E34 Radiator Replacement

I'm not done documenting the job... but here are a few pictures... Click on any picture to enlarge it.

You may wish to open another browser and check out this diagram as I run through the process; you may find it helpful: Radiator Parts Diagram

Here are the tools I used for the project.  No exotic tools needed.

Pop out the expanding rivets that hold the engine fan shroud.  You may need to wedge a flat edge screwdriver in and pry a little.

Just lift out the old fan shroud.  There is no need to remove the cooling fan.  As the shroud slides out notice how that there are tabs on the side and along the bottom that the shroud sets into.  You'll need to remember these when you put it back in.

In fact, if you lean over and look down between the radiator and the fan, you'll see the two welded loops where the bottom two tabs of the shroud sat into.

Next, remove the cover guard underneath the front of the car.  This picture is showing the driver's side.  There are four plastic nuts to remove.  Two on each side.  Later, when you put the nuts back on, be careful not to strip them.

Here is the bottom cover guard removed.

Loosen the expansion tank cap; this will help when you drain the coolant.

Locate the radiator's coolant drain plug.  It is on the driver's side on the bottom.  In the picture above it is in the center of the picture, just to the left of the pulley.  You can make out its hex head.

In the interest of keeping things a bit neat and not spraying coolant all over, I fashioned a little guide out of cardboard and duct taped it in place.  This helped direct the draining coolant into my bucket, rather than all over the underside of the car, the floor, and me.  Of course, once everything was drained, I removed the cardboard.

Next, get up in there and remove the drain plug.  You may get a little wet.

Here it is all draining out.  Perhaps you can see that it is the old green stuff.  This was my first draining after purchasing the car.  After seeing it was abused with the old green stuff, I decided to flush the system.

While the coolant is draining, go topside and remove the air mass sensor and associated ducting.

After the air mass sensor is removed, remove the air filter and its housing as shown above.

Also, remove the ducting behind the headlight leading to the air filter.

When you look straight down into the engine compartment into the area where the air filter housing was, you should see a view similar to that above.

While you're on this side of the car, remove the plug from the radiator temerature switch.

It should be easy to reach the lower hose.  Loosen the clamp and remove it.

Remove the upper hose.  Don't forget to remove the small overflow hose near the upper hose.  (The gray material on the radiator is JBWeld epoxy.  It held things together until I could get a radiator.  It was never intended to be a permanent solution, since actually all the plastic in the radiator seemed to be disintegrating.  The radiator was the original.  I don't know how long the green stuff was run in it).

Here is where I removed the bracket upper clips.  There is one on each side.

Please notice the two top rubber mountings you'll need to save from the old radiator.  These form a seat for the bracket upper clips.

I'm pulling out the old patched radiator.  You can see I didn't have to remove the radiator fan.  You can also see I removed the air mass sensor and air filter box.

There are no connections between the radiator and the automatic transmission.

There is also a profile gasket that is saved from the top of the old radiator...

There are also two rubber buffers to be saved from the side/bottom of the old radiator.

And don't forget to save the temperature switch.

Here are all the parts that get saved for reinstallation onto the new radiator.

...And here is the new radiator.  I bought it from Radiator.com.  It is a Nissens.  It seems the Behr radiators are a bit more popular and Radiator.com normally supplies them for 95 540i's.  I had to ask specifically for the Nissens (it cost about $10 more).  I've heard good things about them and wanted to give them a try.  Also liked the lifetime warranty from Radiator.com.

Next, put all the parts onto the new radiator.  Installation is the reverse of removal.

E34 540i's do not require coolant system bleeding.  The M60 cooling system does not have pockets to collect air.  Any excess air makes its way to the expansion tank above the engine via the radiator vent hose.  For good measure, though, I loosened the small vent hose on the radiator until fluid started coming out and then I tightened the clamp.

Contents

• Radiator Repair Guide - Need to replace the radiator? No problem. Take your time; it's not that hard.
• Brake Pad and Rotor Replacement - What should you do when the brake lining message comes on? Replace your brake pads and, sometimes, your rotors. Take an afternoon; BMW makes it easy.
• M60 V8 Engine - The M60 V8 Engine. A solid, powerful, low maintenance motor.
• CD Changer - The car's all wired for a CD changer. How do I hook it up?

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