Need a replacement radiator?

[Bill Riblett]

There have been a couple of recent threads about replacement radiators.

Here is another option. Curt Ingraham has sold a lot of rebuilt all-metal radiators to 2002 owners and also has them for E9s. I’ve been reading about these on the 2002 message boards for several years now and Curt has a lot of happy customers. I am going to buy one from him for one of my coupes.

I’m not impressed with the aluminum/plastic radiators that BMW has used since 1980. They only seem to have a lifespan of about 5 years and when they fail, it is often catastrophically, i.e. the plastic hose nipple breaks and you dump all your coolant in minutes. A lot of the time this results in blown head gaskets or cracked cylinder heads. I have a friend whose business is as an independent BMW repair shop and he replaces these radiators all the time. He urges his customers to replace their plastic/aluminum radiators if they are more than 5 years old.

Here is what Curt offers:

A rebuilt radiator with three-row core is $525 outright or $450 with an exchange. I usually have these in stock and can ship within one day. The exchange can come before or after purchase, and it can be any rebuildable stock six-cylinder all-metal radiator. If your present radiator has cosmetically good tanks and brackets and you want to keep them, you can send me that one for rebuilding. That would cost $475 and take about one week plus shipping times. FedEx Ground shipping is usually $35 or less; send me a ZIP code for a quote.

I've included some additional info below. Please write again or call if you have other questions. Thanks.

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6-Cylinder Radiator Upgrade

* Rebuilt radiator
* New 3-row, high-efficiency core
* Copper and brass; no plastic or aluminum
* Pressure tested
* Fresh paint
* New radiator cap included
* Better cooling than stock

Fits and looks like stock:

* Same size
* Same mounting holes
* Same fan clearance
* Same hose fittings
* Same appearance

USD 525 plus shipping (less USD 75 with your old radiator)

Curt Ingraham
Silicon Garage
Oakland, CA 94611
[email protected]
510 507-2002

(posted by Bill Riblett)

 

[Adamski]

sorry i don't know person who makes them, if his customers are happy then everything is ok. One thing when i read this is for me arhm strange, why 3 row radiator if 2 rows are much much more effective in cooling?
I'm going to change rad in my 8 for 2 row one in march, alu custom made.