What did you do to / for your E53 today??

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by PalmSpringsE534.6

Did you wire trigger #1 to the ignition in the E-box? Did you wire trigger #2 to the footwell lights?

That's how I wired my aftermarket set for my E46.

[Purplecty]

Originally Posted by PalmSpringsE534.6

Here they are.

Those look outstanding!

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by Overboost

Thanks Fifty! All back together and fan spins so much faster. AC blows colder and coolant temps are staying not higher than 103C. Still a little high for me so ordered a new thermostat and water pump.

Everything started to change on our trip to the Black Hills, SD when the fan clutch locked up. Temperatures are running 5C to 7C high in a traffic or idle condition.

Still chasing the obvious by replacing the locked up fan clutch and slow spinning aux fan but still haven't found nirvana. Maybe next week.

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

Yeah, sounds like you need a new stat. I think the ideal temp is 95C. That'll give you 203F. 103C is 217F. That's definitely too high. Hope your new stat gets your temps down. Interesting though, it seems failure mode on these is usually stuck open rather than partially closed.

New pump "while you're in there"?

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

[mention]Overboost [/mention]

How does your oil temp compare? Also radiator outlet temp vs. inlet? It's strange for tstat to fail hot, but you may be onto something with the water pump. If it's impeller is worn and not pushing enough volume it will cause your symptoms but you will notice in the outlet temp being too close to the inlet temp (can be caused by any blockage including dirt in the radiator fins)

Originally Posted by Purplecty

Also, How old is your radiator? I had a friend witha. 540i who had a newer behr radiator with similar symptoms you're having and replaced the whole cooling system. It ended up being a faulty radiator. He tried to shine a flashlight through it and it was not shining through and was restricting air flow. Replaced it with another behr radiator and the temps went back to normal...

Originally Posted by Overboost

What's odd is my idle is 700 and the temp would creep up to 103C within 1 min or so sitting at a light or stopped. If I gave it a little throttle to 1000 RPM, the temps would come back immediately to normal 95C. Makes me think the pump and thermostat is my next approach now.

When I had the aux fan out yesterday, I did have a look at the radiator fins and aside from a few bugs, it looked fine.

Originally Posted by Overboost

I checked the coolant level one morning on the road before starting it and it is at the proper level. Nothing changed other than the fan clutch in Minnesota. That's where the problem started.

And I think we found the problem boys. LOL.

This was a 2 or 3 year old Saleri. Replaced with a Genuine BMW. Should have known better...

[Purplecty]

Originally Posted by Overboost

And I think we found the problem boys. LOL.



This was a 2 or 3 year old Saleri. Replaced with a Genuine BMW. Should have known better...

Oh wow! Good catch! I use the Graf with metal Impeller as my go to water pump for the M62tu.

[andrewwynn]

Symptom aligned with worn impeller. Your t-stat probably is fine did you swap it also? If so keep the pulled one as a spare.

[mention]Overboost [/mention] Good on you to notice the slight elevation in temps not waiting for the dial to swing to red although did you reprogram your temp indicator to actually work and did it show hot to alert you to check temps?

Or do you have a full time temp display?

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by Overboost

And I think we found the problem boys. LOL.

This was a 2 or 3 year old Saleri. Replaced with a Genuine BMW. Should have known better...

"Well, there's your problem"

Wow! That screams replace me with a metal impeller pump!

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by Purplecty

Oh wow! Good catch! I use the Graf with metal Impeller as my go to water pump for the M62tu.

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

Symptom aligned with worn impeller. Your t-stat probably is fine did you swap it also? If so keep the pulled one as a spare.

[mention]Overboost [/mention] Good on you to notice the slight elevation in temps not waiting for the dial to swing to red although did you reprogram your temp indicator to actually work and did it show hot to alert you to check temps?

Or do you have a full time temp display?

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

"Well, there's your problem"

Wow! That screams replace me with a metal impeller pump!

I do have my temp gauge buffer reprogrammed to 85C-95C instead of the factory 75C-115C buffer. I would have never noticed it as the temps would only reach 103 sitting in traffic or a long traffic signal. +1 for hex code modification on the cluster temp gauge.

I replaced the pump, thermostat, expansion tank and a few hoses that seemed less than new. I used all Genuine BMW parts on everything knowing it is the way it came from the factory. I had originally replaced the water pump with the Saleri as preventative maintenance and chose to save some money. It could have cost me an engine.

[andrewwynn]

The genuine pump also plastic impeller. I'm thinking of getting that graf aluminum impeller I will have the engine apart next week to finally do OFHG and I'm thinking I'll order that alum impeller pump to install at the same time. Prob should get a non generic thermostat also. (broke my perfectly good OEM thermostat in half removing fan clutch during Alternator replace)

[Overboost]

I'm happy with the Genuine BMW water pump, composite impeller and all. I mean the original ones in the X5 lasted 170,000 miles and the one in my E46 made it 150,000 miles. I doubt I will run out the mileage on these now. Car idling in the driveway for 20 minutes with no aux fan running and the water temp is sitting right at 96C. Happy happy.

[andrewwynn]

Can't fault the logic. My car just turned 200 a month ago or so. I have to tear it down for the OFHG and prob also oil pan gasket but I won't do same time. Won't know for sure if pan is leaking until I stop the massive leak from above.

I ordered Hepu brand with the metal impeller but I'll be curious to see what my 200,000 mile pump looks like when I pull it out in a week or two.