The cooling system as a whole is a problem area for the BMW's. There are several suppliers that make radiators for the e36 M3 and I'm sure the e39 is in the same boat. Also replace the plastic thermostat housing for an upgraded metal one. As for water pumps, by far the best is the Stewart. They make the water pumps for the NASCAR cars. I did the coolant system upgrade on my e36 M3 a couple of years ago, it's a piece of cake.

 

Hi everyone. In this thread there seems to be some confusion over the differences between Genuine and OEM. Genuine refers to the parts that come in Porsche and BMW boxes - OEM are parts that are made by the original suppliers to Porsche or BMW. Some OEM suppliers may be OEM for a particular component (like brake discs), but aftermarket for another component (like radiators). It gets very confusing. I made this webpage here to try to clearly explain all of the differences: http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/OEM_FAQ.htm

Pelican has the largest selection of any retailer around for both Porsche and BMW, primarily because we sell all the Genuine Porsche and BMW parts as well as the OEM, aftermarket and performance parts too. We must purchase our Genuine parts from the dealer network, so our pricing on Genuine is good, but not as good as it is on the OEM and Aftermarket parts that we sell. Still, we're often way cheaper than the dealer if you decide to walk up to the counter and purchase an item.

As with any store in the world, you can pick and choose pricing and buy one item from here, and then another from there, and then a third from Joe's shop down the street. All that adds up to time and money spent in shipping charges. Pelican strives to offer the best selection at very reasonable prices - all combined with one of the most generous FREE and 3-day shipping programs available anywhere. Oh, and let's not forget all of the technical articles and support, combined with top-notch Customer Support. This combination seems to be working very well - we've grown quite a bit over the past year, and are now expanding to offer more technical content and expanded parts for the Boxster, 996, MINI, etc.

Thanks everyone for your continued support!

-Wayne

 

Ask for Max (no affiliation)

http://www.oembimmerparts.com/oembmwparts.html

I don't think you'll do better anywhere else. People on bimmerboard.com swear by him and I've used him before with great success.

Lots of choices for you. I just limped into the BMW indie today with my car having some problems and it was $1635 before I got out of there later today! Power steering hose - $233.

Max at oembimmerparts, $89 for the same basic thing. Didn't know that till I got home and paid "full price" at my indie. Not too happy but I'm stuck, now.

 

..and you want to get rid of the 993?!

 

"Want" to get rid of it? No way!