Bending the heater pipes

[kroberts]

Since my rear-end swap has gone to shit, I'm going to have some time to kill while I wait for my IE order. I have read numerous accounts of the need to bend one or both of the heater hose tubes, at the firewall, to clear the intake manifold. Do you remove the aluminum tubes from the heater core in order to bend them? My interior is out so I have plenty of access. I'm a little spooked by this, I dont know why really, it seems like a pretty mundane task. Some have suggested taking a torch to the tubes. How do you do that with only 2 inches exposed at the firewall?

Anybody have a picture of the finished task? Heck, that would be just swell.

Thanks,

kr

[BeirBrennerE30]

no pics but to bend them just stick something inside the tubes that are almost the same daimeter and SLOWLY bend the tubes down and to the drivers side. you want the tubes to sit about an inch lower and an inck closer to the drivers side. Just take it slow since the old pipes can be brittle. no heat or removal necessary.

oh yeah and the pipes are connected to the heater core so its a bitch to take out

[BigD]

^^^ +1

I just used a 1/2" ratchet wrench handle. Or maybe it was the 3/8". Just use something that fits snugly. I liked the ratched handle because it's tapered so I could make it totally snug.

[asubimmer]

I didn't bend mine and although its very tight in there the heat still works great.

[LINUS]

What D said is right on.

Also, just buy new heater pipes, unless yours are perfect. Mine were crap, and it seems common on these 20 year old cars. If the budget allows, a new heater core & pipes to go with your new hoses & radiator give you a totally new cooling system you shouldn't ever have to think about again. If the budget allows.

[BDSax]

much easier to put the hoses on with the intake off. i noticed that when i changed my starter

[kroberts]

BD, are you saying that the only reason people bend the tubes is for access to the hoses when the engine is installed? Or is bending the tubes a "must do"?

kr

[PiercedE30]

I haven't touched my heater pipes.

[asubimmer]

BD, are you saying that the only reason people bend the tubes is for access to the hoses when the engine is installed? Or is bending the tubes a "must do"?

kr

if you look me and others in this thread have left them alone and are fine..

[LINUS]

Ken -

I don't have shims under my mounts, and I would have had to bend mine if I hadn't prior to installing the intake manifold. I dropped my motor in without the intake on, and even though I'd only bent my top pipe 15MM or so (and the bottom one the same to get it out of the way of the top one), it still was going to make contact with that big collar molded to the underside where the tap for the vacuum line plugs in. - I bent it another 5 MM or so to get the pipe off the manifold once a hose was on it.

I was also told the motor torqued that direction, so I gave it a couple MM wiggle to give the motor some room to float.

Was that good info the intake side dives when you put a load on the motor?

Are the firewalls the same between a standard and a M unibody? I can't see BMW wanting to make more work for themselves than needed, so I can't believe they are different. I never dug under the firewall pad to see if we have the access panel for the blower, so I wonder if it's possible the firewall port for the HC tubing is just a small amount off from a standard body.

[asubimmer]

I don't have shims and no bent pipes either...

[vr4boy]

i bent my heater tubes almost parallel to the leveled ground using the spark plug tool in the trunk-it fits snug on the outer diameter of the pipes....

[MR 325]

I bent mine before the motor went in just to be safe. Not really sure if I had to.

[FredK]

I bent mine AFTER the motor went in, because people said I didn't need to bend them, but I couldn't slip the spider hose on the top pipe without kinking it.

[B3M2W5]

OK i was a dummy and didnt find out you have to bend the heater pipes untill i drove my car last night. I have no heat so I was hoping some one could let me know. Which line coming from which port on the motor needs to go into which hole on the heater core(top or bottom)?
I noticed that my intake is pinching one of the hoses ever so slightly on mine so i wasnt sure if myabe that was why i didnt have heat or if they are rev.