[bimmertt]

Has anyone here purchased a water pump/thermostat kit from FCP Euro or ECS? I'm wondering if the water pump and thermostat in the kits are OEM. For example, both list the water pump brand as Siemens VDO and the thermostat brand as BorgWarner. I'm guessing these are the actual manufacturers of the stock parts and the parts are just missing the BMW stickers. Just wanted to double check here. Also, is there anything else I need that's not included in the kits? Thanks in advance.

[Nebo]

Same part number as OEM. I replaced my water pump with the VDO one with no issues. Make sure it has those aluminum screws since they are one time use.

[Maniac0908]

And go with fcp. If it craps out again you get a new one for freeeee

[Velocity26]

Got my water pump kit in the mail today from FCP and the pump was metal! All that I have seen before were plastic bodies and many experience cracks shortly after install.

Anybody else get one of the metal body pumps?

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by Velocity26

Got my water pump kit in the mail today from FCP and the pump was metal! All that I have seen before were plastic bodies and many experience cracks shortly after install.

Anybody else get one of the metal body pumps?

Snap a picture!

[Smurfzilla]

Originally Posted by Velocity26

Got my water pump kit in the mail today from FCP and the pump was metal! All that I have seen before were plastic bodies and many experience cracks shortly after install.

Anybody else get one of the metal body pumps?

My water pump is hemorrhaging and it seems the replacement is not great quality. Can you give the part/part number of what you got (seems the plastic housing is the culprit). Also is the OE BMW water pump prone to the crack as well. Stands to reason it would make sense to just spend a bit more if the OE piece doesnt have the same failure as the aftermarket.

Pictures like the above gentleman asked for? Lifetime warranty is all great and everything but the labor (both paid and your own) make this a very annoying piece to have to replace more often then you ought to.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Velocity26

Anybody else get one of the metal body pumps?

Post the part number and if possible a photo from the pump. You either order n51/52 pump or one was sent to you buy mistake. To my knowledge the plug is different so not sure how you connected it.

[Velocity26]

I will look up the part # when I get home.

This is the situation:
My old pump had the motor die, nothing at all wrong with the housing and it never leaked a drop of water. The old pump had rubber vibration isolation bushings so that the pump was not directly bolted to the engine block, there were rubber bushings holding the housing. To travel through the rubber bushings and the pump housing, the bolts are slightly longer. The replacement pump is NOT rubber isolated and the metal housing bolts directly to the engine block. Even though the mounting bosses are thicker than you would expect. they are not as thick as the vibration bushings.

I ordered new bolts when I ordered the new pump, and assumed they would ship the correct bolts for the non-isolated pump, but noooooo. I realized that the hardest bolt to reach (upper bolt behind the pump) was bottomed out in the block and not holding the housing tight. I had the pull the bolt, cut the "nub" off of the end and reinstall ... I assure you that is MUCH easier said than done.

[Velocity26]

This was through FCP Euro .... I purchased the complete kit that included the Pump, Thermostat housing, Coolant, etc.


BMW Water Pump Replacement Kit - 11517632426KT

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Velocity26

This was through FCP Euro .... I purchased the complete kit that included the Pump, Thermostat housing, Coolant, etc.
BMW Water Pump Replacement Kit - 11517632426KT

That pump has plastic flange. Definitely not fully metal cast pump.

[Velocity26]

I was under the impression that people with the cracking problem were getting cracks near where the housing bolted to the engine block. I could be mistaken. My housing is metal, the connectors and cap are plastic, as shown in the picture.

After seeing how the bolts shipped with the pump were too long, I can see how a housing could crack, only being held up by 2 lower bolts.

[Smurfzilla]

Seems like a crack is developing close to a bolt hole that has a seam. mine is an OE original, I'm over 100k and it looks like i have a crack in a very similar spot.

Is the OE piece all metal/aluminum? I'd rather spend the money and get something thats not gonna fail in 10-60k

[Velocity26]

Mine looks similar to the OEM, except for the rubber grommets on the OEM unit. My OEM was metal housing with a plastic top.

I had heard that some of the aftermarket units had plastic bodies and plastic tops and were cracking on the bodies, near the bolts.

[cruizinmax]

I ordered the water pump kit from FCP euro a couple of weeks ago. They sent the wrong aluminum bolts with their kit. The ones they sent were too long and bottomed out in the block. Make sure and pay attention to that before you install the pump.

[Velocity26]

Originally Posted by cruizinmax

I ordered the water pump kit from FCP euro a couple of weeks ago. They sent the wrong aluminum bolts with their kit. The ones they sent were too long and bottomed out in the block. Make sure and pay attention to that before you install the pump.

Same with me, but I had the car apart and there was no way I was waiting several days for new screws. Since the screws have the "alignment nub" on the front, I cut it off and that was all that it needed.