2007 Water Pump Replacement. Overheating and no coolant loss

[freshwun]

Just wanted to say thanks for the write-up. I replaced my water pump and thermostat on my E70 this past weekend after getting a P0128 CEL. The instructions made things a lot easier and faster (still took me 10 hours though, lol). Things that I noticed was I didn't have a coolant drain plug so I had to detach a radiator hose to drain the coolant. Universal joint sockets and extensions is a must. Going through wheel well is necessary.

Do I need to reset the cel light with a code reader or does it automatically go away?

Thx,

Doug
2008 BMW X5 3.0

[lt_texan]

No problem, glad it was helpful.

What's a cel light?

seriously.....I didn't set mine (if I have one).

[ard]

Originally Posted by freshwun

Just wanted to say thanks for the write-up. I replaced my water pump and thermostat on my E70 this past weekend after getting a P0128 CEL. The instructions made things a lot easier and faster (still took me 10 hours though, lol). Things that I noticed was I didn't have a coolant drain plug so I had to detach a radiator hose to drain the coolant. Universal joint sockets and extensions is a must. Going through wheel well is necessary.

Do I need to reset the cel light with a code reader or does it automatically go away?

Thx,

Doug
2008 BMW X5 3.0

When a 'fresh code' is set, the CEL illuminates. The code is stored. After a certain number of run cycles, if there is no 'fresh' or 'present' code, the light will go off, but the code remains. The problem many people have is that the next time the CEL illuminates, you get all codes since the last reset, even those that might have been fixed or went away.

This is why you will read advice of "clear the codes see what returns"...unless you are on top of it and know for sure the last time you cleared them.

Nice work.

A

PS Why no 2007 love? You busted me- I didnt know for sure if 2007 had AD and sport, so didnt want to list it

[freshwun]

I'm talking about the Check Engine Light. I just went to my neighborhood Autozone and had them reset it. Hopefully it will stay off now.

Thanks,

Doug

[paul1994]

Is there any way that this can be made an article and then placed in the Article section.Texan did a great job and it would be easier for people to find. when making this repair on a e70 3.0

Thanks

[xchen]

With a stuck-close t-stat, would the method described by killcrap in post #6 still work in terms of confirming a failed WP?

[xchen]

About 10 days ago the coolant reservoir on my wife's girlfriend's 2008 X5 3,0 si had a crack about 5 inches long. I replaced the reservoir a week ago. Now the engine overheats. I applied the failed-WP-confirmation procedure that killcrap had outlined in post #6. In my case, the flow of coolant to the reservoir is pulsed, not a constant-flow, and I can hear the pulsed coolant movement in hoses with noise of "air bubble sputtering."

What does this pulsed coolant flow back to the reservoir mean? Is the WP working or not? If the WP is working, then the overheating is caused by a stuck-close t-stat, right?

[ard]

Originally Posted by xchen

About 10 days ago the coolant reservoir on my wife's girlfriend's 2008 X5 3,0 si had a crack about 5 inches long. I replaced the reservoir a week ago. Now the engine overheats. I applied the failed-WP-confirmation procedure that killcrap had outlined in post #6. In my case, the flow of coolant to the reservoir is pulsed, not a constant-flow, and I can hear the pulsed coolant movement in hoses with noise of "air bubble sputtering."

What does this pulsed coolant flow back to the reservoir mean? Is the WP working or not? If the WP is working, then the overheating is caused by a stuck-close t-stat, right?

These pumps can be intermittant.

Do a search about the thermostats...I don't think I've EVER read about a stat leading to overheat on these 30s...

[xchen]

I made a video clip and attached it to this post. It shows the pulsed coolant flow observed via the opened reservoir. The clip is just over a second due to file size restriction. I applied killcrap's failed-wp confirmation procedure (post #6) again this morning and watched over the opened reservoir for more than 10 minutes. The pulsed coolant flow comes irregularly, sometimes with several minutes in between. Does this confirm WP failure?

[xchen]

Not knowing if this is related to engine overheating, hence potential replacement of wp and t-stat, here is what I need to report:

First start in the morning, engine idle in P, no AC: the fan would come turning in very high speed in just a couple of seconds, with very loud fan noise that can wakes up everyone in the neighborhood and no stop. All this without any overheating warning on the dashboard - the overheating warning would come up in a couple of minutes once the vehicle is on local street, then it goes in to a limp mode, disabling any driving capability.

What puzzles me is this: while engine started cold in the morning, why the fan got turning so quick and at such high speed?