[3002 tii]

So where do you draw the line (in terms of mileage) where water pump failure is premature failure vs normal 'wear and tear'?

[bhmax16]

Been avoiding this thread as I don't want to jinx it, haha. However, I'm at 80,400mi and on the original pump. I did the oil filter housing gasket about 5k miles ago as it was leaking, so I flushed the coolant and a bunch of gasket material was submerged in the old coolant. I almost wonder if many of these failures are related to contaminated coolant? Time will tell if my pump continues to hold up after the flush, but the coolant is SO easy to change and bleed on these cars that it is cheap insurance to do it, especially if your vehicle is 4-5 years old or older. I don't believe in lifetime anything, so I have changed every fluid in my 328xi

[manutdas11]

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

So where do you draw the line (in terms of mileage) where water pump failure is premature failure vs normal 'wear and tear'?

That's exactly what I want to know.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

So where do you draw the line (in terms of mileage) where water pump failure is premature failure vs normal 'wear and tear'?

You don't. You scan the car with a BMW code reading scan tool every oil change and check for the codes that indicate the pump is going bad.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

You don't. You scan the car with a BMW code reading scan tool every oil change and check for the codes that indicate the pump is going bad.

Yea but if it goes bad at 120k, you can chalk that up to normal wear and tear. If it goes bad at 49k however I'd consider bad that premature failure. I'm not asking what's the magic number that'll predict when it goes bad. I've accepted that's inevitable on these cars. I just want to know when you can justify a repair for a mechanical breakdown for the purpose is say, extended warranty work.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

Yea but if it goes bad at 120k, you can chalk that up to normal wear and tear. If it goes bad at 49k however I'd consider bad that premature failure. I'm not asking what's the magic number that'll predict when it goes bad. I've accepted that's inevitable on these cars. I just want to know when you can justify a repair for a mechanical breakdown for the purpose is say, extended warranty work.

I don't expect the water pump to be a normal wear and tear item when it is electrically driven. I'd expect it to last the life of the vehicle just like the oil pump. I think BMW does too considering the way the car is engineered and the replacement pump is priced. There is no way to tell when the pump is going bad like there is with a belt-driven pump (most have a weephole to let coolant escape as a telltale sign the pump is on the way out). There is no water temperature gauge to see the engine overheating. Considering there are codes in the ECU that indicate a failing pump, BMW should have made a warning light to notify the owner the pump is starting to fail.

[Taran.J]

Mine just went out today going up Mt. Rainier, limp mode 35 miles home FTW! 58,500 miles on e90. Anybody have a diy wanna get it done this week.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Taran.J

Mine just went out today going up Mt. Rainier, limp mode 35 miles home FTW! 58,500 miles on e90. Anybody have a diy wanna get it done this week.

See page 1, just compiled a list and posted...

[norsairius]

I came up with a theory in this post:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...&postcount=178

Cars made after a certain build date should have the latest iteration of the water pump or at least the latest part number. I have no idea what's changed between the part numbers though, so it could all be for nothing. I would assume that improvements were made.

[gpccan]

a. a little over 140,000KM (87,000 Mi)
b. Parts were $740, labour 4 hrs
c. indy
d. no
e. no

[JFleming]

I had been expecting this call for awhile. My wife was out and called to say a yellow overheating light came on followed quickly by a red lights saying to shut off the engine. (which she did right away) Had it towed home (covered by insurance) and went over to the dealer to pick up the following:

Water pump
Thermostat
Bolts
1 Gal BMW antifreeze
(stopped for distilled water on the way home)
Total for parts - $580 with tax

2007 328XI

a. Miles: 163491 (original pump !!)
b. Cost: Parts - $580 Labor - $0
c. Replaced it at home myself
d. No other damage.
e. Do not "track" the car
f. automatic trans

[DUI Elite]

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

a. at how many miles?
b. how much did the repair cost (and indicate labor vs parts)?
c. was it replaced at indy or dealer?
d. was there any other damage caused as a result?
e. do you track your vehicle (canyon carving, street racing, backroads DOES NOT apply))?
f. auto or manual?

I've also compiled a list of DIY's...

Just got mine replaced today, so bumping this thread. All temps are in celsius as I read the temperature of my car from the hidden menu 7.01 and it shows only celsius for me. Never cared or thought to change it as I know normal operating range is 70 to 110 degrees celsius.

Overheating light lights up yellow at 120 degrees celsius, lights up red at 130 degrees celsius.

On to the good stuff -

A. at how many miles?
102,000 miles

B.how much did the repair cost (and indicate labor vs parts)?
Bought the parts for $497 shipped, had a deal through work to get labor for $210.87. Grand total of $707.87

C.was it replaced at indy or dealer?
Replaced at the dealership.

D.was there any other damage caused as a result?
Overheated the car for 5 seconds (got to 126 degrees celsius) before shutting down and letting it cool down (down to 99 degrees celsius) about 2 weeks ago. Continued my driving much less aggressively afterward. No incidents since then, but I wasn't taking any chances so I ordered the parts. I did not feel comfortable being aggressive with it, so I took it easy until the parts came in. Tech said that there were error codes being thrown for the water pump. Cleared them after replacing everything. No damage. Pressure test indicated everything was fine.

E.do you track your vehicle (canyon carving, street racing, backroads DOES NOT apply)
Do about 2 road racing events per year. Nothing crazy intense, just several 20 minute sessions at a time. Never overheated at an event. Always stayed under 107 degrees celsius

F.auto or manual?
Auto-magic

[bahasad]

I'm going on a long trip with the car probably around 1000 miles round trip. Car has a hair under 76000. What do you guys think - should I take the risk? I don't anticipate being near a dealership for most of the journey

This is the only issue that has me concerned

[Eddien123]

68k miles
$1000
Dealer
I'm pretty sure it didn't do any other damage (knock on wood)

[Eddien123]

Originally Posted by bahasad

I'm going on a long trip with the car probably around 1000 miles round trip. Car has a hair under 76000. What do you guys think - should I take the risk? I don't anticipate being near a dealership for most of the journey

This is the only issue that has me concerned

Well to be honest I don't want to get your hopes up too high but at 76 I believe you're past the threshold of it happening. It should do 1k no problem. Just try not to blast A/C and just take it easy.

[mthomas]

Originally Posted by bahasad

I'm going on a long trip with the car probably around 1000 miles round trip. Car has a hair under 76000. What do you guys think - should I take the risk? I don't anticipate being near a dealership for most of the journey

This is the only issue that has me concerned

If you are not throwing the pump error codes you are fine. You cannot worry too much about this issue as it is a random occurrence, the only supposed clue are the error codes that some have seen prior to failure. AC has nothing to do with the water pump.

[bahasad]

Originally Posted by Eddien123

Well to be honest I don't want to get your hopes up too high but at 76 I believe you're past the threshold of it happening. It should do 1k no problem. Just try not to blast A/C and just take it easy.

Originally Posted by mthomas

If you are not throwing the pump error codes you are fine. You cannot worry too much about this issue as it is a random occurrence, the only supposed clue are the error codes that some have seen prior to failure. AC has nothing to do with the water pump.

I guess I'll take the chance. The fan does seem to run pretty often but the weather has been very warm up here (85-95 degrees) and usually my drive involves some traffic.

My check control is good, but I don't have a Peake tool to actually check for pump codes.

[Eddien123]

Originally Posted by bahasad

I guess I'll take the chance. The fan does seem to run pretty often but the weather has been very warm up here (85-95 degrees) and usually my drive involves some traffic.

My check control is good, but I don't have a Peake tool to actually check for pump codes.

Yeah my pump is new and 90 degree in traffic makes mine go on as well that no big deal. But anyways have fun on your trip!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by bahasad

I guess I'll take the chance. The fan does seem to run pretty often but the weather has been very warm up here (85-95 degrees) and usually my drive involves some traffic.

My check control is good, but I don't have a Peake tool to actually check for pump codes.

Find a indy shop and have them scan the ECU; it should take 15 minutes tops. The pump usually throws codes far before it will actually fail.

[SeanK.]

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

If you did replace your water pump, please also provide the following info:

a. at how many miles?
b. how much did the repair cost (and indicate labor vs parts)?
c. was it replaced at indy or dealer?
d. was there any other damage caused as a result?
e. do you track your vehicle (canyon carving, street racing, backroads DOES NOT apply)?
f. auto or manual?

a. 85,000 mi.
b. $425 parts.
c. My garage.
d. None found at this point. Hit the Yellow->Red temp warning for about 30 seconds. Cooled off. Stopped twice on the way home to repeat cool down.
e. No.
f. Manual.

[DUI Elite]

something worth noting is that my mpg's rose as my pump was getting ready to quit.

After having the new one installed, it is back to what I know is normal 30-31 highway. Before, I was getting 33ish.

[bahasad]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Find a indy shop and have them scan the ECU; it should take 15 minutes tops. The pump usually throws codes far before it will actually fail.

Just to update car did make the 1200 mile round trip journey without much issues. Fan does seem to run pretty often though. Car has 77350 isn miles now.