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How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water Pump?

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mariojoshi
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How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water Pump?

Post by mariojoshi » Tue Apr 07, 2015 9:04 am

Morning all,

My car was in for an inspection 2 last week - she's now covered around 73k miles and is generally in pretty good nick according to my friendly mechanic.
I was a bit surprised that he said that the water pump is likely to be nearing the end of it's natural life and should be replaced... (at a cost of around £500 no less!).

I was just wondering how many of you guys and gals have actually done this, or have had the work done?
It seems like there are actually very few threads on here about this job, leading me to believe that it isn't that common a failure.

I do trust the garage (in relative terms) as they are a very small independent that are enthusiasts and clearly know their stuff. (The knowledge pouring out of the guy that serviced my car was quite incredible!) But I just couldn't fathom the cost! Having replaced water pumps before (mainly on VW Corrado VR6s) I was used to it being a £50, 30min job..... This looks like a good few hours under the car for a home mechanic like myself!

Any thoughts appreciated.

Ta
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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by Smartbear » Tue Apr 07, 2015 10:49 am

It's not a normal water pump, the n52 engine uses an electric pump to increase power & reduce fuel consumption compared to using a normal mechanical pump.
It's a high price to pay though & to expensive for a pre-emptive change, I just keep a close watch on the temp gauge!
Not heard of them failing to be honest, would be interested in finding out the average life?
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Last edited by Smartbear on Tue Apr 07, 2015 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by mariojoshi » Tue Apr 07, 2015 11:00 am

Yep - well aware of the differences (probably should have mentioned that) and it does seem an interesting way to take parasitic load off the engine and presumably generate better engine efficiency and more power.

It seems that it's not talked about much on here - but loads of chatter about it on 3 series forums etc. It could just be down to volume of cars (3 series Vs Z4s) and number of cars with higher miles on them....! I would have thought most Z4s on here are under 70k?

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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by Roundozo » Tue Apr 07, 2015 11:28 am

My z had its water pump changed by the previous owner at about 61k. I have an invoice for it somewhere. Unfortunately for him but good for me he came across as the type of person who knows nothing about cars and just paid for the garage to replace parts if they said so. He also had the belts and tensioners done at the same time.
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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by biojo » Tue Apr 07, 2015 1:19 pm

ye going only there are many that say these last around 60k mark, which is where mine is, but id wait for the unit to fail or show signs of on its way out.

But i`ve also seen other cars last over 100k mark

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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by wowser » Tue Apr 07, 2015 4:14 pm

Just paid £700 to have my electric pump and thermostat changed, recommended to do both by BMW on my 3.0 si. Theres a self bleed procedure as well in electric pump where u turn ignition on, and hold accelerator down for 10 secs, then pump kicks in a 12 minute self bleeding cycle.
Make sure the garage know this for these engines

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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by JonnyB » Tue Apr 07, 2015 4:28 pm

I had mine replaced after it failed. They are known for going between 70k-100k miles. Mine was £700 to replace. £350 alone was for the genuine new part from bmw and not a cheaper reconditioned one. Sounds like you're getting a good deal to me. Would just inquire with the garage to make sure it is a new genuine part they are using.
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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by mariojoshi » Tue Apr 07, 2015 5:55 pm

Jesus christ.... £700? For that money I think I'd definitely do it myself!

I'm not keen on using anything other than good quality parts - but it's shocking at how much this is. Does anyone have any experience of what exactly (typically) fails? Is it just the impeller itself, or is it the pump itself?

Ta
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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by dhobbs » Tue Apr 07, 2015 6:00 pm

Mine has done 80k and still on original pump. I'm starting to get worried now :(
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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by wowser » Tue Apr 07, 2015 6:25 pm

Yeah the electric pump was about £380 plus £75 for thermostat

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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by Oli T » Tue Apr 07, 2015 6:49 pm

Mine failed last week. 745 for pump and thermostat to be replaced. The cars just hit 99k.
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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by wowser » Wed Apr 08, 2015 2:31 pm

Mine was 87k when it went

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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by Stratts » Wed Apr 08, 2015 3:32 pm

It's a fairly easy DIY job, easier than the older mechanical ones for those of us with a pre-facelift. I did one on an E9x so maybe different access issues but certainly not a job that warrants professional help.

The aftermarket ones are likely a bit cheaper than OEM, depending on branding might be a better option.
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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by nfbr » Sat Apr 11, 2015 5:10 pm

Are there any pre-cursers to this happening?

My 3.0Si has recently started with a bit of a whining sound coming from the aux belt / front of the engine which increases in pitch with revs to a certain point, then stays at the same pitch when the revs increase further.
It only tends to make the noise when the car is up to full temperature and the vehicle has done just over 71,000 miles.

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Re: How many of you have replaced your (N52/2.5/3.0) Water P

Post by stupot67 » Sat Apr 11, 2015 6:04 pm

nfbr wrote:Are there any pre-cursers to this happening?

My 3.0Si has recently started with a bit of a whinging sound coming from the aux belt / front of the engine which increases in pitch with revs to a certain point, then stays at the same pitch when the revs increase further.
It only tends to make the noise when the car is up to full temperature and the vehicle has done just over 71,000 miles.
The pumps has nothing to do with the aux belt - If you are worried about the pump you can always run the pump In purge/bleed mode (easy to do, either google or search the forum) - You do this with engine stopped, so you are only running/listening to the pump.

Stu.

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