Member
So, as most people know (I didn't until it happened to me and I googled it) Your 10+ year old BMW will pop the radiator neck at some point. Mine just happened 2 days ago after a thermostat replacement and a flush and fill. Manipulating the upper rad hose was just enough to encourage the already fatigued plastic to give.
2 days later- *BOOM*, and lots of smoke. Thought (like everyone else) that the hose popped off, only to look inside the hose and find the remainder of the neck inside it.
Well, I needed my car the next day. Couldn't wait for a new rad, so I tried a fix. After miking the inner diameter of the broken hose, it's just over 1 1/4" 1.311" actually. Went to the hardware store and bought a brass drain tailpiece for a sink (it's a drain tube). There is one end that's flared out to accomodate slipping over another pipe. Guess what- the flared section is EXACTLY the right diameter to press inside the broken neck nicely. It couldn't be a better fit, just a couple very light taps from a hammer is all you need to slide it in.
SO, you buy the pipe, cut it to about 1" in length. (the flared end). You want it to be the exact same length as the neck. Slather JB weld all over the broken edges of the neck, and put the broken piece back on with the tube inside it. It's a beautiful fit, (like I said, just one or two very light taps with a hammer) and I can't see it failing in any manner. It's definitely a good bit stronger then when it was new. Smooth out the JB weld that spooges out of the joint and it seals it up- giving it that extra support and security. (none inside the pipe of course)
I will probably buy a new radiator at some point, but when I do, the first thing I'm doing is pressing and gluing one of these fabricated rings into so that it never breaks.
SO there you go. You can fix the neck, and prevent it from breaking in the first place.
Hope this helps someone. (I know it helped me!!!)
Last edited by Danwec; 11-06-2008 at 10:56 PM.
Facts:
1) I don't proof read. EVER.
2) You guys seem to get into a lot of accidents.
3)Don't put your parent's car's in your signatures. They aren't yours. You're probably broke and spent your last 100 bucks on a shiny CAI instead of fixing everything that's broken on your car. This is why can't afford a scan to find out why your CEL is on.
License Revoked
or u can just get a new radiator
Member
.Originally Posted by Danwec
Facts:
1) I don't proof read. EVER.
2) You guys seem to get into a lot of accidents.
3)Don't put your parent's car's in your signatures. They aren't yours. You're probably broke and spent your last 100 bucks on a shiny CAI instead of fixing everything that's broken on your car. This is why can't afford a scan to find out why your CEL is on.
Member
Exact same thing happened to me. Did the t-stat and flush. Two days later hose blew off. Already got a new rad coming. Should be here tomorrow. If not I'll be pissed that I paid for air express, when it'll end up taking as long as regular shipping.
Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how far you take the wall with you.
Member
That's a good write up.............if nothing else it will get you home while you wait for your new radiator. Let us know how long it lasts.
Member
dude we all know that PLEASE READ THE TITLE.
your remark is
License Revoked
im a growned ass man i do what i wantdude we all know that PLEASE READ THE TITLE.
your remark is
JDM E36
FIGHT!!!!
4DR Mafia #240
Member
That's a pretty good tip OP. Thanks for the info.
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.
wheel whore
photos off the brass piece from a sink would be good, as there are many sinks in the world and many brass fittings, having a visual on the part you used would help out alot off people trying to do this temp or permanent fix
Member
to the OP:
please do a DIY write up that would be
ur a grown ass man whats that hello kitty and that cartoon character in your sig and why does it say drunkz
Last edited by Young Pete; 11-07-2008 at 03:27 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Member
Been there done that. I fabricated an aluminum flared sleeve from 6061T6 and bonded it inside the upper neck with JB weld and it's been good for the last 4 years.
darkislight
Member
Aaaaaah yes, JB Weld has got me out of many a tight spot over the years. It is though a temporary and I stress TEMPORARY fix. I don't care that it lasted 4 years. Take it out on the highway for a long haul or on the track for a lap or two. Kiss your patch job goodbye baby. My family and I were leaving S Carolina and the damn copper/brass radiator in my Ford van developed a crack on the upper tank right on top. It was spewing coolant in the 100 degree heat so I swung into an auto parts store. I grabbed some sandpaper and some ol JB. I scuffed and cleaned the area around the crack and slapped on the liquid lifesaver. My makeshift repair took 20 minutes and not only lasted the trip back to Jersey but another week until I could afford a new radiator. Yeah a NEW radiator, I wasn't tryin to see how long it would last and I would have had it repaired but the core and most of the fins were rotted out. Piece of mind is priceless and regardless of the nightmare some of you guys portray these cooling systems to be, the E36 has the simplest radiators, thermostat housings and water pumps I've ever had to change. I can literally swap out a rad in your E36 in under an hour leaving some time to bleed the system but definitely under an hour and professionally.
Last edited by Dub tech; 11-08-2008 at 12:55 PM.
Member
My neck cracked (radiator) Epoxied PVC neck in just to get it home.
When installing the new radiator, I also installed a new expasion tank as these also like to blow up sooner or later.
Turbo Shandy
I want pics of the mod
The church is close, but the road is icy, The pub is far, but i will walk carefully
CyBz is here! *WOOT!*
This is in response to your sig.
And I quote so I can't get into too much trouble.
"fuck the pub, we can get free wine at the chuch"
____ _ _ ___ ____ ____ _ _ ____ ____ ___
|___ Y |==] |--< |___ |--| |--< ==== |
Member
It's not a mod it's a Band Aid. here's a pic of the fix.
Member
I think the piece he's describing is called a tail piece extension, and it's usually chrome.
Gave away my BMWs, driving a VW and an Audi now.
Turbo Shandy
Tis good thinking, they'd be a bit stingy with the wine though
Hold on while I reach for my binoculars
I still want to see the mod/bodge/band aid in good sized clarity
The church is close, but the road is icy, The pub is far, but i will walk carefully
Member
NICE! I did the pretty much same thing 4 months after I bought my car. 6 years ago. Hasn't broken again since.Been there done that. I fabricated an aluminum flared sleeve from 6061T6 and bonded it inside the upper neck with JB weld and it's been good for the last 4 years.
I'd hardly call it a band-aid. It's in better shape now than it was when I bought it.
Is my helmet big enough?
Speed Addict
Can this be done when the car is cold? I just did a flush and would rather not do it so soon. Thanks for the write up.
Glenn
'98 328is - Arctic Silver
=============================
Member
Followed the procedure, ran into a crucial problem...
-bought a 1 1/4 "extension tube slip joint" (the pipe with the flared end like the OP said), cut myself an inch of the slightly wider flared end, and discovered it is slightly too wide to fit in the broken pipe. Tried sanding down the inside of the broken plastic neck to no avail, still too big. Theres a pic of the same item here: http://www.doityourself.com/invt/6113161.
Now I'm trying to use the 1 1/4 diameter end with extra thick jb weld, with the pipe either being pushed into the hose or the radiator when I try to put them together. My plan now is to wait for the jb weld to set overnight with the pipe in the hose and apply more jb weld tomorrow and connect it to the radiator.
If like me you don't get lucky with the pipe/neck fit, you need to epoxy the pipe to one side at a time.
Wish I got lucky like the op, maybe different brands have slightly wider/narrower flared ends; hope my experience helps anyone else attempting this procedure.
Last edited by bransom123; 02-27-2009 at 09:36 PM.
Member
Just replace your radiator. I did this fix about 3 weeks ago and it only held for 2 weeks. You can get new Behr radiator on ebay for like $140 shipped. I installed my new only today, took less than an hour.
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