BMW Z3 Roadster (1997 - 2003) - 97 1.9 Mystery pipework

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Sat 1 Aug 2009 06:18
97 1.9 Mystery pipework - mike hannon
My friend has treated himself to a very tidy early Z3 as a toy and has spent the past week getting to know it.
In the process he has noticed a loop of plain pipework, about 8mm diameter (guess), at the front, right behind the grille and in front of the radiator, that has a bit of surface rust on it to be cleaned to match the rest of the car.
Thing is, we can't figure out what this length of pipe is for. It's completely separate from everything else and our best guess is that it's either a transmission oil cooler or perhaps part of the fuel return system. He has invested a huge sum of money in the official workshop manual - paper, not a pirate DVD! - but can't find it mentioned anywhere.
Can someone elucidate?
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Sat 1 Aug 2009 11:48
97 1.9 Mystery pipework - bathtub tom
Power steering fluid cooler?
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Sat 1 Aug 2009 13:36
97 1.9 Mystery pipework - mike hannon
Could be.
I was nosing about this morning and I noticed the Prelude has something very similar - a small bore pipe run sticking out in the airflow. No rust on that one though...
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Sat 1 Aug 2009 14:15
97 1.9 Mystery pipework - henry k

My Mondeo II has a power steering fluid cooler in a similar position but it is finned.
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Sat 1 Aug 2009 19:15
97 1.9 Mystery pipework - Dr Dave
Almost certainly a power steering cooler Mike.
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