Cooling System - Check this!

["Ron Buchalski" <rbuchals@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

[Cross-posting to several lists to cover a large audience]

Last month I found myself stranded in Philly because of the failure of a $5 
part.  The part in question?  The cooling system bleeder screw!  It's 
located on the top of the radiator.  It's present on E34 and E36 cars, and 
probably other models as well.

What I learned from the dealer is that this part fails because the plastic 
becomes brittle with age, heat cycling, and being under tension.

When it fails, it no longer seals the cooling system, so the cooling system 
won't be able to pressurize, and the coolant will boil at a much lower 
temperature.

My advice?  Go to the dealer, pick up TWO of these:

  17-11-1-712-788 (List $5.76 each)

Replace the one that's currently in your car, and keep the other one in your 
glove box.

As I said earlier, it fits the E34 and E36 models, but I'm not sure if it 
fits other models.

Hope this helps someone!

- -rb


_________________________________________________________________
Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. 
http://www.hotmail.com

------------------------------