BMW Z3 2.8 Disaster (Cool story Bro etc)

[frankenstein12]

Sort of...

So this morning heading off to see a customer hit a 40mph section start accelerating there is a very momentary vibration almost like a thrumming sensation and then a big old bang and shudder and as I look in my rearview mirror bits of my car spreading out across the road behind me.

I lifted off and car seemed to be idling fine no warning lights etc and i gently rolled off onto a slip road. Looking under the bonnet the serpentine belt was all wrapped up in the remains of the viscous fan.

It seems the water pump was source of failure so that has to be replaced.
Overall damage. Fan is fked only has about three blades left.
Fan clutch assembly needs to be replaced.
and radiator shroud is destroyed and needs replacing

My main concern here is in the ensuing carnage the blades coming of have obviously impacted the rad. It has a number of dents and dings but seems to be water tight. Anyone had this happen to them? Any idea of how strong the radiators are on these?

A new one from BMW is the better part of £300.

Oh also somewhat amusingly the most expensive part to be replaced is the plastic rad shroud.....£65 which is the only part I HAVE to get from BMW. Most expensive part which is madness considering the water pump and fan assembly are more substantial items.

[helix402]

I would recommend a genuine BMW water pump. They last well. You need G48 coolant.

[frankenstein12]

fk!! Just had to order a new radiator as well....

[motco]

What mileage was the car OP? I have a 2.2 on about 45k

[frankenstein12]

Its a 2000 variant and is about to hit 119000 miles.

Its done a fair bit of mileage the last 9 and a half months to be fair. 18k miles roughly.

[frankenstein12]

helix402 said:

I would recommend a genuine BMW water pump. They last well. You need G48 coolant.

No idea what kit is being fitted. Unfortunately not being made of money and the fact I have to shell out over 1.5k this week on other issues outside my own living costs I have to minimise expense so I simply told the mechanics to order the parts and try to avoid getting any from BMW direct.

I also decided against getting scrapper parts as A they are rare and B there is every possibility they themselves will fail in short order having already been heavily used.

To that end I am going to gamble and am getting an OEM ish radiator rather than one from BMW. Its a gamble but with the mileage I am doing if its not as good as the BMW supplied one it should fail within warranty period. A huge price difference which is a worry but hey ho.

In a way its kind of handy for forum members in case any of them need a new radiator but don't want to pay BMW prices. If these parts work and keep going then they will have proven VFM.

BMW Radiator £300
OEM Radiator £95

[NiceCupOfTea]

If it's a Nissen rad it will be OK, fitted one in an MX5 and another in my Saab.

[frankenstein12]

NiceCupOfTea said:

If it's a Nissen rad it will be OK, fitted one in an MX5 and another in my Saab.

I think it may be. To be fair the supplier was ace. Selling on ebay 100% rating long time seller. Called up to check details of which rad I needed. He had it on ebay at £115 (which was already a bargain) but reduced to £95 without me even asking so top man and if it works right I will sing his praises to all and sundry.

[motco]

frankenstein12 said:

Its a 2000 variant and is about to hit 119000 miles.

Its done a fair bit of mileage the last 9 and a half months to be fair. 18k miles roughly.

Thanks frankenstein12.

[frankenstein12]

Ok so in total damages came to almost dead on £500 to repair

New Radiator £93
New fan £31
New water pump £47
New tensioner £48
New serpentine belt £25
New Radiator surround/cover £49 ( Comedy. Only BMW sourced part is the simplest yet most expensive barring the radiator)

On from that used the car yesterday and it ran fine. Got in today and airbag light is on constant. :-(

Took it to K&M auto and diagnosed as due to seatbelt pre tensioner on passenger side. Unfortunately passenger seat electrics not working so they couldn't do anything with it but they were very professional and helpful. I would be happy to recommend.

As a plus they also have a Ferrari workshop opposite so you could always go across and drool over the Ferraris while your bm is being repaired :-)

[Tommo Two]

You don't need a viscous fan, and don't need a fan surround. Its a common performance mod to remove them. assuming you have aircon.

+1 for a Nissens rad, v good quality & good price and get a water pump with a metal impeller.

[frankenstein12]

Tommo Two said:

You don't need a viscous fan, and don't need a fan surround. Its a common performance mod to remove them. assuming you have aircon.

+1 for a Nissens rad, v good quality & good price and get a water pump with a metal impeller.

Unfortunately being a car required for work I couldn't afford the downtime to make the mod which I had considered as my car is a non A/C.

Thanks for the suggestion though and if I have to deal with any further issues related down the line I will make the mod.

[SebringMan]

helix402 said:

I would recommend a genuine BMW water pump. They last well. You need G48 coolant.

Seeing as you are a man in the know I am aware that G48 is the OEM coolant. Is it the same as what BMW use themselves or is it similar. Mind you there is not a massive saving I guess in this instance.

I was going to ask you the same thing about Comma's 75W80 gear oil which is said to have LT-2 approval.

[helix402]

BMW use their own branded coolant which has the same spec as G48, I'd have to check re the gearbox oil.

[eztiger328]

frankenstein12 said:

Sort of...

So this morning heading off to see a customer hit a 40mph section start accelerating there is a very momentary vibration almost like a thrumming sensation and then a big old bang and shudder and as I look in my rearview mirror bits of my car spreading out across the road behind me.

I lifted off and car seemed to be idling fine no warning lights etc and i gently rolled off onto a slip road. Looking under the bonnet the serpentine belt was all wrapped up in the remains of the viscous fan.

It seems the water pump was source of failure so that has to be replaced.
Overall damage. Fan is fked only has about three blades left.
Fan clutch assembly needs to be replaced.
and radiator shroud is destroyed and needs replacing

My main concern here is in the ensuing carnage the blades coming of have obviously impacted the rad. It has a number of dents and dings but seems to be water tight. Anyone had this happen to them? Any idea of how strong the radiators are on these?

A new one from BMW is the better part of £300.

Oh also somewhat amusingly the most expensive part to be replaced is the plastic rad shroud.....£65 which is the only part I HAVE to get from BMW. Most expensive part which is madness considering the water pump and fan assembly are more substantial items.

the BMW rads of that era are actually quite tough from my experience.

I remember then I took my 320 'sailing' through some horrendous flooding years ago to get home. The water bent the fan blades and they sliced into the rad. Luckily the blades only sliced into the finns and there was no leakage. I drove that car for a few more years with no issue.

My 99 328 sport (pretty much same engine as yours) is currently 17 y/o and just shy of 190k, its still has its original rad and water pump. The only scare I've had has been with a perished bleed screw.

[gizlaroc]

SebringMan said:

Seeing as you are a man in the know I am aware that G48 is the OEM coolant. Is it the same as what BMW use themselves or is it similar. Mind you there is not a massive saving I guess in this instance.

I was going to ask you the same thing about Comma's 75W80 gear oil which is said to have LT-2 approval.

If it is a manual, remove the CDV, it makes a hell of a difference to how nice the clutch feels, and then use some Redline.

I preferred the D4, it is auto transmission fluid but loads in the States use it in manual BMWs, made the changes very slick indeed.

[frankenstein12]

Evening all. A little update.

Unfortunately about 3 weeks ago I stuffed some stuff down the back of the passenger seat. I then got home and parked the car turned the engine off and removed the kit. Next day when i turned the car on airbag light was on.

At the time it didnt occur to me that it could have been due to my rummaging behind the seat. I popped into a BMW specialist a day or two later who plugged the car in and found it was the inertia reel sensor iirc.

Since i got the car the electrics on the passenger seat havent worked and frustratingly the seat was in the full back position blocking the bolts on the rear rail. To add to my joy the MOT runs out on March 1st and airbag light = failure.

So booked the car in with H&C in Maidstone for seat to be looked at and MOT done. It turned out to be the module on the end of the wiring harness that sits behind the switch had cooked itself.

The guys pulled the harness and switch out and have found BMW can source a new one on back order for £45 so will probably order one in the next few weeks. They sorted out the wiring for the inertia reel sensor. Also did the MOT and since it had cost half what I assumed/budgeted for the seat removal I had them do a service and replace the rocker cover gasket which had the dreaded seep.

Car seems much happier.


Very odd that it cooked its switch though. Only two advisories as well which is good. Front arb has play and a small leak in centre of exhaust.

Been a painful six weeks. About £1300 in total bills.