Facelift Water Pump and Thermostat

HazArc

HazArc

Member
 S Wales / West Oxfordshire
Hey! Looking to replace the water pump and possibly the thermostat on my 3.0si (81k miles) due to the cooling fan running and max speed after 2min of starting the engine; even when it's 2 degrees C outside.

I've had a look through the How To guides, but can't seem to find anything for a facelift model. Don't suppose anyone has a link for a guide? Appreciate it's not that difficult of a job, but I'd like to look through a guide first.

Ordering Pierburg pump and new Alu screws (£245 on eBay right now).

Also, do I really need to replace the thermostat too?
 
Yes it’s the facelift that has the N52 engine. You have to take the thermostat off anyway and for the cost you may as well fit a new one.
Make sure you know how to do the bleed procedure.
 
Okay, thermostat too….

And yes, bleed procedure - key position 1, heaters on full(??), accel pedal 10-12seconds, pump starts running (lasts approx 12min)
 
FWIW I think the fan runs permanently if you have the AC turned on, although at 81K miles a preventative change might save you some grief as they overheat in less than a mile if the pump dies!

I couldn't find anything on here, but there are quite a few online here:- https://www.bing.com/search?qs=UT&pq=bmw+n52+water+pump&sk=CSYN1LT1&sc=10-18&pglt=43&q=bmw+n52+water+pump+replacement&cvid=3637506d4a574d18a60b1c3d

Not specific to Z4s, but E9*s and E6*s used the same N52 engine, but at least you'll have a bit more room under the bonnet on a Z4.

IIRC the bleed procedure runs for quite a while, so it might be worth having it on a charger to avoid the battery getting too drained as that tends to throw up random electrical issues. :(
 
Thanks for that Mr Tidy

Hmmmm keeping the battery on charge may be difficult as I'll be doing the job in a works car park with no power available. Ideally want to do this before driving from Oxford to South Wales. I'll definitely be checking the AC is off to see if that's causing the fan to run though!
 
A good drive before you do it to get the battery fully charged might be a plan, and maybe have a "jumper pack" handy just in case.
 
I've got this job to do on my N52 facelift Z4. Be great if you update the post with info how it went or any pitfalls to watch for. Hope all goes well.
 
Mr Tidy said:
A good drive before you do it to get the battery fully charged might be a plan, and maybe have a "jumper pack" handy just in case.
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If it’s not the ac causing the fan to run then I think I would be quite wary of driving it far before the pump is changed.
 
The fan coming on all the time can indicate a fault in the cooling system. Suggest you get a model-specific scanner to see if there is a fault code stored for the water pump. https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=133163
 
HazArc where ard you? I'm in North Yorks. I have a Carly scanner. My water pump and everything is working fine. But getting a communication error code on the water pump.
 
Bmw Enthusiast said:
HazArc where ard you? I'm in North Yorks. I have a Carly scanner. My water pump and everything is working fine. But getting a communication error code on the water pump.
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I’m in West Oxfordshire. A mate has a scanner so we’re going to check it this afternoon and see if it’s throwing anything up.
 
HazArc said:
Bmw Enthusiast said:
HazArc where ard you? I'm in North Yorks. I have a Carly scanner. My water pump and everything is working fine. But getting a communication error code on the water pump.
Click to expand...
I’m in West Oxfordshire. A mate has a scanner so we’re going to check it this afternoon and see if it’s throwing anything up.
Click to expand...
I did one a few weeks back. It had a couple of codes on the DME to indicate the pump wasn’t communicating properly.
 
Enuff zef....did replacing the water pump get rid of the code or was it something else? Wires going into the pump look feeble wondering if a dodgy connection here as cooling system working fine apart fron the code.
 
Bmw Enthusiast said:
Enuff zef....did replacing the water pump get rid of the code or was it something else? Wires going into the pump look feeble wondering if a dodgy connection here as cooling system working fine apart fron the code.
Click to expand...
The pump had done 85k and was original. Replacing it cured everything.
 
Put the code reader on it and got 3 codes:
P2E81
P2E83
P2E84
All are relating to the water pump. So I’ll be replacing it along with the thermostat before a big drive back to Wales
 
Anyone know how much coolant/antifreeze is required once it’s been drained? 4 litres be enough?
 
enuff_zed said:
HazArc said:
Anyone know how much coolant/antifreeze is required once it’s been drained? 4 litres be enough?
Click to expand...
I would get yourself 5 litres of concentrate.
Screenshot 2025-02-07 172537.png
Click to expand...

Lovely, thanks 💪
 
enuff_zed said:
HazArc said:
Anyone know how much coolant/antifreeze is required once it’s been drained? 4 litres be enough?
Click to expand...
I would get yourself 5 litres of concentrate.
Screenshot 2025-02-07 172537.png
Click to expand...

Also, where did you get this information from?
 
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