Another water pump down, <48k

[Freon]

Welp, water light came on, limped the 1/2 mile back home. Luckily it was just on a 3/4 (one way) trip to Starbucks and popped on partly on the way home. While I was waiting in the drive through the fans popped on full blast, but no light at that point. Car has just under 48k on the clock. Dash water temp never showed fully warm, oil temp was barely off the lower pin.

Ordering parts kit and a rental now... :P Watching the BavarianAuto DIY on Youtube now...

I haven't done any sort of racing or really hard driving in quite a while (had done some autocrossing about 2 years ago, one or two events last year)--just mainly DD rarely getting above 4k.

Looks like it'll be $1100-1200 all said and done to DIY with the ECS Level 2 refresh kit (figure why not) plus a rental for a week to get parts in and fix the car. Doh!

[awns729]

sI just preemptively did my water pump and tstat on Friday. Took me 7-8 hours with a break for lunch, a nap, and lots of rewatching of the bav auto video. I did it on ramps with some crawling (room is tight when on the creeper). I was also reading the mike miller(?) maintenance PDFs, and he mentions how water pump life is probably more a function of engine hours than mileage, which makes sense. I have done the past 20k miles (after i purchased the car with 48k) mostly as highway driving, so I may have had some life left in my pump (although hard to say without more stats on driving style and average pump life on an aggregate level).

Anyway here are some notes:

Convertibles will have to remove the 2 cross bars held on by 2 18mm and 2 16 mm bolts before removing the sway bar and power steering cooler.

The 17mm hex on the power steering cooler rubber damper is at the very bottom edge of the damper. So that's where you have to hold it wiht your wrench while you undo the 10mm nut to remove the cooling line away. There is also a little bracket that the cooling line fits into that I also removed (10mm nut) for a bit more access room. I'm talking about the bracket piece that's left over once you remove the cooling line as shown in the video.

10:30 in, when he's grabbing the quick release and pulling that big ass hose out of hte thermostat. That was a little hard to see so shine some light in there, and try to pry the metal clip up with a screw driver. then pull that hose back hard. This hose is also a bitch to get back on. It has to slide pretty much alllll the way back onto the thermostat. I kept getting it on, then putting the quick release pin back. Then I'd try to pull it off as a test and it kept coming off. Then I took a closer look, and realized there's a notch in the hose that goes over the tstat, and it probably had to be pushed on much more than I was pushing it. So lube it up and wiggle it on hard. Then lock the quick release and check that you cannot pull it off.

13:30 when he's getting the 3rd water pump bolt. I was having really fucking hard time getting the universal on there. My advice is to really note the angle he comes in at. He tries to get at the bolt from the edge of the cross member so that he's getting on it as straight as possible (maybe 30* off). I was coming in closer to 60-70 degrees, which made it almost impossible to loosen it.

Also, before the 3rd water pump bolt, there's a ground table on a clip. You'll have to pull it off the clip and then pry the clip off. The clip will come off towards the passengers side. It will require some force. Look at the new pump's 'webbing' near the 3rd bolt to imagine how the clip must be on there. (This is discussed in the video).

Once you get the clip off and are going for the 3rd bolt, try to move hte cable up and get your socket on that bolt from underneath the cable. I found this the easiest. Or you may be able to get enough slack on the cable to pull it far enough away, but I think pulling it up is easiest.

17:00 when pulling out the tstat, i wasn't feeling very spatially aware and i was nervous about the whole job. I had the second tstat ready to go so I could put it right back up and connect that final long ass hose right back up to the new tstat so i'd at least get teh orientation right. looking back on it, this is probably harder to mess up than i thought. one note - that last hose seemed relatively soft, so I was afraid of breaking it. It was also stuck on to the tstat. I used a blow dryer on this hose (minute or two should do it) and a few others. made things much easier.

8:35 (2nd video) wd-40 that clip to get it back on to the pump webbing

the last issue I had was when bolting up the new water pump, one of the 2 bottom bolts would not seat fully. I tried a bunch of times and could not get it to seat, so right now its in 9/10ths of the way but isn't fully flush. the job was a pain in the ass, so I didn't care too much. the pump is definitely secure in there.

additionally, i followed the videos advice and did the bottom 2 bolts before doing the top 3rd, so it would be aligned. this did not work for me. I had to loosen the bottom 2 most of the way (but i think they were still on a bit), then wiggle the pump like crazy till i could get the 3rd bolt to catch as i tried to hand thread it. then i was able to tighten the bottom 2 back.

basically, getting that third bolt off with the universal and getting it back on was the toughest part, and i don't have great mechanical intuition so i just kept trying the same thing over again for a while before i sat back and thought about it. but hopefully you're more mechanically inclined than i, and even if you're not, these notes should help in all the tougher spots that the videos didn't specify entirely.

good luck, post here if you have any questions and i'll try to help.

[awns729]

Oh, also the water pump will cycle on and off, so it's not constantly on when doing the bleed procedure.

And I had a 2aaf code afterwards for fuel pump plausability. no other codes. i googled, and everyone says not to worry about it if its the only code. it could be unrelated to this entirely, it could be the actual fuel pump (i thought i had some longer starts recently), or it could be because the battery drained as i was bleeding the pump (didn't hook up a charger). just wanted to mention, in case it is related and it happens to anyone else. but i'm not saying it is related necessarly, could just be a coincidence.

[PA135i]

I applaud you guys for DIY on the WP. But, is it really worth the trouble.

Had mine done at the dealer for $1587. Got a free loaner. The work included new WP, antifreeze and thermostat. Plus a 24 month unlimited mileage warranty and the work was completed in 1 day. Remember your time is worth something too.

Unless I was saving a significant sum, I'd just get the dealer or a good indy shop to do it.

Oh, mine went at 72K. Lucky I was less than a mile from home.

[awns729]

Originally Posted by PA135i

I applaud you guys for DIY on the WP. But, is it really worth the trouble.

Had mine done at the dealer for $1587. Got a free loaner. The work included new WP, antifreeze and thermostat. Plus a 24 month unlimited mileage warranty and the work was completed in 1 day. Remember your time is worth something too.

Unless I was saving a significant sum, I'd just get the dealer or a good indy shop to do it.

Oh, mine went at 72K. Lucky I was less than a mile from home.

It wasn't a fun job on ramps with limited room for a creeper. It cost me <$600 so at a savings of almost $1000, yeah it may have been worth it. I also did the thermostat and I *think* all BMW OEM parts have a 2 year warranty (although I bought from ECS tuning so not sure,b ut if i bought from getbmwparts they may have honored it).

I'd say my time is worth less than $1000/day

[Freon]

Watching the video it doesn't look that bad besides some tight spots and the one top bolt. I have a decent selection of universal joints, extensions, hose picks, etc. We'll see I guess! Parts should be in tomorrow or Wednesday, I'll try to rip the old stuff out tonight.

Some parts were out of stock so I reduced my order to just the pump, thermostat, pump bolts, and coolant so I can be done with the Chevy Malibu I'm rocking right now.

[awns729]

Originally Posted by Freon

Watching the video it doesn't look that bad besides some tight spots and the one top bolt. I have a decent selection of universal joints, extensions, hose picks, etc. We'll see I guess! Parts should be in tomorrow or Wednesday, I'll try to rip the old stuff out tonight.

Some parts were out of stock so I reduced my order to just the pump, thermostat, pump bolts, and coolant so I can be done with the Chevy Malibu I'm rocking right now.

I'll be on the forums tonight, so feel free to post questions if you get stumped.

[1ToBeOn2Wheels]

I just had my indy shop replace my water pump AND thermostat for $1000. Seemed reasonable.

Good that you're preemptively taking care of it though. Mine died last week @ 82k miles with zero warning and left me stranded on a canyon road at 2am.

[PA135i]

Originally Posted by awns729

It wasn't a fun job on ramps with limited room for a creeper. It cost me <$600 so at a savings of almost $1000, yeah it may have been worth it. I also did the thermostat and I *think* all BMW OEM parts have a 2 year warranty (although I bought from ECS tuning so not sure,b ut if i bought from getbmwparts they may have honored it).

I'd say my time is worth less than $1000/day

If you have alternate transportation.. maybe it is worth it.

This is my only car, so waiting for the parts to be delivered have to enter into the equation. Then rent a car until they arrive and do the job.
I can't be bothered with all that. Glad I spent the money, it was worth it to me.

[Freon]

Parts showed up today. Doesn't hurt ECS is just a state away. If I get super motivated might get it done tonight.

I'm not a DIY newb (done clutches, timing belts, radiators, exhausts, etc. on other cars, mostly Subarus) so it's really not an intimidating project for me.

[Freon]

Finished it tonight. I didn't swear a lot so it couldn't have been that bad.

[Freon]

Worth noting the replacement bump had no rubber bushings, straight mount. It's definitely a different pump. It says Continental and the pump in the car said Siemens VDO. Continental purchased VDO in 2007, which explains why the new one says Continental and the old says VDO.

I got the Behr thermostat, also slightly different (you can see the webbing is different) and there were some spots where I'm guessing BMW logos were ground off. I'm guessing the BMW part changed as well and looks the same without some part numbers and BMW logos ground off. The new thermostat has brass retainers for the two mounting bolts, the old one appears to be nickle or aluminum (silver).

All the hoses were in great shape surprisingly, with no noticeable corrosion or sludge buildup. I had no issues getting them off or on and didn't use any lube.

[Dackelone]

Thanks for the update and added pics!

[Miko226]

I was curious about if there was a difference in pumps when mine was replaced. Thanks for the post

[andnkuhn]

I had my waterpump and thermo. blow at 48k on the dot....

[Xii]

Figured I would tag on to this. Sitting at the dealers as I type. 08 135i with 54k miles. Quoted at $1200. Driving on highway when light came on yellow then red. Shut off climate contol and turned on heat full blast. Pulled over and let it cool down. Drove the rest of the way as slow as possible to the dealer. 3 hour fix they said. Unreal these things are dying with so little milage. Oil temp stayed in acceptable temperature.

[Kreester]

Had problems initally with temp warning and limp mode. Shutting off/on engine and I could go on for one to 50 miles without another problem!!
BMW dealer checked and the WP didn´t get info from time to time and therefore alarmed. Finall bill at shop incl work = $ 920 in Sweden with 10% discount
2011 135i with 41000 miles

[6MT_Addict]

I'm on my second N5x engine (second car) and knock on wood I haven't had to deal with this yet but I've been giving a lot of thought to just doing it before it blows.

Seeing as the two pumps are different, does anyone know if the faults in the original pump have been corrected? I read a while back that some of the bearings go causing the pump to fail, has anyone had a look inside the new ones?

[JHZR2]

Great DIY posts here, thanks for sharing!

[crankestein]

I read about tips for replacing the water pump. Did not see anyone post speculating such a recent water pump change at less than 50k.

Just saying, one would see a WP swap at 100k or more miles.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by crankestein

I read about tips for replacing the water pump. Did not see anyone post speculating such a recent water pump change at less than 50k.

Just saying, one would see a WP swap at 100k or more miles.

There has been a few guys who's waterpumps have failed at low miles. I think 36K miles is the lowest mileage of a failure. Check out my waterpump failure poll...

e8x electric waterpump failure poll...
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=798195


Also this thread might be helpful to our fellow 1Addicts.

DIY electric water pump VIDEO for N-series (N51/N52.N54/N55) engines...
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=960648

[muddtt]

Originally Posted by awns729

Convertibles will have to remove the 2 cross bars held on by 2 18mm and 2 16 mm bolts before removing the sway bar and power steering cooler.

Does anyone know what the torque specs on these bolts are? They sure seem like they are on really tight. Just want to put them back the same way