[E90705]

How many miles? And what parts did they replace?

[pedalmike]

Thanks for all the info everyone.

[chknlytle]

To the guys that have done this, is it necessary to use special tool 11 8 670 when dealing with the intercooler pipes? I read in the service manual "Risk of damage to sealing rings!
Special tool 11 8 670 is essential!" and it's pretty much the only thing right now keeping me from doing this.

[E90705]

Originally Posted by chknlytle

To the guys that have done this, is it necessary to use special tool 11 8 670 when dealing with the intercooler pipes? I read in the service manual "Risk of damage to sealing rings!
Special tool 11 8 670 is essential!" and it's pretty much the only thing right now keeping me from doing this.

I did this job and didn’t use it. My rings are 👌🏼

I have ftp pipes tho

[MSport_Jon]

Originally Posted by ouengineer

This doesn't seem to be an issue on F3X vehicles with a metal housing water pump (p/n 11518635090)

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...p/11518635090/

A lot of the pre-mature failures (no water pump lasts forever) seem to be from a cracked housing due to the plastic housing used on the 11517632426 pump that originally came on the N54 and is also used on E9X N55 motors as well as F25 and F26 N55's.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...1517632426kt2/

As far as I can tell though, BMW has not updated the F25 and F26 N55 to use the newer pump, which is a bit baffling.

Since the E9X's use the N55 engine. Would it not be the same exact part for the N55 inside the F25 and F26? has anyone compared if they look the same as far as dimensions and orientation is concerned?

[MSport_Jon]

DAMN!!! the pumps for the n55 on the f15 and the f25 are NOT the same.!!!


F25



F15 and F3X all metal

[oVeRdOsE.]

Planning to do the waterpump on my 13' x3, since I don't know if this has been done in the past. 110 000km (69000 miles)

[Q] What's the faillure rate of the thermostat?

This thermostat is 290$ on rockauto, seems a bit high.


[Q2] Is the diverter valve should be changed in the same time?


I own a audi A4, and those diverter (same design has the N55) are failling around 60 000miles (rubber membrane). I've updated it with the GFB DV+.

The thermostat also failing around 60 000 mile on my A4, but it's 60$ and take about 1.5h to change...

here the x3, blue ext, chessnutbrown int, almost full equiped (all pack but dynamic, no nav, no head light washer. that's it)

[MSport_Jon]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

Planning to do the waterpump on my 13' x3, since I don't know if this has been done in the past. 110 000km (69000 miles)

[Q] What's the faillure rate of the thermostat?

This thermostat is 290$ on rockauto, seems a bit high.


[Q2] Is the diverter valve should be changed in the same time?


I own a audi A4, and those diverter (same design has the N55) are failling around 60 000miles (rubber membrane). I've updated it with the GFB DV+.

The thermostat also failing around 60 000 mile on my A4, but it's 60$ and take about 1.5h to change...

here the x3, blue ext, chessnutbrown int, almost full equiped (all pack but dynamic, no nav, no head light washer. that's it)
]

Failure rates vary but the consensus is to change it at around 60k miles. Change everything at once including the pump to thermostat hose with shielding... you don't want to get in there again.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by MSport_Jon

Failure rates vary but the consensus is to change it at around 60k miles. Change everything at once including the pump to thermostat hose with shielding... you don't want to get in there again.

thanks!

doesn't seem to much complicated, I did worst in the past .

But, I'm wondering about the thermostat, if the faillure rate is around 120 000miles, I wont change it, since I'm planning to do 3000-3500 mile max /years.

If its a unknow rate, Ill change it, 300$ is not that bad overall.

[MSport_Jon]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

thanks!

doesn't seem to much complicated, I did worst in the past .

But, I'm wondering about the thermostat, if the faillure rate is around 120 000miles, I wont change it, since I'm planning to do 3000-3500 mile max /years.

If its a unknow rate, Ill change it, 300$ is not that bad overall.

haven't seen much info on thermostat failures. Usually owners change both when the pump fails due to available kits from ECS, FCP ect ect. Usually these kit a just a little more than buying just the original pump from BMW.

[E90705]

check FCP for thermostat. its where i got mine as well as the pump and hose(s), etc. it was a bmw one too. better price than rockauto.

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

Planning to do the waterpump on my 13' x3, since I don't know if this has been done in the past. 110 000km (69000 miles)

[Q] What's the faillure rate of the thermostat?

This thermostat is 290$ on rockauto, seems a bit high.


[Q2] Is the diverter valve should be changed in the same time?


I own a audi A4, and those diverter (same design has the N55) are failling around 60 000miles (rubber membrane). I've updated it with the GFB DV+.

The thermostat also failing around 60 000 mile on my A4, but it's 60$ and take about 1.5h to change...

here the x3, blue ext, chessnutbrown int, almost full equiped (all pack but dynamic, no nav, no head light washer. that's it)

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by E90705

check FCP for thermostat. its where i got mine as well as the pump and hose(s), etc. it was a bmw one too. better price than rockauto.

tks, I've ordered all my maintenance stuff on FCP.

Indeed 155$ for the thermostat, half price.

hope the customs fees won't be so bad.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

tks, I've ordered all my maintenance stuff on FCP.

Indeed 155$ for the thermostat, half price.

hope the customs fees won't be so bad.

Do you have a link on it for the FCP Euro site?

[MSport_Jon]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Do you have a link on it for the FCP Euro site?

Here is the link for the FCP Euro thermostat for years 2011-2014

[CMW@BMW]

i too experienced the sudden and unexpected issue with Over Temp warning light and de-rate occurring. happened in rush hour traffic stuck in the left turn lane, definitely no fun.

Read all the threads, did some diag. on my own. I am a life long mechanic, and i'm still in the service business on the Heavy Truck side. My Son is a Mechanical Engineer and a good Technician in his own rights. He helped me with both diagnoses and tear down.

Confusing part, without a/c on engine would not over heat in normal driving, with a/c on would go about 5 miles, light on, de-rate without fail. could initiate the w/p air purge test and the pump and the fans would come on at high speed and pull heat from radiator. at any rate came to the conclusion either w/p or T-stat were malfunctioning causing lack of circulation.

what i wanted to share with the group is on tear down this is what i found, w/p was original equipment and appear to be working fine. T-Stat also original. we disassembled T-stat and found it to be frozen or stuck closed, T-stat would not move off of seat, brass thermal collar was hard fast frozen to stainless axis pin. I suspect at 103 Celsius any delay in opening would be a problem especially here in S. Texas heat.

it is a major undertaking, we have 3.5 hours in disassembly, i did remove the fan shroud and turbo heat exchanger from the bottom of radiator assembly, i am doing a clean out of debris while i have it all apart. as mentioned pump will not come out the bottom on the xdrive.

Currently i have all Parts on order, W/P, Thermostat, Mounting bolts, BMW antifreeze, also doing belt, tensioner, and idler pulley at this time. do i need the w/p ?? probably not but too difficult to access not to re-new while here. total dollars at this point $677.50
once i have completed the repair i will report back if condition is repaired
2011 X3 35i xdrive 85,000 miles well maintained

[CMW@BMW]

OK, completed job, order all Parts from FCP Euro, my mistake did not order expedited, just UPS ground took a week out of Connecticut.
Want to retract my statement about the original W/P being "good". it still worked but was very noisy had a distinct and loud whine when running.
New W/P is whisper quiet, also replaced T-Stat, and belt and idler along with tensioner. Took 2 1/2 hours to re-assemble, did the air purge for 12 minutes system holds just under 2 gallons of coolant. This solved the overheating problem, engine runs great, water temp and circulation is good. on the road test i monitored coolant temp. The thermostat cycled correctly and the engine performed flawlessly with the a/c on. outside temp today is 98 degrees. Based on how well my car is running i would say the pump and T-stat have been a problem for a while.

[IndyDave]

Yesterday, I experienced the water pump failure sequence of events described multiple times in this thread.

The “good” news I have is that my 2012 X3 made it to 115,000 miles before this occured so I guess I should consider myself lucky.

About a month ago, I had to replace a very noisy front wheel bearing.

Other than these two failures (both beyond 110K), absolutely nothing has ever gone wrong with this vehicle. It’s the best vehicle I’ve ever owned, and it still runs and drives like it did when new.

[oVeRdOsE.]

I did the water pump this weekend. 111 000km , the OEM one still running great. Preventive job.

I did it from the top. took me about 4.5h.
It's not hard, there's no many steps , it's just fck long (no space ) !!!

No space, so you got like 1'' to move the ratchet to undo a bolt, etc.

So here's the steps very briefly.

1 - remove front strut bar (11 hex screw) - 5 min
2- remove radiator fan (1 hex screw). 5 min
3 unbolt the cooler attachec on the fan (2 hex + 1 clip). 5min
4 - remove the skid plate 5min
5- remove the easy accesible collant hose clips . 5-10 min
6- remove the 3 10mm bolt on the water pump. 10min
7- remove 2 10mm bolt on the thermostat . 5 minutes.
8- try to remove the remaining hoses on the t-stat and water pump (6mm hose clamps and clips). 1.5h
9- get the pump out from the top.
10- put back just like the uninstall. Note : put the hose clamp screw so they can be accessible from the top. way more easier for the next job. 1h
11 - 50/50 bmw blue collant with distilled water
12- bleedind procedure . Car ON (engine off), heater T° to the max, low fan speed, press the gas pedal for about 10-15 sec until the pump start running. it will run for a while, somthing like 5-10 minutes. (leave the key in the car for those with keyless module) 25min

About torque specs... well you can forget it around the pump and t-stat area. A 1/4'' ratchet was hard to get in, so a torque wrench would be almost impossible. unless you have specialze tools.

I got the idea from this video :

[WaterlooMike]

Does time factor much into the pump failing? I had the warnibg/limp/pull over and shut down scare (on the on ramp to ON-401,awesome timing).

No other problems for the week until I could get to dealer, but codes were showing the pump was failing so its getting done. Had 1.5 months left on CPO, so I'm glad it died when it did.

But I have a pretty low mileage car. It's a 2013 X3 35i but barely 60k km. Is it one of those 5yr or 128k km (equals 80k miles) things?

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by WaterlooMike

Does time factor much into the pump failing? I had the warnibg/limp/pull over and shut down scare (on the on ramp to ON-401,awesome timing).

No other problems for the week until I could get to dealer, but codes were showing the pump was failing so its getting done. Had 1.5 months left on CPO, so I'm glad it died when it did.

But I have a pretty low mileage car. It's a 2013 X3 35i but barely 60k km. Is it one of those 5yr or 128k km (equals 80k miles) things?

I doubt time will significantly decrease life on the water pump. Just like any electric motor, wear will due to rotation will kill it.

This is funny, because I planned to do a 500km trip, on the 401 2 weeks ago with the X3, and I took my other car just in case of a water pump faillure.

[Mingstar88]

Originally Posted by Mingstar88

just an update.
had it replaced around 75,000km. it has been running great since. crazy how early i had to get it replaced..

Arghhh!!! i'm at 86,000km, just had the engine over heat error AGAIN today.
yesterday i had the radiator fan going crazy at engine start.
really frustrated

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by Mingstar88

Arghhh!!! i'm at 86,000km, just had the engine over heat error AGAIN today.
yesterday i had the radiator fan going crazy at engine start.
really frustrated

what is the ''normal'' temp ?

mine is about at the 1/4 (100°C), and on hot day or hard pull, a bit before the 1/2. I never get over 120°C