DIY: E36 Saggy or Loose Radiator Fix. Cheap & Easy.

[delmarco]

Is your radiator Loose or rattling when you hit high speeds or go over rough roads. Then read on....
Get Parts 6 & 7 if you can see that it is missing. Usually 6 is cracked off and/or 7 is gone completely. Combined these parts are less tha $5.15 at the dealership. Becareful to tell them that this is what you want some dealerships may quote $38.00 for this part thinking you need the entire radiator bracket.
Putting in 6 & 7 is easy.

If 6 & 7 is intact but the radiator is not staying up. Then you need parts 3 & 5. These were $10.85 at dealership. To install you will need to jack up the front right side of your BMW. And becareful to make sure the jack is firm (Use jack stands or bricks if you need). Get under the fog light and remove the lower right wheel wing guard (listed as part 4 in TRIM picture) that sits off the the bumper between the foglight and the wheel wheel. And aboove that you will see where parts 5 and 3 go. It may already be there and the problem is usually 5 is completely missing or 3 is broken. At any rate you must replace both parts. Dont worry about the radiator collapsing when you remove the broken missing parts and you will have to force part 3 ino the clip, where it clips in pretty hard. This is why it is important to make sure the jack stands are firm and the car is NOT gonna collapse on you. If you have problems pushing 3 into the clip use WD40. But it should clip in and your radiator will be firmly in place again.

Good Luck.:

TRIM PICTURE: courtesy of www.realoem.com



RADIATOR PICTURE and PARTS LIST: courtesy of www.realoem.com

01 FAN SHROUD WITH FLAPS A=440X438MM 1 17111723067
02 EXPANDING RIVET 2 17111712963 $0.27
03 BRACKET LOWER 1 17111723337 $6.03
04 BRACKET LEFT 1 17111723339 $4.35
05 RUBBER BUFFER 2 17111178412 $1.24
06 BRACKET UPPER 2 17111723341 $3.63
07 RUBBER MOUNTING 2 17201719414
08 PROFILE-GASKET L=647MM 1 17101712609 $6.70
09 COVERING LEFT 1 17111723348 $11.38

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