E90 330i Water pump and timing chain

bmwhitman · 03-20-2012, 08:46 AM

I'm hitting 100,000 km/62,000 miles in a month or so. When do you people recommend changing water pumps and/or timing chains?

I'm not to keen on waiting until the pumps fails on me in the middle of the road.

Also, when do most people change their brakes? Do you wait until the sensor alerts you or do it before that? I'm not sure how much brake pad is left when the sensor is activate? I still want to have good braking ability and safety.

duaux · 03-20-2012, 11:57 AM

bmwhitman,

Heres my 2cents for what it is worth.

1. Waterpump and Timing chain
From my understanding... timing chain is "lifetime". Someone correct me if I am wrong or not. As for the waterpump, it depends on your tolerance for "risk".

BTW, I have the exact same concern as you. Therefore I asked a local Toronto independent BMW shop (former BMW mechanic.) the same question: When do you recommend changing the waterpump on E90's?

Since the part is very expensive (digital waterpump vs mechanical waterpump from E46,E36, etc), he recommended that people replace it when it "fails". e.g., when the warning light comes on, pull to the side of the road immediately and have a tow truck tow it to a shop. Based on what HE was seeing from customers coming to his shop, the waterpump can last anywhere from 90,000 KM --> 180,000 KM.

I would appreciate it if someone else chimes in on this as well...
Note: Bavauto (Otto's) E90 maintenance program recommends replacement at 100,000 miles (160,000 KM).

2. Brakes
Regardless of whether your brake lights come on or not, it is "highly" recommended that you replace your brake light sensors when replacing the brake pads. Therefore it doesn't really matter. Having just done the brakes, rotors, sensors myself early (DIY on all four), I say just drive it till the light comes on and then take to a independent bmw shop of your choosing and replace the pads (possibly rotors) and sensors (2 in total, 1xdriver side front, and 1xpassenger side rear).

If you choose the DIY route, there are great guides in the DIY section posted from many helpful e90post members.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Bcube · 03-20-2012, 03:18 PM

1. Waterpump/Thermostat: I'm still on the original wp/thermostat and radiator. However, it does appear the 2006's go out a bit early.

2. When my brake monitor counts down below 10K miles. I'll pull a wheel and visually check the pad thickness. The brake sensor / monitor has been fairly accurate for me.

ENINTY · 03-21-2012, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duaux

bmwhitman,

Heres my 2cents for what it is worth.

1. Waterpump and Timing chain
From my understanding... timing chain is "lifetime". Someone correct me if I am wrong or not. As for the waterpump, it depends on your tolerance for "risk".

BTW, I have the exact same concern as you. Therefore I asked a local Toronto independent BMW shop (former BMW mechanic.) the same question: When do you recommend changing the waterpump on E90's?

Since the part is very expensive (digital waterpump vs mechanical waterpump from E46,E36, etc), he recommended that people replace it when it "fails". e.g., when the warning light comes on, pull to the side of the road immediately and have a tow truck tow it to a shop. Based on what HE was seeing from customers coming to his shop, the waterpump can last anywhere from 90,000 KM --> 180,000 KM.

I would appreciate it if someone else chimes in on this as well...
Note: Bavauto (Otto's) E90 maintenance program recommends replacement at 100,000 miles (160,000 KM).

2. Brakes
Regardless of whether your brake lights come on or not, it is "highly" recommended that you replace your brake light sensors when replacing the brake pads. Therefore it doesn't really matter. Having just done the brakes, rotors, sensors myself early (DIY on all four), I say just drive it till the light comes on and then take to a independent bmw shop of your choosing and replace the pads (possibly rotors) and sensors (2 in total, 1xdriver side front, and 1xpassenger side rear).

If you choose the DIY route, there are great guides in the DIY section posted from many helpful e90post members.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

What is a "digital" water pump? Do you have a P/N for it?

duaux · 03-22-2012, 08:24 AM

ENINTY,

Don't crap on me, but I "forgot" where I got the news on digital vs mechanical water pump... I can't recall if I read it on the Internet or if I got through talking to the mechanic.

Either way, I do recall that the price difference was reflected between the two.

e.g.,
E90 water pumps are more expensive because they are "digital"
E46 and prior water pumps were "mechanical" and are cheaper because of that.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong...

E90 325i 2006
Water Pump Part# 11517586925
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Cool...stem/ES241580/

E46 325i 2001-2005
Water Pump
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-325...ng/Water_Pump/

MrToad · 03-22-2012, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duaux

ENINTY,

Don't crap on me, but I "forgot" where I got the news on digital vs mechanical water pump... I can't recall if I read it on the Internet or if I got through talking to the mechanic.

Either way, I do recall that the price difference was reflected between the two.

e.g.,
E90 water pumps are more expensive because they are "digital"
E46 and prior water pumps were "mechanical" and are cheaper because of that.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong...

E90 325i 2006
Water Pump Part# 11517586925
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Cool...stem/ES241580/

E46 325i 2001-2005
Water Pump
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-325...ng/Water_Pump/

That is correct, ours are electrical which makes them A LOT more expensive and lots of work to replace.

ENINTY · 03-22-2012, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duaux

ENINTY,

Don't crap on me, but I "forgot" where I got the news on digital vs mechanical water pump... I can't recall if I read it on the Internet or if I got through talking to the mechanic.

Either way, I do recall that the price difference was reflected between the two.

e.g.,
E90 water pumps are more expensive because they are "digital"
E46 and prior water pumps were "mechanical" and are cheaper because of that.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong...

E90 325i 2006
Water Pump Part# 11517586925
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Cool...stem/ES241580/

E46 325i 2001-2005
Water Pump
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-325...ng/Water_Pump/

The water pump is driven by an electric motor using DC electrical power. A "digital" water pump makes no sense. And they are actually a lot easier to replace.

Casca · 03-25-2012, 08:13 AM

Electrical pumps are super easy to replace depending on what is in the way compared to pumps that are running off the timing belt. Unless it was obviously on its way out, I would not replace an electrical anything (most of them) until it breaks.........considering the remanufactured part you replaced it with could very well fail before the part you pulled off would have if you had just left it alone. Gonna check out the difficulty of this task. Could be easy enough to do on the side of the road and not even warrant a tow if you have another pump sitting around as a spare. Too bad they didn't use two electrical pumps so that if one fails, you can still limp on with the other.

ENINTY · 03-25-2012, 01:53 PM

Go read the DIY. It is not a road-side repair, but it is easy to predict a pump failure (I learned the hard way). The pump is very easy to replace in a garage. If you have a BMW scan tool, the car will start leaving water pump slow-speed operation codes in the ECU. These codes do not illuminate the SES light like an emissions code does, but they are present in the ECU when the car is scanned. The pump starts to fail intermittently, where you will not notice it because there is no temp gauge for the cooling system. Once the code is present, the pump will fail within the next 5,000 miles, which is what my car did.

myfirst · 03-25-2012, 03:32 PM

I replaced the water pump and thermostat at 115k miles. I didn't wait till it failed but I wanted peace of mind. I'm not that great of a home mechanic but it went fairly well and took about 2 hours. I'm glad I did it because I spun the impeller on the new pump and it moved freely without noise. I spun the impeller on the old pump and it stopped much sooner and made a slight grindy noise as it turned!

The hardest part was reaching the bolts behind the pump, you have to feel them with your fingers because you can't see a thing back there. My first attempt at removing the rear bolts, I accidently removed one of my starter bolts. I looked at the bolt and it was like 6 inches long and thought to myself "uh oh... that looks bad LOLOL"

I puchased the pump from a member here for a great deal (I think $300) and got the thermostat for about $100.

Timing chain, don't worry about it.

Brakes I do when the car tells me to or the sensor trips. But yeah, ditto who whoever said to replace the sensor when replacing brakes because the sensor is a wear item too.

duaux · 03-25-2012, 08:41 PM

Good info guys.
Keep sharing your experiences...

Cheers.

mram · 07-06-2012, 11:16 AM

I just replaced the waterpump and the thermostat after my car left me stranded on a road trip 70 miles away from home. I guess is a risk you take...i spend $450 on tow and $1,000 on the fix. I also had spend another $900 on the starter and a door lock a week before it broke down.....it has not been a good month for the car.

Brad from the OC · 07-06-2012, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mram

I just replaced the waterpump and the thermostat after my car left me stranded on a road trip 70 miles away from home. I guess is a risk you take...i spend $450 on tow and $1,000 on the fix. I also had spend another $900 on the starter and a door lock a week before it broke down.....it has not been a good month for the car.

How many miles did you have when the waterpump failed?

GoRomeo · 07-06-2012, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mram

I just replaced the waterpump and the thermostat after my car left me stranded on a road trip 70 miles away from home. I guess is a risk you take...i spend $450 on tow and $1,000 on the fix. I also had spend another $900 on the starter and a door lock a week before it broke down.....it has not been a good month for the car.

man this sucks! how many miles you have? Thanks

03-20-2012, 08:46 AM	#1
bmwhitman Private First Class 46 Rep 177 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Toronto iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 BMW 330i (E90) [0.00]	E90 330i Water pump and timing chain I'm hitting 100,000 km/62,000 miles in a month or so. When do you people recommend changing water pumps and/or timing chains? I'm not to keen on waiting until the pumps fails on me in the middle of the road. Also, when do most people change their brakes? Do you wait until the sensor alerts you or do it before that? I'm not sure how much brake pad is left when the sensor is activate? I still want to have good braking ability and safety.
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03-20-2012, 11:57 AM	#2
duaux Private 8 Rep 87 Posts Drives: . Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: . iTrader: (0)	bmwhitman, Heres my 2cents for what it is worth. 1. Waterpump and Timing chain From my understanding... timing chain is "lifetime". Someone correct me if I am wrong or not. As for the waterpump, it depends on your tolerance for "risk". BTW, I have the exact same concern as you. Therefore I asked a local Toronto independent BMW shop (former BMW mechanic.) the same question: When do you recommend changing the waterpump on E90's? Since the part is very expensive (digital waterpump vs mechanical waterpump from E46,E36, etc), he recommended that people replace it when it "fails". e.g., when the warning light comes on, pull to the side of the road immediately and have a tow truck tow it to a shop. Based on what HE was seeing from customers coming to his shop, the waterpump can last anywhere from 90,000 KM --> 180,000 KM. I would appreciate it if someone else chimes in on this as well... Note: Bavauto (Otto's) E90 maintenance program recommends replacement at 100,000 miles (160,000 KM). 2. Brakes Regardless of whether your brake lights come on or not, it is "highly" recommended that you replace your brake light sensors when replacing the brake pads. Therefore it doesn't really matter. Having just done the brakes, rotors, sensors myself early (DIY on all four), I say just drive it till the light comes on and then take to a independent bmw shop of your choosing and replace the pads (possibly rotors) and sensors (2 in total, 1xdriver side front, and 1xpassenger side rear). If you choose the DIY route, there are great guides in the DIY section posted from many helpful e90post members. Hope this helps. Cheers.
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03-20-2012, 03:18 PM	#3
Bcube Been there, wrecked that. 18 Rep 547 Posts Drives: '07 E93 335i Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: SoCal iTrader: (0)	1. Waterpump/Thermostat: I'm still on the original wp/thermostat and radiator. However, it does appear the 2006's go out a bit early. 2. When my brake monitor counts down below 10K miles. I'll pull a wheel and visually check the pad thickness. The brake sensor / monitor has been fairly accurate for me. __________________ -Brian ~199K miles. I -still- don't fear my 335i.
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03-22-2012, 08:24 AM	#5
duaux Private 8 Rep 87 Posts Drives: . Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: . iTrader: (0)	ENINTY, Don't crap on me, but I "forgot" where I got the news on digital vs mechanical water pump... I can't recall if I read it on the Internet or if I got through talking to the mechanic. Either way, I do recall that the price difference was reflected between the two. e.g., E90 water pumps are more expensive because they are "digital" E46 and prior water pumps were "mechanical" and are cheaper because of that. Someone please correct me if I am wrong... E90 325i 2006 Water Pump Part# 11517586925 http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Cool...stem/ES241580/ E46 325i 2001-2005 Water Pump http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-325...ng/Water_Pump/
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03-25-2012, 08:13 AM	#8
Casca Captain 41 Rep 642 Posts Drives: E90 6MT Join Date: May 2010 Location: California iTrader: (0)	Electrical pumps are super easy to replace depending on what is in the way compared to pumps that are running off the timing belt. Unless it was obviously on its way out, I would not replace an electrical anything (most of them) until it breaks.........considering the remanufactured part you replaced it with could very well fail before the part you pulled off would have if you had just left it alone. Gonna check out the difficulty of this task. Could be easy enough to do on the side of the road and not even warrant a tow if you have another pump sitting around as a spare. Too bad they didn't use two electrical pumps so that if one fails, you can still limp on with the other.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-25-2012, 01:53 PM	#9
ENINTY Banned 173 Rep 3,415 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Sport Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	Go read the DIY. It is not a road-side repair, but it is easy to predict a pump failure (I learned the hard way). The pump is very easy to replace in a garage. If you have a BMW scan tool, the car will start leaving water pump slow-speed operation codes in the ECU. These codes do not illuminate the SES light like an emissions code does, but they are present in the ECU when the car is scanned. The pump starts to fail intermittently, where you will not notice it because there is no temp gauge for the cooling system. Once the code is present, the pump will fail within the next 5,000 miles, which is what my car did.
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03-25-2012, 03:32 PM	#10
myfirst Private 12 Rep 54 Posts Drives: 2006 330i Sedan Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA iTrader: (6)	I replaced the water pump and thermostat at 115k miles. I didn't wait till it failed but I wanted peace of mind. I'm not that great of a home mechanic but it went fairly well and took about 2 hours. I'm glad I did it because I spun the impeller on the new pump and it moved freely without noise. I spun the impeller on the old pump and it stopped much sooner and made a slight grindy noise as it turned! The hardest part was reaching the bolts behind the pump, you have to feel them with your fingers because you can't see a thing back there. My first attempt at removing the rear bolts, I accidently removed one of my starter bolts. I looked at the bolt and it was like 6 inches long and thought to myself "uh oh... that looks bad LOLOL" I puchased the pump from a member here for a great deal (I think $300) and got the thermostat for about $100. Timing chain, don't worry about it. Brakes I do when the car tells me to or the sensor trips. But yeah, ditto who whoever said to replace the sensor when replacing brakes because the sensor is a wear item too.
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03-25-2012, 08:41 PM	#11
duaux Private 8 Rep 87 Posts Drives: . Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: . iTrader: (0)	Good info guys. Keep sharing your experiences... Cheers.
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07-06-2012, 11:16 AM	#12
mram New Member 4 Rep 23 Posts Drives: 06 325i artic metalic Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Brooklyn iTrader: (0)	I just replaced the waterpump and the thermostat after my car left me stranded on a road trip 70 miles away from home. I guess is a risk you take...i spend $450 on tow and $1,000 on the fix. I also had spend another $900 on the starter and a door lock a week before it broke down.....it has not been a good month for the car.
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