Cooling Sytem Maintenance

Efthreeoh · 08-31-2014, 08:04 AM

So I just wanted to make a comment regarding the cooling system maintenance. If you read Mike Miller's old school maintenance and his thoughts about BMW cooling systems, you'll find he thinks any BMW past the E30 has lousy cooling system components subject to catastrophic failure and the cooling system should be rebuilt every 60,000 miles or so.

As I post for too much, my car now has 260,000 miles on it. Yesterday my wife and I used my car for our weekend errands, which we usually don't do. We went to the grocery store and then she wanted to stop by Lowe's to get some plants, and I needed a new line trimmer head. Well since we had cold groceries to try and keep cold we kept turns in the E90 with it idling and the AC on max cool (we decided that the plants would have cooked in the car if we went to Lowe's first). We took turns sitting with the E90 while at Lowe's so it probably was idling with the AC on for a good 40 minutes. With all this idling and max AC cooling on my 260K car, I was sure it would explode (or at least over heat); but it didn't!

I was truly impressed. It was about 85 Deg. yesterday.

As far as maintenance of the cooling system this is it: (All DIY by the way)

- 1st coolant flush/refill at 76,000 miles
- New T-stat at 134,000 miles w/ new coolant
- New Water Pump at 149,500 miles w/ new coolant
- New OFH gasket at 161,500 miles w/ re-used coolant
- Complete cooling system hose replacement at 236,600 miles w/ new coolant. Including the heater hoses. Did not replace the radiator.

I know, "Col story Bro", but I just wanted to reassure my E90 Post Brethren, that this car we all love is pretty dammed robust.

BMW_drei · 09-01-2014, 09:37 AM

"Cool story bro" -- hehe, had to do it...

Seriously tho, great feedback. I always figured the radiator would have to go sometime between 100-150k, but it sounds like it might last a good long time. I don't track, so the ubiquitos 335i achilles heel shows up mostly in summertime stop-and-go traffic. Even after 130k, the car more-or-less still behaves like new (w-pump/t-stat replaced at 105k), so the radiator doesn't seem like it's degrading much over time. I'm hoping the plastic radiator tanks stay good for while, and it sounds like they can.

Laurus_CEO · 09-01-2014, 10:11 AM

Cool to see someone with such high mileage and a good reminder that if it ain't broke don't fix it. I feel like spending way too much time on this forum has got me preemptively fixing things that may not have actually needed for quite some time.

Efthreeoh · 09-01-2014, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mindovaanything

Cool to see someone with such high mileage and a good reminder that if it ain't broke don't fix it. I feel like spending way too much time on this forum has got me preemptively fixing things that may not have actually needed for quite some time.

My only real issue is I do all my own maintenance and repairs. The worst is if it breaks down on my daily commute, which can have me as far away as 80 miles. The more miles mean the more chance of failure. When the WP went, it was a 60-mile tow that cost me $200. I need to look into a better towing insurance than what I have, which only covers $100 (probably just covers the hook up fee - LOL). Preemptive repairs are such a guessing game on BMWs...

Laurus_CEO · 09-02-2014, 11:37 AM

Yea I have AAA as well as towing through my insurance (Geico) and neither are really sufficient they cover the hookup and like 7 - 15 miles so I always end up paying at least something but better than nothing I guess. If I had space to store it I would've just bought a trailer a while ago. Depending on the situation I've often found it easier and cheaper to just rent a trailer from u-hual and hook it up to my beater Jeep. (I towed my Evo X from SF to LA no problem even though it was over the suggested towing capacity and I had to tell u-haul I was towing a civic for them to give me the auto transport.) It's so frustrating when after waiting for an hour or two the tow guys shows up and says your car is too low, or it has modifications etc any excuse to not tow it. Or when don't send a flatbed despite several specific requests for one.

08-31-2014, 08:04 AM	#1
Efthreeoh General 17309 Rep 18,733 Posts Drives: The E90 + Z4 Coupe & Z3 R'ster Join Date: May 2012 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	Cooling Sytem Maintenance So I just wanted to make a comment regarding the cooling system maintenance. If you read Mike Miller's old school maintenance and his thoughts about BMW cooling systems, you'll find he thinks any BMW past the E30 has lousy cooling system components subject to catastrophic failure and the cooling system should be rebuilt every 60,000 miles or so. As I post for too much, my car now has 260,000 miles on it. Yesterday my wife and I used my car for our weekend errands, which we usually don't do. We went to the grocery store and then she wanted to stop by Lowe's to get some plants, and I needed a new line trimmer head. Well since we had cold groceries to try and keep cold we kept turns in the E90 with it idling and the AC on max cool (we decided that the plants would have cooked in the car if we went to Lowe's first). We took turns sitting with the E90 while at Lowe's so it probably was idling with the AC on for a good 40 minutes. With all this idling and max AC cooling on my 260K car, I was sure it would explode (or at least over heat); but it didn't! I was truly impressed. It was about 85 Deg. yesterday. As far as maintenance of the cooling system this is it: (All DIY by the way) - 1st coolant flush/refill at 76,000 miles - New T-stat at 134,000 miles w/ new coolant - New Water Pump at 149,500 miles w/ new coolant - New OFH gasket at 161,500 miles w/ re-used coolant - Complete cooling system hose replacement at 236,600 miles w/ new coolant. Including the heater hoses. Did not replace the radiator. I know, "Col story Bro", but I just wanted to reassure my E90 Post Brethren, that this car we all love is pretty dammed robust.
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09-01-2014, 09:37 AM	#2
BMW_drei Second Lieutenant 10 Rep 296 Posts Drives: 2013 535i Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	"Cool story bro" -- hehe, had to do it... Seriously tho, great feedback. I always figured the radiator would have to go sometime between 100-150k, but it sounds like it might last a good long time. I don't track, so the ubiquitos 335i achilles heel shows up mostly in summertime stop-and-go traffic. Even after 130k, the car more-or-less still behaves like new (w-pump/t-stat replaced at 105k), so the radiator doesn't seem like it's degrading much over time. I'm hoping the plastic radiator tanks stay good for while, and it sounds like they can. __________________ 2007 335i Sedan / Black Sapphire / Sport / Auto / FBO (Retired) 2013 535i Sedan / Black / MSport / Auto
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09-01-2014, 10:11 AM	#3
Laurus_CEO Banned 34 Rep 262 Posts Drives: E92 335i Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: SF Bay Area iTrader: (2)	Cool to see someone with such high mileage and a good reminder that if it ain't broke don't fix it. I feel like spending way too much time on this forum has got me preemptively fixing things that may not have actually needed for quite some time.
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09-02-2014, 11:37 AM	#5
Laurus_CEO Banned 34 Rep 262 Posts Drives: E92 335i Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: SF Bay Area iTrader: (2)	Yea I have AAA as well as towing through my insurance (Geico) and neither are really sufficient they cover the hookup and like 7 - 15 miles so I always end up paying at least something but better than nothing I guess. If I had space to store it I would've just bought a trailer a while ago. Depending on the situation I've often found it easier and cheaper to just rent a trailer from u-hual and hook it up to my beater Jeep. (I towed my Evo X from SF to LA no problem even though it was over the suggested towing capacity and I had to tell u-haul I was towing a civic for them to give me the auto transport.) It's so frustrating when after waiting for an hour or two the tow guys shows up and says your car is too low, or it has modifications etc any excuse to not tow it. Or when don't send a flatbed despite several specific requests for one.
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