4 for 4 on bmw radiators and ?????

[mikemaster]

My radiator blew this morning. I've now needed a new radiator in each of the bimmers I've owned, including the 97 540 which blew at 52,000 miles. Plastic radiators suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



My question is: Anyone have advise on going with an aftermarket vs. an oem radiator (92 535)?

Thanks as always for the help.

[bimmerd00d]

my behr replacement has lasted 100k miles, and the previous original lasted 100k as well. gotta love a 204k M50tu

[winfred]

nissens is making good copys of behr's and they are usually cheeper

[mikemaster]

Yeah, I went with nissens in the 540. The fitment was a little off, but I made it work. Anyone use a nissens on a 535 yet?

[George M]

You sure you aren't over tightening the radiator hoses?...will prematurely crack the plastic hose fittings. Only want to tighten to the point of sealing. The Behr I had in my E-32 went 145K miles and still worked when I replaced it the summer before last. Have read some bad about Nissen as well. Still think Behr makes a good radiator...what I went with for replacment and not sure the straight necked Nissen's are any more robust...maybe less.
George

[DanH]

I put a nissens in my 535 almost 2 years ago, Its still going great, even after getting knocked around by the rear of an suv.

I had to bent the metal rim at the bottom since it was not orientated the same way as the behr radiator.

[Derek A.]

My factory Behr lasted 165,000 miles. I put a Nissen in last winter and its going strong. No problems with fitment at all.

[gale]

My original Behr was weeping for who knows how long around the auto trans fittings & upper neck when I bought it around 131k. Tightening them lasted another 10k until it was time for a new one. I bought another Behr a few summers ago & the plastic necks seem more robust than the previous one. I see from the sticker it was made in South Africa, not that there's anything wrong with that, the only problem is the aluminum fins are very soft and mash down even when only slightly rubbed with a knuckle when putting the fan on. I've learned to be very careful with it. The fins even distort when rinsing it off with a garden hose so I have to clean them with a very weak spray. Other than that, 20k later & it's doing great.

[mikemaster]

Thanks for the insights. I will check prices out tomorrow and decide. 3 out of the 4 radiator failed somewhere on the plastic end caps, the other failed at the radiator neck (a known problem on e38 and e39's with the 4.4). Sounds like the nissens is comparable to behr from the comments so far.

[Robin-535im]

Just wondering how it came out. Did the work look good on the first try or did you have to send it back for re-work?

My wife's been asking me about the Mini dealership since the CCA meeting... Doesn't look like a good car to haul kids in though - but maybe that's her point. A getaway car!