525i water pump replacement help

Ok guys. I am a little confused. I'm getting old and senile. I need specifics on the removal of the water pump. What do I need tool wise (sizes) to accomplish this? What nut is reverse threaded and what size is the open end of that holding tool & what step do I use it in? After removing belts & hoses, I understand:

I first remove fan. What tools do I need.
I then remove pulley. What size tool.
Remove water pump. What size tool.

Any input will be appreciated by this old Retired Navy Fart. This is my first BMW & I want to say, I really love it. Made a 600 mile road trip in it and man, What a pleasure to drive on the freeway.

Sir, all the information you require can be found in the Bentley manual for E34s. Please do download a searchable pdf copy right here :

http://www.mediafire.com/?h0qc7l65rzjp25k

Please read the sticky threads at the top of the forums for important advice on common failure items for your car. Please do follow that advice religiously, as it comes from our collective pain and suffering.

Thank you and welcome to the fest.


rgds,
Roberto

Use the Bentley as prescribed.

The fan clutch nut is the reverse thread. I thing Bentley gives a BMW tool number.
Do a search on what tool to buy, make or rig instead.
I myself use a long strong screwdriver and a 32mm open end wrench from Sears.

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

Sir, all the information you require can be found in the Bentley manual for E34s. Please do download a searchable pdf copy right here :

http://www.mediafire.com/?h0qc7l65rzjp25k

Please read the sticky threads at the top of the forums for important advice on common failure items for your car. Please do follow that advice religiously, as it comes from our collective pain and suffering.

Thank you and welcome to the fest.


rgds,
Roberto

Thanks for the Bentley download info. I did download it and it contains great info.

Originally Posted by My525iT

Use the Bentley as prescribed.

The fan clutch nut is the reverse thread. I thing Bentley gives a BMW tool number.
Do a search on what tool to buy, make or rig instead.
I myself use a long strong screwdriver and a 32mm open end wrench from Sears.

Thanks for that little tidbit. I called and asked about buying that tool and was told it was part of a $150.00 kit. I told them no thanks. Unfortunately the auto is 250 miles away at my Son's house or I would go to my next door neighbor and manufacture one if I had the correct size. If necessary, I will go the screwdriver route. The Bentley manual specifies that if you tow the vehicle (front wheels up) more than 25 miles, you should disconnect the driveshaft as you could cause damage to the tranny (automatic). Do you agree with that?

RWD cars need to be towed by the front wheels, or on a flatbed truck.

I hope there's no need for you to tow the car. No need at all, even if your fan clutch is not perfect. If you want to be really safe, drive at night and around times/roads where traffic congestion is not expected. You might not even have to throttle the engine back to full economy cruising with the windows down and a/c switched off. During cruising, the fan clutch is unnecessary to cool the engine. Its purpose is for stop and start situations, and you do have a backup auxiliary fan.

Sir please obtain a long handled 32 wrench and you're cool, there's no need for a complete kit. They should sell this singly. Will run you anything from $10-$30 depending on where you get it. Feels real good in the hand too

Here's my solution I'm going with. The auto is 250 miles away parked curbside on a hill in front of my Son's house. My brother and I are driving up tomorrow. If it's the thermostat, quick fix and we're done. If it's the water pump, I found a local garage that is very conversant on this model BMW and will replace water pump with metal impeller for $320.00. I told my Son I would split the cost with him. To get the vehicle towed back to my place would far exceed the cost of the repair. It will be a nice drive with my brother, I get to see my son & the problem is fixed. BTW robertobaggio20, the fan clutch is fine and according to the Bentley manual, you should not exceed 25 towing miles with the front wheels up unless you disconnect the drive shaft, which is very difficult to achieve when the car is streetside on a hill. I have learned a lot from you guys, so thank you very much for the input.

I think i expressed myself badly earlier. For RWD cars, the rear wheels need to be winched up and the car towed with the front wheels on the ground.

I suggest that you use a water pump with a composite impeller instead of a metal one. Less stress on the WP's bearings (meaning it lasts longer) and less inertia during flow. You can get one for $60 before shipping from O'Reilly's online and in their stores as well.....comes with a lifetime guarantee. Try that instead. The OEM BMW one with a composite impeller (turner motorsports) will run you about $110. Great choice too.

Most pumps with metal impellers will cost around $50-$60 before shipping. You are being quoted way too much for the water pump's replacement. It less than an hours work (max 90 minutes) if you know what you're doing, and this includes the radiator flush.

Since they will be removing the fan clutch and the fan shroud, please take the opportunity to change out the CPS (crankshaft position sensor), unless this was done within the last 4 years. It will be a simple 5 minute job when you have that much access to its location, which you will when the fan and shroud are out. Its too simple a thing for them to charge you for in good conscience but its a pain in the neck (potentially) when changing it out without removing the fan etc. At least this way you can get more out of the whole job if you have no choice but to pay for it. An OEM CPS costs $90. Not doing this will lead to sudden, unexpected no-start situations and is a common problem with E34s.

And since you'll need to remove and reinstall one belt while getting to the WP, you might as well save on labour costs and do both belts at one go unless they are in good shape. Conti belts for our car cost up to $20 each.

For the price that you're being quoted or for maybe a very little more, they should throw in new belts, CPS, and composite OEM water pump and coolant, a new radiator cap and new bleed screw, inclusive of parts. Seriously.

Make sure that they use the correct torque settings for the WP's installation.

The fan clutch is a long term wear and tear item. Failure will lead to overheating, which is the biggest no-no for our engines. Since they'll need to remove the current fan clutch to get to the WP, it really would not be a bad idea to replace it with a new OEM one by sachs ($100). Transferring the fan blades from the old to the new clutch is a 10 minute affair and you can help them with it while they do other stuff for the fun of it or at most pay them $10-$20 more and only if they are already doing your CPS for free.

With the fan and the fan shroud out, its a great opportunity to clean and spray paint them with either glossy or matt black spray paint ($10, and you can do it by the side for fun while they do the WP, 2 coats at the max). It looks really great in the engine bay upon reinstallation. The plastic, by now, would be pretty faded. THe car loves to look good.

Make sure that they use the correct torque settings when tightening down the WP. Bentley has the details.

Why are you changing out your water pump ?

If the workshop is not too far away from the house, you can fill up water and drive there even with a leaky pump, while carrying extra water in the trunk. I once drove close to 30 minutes to my workshop after my pump burst and started spewing coolant. After refilling it with water at the beginning of the trip, I stopped once along the way at a gas station for a second precautionary water top up. The engine did not overheat and did not threaten to overheat along the way. The leak was not good, most certainly not a trickle.

The WP is easily changed with a few standard tools. The car does not need to be jacked up. You might want to enquire if the mechanic is prepared to simply drive down and have it changed at your son's house, for an extra fee. You might save on the towing charges, and even if it cost about the same, at least you avoid the inconvenience of driving it with a busted pump.

If you do drive to the workshop, and unless you've done this before, please have your car winched up for free and give it a thorough undercarriage visual inspection. Check all bushings, seals, HG and VCG leaks, brake and fuel hoses for cracks, and your tires. Check for rust.

Short driving ideas if worried about overheating.
You could probably just remove the tstat for free open flow on the short term. Never tried it though so don't quote me on this.
Also might be the auxillary fan - our temp sensors can go often. It is located on the passenger side of the radiator.
You can pull the electric plug off and test the line with a paper clip. See Bentley.
It is also a great way to keep the engine cool if concerned about overheating. Tape the paper clip in and the fan will stay on and you do not need to turn on the AC.

Originally Posted by My525iT

Short driving ideas if worried about overheating.
You could probably just remove the tstat for free open flow on the short term. Never tried it though so don't quote me on this.
Also might be the auxillary fan - our temp sensors can go often. It is located on the passenger side of the radiator.
You can pull the electric plug off and test the line with a paper clip. See Bentley.
It is also a great way to keep the engine cool if concerned about overheating. Tape the paper clip in and the fan will stay on and you do not need to turn on the AC.

Interestingly enough, I have been looking at this idea for the past two days and found this neat writeup :

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_20.htm

That being said, this is a coolant loss and coolant circulation issue, and not a cooling issue per se, so I suspect this would not help the admiral's situation.

BUT.....its a great thing to be familiar with as you might unexpectedly need it someday !

The fan nut should be 32mm. You can remove the fan / clutch assembly as soon as you remove the shroud from the radiator. A good place to find the wrench is at a bicycle shop or the bicycle department of a sporting goods store. It's a popular size for headset jam nuts. $8-$10.

As many others have said, a long, flat-tip screwdriver wedged between the the bolt heads and the fan nut will keep the pulley from turning while you attempt to break it free.

Let me put this in the proper perspective. There is zero water flow moving throught the engine. Zero, nada, nil, zilch. My son removed the air relief plug to see if it just needed to be bled. No water at all coming throught that area. Nothing coming from the thermostat to and through the radiator. As soon as the water in the block gets hot, it's just keeps getting hotter. In about 2 or 3 miles the temp gauge is starting to peg out. Now as I stated, I will throw in a new thermostat hoping that is the problem as it's a very easy thing to do. If that fixes it. I'm done. If that does not fix it, then, and only then will I have it towed to the shop as It will probably be the water pump. It could be a blocked radiator, but I'm betting on the thermostat or water pump. So, water pump only if the thermostat does not do the job. I just need to get it running good enough for it to make the 250 mile trip back to my house where I can then address all of the other issues. My only immediate concern is to get water flowing again. So roberto, to address your question again, I am only looking at the water pump if, and only if the thermostat is not the problem. Otherwise I would have to stop every 5 miles to let it cool off before I drove another 5 miles & repeat that procedure. I do not have a week to drive 250 miles. I just want to get it home so I can do a proper preventive maintenance on it. All of the neat stuff people have mentioned will be done after I get it home and in my own shop. I called many, many garages & this was the very best estimate I got from a knowlegable shop that knows the car. Most of the estimates were in the $375.00 to $450.00 range. I am really praying it is just a thermostat frozen in the closed position. I am leaving at 6:00 tomorrow morning to go deal with it. I will let you know how it comes out. This is really great stuff I'm getting from everyone. Thanks.

Ok, that's much clearer.

My advice to you when you are in front of the car would be to start with a beginners perspective on the problem and check everything from scratch. Your son may have overlooked things and direct observation is not possible over the telephone.

And if you need the wp done and you don't have the tools yourself then get the workshop to replace the cps, fan clutch and belts as well as the pump to save time You now know the cost of parts stateside so you can prevent them from ripping you off. Just make sure you use only oem stuff for these. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Well, I drove the 250 miles to where the car was, and lying on my back in the street I could see water running out almost as fast as you could pour it in. I said to hell with this lying in the street crap, this car is going to the garage ($300.00) for the new water pump. And thus ends this saga. I want to thank robertobaggio and the others for the wealth of information this new BMW owner was given. Thanks one and all.

Hello everyone . pls help me for my 525 1994 bmw when i brake the rear wheel is shaking any idea im new here and I need your help. thank in advance.

Originally Posted by Jacekryssa2127

Hello everyone . pls help me for my 525 1994 bmw when i brake the rear wheel is shaking any idea im new here and I need your help. thank in advance.

You will need to remove the wheels and inspect the brakes.

By the way, you need to start a new thread instead of posting on this one (aka thread jacking).

Good luck.

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

Ok, that's much clearer.

My advice to you when you are in front of the car would be to start with a beginners perspective on the problem and check everything from scratch. Your son may have overlooked things and direct observation is not possible over the telephone.

And if you need the wp done and you don't have the tools yourself then get the workshop to replace the cps, fan clutch and belts as well as the pump to save time You now know the cost of parts stateside so you can prevent them from ripping you off. Just make sure you use only oem stuff for these. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

A local parts store employee turned me on to a BMW specialist about 2 - 3 miles from my son's house where the car sits. It just turned out to be easiest to have him replace it for me. The total cost out the door was $325.00. He found no other serious issues with it and said I am good to go. My wife is taking a vacation day off Nov. 9, & we will go back up and get it. So, this little problem is a done deal. I am a happy person.

Thank you for taking the time to update your thread.

if that price includes parts then its pretty sharp

Hmmmm.....looks like another overheating issue caused by the water pump and solved accordingly.