How long should a water pump & valley pan gaskets last?

[Budget M3]

I blew the upper radiator hose today (to my shock, according to fully documented dealer records from the previous owner, it was still the original hose at 183,500 miles!!! )

My first thought was to replace EVERYTHING as preventive mx--radiator (also probably on borrowed time since it's original), all hoses, thermostat, water pump, valley pan gaskets, etc. However, checking the records, I found that the X has had the following parts replaced "recently":

new coolant expansion tank at 159k in 2009,
new water pump/lower radiator hose at 109k in 2005
new valley pan gaskets in 2005 at 115k, also in 2005

I figure the expansion tank is good to go, but am torn on replacement of the water pump and valley pan--wiith "only" ~70k on those parts, should I worry about them failing in the next 2 years/30k miles?

as of right now, I plan to replace:
radiator
thermostat
all hoses--upper, lower, expansion tank, etc

What would you do? Would you replace the water pump and valley pan gaskets, too, while everything is apart?

[imola38]

Originally Posted by Budget M3

I blew the upper radiator hose today (to my shock, according to fully documented dealer records from the previous owner, it was still the original hose at 183,500 miles!!! )

My first thought was to replace EVERYTHING as preventive mx--radiator (also probably on borrowed time since it's original), all hoses, thermostat, water pump, valley pan gaskets, etc. However, checking the records, I found that the X has had the following parts replaced "recently":

new coolant expansion tank at 159k in 2009,
new water pump/lower radiator hose at 109k in 2005
new valley pan gaskets in 2005 at 115k, also in 2005

I figure the expansion tank is good to go, but am torn on replacement of the water pump and valley pan--wiith "only" ~70k on those parts, should I worry about them failing in the next 2 years/30k miles?

as of right now, I plan to replace:
radiator
thermostat
all hoses--upper, lower, expansion tank, etc

What would you do? Would you replace the water pump and valley pan gaskets, too, while everything is apart?

In a word, Yes.

-Ben

[wallyx5]

If you want peace of mind change them. Since you are looking at preventative maintenance and the parts are cheap I would say replace them. But all my hoses are original as is the radiator. I inspect them and they are all in good shape. No cracking or mushy feeling so i have left them alone. My water pump went forever before it died. If you recently replaced it I would worry about it.

[Budget M3]

Originally Posted by wallyx5

...all my hoses are original as is the radiator. I inspect them and they are all in good shape. No cracking or mushy feeling so i have left them alone. My water pump went forever before it died.

You, my friend, are living dangerously (not a knock...I'm just envious! ) My experience with anything plastic or rubber in BMW engine compartments is that it will need replacement usually after 10 years--regardless of mileage they deteriorate with age. It's usually best to replace them all at the same time since replacing onesy and twosy will only highlight weaknesses in non-replaced parts and cause them to fail sooner. If you live in a mild climate, your results may vary and you can avoid catastrophic failure for a longer periods.

I am looking for peace of mind since I do a lot of long haul travel, sometimes towing up to 6000lbs in the process, so I've decided to go for the whole enchilada.

[imola38]

Excellent call sir

-Ben

[c4racer]

you guys are making me feel a bit better. We may end up making the trek from SF Bay Area up to Portland during Christmas, and most likely would end up taking the X5 just in case of snow somewhere along the line. I have a full cooling system replacement sitting and ready to be installed at 115K miles and was planning to take time during the break when my wife won't need to drive the X5 to do the work. But I hate to do such a major job right before a long road trip. So I've been thinking it would be better to wait until after the road trip. All is looking good, no issues. BMW dealer inspected and pressure checked the system 20K miles ago. And 25K miles ago the upper hose and expansion tank were replaced. Valley pan has also been done. But it's on the original radiator and water pump and thermostat.

I guess I shouldn't worry. Cool temps won't be stressing out the system anyway, eh?

[LIONEL1234554321]

i have just changed the water pump after 100 000 miles