First time BMW owner...E46 325i

First time BMW owner...E46 325i

Author
Discussion

helix402

7,859 posts

182 months

Sunday 22nd July 2018
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JPJ89 said:
Brilliant that’s a great help, away to order one up now, it also doesn’t mention whether it fits a car with air-con or without, take it that won’t matter either with this Nissens one? Planning to buy genuine for the rest of the parts, away to get a quote from Cotswolds unless anyone can recommend anywhere cheaper!
I checked on realoem, they list a different rad for I think auto a/c or no auto a/c. I’m not sure if Nissens are different for a/c non a/c or not-I do have a brand new Nissens rad in my garage for my last E46 so I suppose I could check! Maybe worth sending the eBay vendor a message to check compatibility.

sparks_E46

12,738 posts

213 months

Sunday 22nd July 2018
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Can vouch for Nissens radiator, top quality.

Mr Tidy

22,326 posts

127 months

Sunday 22nd July 2018
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helix402 said:
JPJ89 said:
Brilliant that’s a great help, away to order one up now, it also doesn’t mention whether it fits a car with air-con or without, take it that won’t matter either with this Nissens one? Planning to buy genuine for the rest of the parts, away to get a quote from Cotswolds unless anyone can recommend anywhere cheaper!
I checked on realoem, they list a different rad for I think auto a/c or no auto a/c. I’m not sure if Nissens are different for a/c non a/c or not-I do have a brand new Nissens rad in my garage for my last E46 so I suppose I could check! Maybe worth sending the eBay vendor a message to check compatibility.
OP, you might want to try Sopers BMW as well - they give a discount for forum members.

helix402

7,859 posts

182 months

Monday 23rd July 2018
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This is the rad you need:






JPJ89

Original Poster:

40 posts

75 months

Monday 23rd July 2018
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Yeah cheers, that’s the one iv ordered and is on the way, away to price up the other parts this afternoon and hopefully get them all in time for the weekend!

JPJ89

Original Poster:

40 posts

75 months

Monday 23rd July 2018
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Has anyone on here used ECS tuning and able to vouch for the quality of parts used? Aftermarket so good value even shipped from America but unsure on quality, I see they use Nissens radiators though. Kit I was looking at below includes hoses, tank, pump and stat.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-assembled-by-ecs-parts...

helix402

7,859 posts

182 months

Monday 23rd July 2018
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The hoses look a bit rubbish. Never heard of the water pump brand. Belts are good. Pulleys look pretty. Wahler stats are a bit inconsistent in quality.

JPJ89

Original Poster:

40 posts

75 months

Tuesday 24th July 2018
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Will just order genuine to be on the safe side, especially for the vital parts like pump and stat. Received a pretty expensive quote from Cotswolds but went a bit overboard and quoted all the parts listed from each section on realoem for hoses, expansion tank, pump and stat, including fasteners and clamps etc which probably wasn’t necessary. Have narrowed it down to top hose, bottom hose, coolant temp sensor, water pump & gasket, water pump pulley, thermostat/housing & gasket, expansion tank, expansion tank mounting plate, expansion tank cap, aux belt, ac belt, coolant. Planning on re-using all fasteners except perhaps for the water pump pulley, unless anyone can suggest otherwise. Bleed screws and coolant level sensors re-usable for example? Thanks again for all the input as well, been a massive help.

anonymous-user

54 months

Tuesday 24th July 2018
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JPJ89 said:
Will just order genuine to be on the safe side, especially for the vital parts like pump and stat. Received a pretty expensive quote from Cotswolds but went a bit overboard and quoted all the parts listed from each section on realoem for hoses, expansion tank, pump and stat, including fasteners and clamps etc which probably wasn’t necessary. Have narrowed it down to top hose, bottom hose, coolant temp sensor, water pump & gasket, water pump pulley, thermostat/housing & gasket, expansion tank, expansion tank mounting plate, expansion tank cap, aux belt, ac belt, coolant. Planning on re-using all fasteners except perhaps for the water pump pulley, unless anyone can suggest otherwise. Bleed screws and coolant level sensors re-usable for example? Thanks again for all the input as well, been a massive help.
If you register on m3cutters you can make use of their discount with cotswolds wink
That and its really useful for buying spare parts & a wealth of e46 knowledge / guides

JPJ89

Original Poster:

40 posts

75 months

Friday 27th July 2018
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This seems like a good quality kit, anyone care to comment on the quality of parts? Ships for free as well as far as I could see when entering UK and postcode at checkout, seems to work out around £350 which isn’t too bad at all really!


https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-mango-cooling...