Fuel Pump Lifespan warning

[andrewwynn]

Originally Posted by absolutezero273c

Why not replace the suction jet pump preemptively? If all that fails in that is the O-ring?

All that usually fails on the siphon jet is the o-ring and the joint that has no seal. I recommend fixing before about 12-15 years. I had to fix both our X5 siphon o-ring at about 17 years.

[andrewwynn]

Originally Posted by Caryalon

How do I check average speed? Is it one of the standard displays? Or a "hidden" one?

Tap the left stalk button it rotates around from temp to mpg mph etc.

[whizzkid23]

Another data for the archive, fuelpump went out at 133.000miles. 2005 3.0i

[andrewwynn]

Originally Posted by whizzkid23

Another data for the archive, fuelpump went out at 133.000miles. 2005 3.0i

Average mph?

22.167 to 26.6 would put you right in the expected lifetime of E10 gas.

One of our cars pump died at about 133k and one over 170k miles

[whizzkid23]

28 so really close!

[andrewwynn]

So using the hour range from the EPA study, 28*5500=15400 so I'm betting the longer term average is a little less but definitely in the ballpark of the natural curve. I would definitely recommend for people to have a spare in their trunk by 5500 hours. A very through test I think was by the EPA established expected MTBF of 5-6000 hours for e10 gas. It possibly was 4000 pure gas 5000 e10 and 6000 e20. It was 2-3 years since I read that report.

[whizzkid23]

Yes it makes sense. Actually I've read your estimate about a year ago so when the engine suddenly stalled few days ago, I already knew what I should look for. Turning the key and missing the tipical noise of the pump made it quite easy also.

But for the spare pump in the trunk... how do you want to get the pump in and out the plastic housing of the sending unit without some special tool and a decent workbench.

Ok, you can get the pump out of it's housing with some screw drivers and a second pair of hands pushing the release tabs. But how do you manage to put the new pump back in the plastic housing out on the street? It took me a while to find a matching tool in my workshop that would allow me to push the pump in place.


And I don't want to speak about getting the hose of from the old fuel pump. There was no way to getting it of in a normal way. At the end I had to destroy the attachment on the old pump by squeezing it and remove the shattered pieces from the hose afterwards with some patience.

All this out on the street, maybe in the dark...not a option in my mind.


If I would want to carry a spare pump, I would definitely just carry the complete assembly.

[andrewwynn]

Obviously the complete assembly is ideal but just a couple tools similar to a bike tire change kit that would let you change the metal pump only.

You could cut tabs and use zip ties to replace the pump easier and in a pinch a screwdriver and rock you can remove the metal ring.

I use thumb screw hose clamps when assembling fuel pump.

[TUNEX_E53]

KEEP IN MIND that the Fuel Pump lasts even longer when you dont let the fuel tank go below the middle point So it doesnt gag on air.

100K Miles Clean the fuel tank on the Inside & clean the sensor reader on the pump with an elastic so the Tank Capacity gauge will not get stuck... ever!

Aswell as fill up only with premium (Fuel Filter is due every 30K No matter what BMW Says)

[andrewwynn]

Originally Posted by TUNEX_E53

KEEP IN MIND that the Fuel Pump lasts even longer when you dont let the fuel tank go below the middle point So it doesnt gag on air.

100K Miles Clean the fuel tank on the Inside & clean the sensor reader on the pump with an elastic so the Tank Capacity gauge will not get stuck... ever!

Aswell as fill up only with premium (Fuel Filter is due every 30K No matter what BMW Says)

The concept of don't go lower than xxx does not apply in the least to the e53 platform.

The pump sits at the bottom of a 5L well. The fuel gauge hits 0.0 with nearly a gallon of fuel left.

If the siphon jet is working the pump knows no difference between 27L and 1.5L remaining on the gauge. That argument is absolutely incorrect (for the e53: I've "run out of gas" with almost 1/4 tank with my Ford explorer when parking on a hill!

100k clean the tank ; iffy- I would wait for the pump to fail (typically between 130-160,000 miles). Our two X5s had maybe 0.2g of dirt at the bottom of the tank at 130,000 ish. Most dirt will be dissolved in the gas and removed by the filter.

The filter and pump won't care in the least about octane but the engine will. The filter is gigantic; maybe 200-300x the size of yesteryear. The filter element is probably good for 300-400,000 miles: yes, really. However the weak link is the o-ring that seals the FPR to the filter and that gave up the ghost at about 180,000 on wife's.

I would say that depending if you have/use a performance model, 100,000 is probably a good time to replace the FPR/filter. 30,000 is way too early.

The tip of cleaning the resistive bar on the level sensor is very keen but no guarantee on "ever" I refurbished mine including the BMW TSB to increase the spring tension and about a year later or reads 7L high: that's sucky.