Fan hit radiator - Any experience with eBay radiators?

[HobieDog]

My fan went into my radiator and so I need to replace both.  I’ll be upgrading the fan to an electric pusher.
 

for the radiator, there are lots of options on eBay and plenty of threads discussing them, but I can’t find anything recent from anybody that’s running one of them (maybe there’s a reason for that…)

 

also just considering a used 320i radiator, shipped would be about $130 with a 30-day warranty.  
 

best option appears to be W&N, but there’s a $300 premium over used or Chinese eBay aluminum option. Perhaps a classic case of “you get what you pay for”

 

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by HobieDog

[visionaut]

Another option: Maybe re-core your existing if only the core is damaged?

[tech71]

You may be able to solder repair the old one if the damage is not too bad.

The cooling fins can be opened up/straightened with a toothpick.

Good decision on an electric fan.

Forget the Chinese Ebay radiator, go with something better from Blunt, W&N Ect.

Why did your fan go into it?  Crappy engine mounts?

Edited July 8, 2023 by tech71

[HobieDog]

2 hours ago, tech71 said:

 

Why did your fan go into it?  Crappy engine mounts?

Good question that I don’t have an answer to yet.  

I replaced floors, rockers, sections of the inner sills, rear subframe mounts, etc but I didn’t touch anything forward of the firewall.  
 

After doing some research here I’m wondering if when I reinstalled the rear subframe I pushed the diff too far forward. I’ll get it back in the air and see if I have adjustment to pull it back. 
 

motor mounts look newer, but I haven’t gotten in there to really check it out. 
 

I only drove the car for about 5-10 miles before starting the rust repair, but I never heard anything 

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by HobieDog

[Mark92131]

The dimensions for the BMW 2002 Chinese radiators sold on eBay are off by quite a bit.  They use standard cores which are either too skinny or too tall to fit the stock opening.  I contacted one of these vendors about a custom radiator for my S14 swap, sent them the dimensions I needed and they made me one.  Fit perfect, good welds, 1/2 price.  Might be an option for you.

 

Mark92131

 

 

[Mark92131]

10 minutes ago, HobieDog said:

motor mounts look newer, but I haven’t gotten in there to really check it out. 

 

The mounts look good, but you are missing the retaining strap on the passenger side motor mount which prevents your motor from moving forward into your radiator.

 

Mark92131

Edited July 8, 2023 by Mark92131
grammer

[Son of Marty]

28 minutes ago, Mark92131 said:

The mounts look good, but you are missing the retaining strap on the passenger side motor mount which prevents your motor from moving forward into your radiator.

This. A in the picture.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Son of Marty

[MarcD]

I used the champion radiator from Jegs. Had to adjust the mounting holes in the radiator to get it to line up with the stock mounting location. Also had to use a 12v fan. Some people complained about the lower inlet not fitting but I did not experience that issue. My only complaint is the lack of a bung for a temperature switch for the fan. It has a threaded drain but I never found a switch that fit the threads, but I didn't look very hard. 

 

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[jgerock]

8 hours ago, HobieDog said:

My fan went into my radiator and so I need to replace both.  I’ll be upgrading the fan to an electric pusher.
 

for the radiator, there are lots of options on eBay and plenty of threads discussing them, but I can’t find anything recent from anybody that’s running one of them (maybe there’s a reason for that…)

 

also just considering a used 320i radiator, shipped would be about $130 with a 30-day warranty.  
 

best option appears to be W&N, but there’s a $300 premium over used or Chinese eBay aluminum option. Perhaps a classic case of “you get what you pay for”

 

 

Based on this picture, you may have the older 4 blade fan. The front of the hub is rounded not squared off like newer 5 blade fans.   I’d purchase a new 5 blade fan and make sure it’s mounted the correct way to the water pump pulley. There are different offsets - the deeper part goes toward the water pump pulley so it creates more clearance to the radiator.

[GasProcessor]

Before seeing this post, I used to think engine-driven fans would only collide into shrouds (assuming the radiator has a shroud). Wow that fan is pretty close to the radiator

Edited July 9, 2023 by GasProcessor

[TobyB]

Yup, they snuggle right in there.  

 

The restraining strap helps a little, but if it's really close, something like the E30 and later used

is a better bet.  I made one out of Delrin for the PRO3 car...

 

t

 

[Hans]

Doesn't having the gap set at 0mm transmit engine vibrations to the chassis? 3mm is pretty small and i would hope the fan was more than that from the rad anyway.

[ray_]

On 7/8/2023 at 2:18 PM, HobieDog said:

Good question that I don’t have an answer to yet.  

I replaced floors, rockers, sections of the inner sills, rear subframe mounts, etc but I didn’t touch anything forward of the firewall.  
 

After doing some research here I’m wondering if when I reinstalled the rear subframe I pushed the diff too far forward. I’ll get it back in the air and see if I have adjustment to pull it back. 
 

motor mounts look newer, but I haven’t gotten in there to really check it out. 
 

I only drove the car for about 5-10 miles before starting the rust repair, but I never heard anything 

 

My too-long driveshaft ate up about 10mm worth of fan clearance. A correct driveshaft fixed that issue.

 

Cheers,

[Chris_B]

On 7/8/2023 at 7:35 AM, HobieDog said:

My fan went into my radiator and so I need to replace both.  I’ll be upgrading the fan to an electric pusher.
 

for the radiator, there are lots of options on eBay and plenty of threads discussing them, but I can’t find anything recent from anybody that’s running one of them (maybe there’s a reason for that…)

This happened to me because I did not have the stopper on the right motor mount. Why, I don't know. I would guess my shop did not reinstall it when they pulled my motor. I pulled a hard shift up to 3rd gear when I was accelerating onto the freeway and BAM, it happened. However, I already had a 3 core radiator and was able to have my radiator repaired at a local shop. I suggest you carefully consider the electric fan vs. factory for your car. I could be wrong, but I don't see how (and have considered it to a great extent myself) really provides any performance advantage.

[jaredmac11]

Rest assured you aren't moving the fan forward just by moving the differential up. But you can scoot the engine forward with the driver side mount.. not much though.

 

I would like to push my engine back but there isn't a lot of play. For whatever reason I have zero space for a mechanical fan, and in fear of doing what happened to you, I went with a fan in the front.

 

Sure wish bmw gave us 3-4" of more play between fan and radiator!

Edited July 12, 2023 by jaredmac11