Poor lower radiator hose fitment?

[Drew325is]

Howdy folks.

I fitted up the lower radiator hose today (E36 pn 11531726344) and the fitment is pretty lousy...it's quite badly kinked at the 90o bend out of the radiator...is this normal? (M52, E30 325i rad, M535i mounts):

Edit: and yes, the hose has been shortened at the thermostat end about as much as it can be (i.e. any more and I'll run out of flare).



Cheers!

[FredK]

Hm, I essentially used the same combo. While the lower hose was difficult to install, it didn't really get kinked, nor did I have to shorten it. I used an E36 325i radiator and E30 the rubber stoppers that sit in the radiator mounts, 535i engine mounts with no spacers.

What brand engine mounts are you using? I've found that the Meyle black mounts crunch down more than the Continental-branded green mounts.

[Drew325is]

Hmmm...I don't think the mounts are genuine BMW (bought them ages ago)...so there could be something going on there. Maybe I'm being fussy...but I was under the impression that the E36 hose was a pretty good fit.

I spent some time at the autoparts store looking for alternatives, and so far a 6cyl Ford Cortina hose, with some trimming, is looking a better fit...so I might need to stick with that. It would be nice to have something off the shelf that fits though...would make life easier down the road when I need to replace the hose.

[WillisE30]

That "kink" doesn't look that bad. On my swap I shortened up the radiator end of the hose just a bit which worked well for me, obviously you have to leave enough to get it on still but you get the idea.

[etxxz]

go to advance auto/pepboays w/e, buy a hose with the same ID that has an 11 inch straight section and a 90* bend anywhere along the hose. if you can find a hose that has two of these sections you can make both radiators hoses from one piece. i believe my top hose is 10 inches long. Its what i did and i have no kinks that's terrible.

[Drew325is]

That "kink" doesn't look that bad. On my swap I shortened up the radiator end of the hose just a bit which worked well for me, obviously you have to leave enough to get it on still but you get the idea.

Yeah the photo doesn't make it look that bad...but in the flesh it looks bad enough that with some heat and suction it's not hard to see it collapsing on itself.

I'll keep plugging away at it and see what we come up with.

go to advance auto/pepboays w/e, buy a hose with the same ID that has an 11 inch straight section and a 90* bend anywhere along the hose. if you can find a hose that has two of these sections you can make both radiators hoses from one piece. i believe my top hose is 10 inches long. Its what i did and i have no kinks that's terrible. .

Yeah that might be what I end up doing...certainly the the cortina hose was heading that way.

[m4tt]

It looks like it's not that bad in the pics. Mine looks real close. I try to stay with all bmw parts so if something breaks I can pick it up at the dealer. if you use something else, just make a note so you can replace it when the time comes. I would not want to have to go all over town looking for a aftermarket part again in a couple of years.

[Drew325is]

I definitely prefer using BMW parts...but I'm just not 100% happy with how it's working out. So I'm going to go with a solid aluminium pipe section with rubber hose at each end, until I find something better. Unfortunately it'll scream modified, but I prefer that to having a hose I don't have 100% faith in.

[btec116]

I had the same prob with the top hose. After scouring local auto shops woithout luck, I got the shits, cut the original BMW hose so I got the bends and fitted a stainless section to join. This way you get to keep the flared ends and proper ID's. The tube came from Pirtek, who were also quite helpful with cooling system and power steering hoses (sympathetic to my cause;)
I was two stanley blades into hacking the E36 hose when I realised they use kevlar braid in them! How awesome!!! Well, at least that makes you feel a little better about getting ripped on original parts prices...

[OoPEZoO]

I was two stanley blades into hacking the E36 hose when I realised they use kevlar braid in them! How awesome!!! Well, at least that makes you feel a little better about getting ripped on original parts prices...

Yeah, brilliant.....heavy duty kevlar braid in the hose that attaches to a POS plastic neck at the radiator. Engineering Vs. the Bean Counters at its best

[318isbmw]

I took a coat hanger in the shape of what I needed from the middle of where the hose needs to go in the hole and then wrote down the diameters I need on each end and went to the local parts place and we tested until we found something we could cut down to the shape I needed.

[golde30]

mine looks like that, same hose, works fine.

[loonibab325i]

That kink doesn't look too bad.

I just went to the local automotive store and browsed through their hoses and picked a few that matched, it was pretty simple. luckily the hoses I picked up had springs in them so i was able to run them and have no kinks.

-Abe.