DIY for electric water pump replacement?

[mikeson]

Hmm,

I just find this and I may try this way.
It seems the best way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmdEqBvKO8Q

[GriffX5]

Wish I had seen this thread earlier.
I have a 2012 X5 with 110,000 miles. I've had the ridiculously loud fan thing going for a while, didn't think much of it (other than that my car seems to be trying to speak whale), most Mercedes seem to have loud ACs so I figured it was normal for zee Germans. Then one day I get the red thermostat symbol in the cluster and the car went limp. Got it to the dealer and was told $1900 out of pocket for a water pump and thermostat. I laughed and said 'do you really think i would have come to the dealership if I didn't have a warranty?' lol. So he calls back later to tell me I only have to pay the deductible ($400) the warranty will cover the remaining $1100. Can't wait to find out why the price dropped once a warranty was involved.

[H16bill]

Just did this job on a 2011 X5 3.5 at 88k mi. I removed the fan and radiator. Made things much easier. I also removed the plastic shields inside the wheel. I made a plastic rivet puller from a little piece of sheet metal originally for my e46, and it worked great on this. I did not remove the metal cooling pipe that goes to the block. With everything else open it was pretty easy to get the rubber connecting hose on the end hooked up. It is pretty supple. I did pump, thermostat and expansion tank. I also changed the serpentine belt while I was in there. I was going to change the pulleys and tensioner but I only ordered one idler and the tensioner. There are two idlers. :-( The idlers still dragged a bit like they still had grease in them so new belt was it. Next time I go in, I'll have the other idler. By the way you need a really big torx (maybe T70???) bit to work tensioner. neither of my sets had it. a 9mm allen wrench worked but wasn't pretty. I used OEM parts and figure I saved $1500 by doing it myself.

[noelskii]

For people who had the water pump replaced, do you still experience the occasional high fan speeds? I do and it worries me

[MadJap]

Originally Posted by noelskii

For people who had the water pump replaced, do you still experience the occasional high fan speeds? I do and it worries me

I just did mine last week, and I still do get the high fan speeds if I climb a steep hill....but only for like 5-10 seconds.

[noelskii]

Originally Posted by MadJap

I just did mine last week, and I still do get the high fan speeds if I climb a steep hill....but only for like 5-10 seconds.

Same...usually when I stay on my driveway hill on idle. I also feel like it happens more often when you don't have the AC on... I now try to keep my air on AUTO and adjust the temps, rather than completely turning it off.

[H16bill]

I no longer get the high speed fan. The fan does come on low every once in a while but I think that is to move some air though the AC condenser. I do not know if it was water pump or thermostat that caused the original problem. There was no way I was not replacing both. Also it is cold here now if that makes a difference :-(

[H16bill]

Just read through this thread getting ready to do my 2013 x5 3.5 at 90 k mi. My previous post was referring to my 2011 x5 which hit a deer and was totaled. I thought I had all the parts but after reading this I may be short the second belt tensioner and the radiator drain plug.

[Bevobrown]

II debated taking mine in to the shop for this job, as I was a bit intimidated by reading up and watching videos. My thermostat had gone out, however I'm the second owner and with 110k on the odometer decided to do the pump too.

FWIW, I have an 08 with the 4 zone AC and was concerned that would create additional challenges. Other than the pump being about twice the price as a non-4 zone, it was the same. I just tackled this job, and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be.

HUGE thanks to Ohiobimmer for his post, I referred to it throughout the job.

I found it unnecessary to remove the passenger wheel well, just the small liner at the bottom. I left the radiator in, just took the fan out. I also replaced pump to thermostat hose, upper and lower radiator hoses as well. I'm very glad I did, as at 110k, they appeared to be original - and your right there anyway. In hindsight I probably should have done the expansion tank and its hoses as well, but will tackle that another day soon.

The only tools that I needed other than what are "standard" in most tool boxes were the ve12 socket, and a 22" flathead ($10 at harbor freight). All in, it was right at 6.5 - 7 hours, including referencing Ohiobimmer's post. MAJOR thanks to him and helping me save some 800-ish in labor!