RIP Chinese E39 Radiator

Kinja'd!!! by "Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
Published 05/05/2017 at 13:30

Tags: Cheap E39 ; decay's beaters
STARS: 0


You will be missed, thank you for your service.

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!!

7.11.15-5.5.17


Replies (18)

Kinja'd!!! "diplodicus" (diplodicus)
05/05/2017 at 13:40, STARS: 1

What brand, so I don’t buy one.

Kinja'd!!! "If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
05/05/2017 at 13:43, STARS: 1

Oh wow usually it’s the crimps that fail on those.

Kinja'd!!! "Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
05/05/2017 at 13:44, STARS: 0

Well they are all made in the same factory so I believe it makes little difference, this one was bought from “radiator express”

Kinja'd!!! "Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
05/05/2017 at 13:45, STARS: 2

No this is the classic E39 radiator fail point, I guess this means they made it as good as OEM :/

Kinja'd!!! "jimz" (jimz)
05/05/2017 at 13:49, STARS: 2

wow, hardly any radius where the inlet meets the tank. Classic example of a stress concentrator .

Kinja'd!!! "Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
05/05/2017 at 13:53, STARS: 0

I agree. Actually surprised in made it two years considering the rest of the system specifications. If you didn’t know, the E39 operates at 110*C ECT and at 30psi O.o

Kinja'd!!! "diplodicus" (diplodicus)
05/05/2017 at 14:15, STARS: 0

Mine has a behr that I believe isn’t orginal since it has one of the plastic quarter turn plugs, instead of the plastic screw the bentley calls out. And the fan shroud was zip tied on lol so someone obviously messed with it.

Side note draining the coolant from the block is a bitch.

Kinja'd!!! "Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
05/05/2017 at 14:17, STARS: 0

It’s just weeping, right? Epoxy that thang ;)

Kinja'd!!! "Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
05/05/2017 at 14:17, STARS: 0

Yep, cheap design, although I would be surprised if the OEM were any better.

Kinja'd!!! "Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
05/05/2017 at 14:19, STARS: 0

Oh I know! This’ll be the second time I go in there and replace. Probably going to leave whatever coolant is in the block this time.

Kinja'd!!! "Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
05/05/2017 at 14:20, STARS: 0

No, big leak, lost about a half gallon in a few minutes after the system tried to pressurize.

Kinja'd!!! "diplodicus" (diplodicus)
05/05/2017 at 14:32, STARS: 1

Ya that makes sense. I’m doing my timing chain and guides so I had to drain the block. Terrifying dropping the oil pan and finding large chunks of plastic and bits of chain worn off. Bought a cheap usb boroscope from amazon and checked out all the pistons. Didn’t notice any marks on the pistons, so I think I’m good. But I won’t be at peace until its back together and running.

Kinja'd!!! "Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
05/05/2017 at 14:41, STARS: 1

I just make sure my radio is on nice and loud for cold starts! :/

Kinja'd!!! "Michael" (mhanczyc)
05/05/2017 at 14:45, STARS: 1

Uh.. holy crap? Yeah, holy crap. So the only thing keeping it from literally boiling during normal operation is the pressure it’s kept under. So pinhole leak = warped head. Awesome.

Kinja'd!!! "Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
05/05/2017 at 14:58, STARS: 0

Umm yeah, basically. I <3 single point of failure systems.

Kinja'd!!! "Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
05/05/2017 at 15:29, STARS: 1

For a second there, I read that as “RIP Chinese $39 Radiator”.

Kinja'd!!! "jmedarts" (jmedarts)
05/05/2017 at 15:30, STARS: 1

came here to look for this!

Kinja'd!!! "Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
05/05/2017 at 15:39, STARS: 0

Wasn’t much more than that!