it never rains, it pours...coolant. all over the place., need new rad, need DYI tips Options

[axelrduvirage]

well, took the ol' Celi out for a quick spin today after recharging the battery and inflating the tires. had to get it going. may have to take it to the shop next week for springs / struts installation...yay . so i pull onto the gas station for a splash and dash and notice this familiar smell. coolant!!! all over everything in the engine bay. P.U. anyway enough beetchin'...

any HOT tips on replacing the rad. it's on order and should be here tomorrow (Friday) or Monday latest. are there any "do this before you do that" instructions from anyone who has DYI'ed a rad? i'm pretty handy and replaced the rad on my 540i, no problem.

any help, tips, warnings, caveats and "i told you so's" would be appreciated.

BTW pray for nice weather, it's been everything and anything around here lately. today sunny, calm and 10°C, saturday -5°c freezing rain and high winds (not Mr. Fix-it-in-your-driveway weather )

This post has been edited by axelrduvirage: Mar 6, 2008 - 8:03 PM

[6G96GT]

you should probably go ahead and do new hoses and a thermostat too. Plus a nice flush (inc. the block) to get all that old sh*t out.

[axelrduvirage]

... get all that old sh*t out.

tell me about it!! the crap that came out of the old rad was brown and heavy. the stuff that came out of the bock looked like coolant (fluo green). i wonder if my rad was congested to the point it wasn't circulatindg much back into the block? got the old rad out no prob. will transfer fan to the new one tomorrow or sunday.
anyway, every thing is on hold until i get some nice weather. havta flush and fill the whole system! some clamps are new, some are rusty and seized. some hoses are shiny, others are cracked and crumbly. finding out hte hard way that my car was front-ended, written off and sold to some unsuspecting foreign buyer (that would be me). the CeliPig is sick and i need to tend to it. i feel like i am a victim of love-at-first-sight / high maintenance relationship syndrome. will post elsewhere on that topic.