So I go to the store this morning to get milk. Car wouldn't start when I got back in it from the store. It started for one second and then dead. Turns over, won't fire up. I pull the back seat and put my hand on the pump and nothing, nada, dead. My car has 146k miles.
I had no symptoms up to now, no warning, it is just dead. I have seen this time and time again. My last car pump died around 150k miles, same exact way. People on the forums have it happen, people I know have it happen, people who's cars I fix have it happen.
And it is one of the few things that will leave you stranded wherever you are at. So I highly suggest you add your fuel pump to the list of things to do BEFORE it leaves you stranded.
I won't even mention that in my case I forgot my cell phone at home and my wife didn't answer her phone and left me stranded for 2 hours when she was only 5 miles away. :thumbdwn:
On BOTH my E46s the failure went the exact same. Got in the car after driving it, started the car and it fires for about 1/2 second and then dies. Try to restart and nothing, nada, zilch. You are stuck.
Anyone know -- Does the fuel pump come with a new blue rubber gasket/seal ring? The level sender unit I recently bought came with a new one, but it seems the pump may not. If not, I might just reuse the old one, since the old one on my sender was still fine.
Most pumps do not come with a new blue sealing ring. If you check out the pump found HERE (the genuine BMW pump) you'll see it exactly as it comes and note it does not come with a blue sealing ring.
I think the "blue ring" is the same as the black ring and is simply the fuel pump gasket. I also re-used mine with no ill affect. Make sure to seat the ring in the hole first, THEN drop the pump on down, if you try and put it on the pump first, you will drive yourself nuts. :thumbup:
You're lucky to get 150k. The fuel pump on my car died just before 80K while cruising down the freeway with a full tank. I coasted to the side of the road and smacked the tank from under the car. A tow truck driver's trick that was enough to make it the remaining mile to work... where it died permanently. I changed the pump in the parking lot and the fuel filter later.
Mine died this winter at around 170k and yeah it was a 1 out of 10 for difficulty... I limped mine about 150 miles after the first symptom but only because I didn't have another good option. A good whack to the backseat can wake up a tired (near failing) pump, as mentioned above.
I just finished a successful fuel pump DIY :thumbup:
As a future reference for those whom have yet to do it below is two part DIY video was very helpful. (Technically there are three parts, but you only need parts 1 and 3)
Mine just went out...no prior warnings...at 142k miles! Replacing it over the weekend. You guys are 'on the money' on this one.
Saw this and took it out of the shop before a $660 bill slid my way.
I've seen these pumps fail more based on time than mileage. The pump went out on my 2003 325Ci with only 88k miles, driven mostly on freeways and on weekends, and that's with a fuel filter replacement at 50k.
I've always avoided including the pump as a maintenance item because I figured I always took care of it with scheduled filter replacements. I don't drive like a lunatic, either. But after mine started to make noise and failed, further research indicates they just conk out after a number of years submerged in fuel.
I pulled the back seat up and there is no noise and no movement in the fuel pump. Also, I checked all fuses and swapped relays under the hood with my horn relay just to make sure it wasn't something electrical.
I hit the top of the fuel pump with a long wrench and sure enough it started right up.
I was able to get it home and in my garage.
Looks like I'll be ordering a new fuel pump today.
The amazing thing is that this is a common thing on some BMWs, while other cars get scrapped with over 300k miles and not one issue.
The pump as tested by some manufacturers is by run time hours not miles. Also the higher the voltage to the pump and the higher the pressure the shorter the life. being that they run at 3.5bar...well this tells us something.
I wonder if the short lifespan of these plastic parts has anything to do with the excessively corrosive ethanol that is in all of our fuel now.
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