Stupid Plastic Water Pumps

[hocuzanden]

so my waterpump has passed on, and i'm in the market for a new one. does anyone know if they sell aftermarket pumps with metal impellars?

[drz]

JUst buy a BMW water pump with the metal impeller (standard on 96 and later E36s). You can get one pretty much anywhere they sell BMW parts. I recommend www.bavauto.com

[dopeyx27]

Do you know the average price of getting those put on by a shop? Thanks

[Delmarco]

You could prolly DIY, check the faq section.

[drz]

I would guess most places will charge you about 3/4 to one hour of labor (although it may not take that long). At the dealership that would be about $80/hr. The water pump itself costs about $60. That is a DIY type job, though. Find a couple of instruction sets here: www.bimmerdiy.com

[jllphan]

And just so you know, the metal impeller equipped water pumps fail too, just in a different fashion. That's why BMW went from plastic, to metal, back to plastic, and finally back to a metal impeller equiped water pumps between 1995-1999.

So, you'd think there's a great aftermarket water pump that doesn't fail, right? Nope. I stay pretty on top of the latest and greatest parts for BMW, and I've yet to find such an animal.


Either way you should replace your pump every 60K miles, your thermostat (and housing) in the same interval, and if you really want to be safe, your radiator every 100K. BMW makes great cars, but their coolant systems are easily the poorest area of design. Their not great, and in the North American climate, special attention should be paid to this aspect of an otherwise kick ass car.

[supark]

get the new composite impeller pump - this is what they're putting in new BMWs. You can get them at EAP4Parts.com

[e36_m3_Turbo]

Originally posted by jllphan@May 15 2005, 12:29 PM
And just so you know, the metal impeller equipped water pumps fail too, just in a different fashion.* That's why BMW went from plastic, to metal, back to plastic, and finally back to a metal impeller equiped water pumps between 1995-1999.*

So, you'd think there's a great aftermarket water pump that doesn't fail, right?* Nope.* I stay pretty on top of the latest and greatest parts for BMW, and I've yet to find such an animal.*


Either way you should replace your pump every 60K miles, your thermostat (and housing) in the same interval, and if you really want to be safe, your radiator every 100K.* BMW makes great cars, but their coolant systems are easily the poorest area of design.* Their not great, and in the North American climate, special attention should be paid to this aspect of an otherwise kick ass car.

[snapback]344733[/snapback]

i back this info up. such as the plastic necks on the e36's radi that usually crack....

[triggrhaapi]

The plastic end tanks on the rad piss me off, but other than that, the cooling system isn't bad. Now I wouldn't use it for F/I, but it's not terrible either. The water pump isn't that big a deal, neither is the thermostat. The therm housing is perfectly reliable as a metal part, and although the plastic end tanks are suspect, they have not ever failed on myself or anyone I know. I just don't trust plastic in an engine bay that has the kind of heat that F/I has.

All you need to do to keep on top of your coolant system is keep a gallon (or so) of spare coolant in your spare tire well and if you're really really adamant about it, keep a spare hose or two around and you'll be fine. Water pumps break. Big fucking deal.