Kevin, replied to your PM.

Go for it, as mentioned here it's doable at 1/2 tank and even more.

Just be careful with the float assembly, they can get brittle and any damage will be hard to fix because the gasoline tends to affect any adhesives.

Good luck!

My fuel pump failed on my x5 a few kms after I filled the tank. I replaced it with the tank full so you will ok.

You can remove and replace the pump with the tank reading about 1/2 full as you said. the only concerns are that there may be fuel vapours that could explode if exposed to a spark. Ive done the job a few times (once in my X on the side of the highway)
my procedure was simple.
- unlock the doors on the X5 and open the rear hatch.
-disconnect the battery (no short cuts here, just disconnect the negative terminal.)
- lift out the lower rear seat, with the rear passenger door open (the access point) carefully peel back the sound deadener, and disconnect the electrical connector, then fuel hoses. make sure you have a fair collection of rags and paper towel around!, carefully pull up the pump, take your time to let the fuel drain into the tank. be careful not to let any dirt or debris fall into the tank!! once you get the pump out, you have to roll it to one side or other to allow the fuel level sender to exit the hole. once you have it all out, place the new pump in connect the hoses and then the electrics but before you put the seat back in, connect the battery and test it, you should be able to hear a whirring sound for about 2-3 seconds as the pump primes the lines.
then start the engine, it should come to life and show the fuel level in the tank.
good luck!
:cool:

THANK YOU!

done.

Just some info to anyone else doing this.
I only replace the pump and not the sender. Bought the original manufacture PIERBURG 16116755043 off eBay, about $182 with shipping. It does NOT come with a new filter/net, I rinsed my old one out in gas but might opt to get a new one if I did it again.

You need 2 stainless small clamps, got mine at Home dept.

Its difficult to get the pump out of the holder I used a 36mm socket (used for hub nut) to get torque to push the pump out and in - see photo. This will only make sense while your doing it.

There was a sort of cup in fuel tank that had some debris that cleaned out easy with a paper towel - then I refilled that "cup" with some gas.

When I first started the car I heard a SPIT sound, I am assuming it was air being discharged.

and like most of you said, I would not hesitate to do this at even much higher than 1/2 tank. I went overkill on the prep with towels and buckets.

Congrats on getting it done!

thanks for posting this. I have about 120k miles on my X and I never think about this repair. Glad to see its fairly simple and parts are not that bad.
Wonder if its worth just buying the whole part, instead of just pump, since plastic in gasoline can weaken after time for sure.

CHECK this post:
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...el-pump-2.html

You can be the test to see if this is a legitimate deal - if it is grab the whole part