DIY for electric water pump replacement?

[blue dragon]

I had an indy do my pump and thermostat and belts last weekend. I didn't have the time to do it myself and the weather was too cold.

There were no issues with my pump, but I think my thermostat had lost its ability to close properly and car was running cool.

Anway, I should be good for another 145k km

[pio]

Originally Posted by blue dragon

I had an indy do my pump and thermostat and belts last weekend. I didn't have the time to do it myself and the weather was too cold.

There were no issues with my pump, but I think my thermostat had lost its ability to close properly and car was running cool.

Anway, I should be good for another 145k km

Are the belts really recommended at 80k Or is it better to wait? How much did the belts add to the cost of the job?

[blue dragon]

My indy charged me $60 (1/2 hour labour). The belts are inexpensive, may as well do it at the same time, its cheap insurance. Coolant temp is now consistently 87C

[the_ulf]

11.4l/100km
how i hate you diesel owners right meow...!

[blue dragon]

Originally Posted by the_ulf

11.4l/100km
how i hate you diesel owners right meow...!

Thats mixed driving. Back road driving to our cottage at about 90-100 km/r, I average 8.4 l /100 km

[the_ulf]

well, i've done 9.9 on the way home from northern alberta but generally it's around 16.

[Pittwm]

2011, 42k miles, just changed it out myself.

[Pittwm]

Originally Posted by mouncer

Just wanted to add to this post since I have done this repair twice (don't ask). Anyway, I strongly suggest take the extra step tp remove the radiator, its only 4 additional screws and 2 more hoses to remove. By taking out the radiator it made it MUCH easier to access and get leverage on the top water pump bolt, and I was able to manipulate the hoses onto the thermostat much easier. Also, if you remove the radiator, you don't have to take off the passenger front tire and cover for the wheelwell which was a HUGE PIA the first time I did it!! This also lessens the chance you will puncture the radiator which trust me is NOT CHEAP!!

I only removed the intercooler and lifted up the fan, which gave me ample space for the parts.... one lesson learned is pay attention to the passenger side of the QD connector(the metal side) of the intercooler plumbing, mine was not connected coeectly (my fault). It created lots of unmetered air problem.

[Seedster]

Originally Posted by joeku

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.

Reviving an old thread just to say thanks! I'm half way through with the job (t-stat and WP finally out) and am about 3 hours in.

Removed the fan, radiator, and TRIED to remove the entire wheel arch/fender liner but quickly realized that I'd have to break all the fender arch rivets which I didn't want to do b/c we have a road trip planned tomorrow with the X. Instead, I removed the smaller bottom fender liner in the wheel arch. Only gives about 4-6" of extra room but definitely a blessing. Not sure how this job is possible without going in from the side.

Taking the WP itself out was a nightmare just from the sheer size vs how much wiggle room you have to pull it out. Was afraid of slicing the belt that's in the way, but finally got it out nonetheless.


~Saeed

[CLS70]

My Water Pump failed on Sunday (e70 3.0si 140K); it was a hot day (35 C+) and I was cruising in the highway when a Yellow alarm got off indicating that the temperature was high; then 10 seconds later a Red Alarm came and the car went into limp mode...there was no time to get to the next exit and at least I had a place to pull over. Had to wait until the engine cooled off and called a flat bed to get the car home.

I'm in the mist of replacing the water pump & thermostat (started last night....still in progress.....) and looked for several hours for a full procedure; this is the best one ! and wanted to contribute some additional details:

1. I disconnected the Battery before starting...not sure if is a requirement or a precaution but just in case....

2. My radiator had a Drain Plug (Blue) in the bottom driver side and one Red a bit above in the same side (I read in other forums that some X5 models had no drain?) I removed both and drained as much Coolant possible. The Drain Plug (Blue) was stuck and broke when removing so I had to drill it out and have ordered a new one....hope it works...

3. Removing the Electric Fan assembly required to remove the Top Driver Side Radiator Hose connection; I could not take it out without doing this (or at least could not figure out).

4. As I had a drill already set (see #1 above), I decided to drill a small hole in the old Thermostat housing (is being replaced anyway) and that allowed me to drain the coolant there to avoid more mess when removing the hoses. It took a while (it was a small hole) but I was done for the night anyway.

5. I'm seriously thinking on removing the radiator as suggested on this chat; the space is very tight and I do not want to remove the right wheel / wheel cover. (I have the car on solid ramps).

..... will see how far I get tonight.....