Replacing radiator & water pump

[Asamaan]

I just did this on my car, and still bleeding the system. The tabs are not bad at all, just look at them when you are taking them off with a small screw driver, all you have to do is clear the small hook on the bottom from the body of the car and it is out.

I ordered mine from radiator.com. I was quoted ~$230, but was able to order it online for $130 (depends on your area I think) !!!! same exact one they would have delivered to me for ~$230 from the same warehouse. I even called them to try to get them to match the online price but they said we can't do the price online, but I ordered it anyway and they delivered it.

I also flushed the tranny fluid since I was going to have to refill it to make up for what was in the old oil cooler. It took about 5 quarts after the flush.

1 note though, the thermostat housing screws might be a pain, and I have read here that a few people broke the screws when taking them apart. When I started the short small screws came out with no problems but the long ones seemed that I would defiantly break so I drained the fluid, and took a heat gun right where the screw is and tapped it with a small hammer to loosen its hold. I was ready for them to break, but luckily they came apart without breaking. I cleaned their threads and rethreaded them a few times before assembly and put some anti seize on them.

I flushed the system once with Prestone flush with the thermostat out and heat on max for 10 min at operating temp. Left it to cool and Drained and flushed with water and ran again for 10 min at operating temp. Filled and bled the system maybe 3-4 times so far. Car runs slightly warm, but not overheating, so I am sure there is still some air in there.

The one thing I couldn't do was draining the block, for some dumb reason I couldn't get a good grip on the screw and put enough torque on it to take it off, so I said screw it.

Good luck. It is much easier than suspension work for sure.

Al
91 E34 535iA

[Rus]

Draining the block is pretty easy if you use a socket on the bolt. You flushed the system, so you're probably ok. I typically take my obligatory coolant bath under the block though :-p

[mzarifkar]

One of the hardest steps is to release the radiator mounting clips on top. Bleeding it is second hardest.

I once with the assumption of having bled the system, embarked on a 2 degree F night trip. After taking a steep inclined onramp, the car's shift in position dislodged an airbubble and overheated the engine. It took too much time at that temperature to continue bleeding the system, so make sure you do it right the first time

[blee]

I changed the pump on my car yesterday. The worst part of the job will be draining the old coolant. Get yourself a large drain pan (rectangular and as wide as the radiator is ideal), and lay down some plastic and newspaper under the car before you start. Even when the radiator stops flowing, you will probably spill more coolant when you replace the water pump and the hoses, not to mention the radiator itself.

You should be able to do everything for much less than $1100, but the parts can add up. Along with the hoses, take a look at the condition of your fan shroud. Mine was literally crumbling to pieces just by touch. I tried to re-use it, but ended up chucking the thing and am currently waiting for the brown truck to arrive with a replacement.