<![CDATA[another failed n5x water pump: news at 11]]>shocker. 

52k miles on my n55, yellow temp light came on during my trip home from Road america on saturday. Thankfully it didn't happen while I was on the track. The only good part about this is that it wasn't the dread  "oh look my temp gauge light came on yellow...but oh wait 5 seconds later it's now red and my car is dead", but rather just the warning lamp telling me pretty much that my water pump is on the verge of imminent failure.

So i was able to hobble home from West Bend where i was at under 2k rpms without the light coming back on. 

I struggle to think about the average person who has no idea about the water pump issues on these cars, and sitting in traffic or being on a busy highway if your pump totally fails; because the car will go limp, kill throttle response, and limit rpms to 1000. 

That's all I got. Nothing out of the ordinary here, folks.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/topic/4013/another-failed-n5x-water-pump-news-at-11RSS for NodeWed, 16 Sep 2026 04:00:25 GMTTue, 29 Sep 2015 20:13:12 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Fri, 09 Oct 2015 02:41:25 GMT]]>

patsbimmer1 said:

Mann bhear pigg?

Im so serial right now..

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62507https://wibimmers.com/post/62507Fri, 09 Oct 2015 02:41:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Fri, 09 Oct 2015 00:52:16 GMT]]>I picked up a water pump and t-stat for $391 shipped from partsgeek.com.  I found a $15 off coupon to bring it down to that price.  Just in case anyone is interested...

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62503https://wibimmers.com/post/62503Fri, 09 Oct 2015 00:52:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Fri, 09 Oct 2015 00:22:05 GMT]]>

Bobdudeman1988 said:

What brand pump did you go with? I got the continental brand with the mann bhear tstat

Mann bhear pigg?

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62501https://wibimmers.com/post/62501Fri, 09 Oct 2015 00:22:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Thu, 08 Oct 2015 23:50:59 GMT]]>What brand pump did you go with? I got the continental brand with the mann bhear tstat

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62497https://wibimmers.com/post/62497Thu, 08 Oct 2015 23:50:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Thu, 08 Oct 2015 17:40:48 GMT]]>do the thermostat. I was able to get a full kit - thermostat, water pump, and a gallon of coolant for 459 shipped from OEMBimmerParts.com.  It shipped from Illinois too so it got here next day

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62494https://wibimmers.com/post/62494Thu, 08 Oct 2015 17:40:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Thu, 08 Oct 2015 12:59:32 GMT]]>

wally509 said:

Thanks for the tips.  Do most guys change the thermostat also?  If they aren't really prone to failure, not sure if I will mess with it.

It's a good idea since you have to pull the water pump to do the thermostat.  I have read that the pumps are prone to failure when they are removed if they are not stored properly, even for short periods of time.  I don't know how true that is but at about $400 a crack for water pumps i'd say it's worth it to do the thermostat as well.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62493https://wibimmers.com/post/62493Thu, 08 Oct 2015 12:59:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Thu, 08 Oct 2015 12:17:35 GMT]]>

i_love_cars said:

yeah IMO it's a DIY job for most mechanically inclined people, at least on n54/n55 cars. The suspension configuration allows you to just unbolt the sway bar bushings and pull it down and rotate out of the way. IMO it is also best to disconnect the fan shroud and lift it a few inches up (no need to fully remove it) - it will give you a TON more space to work with when lining up the E12 for the top water pump bolt. The first time I swapped one of these was on Pat's car and it took 3 hours on the floor. Not a huge job.

I can tell you that my old 135i was under CPO when its water pump failed at 63k so I naturally had BMW replace it and the work sheet read just shy of 1500 for parts and labor, if that helps give you any idea of dealer cost. 

Thanks for the tips.  Do most guys change the thermostat also?  If they aren't really prone to failure, not sure if I will mess with it.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62492https://wibimmers.com/post/62492Thu, 08 Oct 2015 12:17:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:56:46 GMT]]>dude, those hoses are a fucking rats nest. The first time I did this job I was in disbelief. The 2 supposed "quick release" hoses with the clips required a screwdriver tip to wedge and twist in order to pop them loose, they were ON. A couple of times I thought I had all hoses disconnected only to find another one. That's a couple of times too many   ;)

EDIT: Still better than doing the water pump/timing belt on my old V6 acuras. Never thought I'd say that but removing the electric water pump is way better than dealing with a belt driven pump on a J-series honda

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62470https://wibimmers.com/post/62470Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:56:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:52:49 GMT]]>The bolts on the pump are easy.but when you have the old aluminum t stat housing those hoses are pure evil to remove lol

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62469https://wibimmers.com/post/62469Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:52:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:30:57 GMT]]>yeah IMO it's a DIY job for most mechanically inclined people, at least on n54/n55 cars. The suspension configuration allows you to just unbolt the sway bar bushings and pull it down and rotate out of the way. IMO it is also best to disconnect the fan shroud and lift it a few inches up (no need to fully remove it) - it will give you a TON more space to work with when lining up the E12 for the top water pump bolt. The first time I swapped one of these was on Pat's car and it took 3 hours on the floor. Not a huge job.

I can tell you that my old 135i was under CPO when its water pump failed at 63k so I naturally had BMW replace it and the work sheet read just shy of 1500 for parts and labor, if that helps give you any idea of dealer cost.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62467https://wibimmers.com/post/62467Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:30:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:21:00 GMT]]>

wally509 said:

I have an '07 E92 328i with a little over 105K on it.  I've owned it for about 2 years and got fairly complete service records when I bought it.  No evidence there was ever a water pump done so that's been at the back of my mind ever since.  Did you do the job yourself or take it somewhere?  If you took it somewhere, may I ask what they hit you for to do it?

Thanks,

Wally

He did the job himself.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62466https://wibimmers.com/post/62466Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:21:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Tue, 06 Oct 2015 09:01:12 GMT]]>I had mine crap out on me just last month at 73k. The housing cracked so it worked.. Just leaked. The job isn't tooo bad on a rwd..but the xi is a pain. Ive charged 200 for rwd and 250 for awd. Again a good diyer can do it in a days work. I can swap it in about 2 hours. But ive done a few ;)

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62465https://wibimmers.com/post/62465Tue, 06 Oct 2015 09:01:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 10:44:10 GMT]]>I have an '07 E92 328i with a little over 105K on it.  I've owned it for about 2 years and got fairly complete service records when I bought it.  No evidence there was ever a water pump done so that's been at the back of my mind ever since.  Did you do the job yourself or take it somewhere?  If you took it somewhere, may I ask what they hit you for to do it?

Thanks,

Wally

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62327https://wibimmers.com/post/62327Thu, 01 Oct 2015 10:44:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 12:39:31 GMT]]>the track went well. I hadn't ever done a BMW CCA event before, and they definitely are a class act. They really treat the event as more of a driving school, with class time even for advanced drivers - obviously for them they are going over more intricate driving techniques. 

They also had instructors for everyone in Intermediate and Novice groups. I was impressed that with 40-50 people they were able to get instructors for all of them. It was an impressively large event. Compared to more dedicated DE groups like LAPS, MVP, etc. focused on pure track time where they have like 10-12 instructors and it's a sign-up process where you either take one or don't, and there's a small pool of available people for it. 

I learned that I will never drive Novice again. I was passing everyone, and my instructor had to give me a written rec to move into Intermediate. I'm at the point now where I need to be in run groups that are more spread out, don't form congo lines, and just generally have better drivers to surround myself with. 

I wish I woulda had the money to do both days.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62299https://wibimmers.com/post/62299Wed, 30 Sep 2015 12:39:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 12:37:21 GMT]]>The new B58 engine for the 340i has a mechanical pump again as opposed to the electric water pumps on the N5x.  Hopefully these don't have exploding/disintegrating impellers...

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1133836

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62297https://wibimmers.com/post/62297Wed, 30 Sep 2015 12:37:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 11:54:53 GMT]]>I welcome added complexity on a car if it improves reliability and extends the service life of something. This is not the case. 

Beetles and Porsches were air cooled.  you will be fine.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62289https://wibimmers.com/post/62289Wed, 30 Sep 2015 11:54:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to another failed n5x water pump: news at 11 on Tue, 29 Sep 2015 21:53:27 GMT]]>How'd it go on the track?

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/62272https://wibimmers.com/post/62272Tue, 29 Sep 2015 21:53:27 GMT