sierra9260 4 Report post Posted January 30, 2014 I got a new non oem branded (I think) radiator off trademe which said it was for e30/e36 1983-00 so I quickly purchased it because it was at a good price and I am very eager to have my car running again as its not been for the past year or so, I have dropped a much nicer, reliable running M20 and converted the transmission to manual at the same time. Anyway.... I have done some research and it seems the radiator will fit quite snugly with some need to modify the mounting points so it sits in the engine bay right. I have had a small go at mocking it up to go in and it seems that most of the hoses fit on okay, the one that comes off the top of the radiator and goes onto the thermostat housing is a bit too long now though. However on the original expansion tank for my car has a small hose coming from the top and used to connect to a small corresponding nipple on the top of the original radiator. This new e36 radiator doesn't seem to have one of these... will this be an issue? It has a smaller nipple at the bottom but shining a light down it reveals that it appears to go no where. Some wisdom on this would be very helpful. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yng_750 247 Report post Posted January 30, 2014 that allows air to escape into expansion tank. very critical. may be able to get a nipple welded on where it should be. Sent from my GT-I8160L using Tapatalk 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted January 30, 2014 A picture of the radiator you have purchased and your old radiator would help. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sierra9260 4 Report post Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) http://postimg.org/image/d4xa424sx/ thats my expansion tank which was standard fitment in my car. as you can see it has two small pipes on the top neither of which are on the new tank. I did have a thought though... Why couldn't I completely disregard the expansion tank fitted on the side of the radiator on this new one? all i need is the hoses from the thermo housing, but then I would still need the one for the air to escape. here a few images of the radiator. Sorry I can't provide any pictures of the old radiator, my father took it to be tested some months ago and idiotically let them dispose of it or keep it or something.... don't ask me why. Now I need to find an extra radiator temperature sensor : / Another thought I've just had here... I know Jason just said that little pipe is for air to escape into the expansion tank and very critical but surely there would be one on my new radiator if so necessary? perhaps seen as the radiator has its own tank that would mean there is in fact a port that you can't see that air can go from the radiator into its expansion tank? I just want to start this thing and this is the only thing holding me back! haha. But I must say these forums are pretty much the sole reason for me resurrecting my car so I'm extremely thankful for that Edited January 30, 2014 by sierra9260 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
e30ftw 410 Report post Posted January 30, 2014 That's not a radiator for an m20 that's for a 318i, but they are used with m50's, m40's etc in e36's. The hoses won't line up properly, you will need to ditch the E30 expansion tank, and route the big T hose that goes to it to to bottom of the radiator mounted expansion tank. The top hose won't be needed with the expansion tank on the radiator.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sierra9260 4 Report post Posted January 30, 2014 That's not a radiator for an m20 that's for a 318i, but they are used with m50's, m40's etc in e36's. The hoses won't line up properly, you will need to ditch the E30 expansion tank, and route the big T hose that goes to it to to bottom of the radiator mounted expansion tank. The top hose won't be needed with the expansion tank on the radiator.. Yeah I was pretty sure it was for e36. I don't know why the guy marketed it as an e30 - e36 radiator. Quite misleading, however I probably should have done a bit more research on the product he was selling. I'll be well chuffed if its just a simple exercise of routing a few hoses around the place and everything works fine. I have routed that bottom hose onto the new radiator. The others seem to be the same size and fit fine too apart from that one you can see on the top of the thermo housing but thats simple. There is another small hose that connects to the top of the old expansion tank too, you can see in the picture that it looks like it come from under the passenger side fender somewhere. Is that anything to worry about? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
e30ftw 410 Report post Posted January 30, 2014 Nah that is an overflow. Yes it is for e30's, But 318i e30's with the m40. It was never for an m20. You may be able to route the hoses to it the sizes should all be about the same just the lengths and bends won't be right. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1283 Report post Posted January 31, 2014 just use the e36 320i 323i 325i 328i jap spec radiator its the same as a e30 320i 325i etc face lift type that is . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
