission. Wonder how long that would last before it gives in.

A long time! Just keep up on fluid services. You might need a zip kit for the valve body eventually, in the 200 to 250k+ mile range, but the hard parts really do hold up well. The shift quality isn't /great/, but they don't usually actually break.

[mshaq]

I decided to go with one of the Mahle Behr radiators from FCP Euro. The repair only took a few hours (aside from having to wait for a new one to ship in because I originally ordered the wrong one) and that was me going slow since it was my first time doing it.

Free lifetime warranty through FCP Euro, so if it goes again it shouldn't cost me anything.