Greetings:

Got some bad news today on the 2007 E63. Coolant was leaking slowly through the plastic fitting that interfaces with the (driver's side) cold air intake.

Can the plastic side sub-assembly be ordered / replaced, or does it require a new entire radiator?

Pictures attached.

Thanks - Rocket88

 

you need a new radiator. they aren't expensive.

 

A quality new radiator can be had for a little less than $300. If you want to have your radiator repaired, the plastic tanks and the related gasket can be replaced by a radiator shop that has the purpose correct equipment to fold the tabs back to remove the old tank and re-clamp the taps once the new tank has been installed. The tank on the hot side of the radiator is the typical one that fails most often. It can be the tank or the gasket or both. As part of servicing the radiator, they should do a full clean out of the core and make sure it flows well. They can be done for a little over $100.

 

I was having that exact same thing happen to me after spending the majority of COVID Lockdown restoring/upgrading my entire rear suspension after having repaired the Rear Main Seal! After getting all that work done I went out for its first ride in a year only to find that the radiator was leaking just like yours, all over the garage floor! Another huge issue was the Rear Differential I swapped 3.06 Gears into from a SRT8 Diff had a major vibration occurring upon deceleration, so I had to drop the Differential again to get it fixed!

So while I was working on that I also tackled installing a new radiator/tranny cooler (both in same part for 07-09 E63 at least!), a A/C Compressor & A/C Condenser/Drier ( both come attached together when new) as well as a Heater Combination Valve and A/C expansion Valve since both were located right next to each other and they required removal of the windshield wiper motor mechanism. I made sure to replace all ring seals, although one of the ones ordered for the front side of the A/C Valve was NOT fat enough and one I had in one of those “kits” fit better! The new Radiator hoses come with new seals, however I made sure to get the seals for both hoses that attach to the compressor too as well as those for each of the hoses which connect to the “A/C Condenser mount/hoses positioned driver side under the radiator secured by a small Torx head nut. I’ll add that the A/C Condenser actually comes with the Power Steering Cooler Mount Built-in! I was particularly concerned about having to break the P/S line when doing this, but that’s unnecessary since one can simply unbolt the P/S Cooler and secure it via Velcro straps draped over a 2x4 resting on the bumper!

Another “issue” I had was that my New passenger side Air Intake Tube came up short of connecting to the intake port of the radiator. So I ruffed up the inner side and outside edges and built a 3/4” extension using fiberglass and 2 part epoxy. I ended up getting some 2 part epoxy from a local guy who had vats of the stuff for sealing wooden surfaces (Doors-Bars) and still have a inch of it left for future projects. The key to using that stuff is to measure out varying amounts of the “hardener” and add to the same measurement of epoxy to determine which one hardens and dry’s best. What was recommended to me was NOT the right measurement BTW! It took about a week to get it built up, but in the scheme of things, it was no problem as my hands were full tending to other installation challenges while the epoxy was drying.

Another Tip- definitely remove both the Drier/Condenser with the radiator by disconnecting both the tranny hoses, A/C Hoses, and Coolant Hoses. They both come out and Install together. You have to re-use those aluminum transmission cooling hoses that run passenger side up the side of the Radiator (ie the tranny Cooler part of the radiator) by removing them and then installing them after mounting the Condenser to the radiator on the bench.

I just drove the Beast last night and hit 100mph in 5th on the back roads and was happy to realize all is now well!!!!!!