About to do a water pump and thermostat on a 2009 BMW 328i

I stopped worrying about coolant a few years ago once it appeared that all major manufacturers began making vehicle-specific options. I just replaced my Toyota "red-pink" coolant with Zerex's version, still under warranty, not worried.

Save your money and get the Zerex or Peak versions from WM or AZ or AAP. You have other things to worry about on a BMW, those coolants will be just fine provided you install them correctly.
 
OEM coolant isnt really that much more than the Rowe or Pentosin replacement, if its easier for you to get to the dealer, just grab it there. Loosening the sway bar and letting it hang clears up a bunch of space. Also a 6mm swivel socket on a long extension really helps getting the hose clamps on and off.
 
Walmart carries a Zerex European coolant
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Zerex G48 can be had from O'Reilly in premix, or NAPA in full concentrate form.

Some stores stock the BMW-branded version at about the same price as the Zerex concentrate ~$20/gal, but without the dealer markup pricing.

G48 is so widely used by European OEMs (BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, older SAABs, etc.), it's a lot easier to get than it used to be.

G-05 is very similar, and even easier to source; some use it as a substitute
 
I get a gallon of unmixed coolant from the dealership for $20, and get 2 gallons out of it. If a dealership isn't far, it's a no brainer.

Have 105k on the water pump/thermostat on my 335i. And I'm thinking of a road trip to Denver in August.

Might be wise to do the same service myself!
 
I've read the BMW coolant has specific additives for the electric water pump. Not sure if that is true, but given the low cost of BMW coolant on Amazon/Ebay and the PITA/high cost of replacing the water pump, I only use BMW coolant and haven't had an issue.
 
Zerex G-48 would be my choice. G-05 is slightly different - it uses sodium benzoate instead of 2-EHA as the organic acid and is dyed straw pale instead of blue.

A BMW dealer might give you a small break on the OEM-labelled stuff if you're buying a water pump from them.
 
Originally Posted by jeepman3071
I've read the BMW coolant has specific additives for the electric water pump. Not sure if that is true, but given the low cost of BMW coolant on Amazon/Ebay and the PITA/high cost of replacing the water pump, I only use BMW coolant and haven't had an issue.


BMW blue coolant certainly does not have any special additives for the electric water pump, and if it did they would be doing an exceptionally poor job as E90 electric water pumps are hardly known for their durability.
 
I ran BMW blue until my headgasket blew at 110k miles. Nothing special about it. Mechanic put in Prestone and been running it since. If the BMW coolant is so great why do they have so many cooling system issues?
 
Originally Posted by 2strokeNorthstar
I ran BMW blue until my headgasket blew at 110k miles. Nothing special about it. Mechanic put in Prestone and been running it since. If the BMW coolant is so great why do they have so many cooling system issues?

Really? It's not the coolant, it's poor design and overly complicated systems. Coolant keeps the passages clean, which BMW blue does. Even after 26 years my old BMW has pristine internals but that doesn't keep mechanical and material failures from occurring.
 
Whatever it has now is what I would replace it with. FCP should have the OE pump and the OE coolant.
 
I ran BMW blue until my headgasket blew at 110k miles. Nothing special about it. Mechanic put in Prestone and been running it since. If the BMW coolant is so great why do they have so many cooling system issues?
Prestone AMAM/Cor-Guard is 75% similar to BMW’s OE fill of G-48. It doesn’t have silicate or borate but the same organic acid inhibitor and a different color.

but maintenance and keeping the cooling system in good shape is more important than the kind of coolant ultimately. Some engines have complicated systems to keep issues from arising but also have issues of their own.
 
I've read the BMW coolant has specific additives for the electric water pump. Not sure if that is true, but given the low cost of BMW coolant on Amazon/Ebay and the PITA/high cost of replacing the water pump, I only use BMW coolant and haven't had an issue.
I agree 100%.
 
I ran BMW blue until my headgasket blew at 110k miles. Nothing special about it. Mechanic put in Prestone and been running it since. If the BMW coolant is so great why do they have so many cooling system issues?
What caused the head gasket to fail? I’ve owned five BMWs past 130k miles and have yet to replace a head gasket.
That said, I personally wouldn’t refer to a guy who pours Prestone coolant into a BMW cooling system a “mechanic,” but whatever works for you.
 
That said, I personally wouldn’t refer to a guy who pours Prestone coolant into a BMW cooling system a “mechanic,” but whatever works for you.
While I feel G-48 is the best choice for a BMW, the new pHOAT Prestone Cor-Guard would be my second pick if the proper coolant cannot be obtained.

that said, I walked past a wrecked CL500 a few days ago that was abandoned. It was filled up with conventional green coolant but it was also bought from a BHPH lot.
 
I ran BMW blue until my headgasket blew at 110k miles. Nothing special about it. Mechanic put in Prestone and been running it since. If the BMW coolant is so great why do they have so many cooling system issues?

Head gasket? Have been working at BMW for a while and have never seen a head gasket go. They have cooling issues because at steady state cruising they run extremely hot and the cooling system is under significant pressure.
 
I've been using Prestone (green from Walmart) in my 2001 525i since 2006 when I had to replace the radiator, water pump and thermostat. Still on that same radiator and have replaced the water pump once since then (~100,000miles). 180,000 miles on the car now. I buy the concentrate and mix it 50/50 with RO (reverse osmosis) water.
 
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