E46 Cooling: WTB Thermostat with aluminium housing

[b3rg]

Hi Guys

The thermostat on my e46 is throwing p1622 error codes so its in need of replacement.

My question is: where in Cape Town can I find the Thermostat with the aluminium housing? Goldwagen? Masterparts? I havent tried them as yet.

Also what brands are good quality? Im thinking of doing the waterpump at the same time as I have no idea if it has ever been replaced by the previous owner.

Your input will be much appreciated.
Thank you!

 

[ChrisBrand]

I also have to do mine.

Will scout around and let you know of prices.

 

[b3rg]

I also have to do mine.

Will scout around and let you know of prices.

Thanks bud, will let you know as well. I am going to make a few calls tomorrow.

:ty:

 

[Loom]

I got a Behr one at Goldwagen but it has the "plastic" housing

 

[Charlie Brown]

Guys, I would recomend that you go with the dealer replacement parts for this critical part of your car. The short comings in the cooling system of most if not all BMWs are well documented, why you would you even consider risking an already comprimised system with a potentially sub-standard part?

Just my two cents, but spend sometime reseraching and you find some horror stories, there are some parts from Silverton that are worth looking at though.

 

[Loom]

Behr is OE.

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For the E36 I got an aluminum thermostat housing at Goldwagen and a Behr radiator at Silverton.

 

[LPM320]

I have read that its not recommended that you go with an aluminium housing for the e46 due to the thermostat being electronic and something about conductivity. The housing and thermostat for the e46 is generally one complete unit.

There should be no issues with the plastic one as it lasts 160 000+ km from new initially. So to last another 160 000km is quite acceptable service.

I purchased a behr thermostat from goldwagen for around R800 previously. It actually had the bmw stamp and part number filed off. Agents price was around R1600.

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Guys, I would recomend that you go with the dealer replacement parts for this critical part of your car. The short comings in the cooling system of most if not all BMWs are well documented, why you would you even consider risking an already comprimised system with a potentially sub-standard part?

Just my two cents, but spend sometime reseraching and you find some horror stories, there are some parts from Silverton that are worth looking at though.

Behr is a O.E Manufacturer. And so is Wahler in certain cases.

It is agreed that putting sub standard parts in your cooling system is a bad idea, but doing a little research can save you some cash...

Theres a difference in buying a replacement part made by a multi million rand german corporation and buying a part that is from an unknown manufacturer in china...

 

[AdiS]

The oem thermostat that I bought form BMW for mine had "behr" on it ...

 

[Sankekur]

Hi Guys

The thermostat on my e46 is throwing p1622 error codes so its in need of replacement.

My question is: where in Cape Town can I find the Thermostat with the aluminium housing? Goldwagen? Masterparts? I havent tried them as yet.

Also what brands are good quality? Im thinking of doing the waterpump at the same time as I have no idea if it has ever been replaced by the previous owner.

Your input will be much appreciated.
Thank you!

Personally I don't think an aluminium housing for the thermostat is a good idea. Firstly because the e46 thermostat is not like the ones on older BMWs where you have a thermostat housing and a thermostat as two separate parts, the thermostat is actually part of the housing. Though you could possible get a replacement thermostat only of the right size and temperature for the housing, this brings me to my second point, the thermostat on the e46 is electrically heated, so you will have to find a replacement thermostat that is heated as well. It is usually this part that fails, as it would seem is the case in your car as it is returning an error code.

Rather just get a good replacement from the dealers or a good quality aftermarket one that struggle with custom parts.

 

[b3rg]

Thank you all. I will be looking for an OE replacement. Ill have a look for the Behr unit.

Going to see if my current one has any branding on it other than that of the bmw logo.

 

[moranor@axis]

dont think you even get an alu housing for the e46... for the water pump I recommend you go OEM BMW pump the new composite impeller if well above anything else on the market and exclusive to BMW

my car even felt like it revved more freely with the BMW pump they are expensive but my last water pump did not last and you can really see the quality of the BMW impeller is WAY above...

BMW do a rebate for your old BMW pump so keep it if you have one

 

[ChrisBrand]

Thanks guys. Some awesome insight and tips in this thread!

 

[ChrisBrand]

If anyone is interested, these are the parts (for my e46 pre-facelift 6 cylinder)

01 Coolant pump, mechanical 1 11517509985
02 O-ring 68X5 1 11511711484 $3.44
04 Thermostat housing with thermostat 1 11531437040 $90.38
05 Gasket 1 11537509357 $8.44

 

[AcidBurn]

Just my 50c worth to the thread.

I bought and OEM thermostat from SMG and its was a BEHR one, paid R1200 about 1.5years ago. So if you can get your hands on a BEHR one then i say buy it dont even stress about it.

As for the water pump i bought the HEPU one from Goldwagen, think i paid R650 for it. Was fitted by myself about 0.5 years ago and no issues what so ever. After research on other BMW forums I ended up/decided to go with the HEPU one as it was the only one from the recommended brands that was easily available.

 

[moranor@axis]

Just did a water pump writup I have been meaning to do

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=65566