I would personally either go with the aftermarket kit or pick my own components that I needed to replace only. They are only giving you 1 gallon of coolant for a 9 quart system. That won't give you a 50/50 mix.

 

Pick your poison:

OEM kit :
Remanufactured Water Pump - With O-Ring

The cheaper kit:
New Water Pump - With O-Ring

I'm going with the cheaper kit. Going to call in the AM and see if I can upgrade just the pump or remove it from the kit for a discount.

And possibly the continental belts also.

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Take mangos part numbers type into BMAparts.com , remark you want a Salerni water pump. Then it will all show up the next day without an issue.



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I wouldn't buy either one.

 

Go to Tischer. Get the 335 dollar kit they have available. Move on with your life.

 

Bavarian auto-sport has one-- no tax and free shipping- I think its around $350

For auto trans. it includes:

Radiator - Nissens
Radiator Expansion Tank
Upper Radiator Hose
Lower Radiator Hose
Coolant Level Sending Unit
Expansion Tank Bleeder Screw
Water Pump & Gasket - With Upgraded Metal Impeller - Meyle
Thermostat & Gaskets - Wahler
Coolant Temperature Sensor

for manual trans includes :

Radiator - Behr
Radiator Expansion Tank
Upper Radiator Hose
Lower Radiator Hose
Coolant Level Sending Unit
Expansion Tank Bleeder Screw
Water Pump & Gasket - With Upgraded Metal Impeller - Meyle
Thermostat & Gaskets - Wahler
Coolant Temperature Sensor

 

Not buying every single piece is what has this last poster parked in the garage

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=914109

* E46 Cooling Guide (Information w/parts list/bleeding) *

I would love to save a little. I wouldn't love to leave my car parked for a week waiting on something I didn't expect to brake to come directly from the dealer at double the cost.

But absolutely, the heart of the system is the second weakest part. If I'm unable to get the one I want or ditch the one they offer then I'll be looking at another supplier.

I only say second weakest because the thermostat went out about 35k miles ago at around 95k.

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The problem with buying kits is that they don't dove tail nicely into the repair procedure.

What do I mean?

Say you have to replace your water pump. While you're in there you decide to replace belts and pulleys at the same time. Smart. But do they sell a water pump plus belts and pulleys kit. Nope.

Do they sell a cooling kit for those people who have already done their water pump but not expansion tank and routings? Nope.

If you are looking to buy more parts than you really need at really good prices, by all means, buy a kit.

 

The kit is for overhauling a system that hasn't been. Given the high failure rate and leak problems it's best to just replace all of it at the same time.


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Like I said, simply follow Mango's part #'s buy them all do it once and forget it. If you have an automatic, do the electronic fan conversion while you day and enjoy 70-100k without having to worry about cooling issues.

I mean, I don't even know why people worry about spending another 150 bucks, do it right.

 

I agree with you man! If you have love for the car, just get everything done once and enjoy the next 100k without having to worry about what's going to break next..

 

Hey brother,

Which kit, if any, did you decide on?

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Haven't bought any parts yet but I'm planning on buying all the parts I need separately, it's cheaper and you can choose between different brands, I'm going for all the OEM vendors.

 

Buy parts separately, shop around for best prices. Lately BMA has great prices, some of the components are cheaper from other vendors so you can divide if you want. Kits force you to buy everything from one vendor and there is really no advantage, you will have to research into particular parts when you replace them anyway, so I don't see any advantage in the kit.

 

Agreed.
The vast majority of kit buyers end up storing parts from the kit for years before ever using them. Most still own those parts when they sell their car.
There are some instances where I'd buy a kit but not for the cooling system.


.

 

Agreed.
The vast majority of kit buyers end up storing parts fro the kit for years before ever using them. Most still own those parts when they sell their car.
There are some instances where I'd buy a kit but not for the cooling system.

Why would you even make up something like that? What are you basing that off of?

 

Speculation.


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Speculation.

It's what we do here.

Ask everyone you know who owns an E46. Ask them to describe the first ever failure they had with a component in their cooling system. Asked them what they repaired.

The vast majority will tell you they fixed the problem, then got schooled on fragile BMW cooling systems, then evaluated the need to fix more.

 

Point taken.

 

FYI: the ECS kit doesn't include a block drain plug washer, had to get one at the dealership.







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FYI: the ECS kit doesn't include a block drain plug washer, had to get one at the dealership.

Ouch. Glaring omission.

 

Luck maybe.


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Everybody ignore the troll.

Back on topic:

OP, I do not recommend kits. Not only are they overpriced, they either leave out important parts, give you crappy brands on some parts, or give you parts you don't need--often times all three. Put together your own "kit" where you have control. That's why I created the thread I did for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. My thread is also listed on the Official Bimmerfest Wiki page.

 

I just couldn't help myself buddy. Lol. I'm done with him starting........ Now.


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You're an outlier to have had no problems yet.


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Maybe.

Or it could be my maintenance plan.









.

 

Maybe.

Or it could be my maintenance plan.

Ok so if you have some big solution to an ongoing problem then why not share it here instead of playing a big secret game. We've tried everything to figure out how to combat the cooling system failure issue over the years so please enlighten us. No need to play games we are here to help each other so let's hear what you have to say.


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The guy also makes OE parts for a living, so I'd say he's very qualified in his thoughts.

 

Hmmm so do I.

Pod you could tell us your strategy to make the system last that long or you could just continue providing no value to the forums. Your choice. Your reluctance to tell us what you're doing just tells me that you're here to troll.


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:thumbup::rofl:

 

Maybe you should read them again. Most of them have a greater point as a foundation.

For example, if I make a sarcastic point in a sedan vs. coupe debate, maybe the greater point is that we should be comparing E46 cars to other world-class chassis rather than in-fighting among ourselves.

It's like watching Ford and Chevy compete against each other while completely missing the Japanese invasion (and the German and Korean invasions too)

I expect a more cerebral discussion among Fanatics.

.

 

Thread closed due to off-topic content.