So what started off on last Friday as a routine engine bay cleanup and cosmetic work on the BMW, turned out to days long (still ongoing) saga with two cooling hoses broken and one strut mount stud snapped... At least the engine bay is clean now ...
Picking up a new hose now and hopefully will be able to install it tonight without anything else breaking in the process..... The beauty of working on old cars....
Seems like every time you touch that car, it costs hundreds!
![:rofl2:](https://www.autos.ca/forum/Smileys/CarTalk/rofl.gif)
Ha...ha... I knew you are going to say something like that.
![Wink ;)](https://www.autos.ca/forum/Smileys/CarTalk/wink.gif)
Well, hoses are not expensive, but it was the inconvenience of breaking without having the spare on hand. The strut mount will be expensive labor wise as I have to take it to the shop (parts are not that expensive).
On a 12 yo and 190K km car you would expect some cooling hoses to be cooked and plastic parts to be brittle. The hoses were original so they actually lasted quite a bit if you ask me.
When I come back from vacation I will preemptively replace the radiator (still original) and shortly after will do the water pump, thermostat and all cooling hoses. Then, I only have the starter to replace before winter (parts are cheap again but labor will be expensive).
Thing is I got the car for the price I got it for, with the mind set to refresh it end-to-end over time as I plan to keep it for the long run, so it doesn't bother me much.
The only thing is that the timing was bad as I go on vacation for few weeks in few days and I need to drive the car to my friend's house....and I have other things to take care before.
Anyway, I put the hoses in tonight and while I had to struggle to remove the radiator side of the upper hose, the front end is back together. The moment of truth will be tomorrow when I put everything else back, refill the coolant and bleed the system. Hopefully no leaks....