[fastboatster]

Hi all, my e90 finally got me stranded and blew a coolant hose, more specifically, that notorious plastic fitting which goes to oil filter housing. Do you suggest getting OEM plastic fitting or do you recommend getting an aluminum replacement part? What do I need to check after I replace this part to make sure this wasn’t caused by some other issue like dead water pump etc? Pics:

[nsjames]

the plastic one only comes with the complete line, and you don't want to pull it all apart. that line goes round the whole motor on mine.
buy an aluminum one, crunch the old plastic in the line with some pliers, pull out ALL the chunks. be certain.
Install new piece with some coolant for lube on the o ring and a hose clamp on the rubber hose.
done.
if all you got was the low coolant light and no overheat light, the rest of it's probably fine.

[fastboatster]

Thanks, I only got low coolant light and only driven maybe a few hundred feet after that

[fastboatster]

any particular aluminum fittings I need to be looking at or any kind of ebay/amazon generic fitting will do?

[fastboatster]

On a side note, which coolant hoses are under pressure and/or can get you straned and which ones usually leak slowly or don't leak at all because they are not exposed to a lot of pressure and don't degrade over time?

[smass]

The upper radiator hose plastic gets just as brittle as that little hose. Consider changing it also.

[fastboatster]

is this the hose this video is talking about?

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=17_0350
number 7 on this part diagram

[Efthreeoh]

This should help:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1618232

There are several manufacturers and/or sellers of the aluminum hose bib part. There is a plastic one available too, but why bother. Amazon has several sources for the aluminum version. The DIY above provides part numbers.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by smassey321

The upper radiator hose plastic gets just as brittle as that little hose. Consider changing it also.

OP, if you replace the upper return line that goes across the top of the radiator to the coolant reservoir, be really careful removing it from the upper radiator hose. The small bib the hose attaches to can easily be snapped off. The hose is attached using a crimp clamp, so it's a PIA to remove the clamp and not snap off the little hose bib.

[fastboatster]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

OP, if you replace the upper return line that goes across the top of the radiator to the coolant reservoir, be really careful removing it from the upper radiator hose. The small bib the hose attaches to can easily be snapped off. The hose is attached using a crimp clamp, so it's a PIA to remove the clamp and not snap off the little hose bib.

Gotcha, thanks! Placed an order for aluminum hose fitting, should be here tomorrow, can’t wait to install and drive my baby again.
Another question-how acceptable is it to top it off with green coolant? It’s going to be there temporarily since I decided that I should not postpone the water pump and thermostat replacement.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by fastboatster

Gotcha, thanks! Placed an order for aluminum hose fitting, should be here tomorrow, can’t wait to install and drive my baby again.
Another question-how acceptable is it to top it off with green coolant? It’s going to be there temporarily since I decided that I should not postpone the water pump and thermostat replacement.

I only use BMW coolant. You can Google for the aftermarket substitute. Zerex G-05 I think.

[fastboatster]

It's alive!
Well, I couldn't wait and when I discovered some oreilleys locations sell this aluminum coolant fitting made by Rein, I went there and bought it as well as the replacement hose just in case. Got the fitting replaced, it was a lot worse than I thought - it also was desintegrated on the inside, had to pull it out piece by piece and had to clean the housing as well. Used up my pentosin pentofrost nf coolant bottle as well as some of the bmw coolant i stashed up for the upcoming water pump job. Oh well. Car sounds healthy and pulls strong, no issues after 5 mile test drive (hwy + city). Very happy to have it driveable again.
fitting:
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b...nt+hose&pos=14
and the hose:
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b...bmw/328i?pos=6

[mecheng77]

What mileage do you have? I have that aluminum piece in my trunk, I might just replace it before it goes bad

[fastboatster]

I have 110kmiles, looks like it had a small leak there for a while...

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by mecheng77

What mileage do you have? I have that aluminum piece in my trunk, I might just replace it before it goes bad

mine is in the back, I'm at 148K. I had to replace the upper radiator hose because I broke off the little nipple with the steam line that goes across the radiator.

[fastboatster]

So it drove to work totally fine, however, halfway through, I discovered that there’s no heat. So there’s still some air in the system. I think what I did wrong was that I didn’t let any coolant to bleed from the bleed screw. Will have to do it after work, will top off the coolant and bleed the system again

[fastboatster]

Small problem, still no heat. Topped off coolant all the way up to the bottom of the filler neck, opened bleeder screw and got fluid with no bubbles coming out. Tried to bleed the circuit, not sure if the water pump Actually worked for whole 12 minutes. After first bleeding attempt, coolant level didn't decrease.
What am I doing wrong? Pressed on the gas pedal for 10 seconds, did hear some sounds as if the coolant is flowing through the pipes. Which gear should I be in if I have a 6 speed manual? Should I be in neutral or in gear? Did one more bleeding attempt, no fluid level change. Drove home, car seems fine but there's no heat.
P.S. - my current guess is that the thermostat got stuck because of the debris from disintegrated fitting. Will check that tomorrow by monitoring coolant temp in the hidden menu.

[fastboatster]

Nope, no stuck thermostat - temp doesn’t drop off on the hwy. instead, it goes up when i’m cruising with light throttle and goes down when I get on the gas. Temp is about 90C when pushing on it and 96-98, maybe 100c when cruising. Seems like normal mapped thermostat behavior.
Might be wrong, there’s some warm air now, will double check again and recheck the coolant level after work again

[mecheng77]

Check INPA for climate control errors and flap position.

[Emilime75]

Don't know what engine you have, but for N54 E9x there is a coolant bleed procedure that is needed after any repairs like what you did are done. I assume it's same/similar for non N54 cars.

Google it for the procedure, if you haven't already.

[fastboatster]

Originally Posted by Emilime75

Don't know what engine you have, but for N54 E9x there is a coolant bleed procedure that is needed after any repairs like what you did are done. I assume it's same/similar for non N54 cars.

Google it for the procedure, if you haven't already.

Yep, performed that procedure 2 times.

[nsjames]

did you have the car hooked up to an external power supply when you bled it?

it should run for 10+ minutes making all kinds of different pump speed noises.