[bimmerisalwaysbroken]

E90 N52

In the past 2 years I've replaced my radiator 5 times, I've tried all the oem brands aswell as cheap chinese however after a couple months they will start leaking.

Do I just have extremely bad luck or is there an actual problem?

Leaks are usually from the drain plug on the FL side

[GoRomeo]

Originally Posted by bimmerisalwaysbroken

E90 N52

In the past 2 years I've replaced my radiator 5 times, I've tried all the oem brands aswell as cheap chinese however after a couple months they will start leaking.

Do I just have extremely bad luck or is there an actual problem?

Leaks are usually from the drain plug on the FL side

Pal it’s neither. Its you. You dont cheap out when it comes to a radiator. Nothing personal. Cheers 🍻

[bimmerisalwaysbroken]

Originally Posted by GoRomeo

Pal it’s neither. Its you. You dont cheap out when it comes to a radiator. Nothing personal. Cheers 🍻

Seems you missed the part where I said OEM

[E30M CW]

If you've had this happen 5 times including with OEM radiators, I'd say it's not just bad luck. That just seems too statistically improbable. Was your car ever in any accidents, or are the roads you drive really bad? Maybe something is hitting the radiator near the FL that causing it to buckle and leak?

[gbalthrop]

Reviewing your January, 2024 Thread on the issue, my concern was: "Are you a 'Beta Tester' for FCP Euro? 2/2 of FCP Nissens failed in SAME spot.
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2072619

NOW, you say "Genuine BMW" radiator failed in SAME location? Crimp: core to plastic 'Header' on FL of Radiator?
Have you determined if the Lower & Upper Mounting points have correct Hardware per RealOEM.com?
Have you determined that there was NO Prior Frontal Damage that CHANGED the 'Geometry' of the Radiatator Mounts, Bottom & Top?
Is there anything putting Pressure on/ pushing against the radiator on Left Side?

If the Replacement Component is NOT defective, then SOMETHING is twisting/ bending the radiator in its mounts to cause the failure at the Crimps.
George

[Hoody007]

OE or OEM?

OE = Modine and is only available as a BMW branded part. It’s the most reliable one outside of a Mishimoto.

Haven’t heard of as many issues with Nissens, but BEHR seems to have significant issues with keeping coolant where it needs to be (so NOT the ground…)

[bimmerisalwaysbroken]

Originally Posted by gbalthrop

Reviewing your January, 2024 Thread on the issue, my concern was: "Are you a 'Beta Tester' for FCP Euro? 2/2 of FCP Nissens failed in SAME spot.
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2072619

NOW, you say "Genuine BMW" radiator failed in SAME location? Crimp: core to plastic 'Header' on FL of Radiator?
Have you determined if the Lower & Upper Mounting points have correct Hardware per RealOEM.com?
Have you determined that there was NO Prior Frontal Damage that CHANGED the 'Geometry' of the Radiatator Mounts, Bottom & Top?
Is there anything putting Pressure on/ pushing against the radiator on Left Side?

If the Replacement Component is NOT defective, then SOMETHING is twisting/ bending the radiator in its mounts to cause the failure at the Crimps.
George

There has been a front end accident on the car on the FR side but it was a very slow and minimal bumper damage. BMW repaired the car and all the mounting points are truie, The radiator is easy to slide in and there is no binding.

The one nissen radiator that leaked at the crimp seemed to be an anomaly as for every other radiator it has been at the drain plug. I don't think that it's hitting the ground as there are no marks on the underside of the radiator.

Heres a list of the radiators
Original radiator: Leaked at drainplug
Behr: Leaked at drain plug after 5 months
Nissens radiator: Leaked at drainplug after 6 months
Nissens radiator: Leaked at drainplug after 6 months
Nissens radiator: Leaked at crimp after 3 months
Ebay: Leaked at drain plug after 6 months

[bimmerisalwaysbroken]

Could there be extra pressure building up in the system somehow?

[autoart]

You know that there are different drain plugs. One for automatic and one for manual. One is green, I don't remember what the other color is.

[Hoody007]

Originally Posted by autoart

You know that there are different drain plugs. One for automatic and one for manual. One is green, I don't remember what the other color is.

For my auto (335i, N55), the drain plug was blue.

OP, when you say the OE BMW one leaked from the drain plug, was this after work was done to the cooling system? It’s easy to destroy the mounting barbs if one is not careful when unscrewing the drain plug…

[StradaRedlands]

Shot in the dark, but maybe you have the wrong plug installed? There's a short one and a long one based on transmission and transmission cooler options? This is on Nissens, I don't know about other OE or BMW brand:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1097628

[lookalikehuuh]

I'm on my 2nd Mahle radiator for my N54, they always leak on the drivers side top portion where the aluminum and plastic caps meet. They are a piece of junk and tons of reviews say that. That being said the Mahle version that I installed on my N52 330i like 5 or 6 years ago is going strong and hasn't leaked at all. Although they are 2 different part numbers, it sounds like they both have similar failures on a regular but yours definitely seems a bit excessive.

I wonder if the overflow tank cap isn't releasing pressure at the correct pressure and your system is over pressurized which causes yours to leak at a higher rate? I would replace the cap since its cheap and super easy to replace.

What is interesting here though is that all your failures are at the drain plug where these radiators are known to fail at the seams normally.

[Wolf 335]

Could be a seem failure (hairline crack that opens when under pressure) leaking over the drain plug.

[bimmerisalwaysbroken]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Shot in the dark, but maybe you have the wrong plug installed? There's a short one and a long one based on transmission and transmission cooler options? This is on Nissens, I don't know about other OE or BMW brand:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1097628

I definetely have the right plug installed, I have AT with transmission cooler if I have the wrong plug installed it gushes coolant instantly

[bimmerisalwaysbroken]

Originally Posted by Hoody007

For my auto (335i, N55), the drain plug was blue.

OP, when you say the OE BMW one leaked from the drain plug, was this after work was done to the cooling system? It’s easy to destroy the mounting barbs if one is not careful when unscrewing the drain plug…

No none of these radiators have been unscrewed after being installed

[bimmerisalwaysbroken]

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

I'm on my 2nd Mahle radiator for my N54, they always leak on the drivers side top portion where the aluminum and plastic caps meet. They are a piece of junk and tons of reviews say that. That being said the Mahle version that I installed on my N52 330i like 5 or 6 years ago is going strong and hasn't leaked at all. Although they are 2 different part numbers, it sounds like they both have similar failures on a regular but yours definitely seems a bit excessive.

I wonder if the overflow tank cap isn't releasing pressure at the correct pressure and your system is over pressurized which causes yours to leak at a higher rate? I would replace the cap since its cheap and super easy to replace.

What is interesting here though is that all your failures are at the drain plug where these radiators are known to fail at the seams normally.

Hmm is this a known issue? I've replaced the overflow tank only about 1.5 year ago

[bimmerisalwaysbroken]

Originally Posted by autoart

You know that there are different drain plugs. One for automatic and one for manual. One is green, I don't remember what the other color is.

Yes correct drain plug is installed

[NZE90]

What is the pressure rating on your cap? Is it a genuine cap?

[bimmerisalwaysbroken]

Originally Posted by NZE90

What is the pressure rating on your cap? Is it a genuine cap?

Not near the car right now but this is it should be the same as original

Reutter 17117639021

[lookalikehuuh]

Originally Posted by bimmerisalwaysbroken

Not near the car right now but this is it should be the same as original

Reutter 17117639021

hrmmmm... cursory look says that Reutter cap is a 2.0 bar cap. I think the factory cap is a 1.4bar cap. That could explain all of this if its truly holding 30% more pressure.

[NZE90]

Yep, should be a 1.4 bar cap. Please buy a new genuine one and not some cheap junk.

[bimmerisalwaysbroken]

Originally Posted by NZE90

Yep, should be a 1.4 bar cap. Please buy a new genuine one and not some cheap junk.

That's weird it's from a reputable store here in Australia, I'll go and get a genuine and see if it fixes it