E46 330i Rad and water pump - recommended brands?

[stevewak]

Hi, as title. Thinking of preventative maintenance before the summer - 2002 Auto Touring SE, 96k. Have already had belts, idler pulley and thermostat done with BMW parts. OEM BMW rad is big money but looks like coming with ancillary stuff. Pumps look cheap.

Any other parts at the same time? Presume bottom hose. Not mechanical, but will get OK garage to do it and don't want rubbish parts. Thanks.

[goldieandblackie]

Go for a Behr radiator http://www.c3bmw.co.uk/StockItem.asp?categoryID=98...

Water pump
http://www.c3bmw.co.uk/StockItem.asp?categoryID=98...

[stevewak]

goldieandblackie said:

Water pump
http://www.c3bmw.co.uk/StockItem.asp?categoryID=98...

Terrific - Meyle or Kohle Schmidt? Thanks a lot.

[Funk]

A timely thread for me. My 330Ci is on 76k and I'm about to do preventative maintenance on the coolant system.

Was reading this thread here: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=9141... and this looks like a pretty comprehensive list:

Radiator
Expansion Tank
Expansion Tank Cap
Water Pump
Radiator Hose Lower
Radiator Hose Upper
Expansion Tank to Pipe Lower Hose (VERY important)
Thermostat
Radiator Fan Switch
BMW Coolant Temp Sensor
Water Pump Pulley
URO Aluminum
Coolant drain crush washer at engine-block
Water pump pulley bolts (You can reuse these if you are careful)
Belt Tensioner Pulley (Main central pulley)
Alternator Deflector Pulley
Coolant

I'll have to spend some time looking up all the part numbers later on and get a rough idea of cost...

[helix402]

Water pump: gen BMW or Meyle
Rad: Nissens

[iSore]

Aftermarket (not BMW stamped) Behr and Hella rads can be absolute crap. Nissens every time.

Circoli pumps are fine.

[goldieandblackie]

C3bmw are great for supplying all your parts, they are a quality outfit that i have used for years and never had any problems with the quality of the parts.
I have no connection to this company either.

http://www.c3bmw.co.uk

[Sardonicus]

goldieandblackie said:

C3bmw are great for supplying all your parts, they are a quality outfit that i have used for years and never had any problems with the quality of the parts.
I have no connection to this company either.

http://www.c3bmw.co.uk

I agree known of them since they was at Norwood/Croydon area

[stevewak]

Thanks everybody, good stuff.

[e21Mark]

Excuse thread bump but just wondered what peoples thoughts were regarding Meyle water pumps? They're sold as German manufactured but it seems that isn't true and they're actually Chinese. I know Chinese doesn't automatically mean crap but there's no denying much of the stuff made there is. Having just had a very expensive engine rebuild I don't want to risk pump of questionable quality.

I also use C3 and they're always reliable but their website says German supplied.

[PaulGT3]

Id like to jump on this thread too. Does anyone know how much a genuine waterpump and thermostat is from bmw? If they aren't hideously priced then surely worth going for? My original items have lasted 130k miles and 15 years so far but feel like I am on borrowed time and should really change them!

[helix402]

Last time I bought a gen pump it was around £100. It's well worth gen for both pump and stat. They simply last longer.

[SebringMan]

PaulGT3 said:

Id like to jump on this thread too. Does anyone know how much a genuine waterpump and thermostat is from bmw? If they aren't hideously priced then surely worth going for? My original items have lasted 130k miles and 15 years so far but feel like I am on borrowed time and should really change them!

The thermostat is around £30 from BMW for an E36. The pump I think is closer to £100.

But I'm going to go out on a limb here. On a car with a geniune pump and one that has only ever seen factory coolant I've never had an issue with water pumps and I've owned cars where they are known to go (Ford Duratec V6s). Some have done 300k+ miles as well.

[helix402]

[e21Mark]

Unfortunately an s14/2.3 pump is £311 from BMW and the Meyle (from C3) is £100 cheaper.

[Sardonicus]

I have used an Airtex pump on my M54 for 3 years no issues about £40 IIRC yes it as the fibre/plastic impeller but I think failure of these on the Beemer at least is exaggerated greatly and like those in the know on this post have said already the OE BMW stuff is the best my original pump run 155k miles before bearing failure/noise and that seems to be the case with most manufacturers parts OE is generally best