Thermostat/independent in east London

[Dubbdack]

Hi everyone!

Im new to both the forum and the UK (from cold Scandinavia). Since I have limited local knowledge I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good BMW specialist in the central or east part of London (Docklands)?

I think I need a new thermostat and the BMW dealers I have called want between 280-350 for a swap. I havent even asked how much extra it would be to change the waterpump as recommended in this thread
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

My water temp only creeps up to the first mark, it does go up to 12 if let to idle for a while. I suspect its stuck open.

The car is a 02 325 E46.


Many thanks!

[Vee]

Highams Park Motor Co - not too far from East London.
Can't remember what they quoted me - I think it was a little over £200.
I did mine myself and the parts were about £80.

[Dubbdack]

Vee said:

Highams Park Motor Co - not too far from East London.
Can't remember what they quoted me - I think it was a little over £200.
I did mine myself and the parts were about £80.

Hi Vee, thanks for the recommendation! How complicated was it to do the change? Do you have to drain all/a bit of the coolant?

[Vee]

I didn't drain it all out as it was recently renewed anyway.
I simply let whatever came out when the stat and pump were removed to drain away (jet washed the engine tray afterwards).
Other than that . .
1. Remove fan (if auto you need a 32mm open ended spanner to remove it).
2. Remove belts (take a picture or draw a diagram so that you know how they go back on)
3. Remove bleed screw and open expansion tank
4. Undo 4 bolts, release pipework from stat and remove it
5. Undo bolts from pump and remove it (you'll need 2 M6 bolts to screw into the holes on the pump. These will push against the block and release the pump)
6. Replace pump and stat
7. Replace belts
8. Turn heater to high temperature on a low fan speed. Top up with coolant until it comes out of the bleed screw.
9. Replace expansion tank cap and tighten bleed screw. Go for a 10/15 min drive and check level again (let it cool down first !)

I'm not mechanically minded but found a couple of guides on the net which proved useful and in the end it was a very simple job. Certainly not worth my paying a garage £100+ for, especially as I didn't have the time to take it in.

Edited by Vee on Monday 5th January 13:27

[Dubbdack]

Vee said:

I didn't drain it all out as it was recently renewed anyway.
I simply let whatever came out when the stat and pump were removed to drain away (jet washed the engine tray afterwards).
Other than that . .
1. Remove fan (if auto you need a 32mm open ended spanner to remove it).
2. Remove belts (take a picture or draw a diagram so that you know how they go back on)
3. Remove bleed screw and open expansion tank
4. Undo 4 bolts, release pipework from stat and remove it
5. Undo bolts from pump and remove it (you'll need 2 M6 bolts to screw into the holes on the pump. These will push against the block and release the pump)
6. Replace pump and stat
7. Replace belts
8. Turn heater to high temperature on a low fan speed. Top up with coolant until it comes out of the bleed screw.
9. Replace expansion tank cap and tighten bleed screw. Go for a 10/15 min drive and check level again (let it cool down first !)

I'm not mechanically minded but found a couple of guides on the net which proved useful and in the end it was a very simple job. Certainly not worth my paying a garage £100+ for, especially as I didn't have the time to take it in.

Edited by Vee on Monday 5th January 13:27

Thanks very much for taking the time to compile the information! I dont have access to a garage, so given the current weather I might look into using the work shop you recommended. Would you use them for oil changes too?

[Vee]

Dubbdack said:

Thanks very much for taking the time to compile the information! I dont have access to a garage, so given the current weather I might look into using the work shop you recommended. Would you use them for oil changes too?

Did mine on the driveway. Weather can be a pain but pretty manageable otherwise.
While I try to do as much on my car as possible, I need my wife's car (330 saloon) to be completely reliable and available.
As a result I used Highams Park for an Inspection 1 on it a couple of months ago because I'd heard from others that they were very good.
Brilliant service & reasonable rates so will be using them again.

Edited by Vee on Monday 5th January 16:47