[mook1178]

Shop said I should replace my upper radiator hoses due the accumulation on coolant.
I'm going to clean up the connection to see if it actually is leaking. If not leaking, would you replace?
Picture attached.

[jeongj]

Yes. I heard that hose is very fragile. Replace them so you don't end up on the side of road.

[PichaDis11]

Yeah. The overflow nipple will probably give way.

[mook1178]

Thanks. Do I need to replace the over flow house as well or just the radiator hose?

[ccyccm]

You should get a coolant vent hose too. That’s the hose that connects to the nipple

[nissubaru]

Originally Posted by ccyccm

You should get a coolant vent hose too. That’s the hose that connects to the nipple

That's the same as the overflow/expansion tank hose.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...se-17127565094

The nipple itself is on the upper radiator hose, mine broke right off when I was 2 minutes from home. I consider that very lucky considering I could have been 100+ miles away.

Pretty much any time you are wondering if you should replace something...do it! Some parts are cheap enough that it's a no brainer.

[Vivek.]

Do you have green coolant in there??

[E92William]

That little hose up there will keep on leaking even if you tighten the clamp around it to 1000ft lbs. It would continue to leak on my car even with a new upper rad hose I guess the rubber in it breaks down. Replace both and save yourself a headache because my upper hose nipple snapped replacing the small hose.

[bluewater328]

I would replace the upper rad hose if you have the opportunity. It will fail at some point -- most don't get the courtesy leak that you have and get a full spray out into the engine bay. It's probably one of the more common failure points. You can do that one without draining the whole system. While you're there, did you do OFHG? Since you're partially draining (even though that job technically doesn't need to drain) anyway, might be good timing if there is wear or signs of leaks.

You dont need to replace the reservoir unless its leaking itself or you feel like its clogged. Some replace the skinny hose to the reservoir in the process, but that's your call based on the condition. By the looks of the connection, someone might have already done that. Do a pressure test following and make sure to refill and bleed system.

[mook1178]

I think I'm just going to replace both. That way I know everything is on the up and up.

I had the OFHG replaced about 40k miles ago. I think it's good.

I do not have green coolant in there. I had the water pump replaced by a bmw mechanic. He even mentioned that the wrong coolant was in there and replaced with the proper coolant when doing the water pump. It hasn't been flushed since. I trust that he did not lie to me. I'm just wondering once the coolant fries if it turns green. It's more if a teal color in person.

[PichaDis11]

Originally Posted by mook1178

I think I'm just going to replace both. That way I know everything is on the up and up.

I had the OFHG replaced about 40k miles ago. I think it's good.

I do not have green coolant in there. I had the water pump replaced by a bmw mechanic. He even mentioned that the wrong coolant was in there and replaced with the proper coolant when doing the water pump. It hasn't been flushed since. I trust that he did not lie to me. I'm just wondering once the coolant fries if it turns green. It's more if a teal color in person.

While you are at it; Toss in an aluminum coolant flange. Get it on ebay or amazon or whichever vendor on here sells them still.

[Efthreeoh]

So what I find interesting, by evidence there is a worm clamp on the vent hose, is the vent return line has been removed from the upper radiator hose at least once before. OP is the car new to you, or was work done to the cooling system while you've owned it? This is important because whoever removed the hose before, probably weakened the nipple on the upper radiator hose and now it is cracked and starting to leak.

[mook1178]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

So what I find interesting, by evidence there is a worm clamp on the vent hose, is the vent return line has been removed from the upper radiator hose at least once before. OP is the car new to you, or was work done to the cooling system while you've owned it? This is important because whoever removed the hose before, probably weakened the nipple on the upper radiator hose and now it is cracked and starting to leak.

This car is not new to me. I have had it roughly 5 years. When I first purchased I admittedly knew nothing about the common issues with BMWs. Either way, it had an OFHG leak that I did not pay attention too. The gasket eventually completely failed and oil dripped on the serpentine belt, snapping it. I got lucky that no major damage was done as I was at a slow speed turning onto my road and I cut the engine immediately and pushed it to my house.

In that repair, a few of the coolant hoses were replaced due to being covered in oil. Without digging into my records, I do not remember which ones were replaced, but my thought would be at least one of the hoses in this discussion if not both. A very expensive lesson to learn, but learn I did. Now any issue that comes up with the car, I get repaired right away. Had I gotten the OFHG replaced when I first noticed the leak I could have saved a ton of money.

I am slowly realizing a lot of money can be saved in DIY. I am ordering a cable from bimmergeeks this weekend to scan codes myself. I may not know what they mean, but I can always post here.

Thank you to everyone on this forum. My wife would have made me get rid of the car long ago if it was not for the DIY I have learned from this forum!

[mook1178]

I've been thinking about the question of the color of my coolant.

When doing a water pump change, I know the mechanic flushed the radiator, but there would still be coolant in the engine, correct? Is there a way to get this coolant out of the engine while flushing the radiator?

Maybe the old coolant, which was green, and the correct coolant have mixed?

I will go ahead and flush the radiator after replacing these hoses, just to be sure. If there is a way to get the coolant out of the engine I will do that as well. That way I know 100% that the correct coolant is in the engine.

[E92William]

I think the mechanic just put green coolant in there and called it a day. When my hose was seeping it was blue not green

[mook1178]

Originally Posted by E92William

I think the mechanic just put green coolant in there and called it a day. When my hose was seeping it was blue not green

I can definitely see how everything points to that. The shop is German specific cars only. I would hope he didn't do that. He even mentioned the wrong coolant in there. I was going to take it back to him to install struts, since it's the only one I could find to install customer bought parts. Now I'm not sure I want to do that.

[crashoverride]

So the pic is so close up I'm having trouble identifying location. that being said my car is in the shop right now as hose part # 11537545890 failed I've learned that it's not if but "when" it will fail it connects to the oil filter housing which heats and cools rapidly degrading the plastic connecter from the inside that bolts to oil housing. The plastic connector that degrades is sold by many aftermarket suppliers like FCP or ECS as an upgraded aluminum connecter that will not fail like the plastic.
Only use BMW coolant. It only comes in BMW jugs. Have him show you a jug to confirm it's use.

[E92William]

Originally Posted by crashoverride

So the pic is so close up I'm having trouble identifying location. that being said my car is in the shop right now as hose part # 11537545890 failed I've learned that it's not if but "when" it will fail it connects to the oil filter housing which heats and cools rapidly degrading the plastic connecter from the inside that bolts to oil housing. The plastic connector that degrades is sold by many aftermarket suppliers like FCP or ECS as an upgraded aluminum connecter that will not fail like the plastic.
Only use BMW coolant. It only comes in BMW jugs. Have him show you a jug to confirm it's use.

I had that same piece fail right out of work. I wanted to replace it preventively but it failed before I could. So skipped 15 bucks and had to pay 10 times that to have it towed home

There's no amount of roadside half assing that one can do when that outlet fails.

[crashoverride]

oh yea that's the spot the plastic corrodes from the inside so the neck collapses and there is nothing for the hose to wrap around anymore. The weird thing I was like initially oh cool that's on top of engine I can get the part and be done real quick. Alas that plastic neck is part of the hose assembly and BMW doesn't sell the aftermarket aluminum version. I went aluminum but hell the plastic part that "Will Fail" lasted 170k

[PichaDis11]

Originally Posted by E92William

I had that same piece fail right out of work. I wanted to replace it preventively but it failed before I could. So skipped 15 bucks and had to pay 10 times that to have it towed home

There's no amount of roadside half assing that one can do when that outlet fails.

Well alright MacGyver!!

[nsjames]

there are green BMW approved coolants.

[dcsonnenberg]

I agree with replacing the little hose.

Otherwise, the top of the radiator often cracks in that location from rough handling.
When I see coolant pool in this location, it is usually a crack in the plastic.