Water pump removal

J

Joez4

Member
 West Midlands
Anybody encountered a stuck water pump before and have any info that might be useful to help me remove mine?

It's an m54 engine and I've removed the four nuts and installed the two bolts to drive it out but they do up so tight I'm worried they will snap and subsequently there appears to be zero movement of the pump.

Around the pump housing there is what appears to be calcified water residue which i think is sealing the pump to the block, i had the same stuff all over the thermostat housing that took ages to clean up, the previous owner must have used tap water in the cooling system.
 
Long length of wood held against the edge of the pump and a few sharp taps with a hammer.
Move the wood to as many different angles as you can.
Tweak the two bolts a little and repeat.
 
Placing the wood on where the pulley bolts on I presume?

I have a new pulley so I can use the old one to wedge the piece of wood behind, this is what I was going to try this evening before it got to dark.
 
The pulley is plastic and will probably break. I removed it (and re-used it), gave the metal 'hub' a few blows with a rubber mallet and then wound it out with the two bolts whilst 'persuading' it with the mallet until it came out :thumbsup: 20200606_203926.jpg
 
OK thanks I'll try that later, in the event that I do get the pump free I've read that i have to remove the passenger side engine mount nut and jack the engine up to get the pump out.

Do i have to undo both top and bottom nuts to get enough height or not?
 
Joez4 said:
OK thanks I'll try that later, in the event that I do get the pump free I've read that i have to remove the passenger side engine mount nut and jack the engine up to get the pump out.

Do i have to undo both top and bottom nuts to get enough height or not?
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You can get away with just undoing the top nut. Doesn't matter which side; whichever is most accessible.
Only need to jack it up a little way. Don't go too far or the mount jumps off the bolt and can be a bit of a faff to realign.
 
Thanks to a combination of the two methods provided I have managed to free the waterpump from the block, however I can't get it out the engine, I have jacked the engine up so the mount is flush with the top of the bolt but it's still not giving me enough room to remove the pump.

Think I might I have to either undo the drivers side aswell or maybe just the drivers side to see if that gives me more room.

What do you think?
 
Joez4 said:
Thanks to a combination of the two methods provided I have managed to free the waterpump from the block, however I can't get it out the engine, I have jacked the engine up so the mount is flush with the top of the bolt but it's still not giving me enough room to remove the pump.

Think I might I have to either undo the drivers side aswell or maybe just the drivers side to see if that gives me more room.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
I have always done the drivers side, purely because the ones I've changed have been at the same time as the vanos overhaul and that needs the right side up. I know that works.
 
enuff_zed said:
Joez4 said:
Thanks to a combination of the two methods provided I have managed to free the waterpump from the block, however I can't get it out the engine, I have jacked the engine up so the mount is flush with the top of the bolt but it's still not giving me enough room to remove the pump.

Think I might I have to either undo the drivers side aswell or maybe just the drivers side to see if that gives me more room.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
I have always done the drivers side, purely because the ones I've changed have been at the same time as the vanos overhaul and that needs the right side up. I know that works.
Click to expand...

I'll try drivers side tomorrow and report back,

Funny you mention vanos removal that's on my list after waterpump, radiator, ofhg, and ccv which I'm currently in the process of doing all of the above, so any tips you might have on those jobs please feel free to mention them, your knowledge on the steering motor removal was invaluable
 
I usually do the passenger side (assuming uk car) but I guess it’s personal preference

Either will give you clearance to get it out
 
Bigwinn do you undo just the top nut or undo both but leave the nuts threaded on a bit?

I tried just undoing the top nut but it's not making much difference, the propeller bit of the pump is still mainly in the block whatever way i try and angle it, to remove it I think i would have to jack the engine up another 10mm at least and it would definitively jump off the bolt at that point
 
Undo the top bolt from the engine mount

Jack the engine up from underneath about 2-3 inches

That will give you clearance

Use some wood between the jack and the sump though
 
It’s not the end of the world if it does lift off the bolt, just need to be careful that it sits back into place properly. That’s all I meant by being a bit of a faff.
 
Joez4 said:
enuff_zed said:
Joez4 said:
Thanks to a combination of the two methods provided I have managed to free the waterpump from the block, however I can't get it out the engine, I have jacked the engine up so the mount is flush with the top of the bolt but it's still not giving me enough room to remove the pump.

Think I might I have to either undo the drivers side aswell or maybe just the drivers side to see if that gives me more room.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
I have always done the drivers side, purely because the ones I've changed have been at the same time as the vanos overhaul and that needs the right side up. I know that works.
Click to expand...

I'll try drivers side tomorrow and report back,

Funny you mention vanos removal that's on my list after waterpump, radiator, ofhg, and ccv which I'm currently in the process of doing all of the above, so any tips you might have on those jobs please feel free to mention them, your knowledge on the steering motor removal was invaluable
Click to expand...
If you're going to renovate your VANOS then first I would highly recommend you read this excellent BEISAN step by step guide https://beisansystems.com/6-cylinder-double-vanos-procedure-e46-e39/
Then watch this from about 28 mins https://youtu.be/PGkTkImVSxg?si=akgSyCoIrIfXCwhK
Then do a search on here for info. There's many on here including myself that have done the VANOS so no shortage of info and tips :thumbsup:
The other jobs (rad, ofhg and ccv) are all relatively simple and straightforward. I'd be tempted to do all 3 together if you can as there would be no shortage of access and room to work in. I removed the inlet manifold etc when I replaced my CCV. Some people have done it without removing the manifold but it must be more of a faff :thumbsup:
 
Success I've got the old pump out and the new one in.

My tip to anyone doing this is as follows,

Loosen the bottom nut of the passenger side engine mount, remove the top nut of the passenger side engine mount, jack the engine up so it clears the mount and to the height required to remove the pump, in my case this was nearly 3 inches off the mount, at this point the mount is loose and can be moved around to get the engine to sit back on it, but I found that lowering the engine it would naturally pick up the bolt of the mount and align itself, whether it would do that without loosening the bottom nut I don't know but it seemed to me that it wouldn't.

I've read posts that you don't need to jack up past the mount bolt but in my case that wasn't true.

Last thing the old pump was a bmw stamped ina branded pump the bearing wasn't as knackered as I thought it would be, it's worn but not freewheeling but not tight like the new one, wonder if it's original pump, everything else that's come off the car so far has been original which is impressive for 115,000 miles.
 
Have completed the ofhg and ccv job, the ccv was straightforward enough was definitely helped by having the access with the oil filter housing removed, good tip to do both at the same time, my ofhg was completely flat and I could see where the oil was passing it at the bottom of the gasket which now had the consistency of a piece of liquorice.

As always thanks for the help provided by everyone.
 
Joez4 said:
Have completed the ofhg and ccv job, the ccv was straightforward enough was definitely helped by having the access with the oil filter housing removed, good tip to do both at the same time, my ofhg was completely flat and I could see where the oil was passing it at the bottom of the gasket which now had the consistency of a piece of liquorice.

As always thanks for the help provided by everyone.
Click to expand...
:thumbsup:
 
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