Overheating

T

Tom_L

Member
Had a bit of a nightmare with my car last week.

I bought a 56 plate 3.0si about a month ago primarily for fun but also to go on Honeymoon in
I live in Monmouthshire and luckily managed to go away to Pembrokeshire last week on honeymoon... All was going great... Weather was mixed on the way down but managed 42mpg between Magor and Haverford West which I was very pleased with... Fast forward to day 3 and we are travelling north out of (the other) Newport towards Cardigan and my temp needle fly's up to red and the dreaded beep happens... The radiator sounds like it is going overtime... This is about 2pm.

I pull over and let the temp drop and take off again... Within a mile it starts creeping again... I stop and call the RAC...

7 hours later (complaint pending) a local 3rd party mechanic turns up...
He's positive that it's the thermostat... "They always go on these"... Nice bloke, but they have no time that week to look at the car so he takes the wife back to Haverford West and I wait for the recovery man.

An hour later the recovery truck turns up and he says it's "definitely the water pump"... They have blades which snap off after time he says...

He takes me back home, I tuck the car up in my Garage and drive her Kia Picanto all the way back to Haverford West... Arriving at 3.07am.

She's waited up for me bless her :)

Had a lovely rest of the week... Despite my new baby being unwell.

I guess my question (I know... Get on with it) is: does anyone know of anyone local to Newport/Caldicot/Chepstow who might get be able to look at it and provide quality service at a decent cost.

My usual mechanic is down in Dorset and I'll have to wait the 28 days before RAC will recover me again...
 
That sounds very much like a dead water pump, but if it is anyone with a decent code reader should be able to tell for sure.

It isn't usually blades snapping off, it's the pump itself because it's electric so unlike a mechanical one it doesn't start to leak or whine it just stops completely - which is why the temperature rises so quickly.

Had one die on my 1st E86 and another on my E91 325i and they both did what you have described.

Sorry I can't help with where to go, but if it is the pump make sure the replacement doesn't come from BMW as they charge over £500 for a new one. :o You can get the same Pierburg pump for around half that other places.
 
Yes, you should try Forza GB in Caldicot, BMW specialist

Severnbridge Industrial Estate
Norman Way
Unit 16c
Caldicot,Monmouthshire
NP26 5PT
Wales
 
It’s not difficult to change the electronic water pump yourself, should find some links to relevant posts by using the search facility :thumbsup:
Rob
 
If it is the water pump (which I guess is worst case scenario) is it feasible to nurse it Chepstow (4.5 miles) 9 mins

Or am I risking damage?
 
If you are starting from cold I would have thought it would be OK, so long as you don't get stuck in traffic.

After my E86 pump died I drove 3 or 4 miles home in 6th at about 45 and it was OK even though the temp. gauge was in the red. It happened on an unlit N/S/L dual-carriageway at 9pm in December so no way was I stopping on that!

If the car detects a serious issue it'll go into limp mode as I discovered just as I got home. :roll:
 
Eye watering prices for some of the well known brands of water pump, just searched on part number 2006 3.0si
https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/oenumber/11517586925.html
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=DU52-EUR-06-2006-E86-BMW-Z4_30si&diagId=11_3754
Worth noting the alloy fixing screws are single use and need replacing with the new unit.
Thermostat also expensive
https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/spares-search.html?keyword=+%0911537549476
BMW TIS info on removal and replacement here
https://tis.bmwcats.com/doc1101747/
 
colb said:
Eye watering prices for some of the well known brands of water pump, just searched on part number 2006 3.0si
https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/oenumber/11517586925.html
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=DU52-EUR-06-2006-E86-BMW-Z4_30si&diagId=11_3754
Worth noting the alloy fixing screws are single use and need replacing with the new unit.
Thermostat also expensive
https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/spares-search.html?keyword=+%0911537549476
Click to expand...

Going to bmw for the pump doubles the price!
Rob
 
Tom_L said:
If it is the water pump (which I guess is worst case scenario) is it feasible to nurse it Chepstow (4.5 miles) 9 mins

Or am I risking damage?
Click to expand...

Can you not use the RAC to take it to a garage?
 
Agreed, Forza are your best bet if not confident DIY. They can source parts or you can supply your own. They did my Steering angle sensor replacement for £70, very pleased with their service
.
 
So both these ‘expert’ mechanics were wrong! A less informed person could waste a lot of money listening to these muppets.

It certainly will be the water pump but it’s the electronics that fail inside them, as mentioned above....nothing to do with blades snapping off :roll:

Anyway, Pierburg pumps available on Ebay for around the £200 mark and easy to fit on the Z. Would consider doing stat too if you are 60,000+ miles.
 
As ph001 suggested, I'd change the stat too.

BMW does not manufacture its own pumps, so I chose to buy Pierburgs for my N55 135i and N52 130i from Autodoc (which is the same German company as onlinecarparts.co.uk. Little tip: Autodoc offers discounts most of the time. If you are choosing to buy from them, check the discount they are offering on their main site and compare it with the discount they offer on their app. The other day I bought all my service parts for our family vehicles using the app and was granted a 38% discount, whereas their main website was only offering 27% that day...and onlinecarparts.co.uk was offering 20%. Parts do take a week+ to arrive at the moment though...

Make sure you get the correct antifreeze/coolant too.
 
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