[JingChai]

My 2011 328i just hit 70k miles last week and I was wondering if now it's a good time to get the valve cover gasket and water pump replaced?

My oil filter housing gasket and oil pan gasket both have been replaced and those went out at 60k and 65k so I'm thinking the next gasket to go would be the valve cover one.

As for the water pump, I read somewhere that the LCI water pumps were resigned so they are a bit more reliable but wanted to confirm if that was true or not?

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by JingChai

My 2011 328i just hit 70k miles last week and I was wondering if now it's a good time to get the valve cover gasket and water pump replaced?

There is no need to replace either before they fail. Waste of $$$

[JingChai]

Got it, just replace when time comes.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by floydarogers

There is no need to replace either before they fail. Waste of $$$

The OFHG I agree - not much need to replace preemptively - it's not an emergency when it starts leaking as long as you don't let it go to the pointit contaminates the serpentine belt.

The water pump? Weeeell - what is your tolerance for being stranded on the side of the road? Because it WILL strand you when it goes, usually with very little warning. I too think LCI waterpumps are lasting a lot longer on average though.

Personally, I plan to replace my water pump at 100K. Which at my current rate of putting miles on my car will be roughly 2049...

[Pladi]

Logically you wanly replace a part when

1. It has failed
2. You are accessing an area that is very hard to access and have removed alot of parts to get there and will be replacing a part that has not failed with a genuine BMW part. Say you have to do a oil pan gasket and might wanna replace a mount or the water pump.

[tgyberg]

I'm at 92k and haven't. After 100k we'll see how long I can hold out on the pump

[phillycx]

I personally replaced my thermostat and water pump at around 105,000 miles because the thermostat needed replacing. I have a private mechanic so it didn't break the wallet. I wouldn't replace the valve cover gasket on a BMW unless you see leaking. The OFHG should be replaced if you see it leaking down onto the belt(s), which someone pointed out above.

[JingChai]

Got it, thanks everyone. I'll replace them once they fail.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by Pladi

Logically you wanly replace a part when

1. It has failed
2. You are accessing an area that is very hard to access and have removed alot of parts to get there and will be replacing a part that has not failed with a genuine BMW part. Say you have to do a oil pan gasket and might wanna replace a mount or the water pump.

I prefer to replace parts before they strand me on the side of the road. Of course, this only applies to parts that will strand you, which is generally not gaskets. But I have every intention of replacing the water pump and thermostat on my car at 100K. Which at my current rate of mileage accumulation is roughly 27 years from now. So really, I will probably do it on a time schedule, in another 10 years.

Given the very low rate of miles being put on my car, it will be interesting to see when the usual suspects start leaking. Currently at 46K, getting 2K a year - sleeps in a cool/cold dry garage 9+ months a year.

[Efthreeoh]

The pump P/N was revised in May 2008 IIRC. I replaced my pump at 149,500 in July 2011 when it failed. The new pump now has lasted 230,000 miles with not once throwing a code. Buy a BMW scan tool and scan the car every 3 months for codes. Once you get a WP code, then replace the pump. This is good practice for E90s that have high miles on them.

If the pump stops and the engine overheats, you can usually let it cool down and then drive it home.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

The pump P/N was revised in May 2008 IIRC. I replaced my pump at 149,500 in July 2011 when it failed. The new pump now has lasted 230,000 miles with not once throwing a code. Buy a BMW scan tool and scan the car every 3 months for codes. Once you get a WP code, then replace the pump. This is good practice for E90s that have high miles on them.

If the pump stops and the engine overheats, you can usually let it cool down and then drive it home.

I think the calculus can be different between cars that get the wheels driven off them like yours, and cars that live a life of leisure like mine. Cars love to be driven - I worked for a courier service in college that routinely got 500K+ out of crappy '80s Ford Escorts - because they were driven in three shifts around the clock. But having lots of experience with cars that sit for months on end, sometimes things just die in their sleep.

So for the average person, there is probably a happy medium that depends on one's tolerance for dealing with issues. I prefer to fix things on MY schedule, so I don't mind spending money before it is technically needed to ensure reliability for parts that are known failure points. If you are using your car on a regular commute only, yeah, maybe you can limp it home. That is not my use case. My 2000 miles a year tends to be 300 mile round trips to my office in Boston in the summer when I am in Maine.

If I was looking for lowest TCO and never having to touch anything I would buy a used Prius...

[hassmaschine]

my original pump went at 130,000 miles. no, I don't think replacing it at 70k makes any sense at all. Maybe after 100k if you want to do it preventatively.

Don't confuse it with the plastic housing pumps on the N54 that crack and fail much earlier.

On both N52 cars that I've had pumps fail, I limped them home without issue. Of course if I had been in Seattle or something, that wouldn't have been possible, but there's at least BMW dealers there to work on it.

[JingChai]

Thank you, maybe that's why I was thinking of replacing the pump because I was confusing the N52 with the N54 pump.

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

my original pump went at 130,000 miles. no, I don't think replacing it at 70k makes any sense at all. Maybe after 100k if you want to do it preventatively.

Don't confuse it with the plastic housing pumps on the N54 that crack and fail much earlier.

On both N52 cars that I've had pumps fail, I limped them home without issue. Of course if I had been in Seattle or something, that wouldn't have been possible, but there's at least BMW dealers there to work on it.

[mweisdorfer]

If you have triple AAA, and thus free towing, just replace the Water pump & thermostat when they go. If your car is your DD, you will be taking a few vacation days, until you get parts and get her back on the road, assuming you don't have another car.

If it were me ( I'm assuming you have an n54 or 55), I wouldn't touch the VC until you know you have a leak. Just periodically check the back side (Firewall side) with a telescopic mirror that has an LED light. That's where it will most likely start to leak.

As far as the water pump, any milage past 75,000 miles is borrowed time in my book. I'd look for a sale on a water pump & thermostat. You will want to change the U shaped connector pipe as well. Labor Day is coming up soon. Maybe get a deal then or look at Black Friday in November. Plan on spending $400.00 or so if these items aren't on sale. Best bet is FCP Euro with a lifetime warranty.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

If you have triple AAA, and thus free towing, just replace the Water pump & thermostat when they go. If your car is your DD, you will be taking a few vacation days, until you get parts and get her back on the road, assuming you don't have another car.

If it were me ( I'm assuming you have an n54 or 55), I wouldn't touch the VC until you know you have a leak. Just periodically check the back side (Firewall side) with a telescopic mirror that has an LED light. That's where it will most likely start to leak.

As far as the water pump, any milage past 75,000 miles is borrowed time in my book. I'd look for a sale on a water pump & thermostat. You will want to change the U shaped connector pipe as well. Labor Day is coming up soon. Maybe get a deal then or look at Black Friday in November. Plan on spending $400.00 or so if these items aren't on sale. Best bet is FCP Euro with a lifetime warranty.

Says 328i in his post. Water pump mileage wrt 75k doesn’t apply here.

[M40i4me]

176,000 miles on my original water pump and no leaks. Something must be wrong.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

If you have triple AAA, and thus free towing, just replace the Water pump & thermostat when they go. If your car is your DD, you will be taking a few vacation days, until you get parts and get her back on the road, assuming you don't have another car.

If it were me ( I'm assuming you have an n54 or 55), I wouldn't touch the VC until you know you have a leak. Just periodically check the back side (Firewall side) with a telescopic mirror that has an LED light. That's where it will most likely start to leak.

As far as the water pump, any milage past 75,000 miles is borrowed time in my book. I'd look for a sale on a water pump & thermostat. You will want to change the U shaped connector pipe as well. Labor Day is coming up soon. Maybe get a deal then or look at Black Friday in November. Plan on spending $400.00 or so if these items aren't on sale. Best bet is FCP Euro with a lifetime warranty.

Or just pick one up and put it on the shelf. Then you have it when you need it.

[rocky25b]

My 2007 328 had 149,000 on the stock water pump before the car was totaled. As far as the VCG - I noticed slight misfires caused by hard acceleration during lower RPM's, which was caused by the valve cover gasket leaking into the spark plug tubes around 120,000 miles.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

The OFHG I agree - not much need to replace preemptively - it's not an emergency when it starts leaking as long as you don't let it go to the pointit contaminates the serpentine belt.

The water pump? Weeeell - what is your tolerance for being stranded on the side of the road? Because it WILL strand you when it goes, usually with very little warning. I too think LCI waterpumps are lasting a lot longer on average though.

Personally, I plan to replace my water pump at 100K. Which at my current rate of putting miles on my car will be roughly 2049...

you often get warning signs.
I knew for months before I replaced mine that it had error codes. Ten one day the fan went full speed at startup and I decided to replace it
scan your junk monthly and it won't be a surprise.

also, my factory pump made it to 142K miles before popping a communications error.

[rick100]

Original water pump at 90k miles now

Thinking of replacing it but 700$ is a lot at the moment. I do have caa and 3 cars at home

[jarmend]

I had my water pump go out ~45k on a 2012 N55 e92. Had plenty of warning signs weeks ahead of major issues....fan kept running for no reason many weeks ahead of the codes and eventual temp rises before towing to get fixed. Just didn't connect the dots until after the fact.

[Pladi]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

I prefer to replace parts before they strand me on the side of the road. Of course, this only applies to parts that will strand you, which is generally not gaskets. But I have every intention of replacing the water pump and thermostat on my car at 100K. Which at my current rate of mileage accumulation is roughly 27 years from now. So really, I will probably do it on a time schedule, in another 10 years.

Given the very low rate of miles being put on my car, it will be interesting to see when the usual suspects start leaking. Currently at 46K, getting 2K a year - sleeps in a cool/cold dry garage 9+ months a year.

Even a brand new part can fail...

Its funny to think you have to include major components as regular maintenance. Its not a Boeing 747.

Whatever makes you happy.