N52 Waterpump fail symptoms and fault code?

[Tango22]

Hi all,

Went to nip out this afternoon in my 2006 2.5. Started her up and could hear a sort of humming noise which was kind of going 'up and down/rising and falling' if that makes sense? Wondered if it would just vanish on its own so drove off and it appeared to disappear after a mile or so. Got out of town and after a couple of miles noticed the temp gauge had shot up, as I slowed to pull over into a layby the red warning light came on and the warning noise pinged. Switched car off and popped the bonnet. Couldn't see anything obvious so after waiting for 15 mins or so I set off again but about turned to head for home instead of continuing my journey.

The 'rising/falling' noise appeared to have gone but the temp gauge needle was pretty wildly fluctuating up and down quite randomly. As a precaution I fired up the heater controls to max temp and full blast and continued slowly and carefully home. Needle went up and down a bit but it mostly behaved - although I was roasting in the car with the heaters on full!!

When I got home, I plugged my Carly OBD in and its showing an error 002E81 - Electric Coolant Pump, speed deviation



I presume that means my water pump is beginning to fail? Car has just over 159k miles on it and had been performing brilliantly up until today, previous owner had not changed the water pump during his ownership so I've no idea if its the original one or not.

Any advice appreciated, ta.

 

[Smartbear]

It’s the pump telling you it’s knackered, when mine went the radiator fan revved up/down from a cold start of its own accord - that’s probably the rising/falling noise you noticed.
It’s an easy diy & pumps are half price if you shop around & avoid bmw pricing.
I wouldn’t drive it again until it’s replaced.
Rob

 

[Argyll Andy]

Not the same car but same engine. I went into my N52 E90 Xmas week, heard a noise, cooling fan was on instantly and car hadn’t run for 3 days. Remembered reading posts on here about constantly running fan being an indicator of impending water pump failure. Scanned with Carly same message as yours. Back out the car and ordered new Pierburg pump and thermostat from Germany. Got my letter looking for customs and import duty this morning and will be here 5th Jan.

Haven’t driven the car since, seemingly these can go from ok to f@@ked in a mile

 

[Tango22]

Hi Rob,

Thanks, I don't intend driving it again until I can get it replaced. What is involved in fitting one and which bits do I need? The waterpump itself, thermostat and replacement coolant? I may have a pop at it myself but we are moving to a new house this month so I might not get time to do so and might end up having to bite the bullet and get it fitted by a garage. Typical, the very month a house move is happening with all the associated costs involved in that and the bloody waterpump goes!! Happy new year indeed!!!

 

[Tango22]

Sounds similar to my situation. Andy, where did you order from and what did it all cost, what was the customs duty required on it? Thanks for the info.

 

[Argyll Andy]

Sounds similar to my situation. Andy, where did you order from and what did it all cost? Thanks for the info.

I tried all the usual sites, both here and Europe and at the time of ordering couldn’t get within £140. Got a Customs bill this morning for £65 so all in around £300 mark. Indy says an hour to fit. No brainer for me rather than working on the drive :lol:

This is the one I ordered for my 2006 E90 325i, there’s a compatibly table down the bottom to make sure it’s the right one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275069737782

 

[Smartbear]

Hi Rob,

Thanks, I don't intend driving it again until I can get it replaced. What is involved in fitting one and which bits do I need? The waterpump itself, thermostat and replacement coolant? I may have a pop at it myself but we are moving to a new house this month so I might not get time to do so and might end up having to bite the bullet and get it fitted by a garage. Typical, the very month a house move is happening with all the associated costs involved in that and the bloody waterpump goes!! Happy new year indeed!!!

If you attempt this yourself there’s an auto-bleed procedure

The N52 cooling system has unique bleed procedures due to the electric water pump. Do NOT rev the engine! The procedure described below covers most situations. A special procedure requiring the DIS computer is required for engine or heater core replacement.

1. Engine must not be hot. Remove coolant cap and open bleed screw located just to the top (rear) right of cap. Slowly add coolant up to lower edge of filler neck. Close bleed screw once bubble free coolant comes out of bleed port. Replace cap. Do not open cap or screw during bleed procedure.
2. Connect a battery charger to avoid depleting battery.
3. Turn on ignition ( 2nd stop). Do not start engine. Set heater to max temp and activate “Auto” climate control button. Reduce fan to lowest setting.
4. Press and hold accelerator to floor for 10 seconds. Engine must not be running.
5. Bleeding procedure begins and runs for about 12 minutes.
6. If bleeding needs to be done repetitively, DME must be reset between procedures by removing key from ignition for at least 3 minutes. Re-enter procedure at step 3 above.

Rob

 

[Tango22]

Sounds similar to my situation. Andy, where did you order from and what did it all cost? Thanks for the info.

I tried all the usual sites, both here and Europe and at the time of ordering couldn’t get within £140. Got a Customs bill this morning for £65 so all in around £300 mark. Indy says an hour to fit. No brainer for me rather than working on the drive :lol:

This is the one I ordered for my 2006 E90 325i, there’s a compatibly table down the bottom to make sure it’s the right one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275069737782

Thanks, Andy. I figured around the £300 mark plus whatever labour it would be to fit, an hour doesn't sound too expensive. Will ask around on the Z4 Scotland Facebook page to see if anyone can suggest where to take it to get done. As I said, with a house move coming up in a couple of weeks I probably won't have time to have a crack at it myself so will probably pay an indy to do it I think, like you say - save the hassle.

 

[Tango22]

Thanks for that run down of the test/bleed procedure, Rob.

Couple of questions - can I use that test/bleed procedure to see if any stream of coolant is happening within the bleed port to see if the pump is even attempting to run?

That leads me to my next question - got home in the car with the temp gauge going up and down a bit but not into the red, in order to get the new pump fitted by an indy (there is one about 3 miles from me that some folk had recommended) I presume I'm okay to drive it slowly/carefully to them as long as the water pump hasn't completely failed as yet? Otherwise I'd be looking at having to trailer it or have it recovered to the garage which would be a bit of a hassle.

 

[Argyll Andy]

Sounds similar to my situation. Andy, where did you order from and what did it all cost? Thanks for the info.

I tried all the usual sites, both here and Europe and at the time of ordering couldn’t get within £140. Got a Customs bill this morning for £65 so all in around £300 mark. Indy says an hour to fit. No brainer for me rather than working on the drive :lol:

This is the one I ordered for my 2006 E90 325i, there’s a compatibly table down the bottom to make sure it’s the right one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275069737782

Thanks, Andy. I figured around the £300 mark plus whatever labour it would be to fit, an hour doesn't sound too expensive. Will ask around on the Z4 Scotland Facebook page to see if anyone can suggest where to take it to get done. As I said, with a house move coming up in a couple of weeks I probably won't have time to have a crack at it myself so will probably pay an indy to do it I think, like you say - save the hassle.

NP, it’ll be finding one close enough to the house that may be the challenge, unless you’ve got recovery cover then it can go wherever :lol:

Mine is on 111k and is the original so no shame in it

 

[Smartbear]

Thanks for that run down of the test/bleed procedure, Rob.

Couple of questions - can I use that test/bleed procedure to see if any stream of coolant is happening within the bleed port to see if the pump is even attempting to run?

That leads me to my next question - got home in the car with the temp gauge going up and down a bit but not into the red, in order to get the new pump fitted by an indy (there is one about 3 miles from me that some folk had recommended) I presume I'm okay to drive it slowly/carefully to them as long as the water pump hasn't completely failed as yet? Otherwise I'd be looking at having to trailer it or have it recovered to the garage which would be a bit of a hassle.

You could, but it sounds as though failure’s imminent - personally i wouldn’t risk it, ask the mechanic if they could change it on your drive? If not I’d diy as it’s not difficult
Rob

 

[Mr Tidy]

The pump in my first Z4 died on 60K miles 5 or 6 miles from home on an unlit N/S/L dual carriageway in January! No way was I stopping on that so it was heater full on and windows open. The last couple of miles it went into limp mode.

But as my Indy was less than 3 miles away it drove there OK as they take longer than that to get to temperature. I got charged for 1.75 hours labour for a new pump and thermostat, but 0.25 was probably for the bleed procedure!

Had another one go at 135K miles on my E91 with less warning as they don't have a temperature gauge. :headbang: Amber light followed by a red one in less than a mile. As I was 12 miles from home I used the RAC.

It's probably just a matter of time before my E90 needs one as it's on 116K now. :roll:

FWIW the new pump should come with new bolts. Whether you do it yourself or get it done make sure the new bolts are fitted as they are single-use only.

 

[Tango22]

Waiting for my local BMW indy to open next week then will get it into them to check what needs doing. I also forgot to mention that now if I start it from cold the cooling fan comes on straight away at full pelt. I assume that's another symptom of the pump failing?

 

[Smartbear]

Waiting for my local BMW indy to open next week then will get it into them to check what needs doing. I also forgot to mention that now if I start it from cold the cooling fan comes on straight away at full pelt. I assume that's another symptom of the pump failing?

I mentioned this in my initial reply
Rob

 

[Argyll Andy]

Waiting for my local BMW indy to open next week then will get it into them to check what needs doing. I also forgot to mention that now if I start it from cold the cooling fan comes on straight away at full pelt. I assume that's another symptom of the pump failing?

That’s what drew my attention to it, car hadn’t been run for three days cooling fan on immediately then scanned to get code. This apparently means is on its last legs not starting to develop a fault. My Indy is under a mile away so I’ll speak to him about driving it up there when he reopens.

 

[Tango22]

Waiting for my local BMW indy to open next week then will get it into them to check what needs doing. I also forgot to mention that now if I start it from cold the cooling fan comes on straight away at full pelt. I assume that's another symptom of the pump failing?

I mentioned this in my initial reply
Rob

Ah......so you did, Rob. Apologies!!

 

[Tango22]

Waiting for my local BMW indy to open next week then will get it into them to check what needs doing. I also forgot to mention that now if I start it from cold the cooling fan comes on straight away at full pelt. I assume that's another symptom of the pump failing?

That’s what drew my attention to it, car hadn’t been run for three days cooling fan on immediately then scanned to get code. This apparently means is on its last legs not starting to develop a fault. My Indy is under a mile away so I’ll speak to him about driving it up there when he reopens.

Decided not to risk driving it even though my indy is only a couple of miles away - 12 min drive or so. A mate has a tow pole which he is going to use to tow me to the place. Much less risky than driving it. Indy isn't open until later in the week though so will call them Wednesday to see if I can get booked in. Going to bite the bullet and get the following done all in the one go:-

• Waterpump replaced
  Thermostat replaced
  Coolant flush and replaced
  Oil filter housing gaskets replaced
  Oil and filter change

Might as well, was going to tackle the oil filter housing job myself and do an oil change but might as well just pay to get it done whilst its in the indy. Yes, its probably not going to be cheap but it will save me the hassle and I am desperate to get my little Z4 back on the road anyway!

 

[Tango22]

Waiting for my local BMW indy to open next week then will get it into them to check what needs doing. I also forgot to mention that now if I start it from cold the cooling fan comes on straight away at full pelt. I assume that's another symptom of the pump failing?

That’s what drew my attention to it, car hadn’t been run for three days cooling fan on immediately then scanned to get code. This apparently means is on its last legs not starting to develop a fault. My Indy is under a mile away so I’ll speak to him about driving it up there when he reopens.

Decided not to risk driving it even though my indy is only a couple of miles away - 12 min drive or so. A mate has a tow pole which he is going to use to tow me to the place. Much less risky than driving it. Indy isn't open until later in the week though so will call them Wednesday to see if I can get booked in. Going to bite the bullet and get the following done all in the one go:-

• Waterpump replaced

• Thermostat replaced

• Coolant flush and replaced

• Oil filter housing gaskets replaced

• Oil and filter change

Might as well, was going to tackle the oil filter housing job myself and do an oil change but might as well just pay to get it done whilst its in the indy. Yes, its probably not going to be cheap but it will save me the hassle and I am desperate to get my little Z4 back on the road anyway!

 

[LBN]

Mine went this evening while driving on a dual carriageway, temperature needle started climbing heavily so found a place to stop and have been recovered back home. These fault codes are for the water pump:

Driving the car on and off of the recovery truck, the idle wasn't very settled, it sent the cooling fan into overdrive and I noticed a slight ticking noise, I assume this was the water pump motor trying to work.

I'm in a similar position to Andy with an indy who's 0.7mi away from me so I feel like it could make it there from cold, especially with January weather, but part of me doesn't want to risk it.

Is it an easy change, and are there guides for it on the forum? I've seen a video of a lad doing it to a 130i and you had to remove the anti-roll bar to get to it on those!

 

[Mr Tidy]

After the pump died on my first E86 I drove it about 2.5 miles from a cold start to my Indy and the temperature gauge never got close to the Red - less than a mile shouldn't be a problem.

Access on a Z4 is much easier than on a 130i (or my 330i) where the engine is buried in the bulkhead!