Expansion Tank Busted

[Quicksilver]

Did you see post #13?

Originally Posted by spcalan1

Did you guys pay for the repair to the expansion tank? or DYI ?
Mine busted today. See my post..

[NicholasW]

Originally Posted by SlickGT1

Um OEM is what you bought. If you want original, it is called OE. I know a lot of people mess that up, adding to more interwebz confusion. My tank lasted 7 years before it cracked. $78 for a new OE one, hopefully another 7 years, 80k miles. Worth it.

So you're saying URO is a OEM?

I understand the difference between Original Equipment and Original Equipment Manufacture. That is almost irrelevant unless you're saying URO manufactures parts for BMW.

[TwinTurboGTR]

URO is not a supplier to BMW, they just make the part for the general public. But people interchange it as OEM. SO the way Slick worded it, is right. The part may be build be OE specification, but not quite BMW. I prefer not to use URO. It is a cheap parts manufacturer in CHINA. Their parts don't last very long. You get what you pay for. Just like URO also makes the Power Steering Resevior. It sucks. ZF is the OEM supplier. OE is the ZF housing with a BMW stamp on it.

[NicholasW]

Well that's what I thought. But if URO is an aftermarket Chinese company, then that's not OEM. It's not original. It's aftermarket made to copy a OE product. How do people "interchange it as OEM"? Either it's OE built by the original manufacturer of the parts, or it isn't.

OEM designates a replacement part made by the manufacturer of the original part.

So no, with respect, the information slick and yourself provided is incorrect.

[TwinTurboGTR]

Well I underatand what you are saying, and you are right. They should not be OEM. But it is used/interchanged all the time. Suppliers like URO, Karlyn, Arnett Beckley, etc are AFTERMARKET suppliers and should not be labeled as OEM. But they do. ECS does it occasionally or they call it a OES (Original Equipment Supplier.) AutohausAZ does it as well. And on the flip side, people call ZF/Lemforder an aftermarket part. But they are a OEM supplier aren't they???? So why call it aftermarket. People just have different wording for things. So what they call OEM, I ask them if its from OEM suppliers. If they mention anyone else, I'll just say, "Ok" for sake of time I don't have time explaining to the 4 or 5 posts a day that ask the same question.

SO I agree, it should not be labeled as OEM, but frequently does. I'd rather not battle it out with those who buy parts and then get lost in wording. I'll recommend to get parts from a dealer and get OE or find who manufactured the part and get it direct from them.

But I agree, URO is Aftermarket.

[NicholasW]

I agree sir.

I also agree that OE parts (including from the dealer) are the way I would recommend people to go as well.

[SlickGT1]

Yea whatever. I don't keep a list of OE parts, vs OEM, vs aftermarket. Mostly because I don't care to waste my time with what might be an inferior part. I rather spend a bit extra, do it once, use OE, and never worry about it again. My tank failed. I replaced all my hoses, tstat, coolant and all the sensors in the cooling system. It's all about piece of mind for me. If URO is AM, I wouldn't know, all my stuff has the BMW logo.

[TwinTurboGTR]

Yeah it does!!! Lol. My 01 is slowly loosing all of its BMW badging lol. The dealer parts counters by me all price gouge. I have a specialty shop by me and they typically stock all ZF, Mann, Lemforder etc and they have awesome prices. Hell picked up a Mann air filter from then for $12. Dealer wanted $75 lol. Then you found Craig. Now I get all the parts from him for the 4.8. It's 5% more through him on avg but worth the peace of mind IMHO.

[NicholasW]

Yeah slick, nobody is arguing that buying OE BMW parts isn't the best route. Just remember that your tank, along with countless others, have failed, blew up, etc. You know...the original BMW part.

[TwinTurboGTR]

I'm not following??? It's a wear item with 80k on the clock on it. It's a plastic piece that is subjected to alot of hot and cold cycles. I think that pretty good for a plastic part. If it was a Behr or ZF tank (not sure who makes that) it probably
Would have done the same. Actually he's lucky he got 80 out of it. The 4.4 only got 50 on average. I replaced it twice since I've owned it with 10k on the clock.

Are you trying to say if it was a URo it would last about the same or any aftermarket part?

The only aftermarket on my 4.4 is my front suspension. I went with meyle and my alternator from Pepboys. I went with a Pepboys alt because it gave a lifetime warranty and I couldn't justify paying $800 for a BMW part when I can get one for less with a lifetime warranty.