e30 radiator

Post Tue Apr 28, 2015 12:31 am

Hi everyone I have a k reg tourer that's undergone A swap from 316-325 unfortunately the rad has a crack in it. What radiators fit from other cars mine is the one with a separate header tank can I fit one with the header tank on the side of the rad also are e36 rads the same. Thanks in advance

Post Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:58 am

With the appropriate selection of radiator bottom mounting brackets, there are many BMW radiators that can be fitted to your car, most with an integrated header tank, and it can be plumbed in with an appropriate selection of hoses (sometimes slightly modified) from various models.
In your case though, I'd advise you to invest in a new radiator that is correct for your car. That way all it will drop straight in and all the hoses and ducting will be correct.
Radiators should be considered long term service items - the cooling fins get damaged and rot, and the core gets coated in scale and other gunge. Nissens radiators are of top quality: http://www.carcooling.co.uk/catalog/BMW ... 426-3.html

Post Tue Apr 28, 2015 10:29 am

When buying radiators be very careful of using Euro Car Parts as i tried to get a 328i e36 rad for my conversion and despite asking for the best quality as opposed to price the POS they tried to sell me was unbelieveable, where the bmw one has a supporting frame around the core this had nothing and the top mounting part was simply glued onto the fins and didn't even reach the edges so all vibrations would act directly on the core. I tried twice and both they supplied were usless so i got a secondhand BMW one. I'd definately agree with Brian regarding Nissens quality though.

Post Tue Apr 28, 2015 11:21 am

Ianb wrote:When buying radiators be very careful of using Euro Car Parts as i tried to get a 328i e36 rad for my conversion and despite asking for the best quality as opposed to price the POS they tried to sell me was unbelieveable, where the bmw one has a supporting frame around the core this had nothing and the top mounting part was simply glued onto the fins and didn't even reach the edges so all vibrations would act directly on the core. I tried twice and both they supplied were usless so i got a secondhand BMW one. I'd definately agree with Brian regarding Nissens quality though.

I looked at ECP and GSF to see if they listed a Nissens radiator, saw that what they offered looked dubious, so found the link I listed above. Genuine Nissens, and looks to be cheaper than ECP/GSF as a bonus.

Post Tue Apr 28, 2015 4:04 pm

Pot luck I think. I've just received an e36 radiator from carparts4less which is ecp and quality was fine, not far off the BMW one it replaced. Didn't come with a new cap though, but only £13 from dealers.