Properly routing the transmission cooling lines / 3.0i
 

Hey all,

Last year I got my transmission cooling lines repaired as no one had them in stock around here and I saved quite a bit of $$$ in the process. There is an industrial area nearby that has a shop that can replace the flexible hoses and crimp the new ones in. Anyway, seems they did a half-assed job because a leak developed at the connection and I got them out to fix them again. They have used some substantial crimps now as you can see from the photos, hopefully they will hold this time around.

Anyway, the plastic clips that keep the hoses secure were also missing and I got new ones to fix everything up. Now here is a problem - this is the diagram from the realoem:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/images/diag_1xzc.png

Notice how the pipe that connects to the upper connection on the transmission ends up on the left side when facing the car from front? Now i tried several different setups, and the only way there pipes line up properly is if the upper one from the transmission side ends up on the right side when looking at the engine from the front. At the diagram the flexible hoses then cross so the left one connects to the upper connection on the cooling unit, and the right one to the lower one.

I decided this is not that important as long as the proper end points are connected (although I guess it wouldn't be a disaster to hook them up the wrong way), but it does make me wonder.... how are these hoses routed up for you? I would appreciate if anyone with a 3.0i can take a peek under the intake line and check how the hoses are routed? For me it looks like this at the moment:

http://i.imgur.com/pLxMUdvl.jpg

Notice the difference compared to reaoem diagram.

This is a view from below although you can't see much as I was holding a flashlight in my mouth while trying to snap a photo with my phone:

http://i.imgur.com/l5cCRXwl.jpg

Thanks!

The original hoses are molded with bends as per the realoem diagram IIRC.

The new lines look to be high pressure hydraulic hoses. I use a lot of those for heavy equipment hydraulic systems. They dont like to bend much.

I am guessing the stiff hoses are causing what you see.

I'd take a look at mine for you but I am away from my truck for a few weeks.

Not sure, but those look uncomfortably close to the steering linkage.

They are, but after a while they keep the form....but the flexible hoses are not the problem at all, take a closer look at the diagram and the picture.

No, it just appears that way from this angle.