Cracked thermostat housing...M52

[sclass]

Wsup everyone,

Another day another issue...!
After a drive on Saturday I parked the car and for some reason I was compelled to look underneath and just then I saw coolant leaking to the ground,not a lot (maybe a quarter mug full)...fortunately I park in reverse in the garage so I might not have seen this!Anyway I checked hoses,and the water bottle,all ok,then a sound like air escaping drew me towards the thermo and there is a crack running across the housing.How long before this all goes kaboom????Car isn't overheating and it hasn't seemed to have spewed any fluid since then???
I know I have to replace,but where can I get one with the aluminium housing??I suppose I should replace the hoses too now,and the water pump...and the clutch fan...#@$^&**(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Peejay]

Fit the colder termostat switch and do the fan clutch delete.

 

[jeff_denning]

Same thing happened to me this weekend :argh:
Hopefully your housing and hosing is a lot easier to source than a 525i - ended up getting mine from SMG Cape Town.

Not really worth the risk - cooling system overhaul time

 

[Raybimmer]

Had the same on my 328i M52 on Sunday , so pulled one off 325i M50 it fits . Put 80 degree thermostat in and left fan off ( see Fan delete mod thread for pic of bladeless fan !! ) Goldwagen have an alluminium one part 30900A . East London branch have ordered me one maybe Friday delivery . About R215.00 . Good luck .

---

Try Goldwagen , part number 30900A ( check their ad in July CAR magazine back pages )

Wsup everyone,

Another day another issue...!
After a drive on Saturday I parked the car and for some reason I was compelled to look underneath and just then I saw coolant leaking to the ground,not a lot (maybe a quarter mug full)...fortunately I park in reverse in the garage so I might not have seen this!Anyway I checked hoses,and the water bottle,all ok,then a sound like air escaping drew me towards the thermo and there is a crack running across the housing.How long before this all goes kaboom????Car isn't overheating and it hasn't seemed to have spewed any fluid since then???
I know I have to replace,but where can I get one with the aluminium housing??I suppose I should replace the hoses too now,and the water pump...and the clutch fan...#@$^&**(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sclass]

Yeah I always knew cooling overhaul was inevitable...but NOW???Eish,can this car please understand and appreciate that I'll give it all the TLC in the world in December,lol!...I did an overhaul on my E39...it's going to hurt:argh:

Right now I'm supposed to be focused on the front suspension and brakes.I already bought ball-joints,got front brake pads (ATE) last weekend,hopefully getting front discs and tie-rods in the next few weeks...and this is before shocks and tyres,yoh!!So yah,the timing sucks...I must really love this car :inlove:

Heven@ I don't trust anyone to perform the fan-delete around here...and I won't be in SA for an extended period anytime soon...

Jeff@ Do the stealers still only supply the plastic one??

Ray@ Does goldwagen have a branch in Pta?My girlfriend's lives there so maybe she could order it for me and have it delivered to her?

 

[jeff_denning]

Yeah they do bud
No sure how the pricing differs, but for the thermostat housing SMG are looking for R1200 and R480 for the piping before that (think it's a flow meter... I stand corrected.)

I asked for aluminium, but they said they don't stock it. Specifically asked for both E39 and E36, wanted to put aluminium on the track car. I've read mixed reports though on which is better - plastic seems to be, but I think it's dependant on how you drive your car.

Maybe do the housing the piping before that, they're both really easy to do yourself. Then next month sort out the waterpump and fan clutch delete?

 

[sclass]

Just so that I'm clear,can you source the housing on it's own or is it a one-piece with the thermostat???

Maybe it's best to just stick to the plastic original?

Whilst on the topic of driving style, how is the power delivery on the your 328i? I'm trying to get an idea of where mine ought to be.It responds immediately even with part throttle till about 2.5k rpm then it seems to 'go to sleep' from there till about 4k,where there's a little more gusto till 5.5k...shouldn't vanos be giving me a REAL shove at 4k?Or is this just the nature of the beast???????

 

[whattingh]

the m52 had a housing witha loose thermostat.
Jeff have a m54 which have a electronics thermostat that is integrated into the housing.

I have read somewhere that the alu housing does not always seal 100%. might want to google that a bit make sure.

 

[sclass]

whattingh@ yeah that sounds about right,I just saw this on E46 fanatics;

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01-12-2011, 05:05 PM #21
e36-2.0
Registered User


Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 868
My Ride: 330xi
View My Garage on e36s the thermostat housing is notorious for breaking. This was probably because the housing and thermostat were separate pieces and people only replaced the thermostat leaving the housing to warp and deteriorate. However on e46s, broken thermostat housings are nearly non existant as the housing and thermostat come as a single unit and are replaced at the same time.
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