I have a 2007 x5 e70 3.0si automatic transmission, w/ dynamic
stability control system, left hand drive, and I cannot stress how much of a pain in the ass it is to get the thermostat off that I would never ever want to do it a second time to get to the pump.
The DIY instruction really could have warned people how tight of a space we're dealing with here.
The tstat and water pump are mounted together on the front,
bottom, right corner of the engine, below the air conditioning
compressor, just above the steering rack.
There are 2 bolts connects the tstat to the pump, and 3 bolts holds the water pump to the engine chassis.
There an electric connector on both the tstat and pump, but they are easy to disconnect, lift up the small clip and separate.
The biggest problem you'll run into is that disconnecting the hoses is one hell of a time. The hoses don't come off very easily, you'd have to pull HARD to get them off, and then push HARD to get them back in. The hoses are in awkward positions so you'd have very little leverage to push and pull on the hoses. You got to pull the hoses off before unbolting the pump or else the pump will be flapping around and it'll be impossible to pull on them at all.
I've seen some people just cutting the hoses and replace them with new ones to avoid having to struggle with them. You might serious want to consider this way to go to save your back. 2 big, 2 little hose connections on the tstat, 2 big hose connections on the pump.
The idea, like everything else when working on cars, is to keep taking stuff apart to make room until you can get to the part you need to get to. You'll be reaching in through the top, bottom and through the wheel well to get to the things that you need to get to. You will find all kinds of things in the way, and a lot of things look like they are not easy to remove. (I really wanted
to remove the entire front axle support subframe just to get it out of the way, but to do that seems like it'd be an insane amount of work, so I just had to manage without doing that.)
At the minimum, you'll want to remove the air filter assembly, radiator fan, right wheel, wheel well covers, engine bay bottom cover, heat shield, and just struggle on.
It took me 4 hours just to get to a point where I have a good
look at the thing and have confidence that I can get to the bolts
I needed to remove. Then it was a few more hours of cursing and
pulling on hoses and finally getting both the tstat and water
pump off. and 2+ hrs to get everything back on. I worked pretty
slowly but, I don't see how someone can do it in 3 hours unless
they know exactly what needed to be done and have done it
before.
Lastly, don't forget to drain the coolant first so it doesn't
splash everywhere, and refill coolant and bleed afterwards.
Parts i needed to buy are: which would be different if you don't have xdrive or dynamic stability control
Coolant pump 11517568595
Thermostat 11537550172
Set of 3 one-time use alu. screws 8X32 11510392553
(E12 torx socket- you could use a 3/8" 12-point socket if you're in a pinch)
~2 gallons of coolant, but have more handy just in case
RealOEM.com * Diagram Selection
edit: optional: there are 8 blind rivets for the bumper that seems to be non-reusable. BMW part 07142151750
PS. 67K miles on the car. Rides like a dream, PITA to maintain.