Another Water Pump Failure - '13 X3 35i

mjosco · 11-09-2019, 04:40 PM

I just changed mine today. Changed both WP and thermo. The top small hose on the WP is the worst.

I believe my thermo was stuck open since the coolant temp on the engine was hovering low and I had no heat. All fixed now. I ran the purge process twice to be sure all the air was out. Likely the WP was fine but no way I was not going to change it since it had to be pulled anyways.

Now off to fix the LED board solder joint on my tailight...

E90705 · 11-09-2019, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Is it worthwhile to replace all the coolant hoses while you're in there to replace the thermostat and water pump or just leave them?

Yes it's worth it, depending on condition.

Polo08816 · 11-09-2019, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E90705

Yes it's worth it, depending on condition.

X3 is a 2016 with 80k miles.

oVeRdOsE. · 11-11-2019, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polo08816

X3 is a 2016 with 80k miles.

does it need to be changed ? probably not.
Does it worth it ? probably yes, since its cheap and won't really make a huge impact on labour.

( assuming those are the same or better quality than OEM)

pungo · 11-11-2019, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Is it worthwhile to replace all the coolant hoses while you're in there to replace the thermostat and water pump or just leave them?

At 3 years old, I would not replace them unless the are in bad condition, though I doubt they are.

Polo08816 · 11-11-2019, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

does it need to be changed ? probably not.
Does it worth it ? probably yes, since its cheap and won't really make a huge impact on labour.

( assuming those are the same or better quality than OEM)

Quote:

Originally Posted by pungo

At 3 years old, I would not replace them unless the are in bad condition, though I doubt they are.

That's what I'm thinking...

Wgosma · 11-11-2019, 01:46 PM

Hoses are generally good to about 10 years.

Beberle · 11-18-2019, 12:42 PM

159k... I'm just proactively changing water pump & thermostat. I seem to be one of the lucky ones. It is the all metal pump on the N52 F25. My e91 has 140k miles and I'll do that one next.

The fan cowl is giving me a real headache right now, not looking forward to the rest of the work on this sucker

Edit: It seem that the N52 is slightly different than all of the N55 DIYs that I've seen. I've got the T-stat out, but can't get the bottom back water pump aluminum Torx bolt out. Anyone done a N52 recently that remembers how they got to it?
2nd Edit: Got the rascal out. 10mm ratcheting box-end wrench from under the car. Had to feed in from the front side just over the sway bar. Very worried I was going to strip the aluminum torx, but no damage evident. I used the 10mm box-end to get the top torx out as well. Now... I've ordered the wrong thermostat and pump-to-tstat hose somehow. Greeaaaattt.

3002 tii · 11-27-2019, 09:05 PM

after reading about so many failures around 60k, decided to some preventive maintenance. ended up doing coils, plugs, wp and t-stat all this past weekend... hopefully i'll get another trouble-free 60k out of this car.

Wgosma · 11-28-2019, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

after reading about so many failures around 60k, decided to some preventive maintenance. ended up doing coils, plugs, wp and t-stat all this past weekend... hopefully i'll get another trouble-free 60k out of this car.

nice work, after a bit of a tussle boing VCG on my N52 I'm thinking Mr Mechanic will be getting paid to do the R&R on my water pump at some point- that job does not look like a very enjoyable one.

hogwldfltr · 12-05-2019, 05:34 AM

I paid a local BMW specialty shop to take care of mine at about 85K miles on my 2014 X3 35i; no sense in waiting for it to fail.

cohenfive · 12-16-2019, 04:01 PM

So my symptoms were a bit different...2012 X3 3.5i 98k miles. Driving back from a couple of days of skiing I noticed that the engine was really, really lethargic. I didn't get a warning light. Didn't notice whether temp guage was acting up. Car could not hold speed with cruise control if going uphill at all, and trying to accelerate would lead to not much of anything and a lot of downshifting. Took it into my indy guy today and it showed the thermostat stuck open. Not sure if this is part of the water pump failing or not, but decided to have them both replaced. Not cheap even at an indy shop ($1300) but this is the bay area. This better solve the problem, but from reading all of this, sounds like I have some sort of variant of the thermo and/or pump going or gone.

EndOfAnEra · 09-06-2020, 08:55 PM

Looks like I'll be doing a water pump and thermostat DIY this weekend

pungo · 09-06-2020, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EndOfAnEra

Looks like I'll be doing a water pump and thermostat DIY this weekend

What are the symptoms?

383vett · 09-07-2020, 11:47 AM

Car shuts down. Message says engine overheating.

EndOfAnEra · 09-09-2020, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pungo

What are the symptoms?

Well, I first got a message last Friday twice while driving home from work that the engine was overheating. It was a yellow message, and then it turned red, and then back to yellow. Lasted about 20 seconds. While the message was red, the car would no longer accelerate. It pretty much dies on you. Saturday it happened a couple more times until finally it was constantly reoccurring. That's when I knew it was done for.

pungo · 09-09-2020, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EndOfAnEra

Well, I first got a message last Friday twice while driving home from work that the engine was overheating. It was a yellow message, and then it turned red, and then back to yellow. Lasted about 20 seconds. While the message was red, the car would no longer accelerate. It pretty much dies on you. Saturday it happened a couple more times until finally it was constantly reoccurring. That's when I knew it was done for.

Thanks, Well at least it gave you some warning it was going and didn't leave you stranded

383vett · 09-11-2020, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pungo

Thanks, Well at least it gave you some warning it was going and didn't leave you stranded

Our car essentially shut down. Enough power to limp to the side of the road but that was it. Fortunately it happened an eighth of a mile from our house so after a few minutes it cooled down enough so we could drive it back into our garage.

Wgosma · 09-11-2020, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EndOfAnEra

Looks like I'll be doing a water pump and thermostat DIY this weekend

How many miles on that failed pump?
Thanks/Bill

EndOfAnEra · 09-12-2020, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wgosma

How many miles on that failed pump?
Thanks/Bill

85k miles

markcbr · 04-11-2021, 01:31 AM

Good thread. I found this after my wife had the same symptoms - overheating notification and power loss. I got quotes from 2 BMW dealerships to replace water pump and thermostat - $2900 and 2000. I had and indie shop quote $700 for parts and 5 hrs labor.

Found this thread, saw the procedure and decided to go for it. Ordered the parts for $4xx. Install was a not bad but the hoses like most people stated were difficult to remove. One thing that helped was going behind the front axel. I didn't realize I had access from that area but it really helped. The hose clips were new to me. Had to search how to remove them. Took my time and I finished in about 6 hrs.

2014 X3 xDrive35i with 60k miles.

ComingInHot · 09-07-2023, 07:53 AM

2013 X3 35i 51k miles just had this happen as well. Water pump and thermostat changed at dealer $1800. Not bad for the first repair needed in 11 years of ownership.

11-09-2019, 04:40 PM	#177
mjosco New Member 0 Rep 11 Posts Drives: 2013 X3 M Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Denver iTrader: (0)	I just changed mine today. Changed both WP and thermo. The top small hose on the WP is the worst. I believe my thermo was stuck open since the coolant temp on the engine was hovering low and I had no heat. All fixed now. I ran the purge process twice to be sure all the air was out. Likely the WP was fine but no way I was not going to change it since it had to be pulled anyways. Now off to fix the LED board solder joint on my tailight...
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11-11-2019, 01:46 PM	#183
Wgosma Lieutenant Colonel 829 Rep 1,933 Posts Drives: 2012 F25 X3 28i (N52) Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Northern Nevada iTrader: (0)	Hoses are generally good to about 10 years.
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11-18-2019, 12:42 PM	#184
Beberle New Member 2 Rep 14 Posts Drives: 2009 328it Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Atlanta iTrader: (0)	159,150 miles 159k... I'm just proactively changing water pump & thermostat. I seem to be one of the lucky ones. It is the all metal pump on the N52 F25. My e91 has 140k miles and I'll do that one next. The fan cowl is giving me a real headache right now, not looking forward to the rest of the work on this sucker Edit: It seem that the N52 is slightly different than all of the N55 DIYs that I've seen. I've got the T-stat out, but can't get the bottom back water pump aluminum Torx bolt out. Anyone done a N52 recently that remembers how they got to it? 2nd Edit: Got the rascal out. 10mm ratcheting box-end wrench from under the car. Had to feed in from the front side just over the sway bar. Very worried I was going to strip the aluminum torx, but no damage evident. I used the 10mm box-end to get the top torx out as well. Now... I've ordered the wrong thermostat and pump-to-tstat hose somehow. Greeaaaattt. Last edited by Beberle; 11-19-2019 at 06:06 PM..
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11-27-2019, 09:05 PM	#185
3002 tii Lieutenant General 2387 Rep 12,636 Posts Drives: Z4 M, X5, GX460 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: CT iTrader: (100) Garage List E86 Z4 M [10.00] F15 X5 xDrive35i [9.17] F10 550i (Retired) [9.17] F25 X3 xDrive35i (R ... [9.43] E82 135is (Retired) [9.53] E85 Z4 M (Retired) [9.41] E90 328i xDrive (Re ... [9.25] E86 Z4 3.0si (Retired) [8.93]	after reading about so many failures around 60k, decided to some preventive maintenance. ended up doing coils, plugs, wp and t-stat all this past weekend... hopefully i'll get another trouble-free 60k out of this car. __________________ Follow for latest mods
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12-05-2019, 05:34 AM	#187
hogwldfltr Private First Class 44 Rep 156 Posts Drives: X3 35i Xdrive Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Newbury, MA iTrader: (0)	I paid a local BMW specialty shop to take care of mine at about 85K miles on my 2014 X3 35i; no sense in waiting for it to fail.
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12-16-2019, 04:01 PM	#188
cohenfive Lieutenant 109 Rep 481 Posts Drives: 2011 e92 m3 space grey dct Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: sf bay area iTrader: (0)	So my symptoms were a bit different...2012 X3 3.5i 98k miles. Driving back from a couple of days of skiing I noticed that the engine was really, really lethargic. I didn't get a warning light. Didn't notice whether temp guage was acting up. Car could not hold speed with cruise control if going uphill at all, and trying to accelerate would lead to not much of anything and a lot of downshifting. Took it into my indy guy today and it showed the thermostat stuck open. Not sure if this is part of the water pump failing or not, but decided to have them both replaced. Not cheap even at an indy shop ($1300) but this is the bay area. This better solve the problem, but from reading all of this, sounds like I have some sort of variant of the thermo and/or pump going or gone. __________________ 2015 M235i, MW/Bl, all packages 2012 x3 m sport, carbon black, prem, tech, conv, etc evil the following 29'er, specialized carbon stumpjumper s works fsr, trek madone 5.2 nikon d500, d810, d750, 14-24, 24-70, 80-400vr, 500vr
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09-06-2020, 08:55 PM	#189
EndOfAnEra Lieutenant Colonel 523 Rep 1,707 Posts Drives: F16 X6 Msport Join Date: May 2012 Location: Largo, FL iTrader: (13)	Looks like I'll be doing a water pump and thermostat DIY this weekend __________________ flickr
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09-07-2020, 11:47 AM	#191
383vett Major 645 Rep 1,059 Posts Drives: 2018 X3 M40i, 2012 X3 Xdrive35 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Moraga, California iTrader: (0)	Car shuts down. Message says engine overheating. __________________ 2016 Z06 Vette, 10.53@132 1984 Vette, 406, 10.23@131 2021 SQ5
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04-11-2021, 01:31 AM	#197
markcbr Registered 2 Rep 4 Posts Drives: X3 Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: CA iTrader: (0)	Good thread. I found this after my wife had the same symptoms - overheating notification and power loss. I got quotes from 2 BMW dealerships to replace water pump and thermostat - $2900 and 2000. I had and indie shop quote $700 for parts and 5 hrs labor. Found this thread, saw the procedure and decided to go for it. Ordered the parts for $4xx. Install was a not bad but the hoses like most people stated were difficult to remove. One thing that helped was going behind the front axel. I didn't realize I had access from that area but it really helped. The hose clips were new to me. Had to search how to remove them. Took my time and I finished in about 6 hrs. 2014 X3 xDrive35i with 60k miles.
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09-07-2023, 07:53 AM	#198
ComingInHot Newish 383 Rep 539 Posts Drives: BMWs Join Date: Feb 2020 Location: Midwest iTrader: (0)	2013 X3 35i 51k miles just had this happen as well. Water pump and thermostat changed at dealer $1800. Not bad for the first repair needed in 11 years of ownership.
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