[Doug Huffman]

Any chance that bearing failure caused impeller failure? ECP bearings are fragile.

 

[Doug Huffman]

Bearing feels perfect. 95% of the material was retrieved in 3 large pieces as pictured. That leaves some smaller fragments that are either lingering inside somewhere or were drained out before I realized the need to be looking for such debris. As best I could, I backflushed the engine with my garden hose. I also backflushed the heater core. I plan to remove the radiator so I can back flush it also. So far, I have not observed any debris being flushed out.

As far as the composite vs. metal impeller issue, I don't think there's a problem with a properly made composite impeller. There's something fishy about the impeller on this particular pump. It does not appear to be made of the same material as other genuine BMW pumps or even other OE Saleri pumps. This pump was bought in January, 2019 from FCP Euro. Today I ordered an identical replacement and plan to send this one back under their lifetime warranty plan. If the new Saleri pump resembles the one I have, then I won't install it, but will seek out a pump with the correct impeller material. The impeller that failed is marked PA66-GF 30. Searching online reveals other Saleri and BMW pumps with impellers marked PPS-GF 40. I'm not a materials expert, but clearly these are not the same composite materials. There are other visual differences in the pumps I've viewed online vs. the failed one I have. I'll be curious to see what I receive from FCP. It's almost as if I received a counterfeit pump, but that's hard to imagine coming from FCP. I'm in CO, so it will be next week before the new pump arrives.

AM.

PA 66 is PolyAmide 66, AKA ‘nylon’, PA66 GF30 is a 30 % glass fiber reinforced PA 66. It demonstrates outstanding mechanical properties such as higher strength, rigidity, creep strength and dimensional stability. Compared to unreinforced PA 66, the properties of this glass filled modification GF30 make this material suitable for use in parts that are exposed to high static loads over long periods in high temperature conditions. As glass fibers tend in some cases to have a marked abrasive effect on mating surfaces, Nylon 66 GF30 is less suitable for sliding applications. Due to its black color additives, black Nylon 66 GF30 shows improved UV protection for outdoor weather resistance applications. Ensinger manufactures PA66 GF30 under the trade name TECAMID 66 GF 30 black.

 

[Doug Huffman]

PPS is PolyPhenylene Sulfide, AKA Forton and Ryton, and more commonly used as a plastic film in the electronics industry - film capacitors.

 

[Doug Huffman]

Really?

No wrong metal material? Take a look at a chart of electronegativity - susceptibility to corrosion. Look to the hierarchy of machinability, of fatigue resistance.

Tell us about your profession and the years of education, training and practice to be so …

 

[Doug Huffman]

Just typical bearing failure resulting in dripping coolant. I remember I didn't have time to wait for a mailordered replacement and ended up using a FLAPS pump. I also knew I planned to sell the car relatively soon. Does that make me a bad person?

Yes, I agree that bearing failures are probably the typical ECP failure. They are Graphitar and fragile. Can you, will you explain a bit how that resulted in “dripping coolant” from a wet rotor motor pump, please?

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