Fuel pump recommendations
 

I wanted to order a spare fuel pump to have on hand and was wondering what experience anyone has had with the aftermarket ones and if there is any good reason to order complete w/sending unit ? Thanks! :)

I need to do the same. $130 and change for the whole thing from Rock Auto (Delphi, which is alleged to be an OEM by FCP Euro...)

2004 BMW X5 3.0L L6 Fuel Pump & Housing Assembly | RockAuto

Thanks for link! Good pricing! :) I would be tempted to believe that Bosch is actual original equipment though. OEM often means that the manufacturer just was the supplier for something on the vehicle not necessarly the part you are looking at and not necessarly to the same standard. Not saying that some aftermarket can't be as good or better in some cases.

I hear you; just passing along what the claim is on FCP's site for the part. Rock Auto has the Bosch pump itself (no housing) for two bucks more, if you don't mind messing with the mounts and outlet hose.

I'd have no qualms about using Delphi parts... URO, not so much. :D

The OE supplier for the fuel pump that came in my 2001 3.0i was Pierburg. Made in USA. I replaced it with the same when mine went out a year or so ago.

Pierburg was bought about 10 years ago by TI Automotive. So my new pump actually came in a hologrammed box saying Pierburg, etc., but stamped into the Aluminum shell on the pump was "TI Automotive." Taking a quick look on that RockAuto link, and looking at the photo they have with the Bosch unit (not the Delphi one), I see that it looks the same as mine (from memory) and that it also says TI Automotive on it. If you know what to look for, you might be able to read that too.

So I will guess that if you buy the Bosch one there, you might get one made by Pierburg / TI Automotive.

Weird stuff going on now with buying parts online. I recently bought a Gates-branded alternator pulley from RockAuto, and it came in a Gates box, Gates instructions, Gates warranty, but had a Litens part inside it, with Litens name and part number stamped on the part. Checking up with both RockAuto and Gates, and yes, that is how they do it. Gates puts a Litens part in a Gates box and sells it.

I had no problems swapping the new pump into the original plastic assembly. Would do it again.

Also, regarding buying the part before it fails, I agree - good idea. It will wear out just like tires do. I took mine apart when it failed at 173k miles, and the brushes had simply worn out. Everything else looked great in there, but brushes are a wear item and they were done.

Thanks for the info guys! :) Yes, the parts thing is getting pretty crazy, you would think that at least Bosch would be Bosch but not even that is true any more. I found that out with wifes X3, the new Bosch alternator is made in China in a Bosch box while the rebuilt alternator is factory rebuilt by Bosch in germany! (and a few dollars more). Even BMW have thier econo line and BMW white box replacement parts that aren't the same as original! As far as the fuel pump, I don't mind switching only the pump if the rest of the assembly isn't prone to failure, especially if there is a chance of getting a more dependable and quiet pump. And yes, the Uro stuff I avoid as well!

1+ on Pierburg Fuel Pump.

- Search ebay for "E53 Pierburg Fuel Pump" and you should see some listed for $130.

- As long as you don't ever run fuel below 1/8 or have a bad siphon pump (in that case, keep fuel above 1/4), the typical Pierburg fuel pump goes to 180K-200K miles.

my fuel pump crapped out at 149k miles. luckily I was able to crawl home. I replaced with a pierburg pump. don't forget to order the rubber gasket for the tank, maybe a couple of hose clamps. the original clamps were one time use. I had to destroy them to get them off.

Fuel pump recommendations
 

Fuel delivery problem below 1/4 tank has to do with the MAIN pump failing not the siphon jet. *

Not sure where the "below 1/8" comes into play but sounds like a conceptual error. The E53 fuel tank only has 5L of fuel in the surge tank that is closer to 1/20th of a tank than 1/8th.

The x5 fuel tank works by flooding the surge tank to overflow any amount over 5L back to the left side of the tank and uses the siphon jet to constantly pull fuel from the left to the right.

Any time there is more than 5L of gas the pump will be fully submerged there is no difference once you get below 30L or so remaining since the right side of the tank holds no fuel other than the surge tank once below about 30L total.

A fuel pump will last about 5000 hours with pure gas and about 6000 hours with shitty gas (polluted with ethanol). Divide your odometer by your avg speed to get an hour of use estimate. If it's above 5000 time to consider getting a replacement. In fact, I just replaced my wife's and doing the math on mine it's getting close 4500 hours.

I would buy a replacement to have on have but the warranty would start when I bought it but when I install it so I'll just wait until it falls it's one of the easiest repairs to do.

* The seal on the siphon jet can fail but it will still work with a fully operational electric pump. If your right side tank does not report over 1L when left fuel is below 25L then you likely have a weak fuel pump or a leaky siphon jet.

You should at least annually drive down to single digits DTE to confirm your siphon pump is working. When electric pump starts to fail the first symptom will be running out of gas with gas still in the tank.

- Fuel Pump needs fuel to cool to avoid damage. Below 1/8, it is risky. Not to mention being stranded.

- When siphon pump fails (quite a few in E35 5-series forums), fuel is not pumped from L to R side, where the fuel pump is located. When that happens, the fuel pump fails due to overheat.

Look into E39 5-series forum, you will see quite a few like this.