35i Water Pump Heads-Up

[fiehlsport]

My 35i is at the dealer for a replacement water pump right now. It has 61k on it and is still under CPO.

The cooling fan has been cycling up and down constantly for the last few days. It revs up and down (slow-fast-slow-fast-slow-fast) every 5 seconds. Coolant level is fine, no codes in the DME whatsoever. (Checked with INPA)

I pulled into the service bay this morning and the advisor immediately said "sounds like it needs a water pump."

So, for anyone with this mileage, keep an ear out for your fans running for no reason! I know this was common on the N54 but it seems the N55 is prone as well. Luckily, mine didn't fail outright and temps stayed within spec.

[neverdone]

N55 is prone to it for sure. I had a 2011 335 with the N55 and that's what started happening.

[PrematureApex]

Yup, that's the tell-tale sign it's going. When you here it, slowly get your car to your driveway for the repair, or to the dealer.

I think my N54 made it a total of 15 miles of driving after the fans started cycling before the car went into limp mode.

PITA to replace too. Many a knuckles bloodied.

[fiehlsport]

Nice! I was googling like crazy last night and couldn't find a single thread regarding the fan behavior connected to WP failure. So this is comforting. :-)

I wonder why the fan acts like this? Does the pump fail by running slower and slower until it stops? I was monitoring coolant temp the last two days and it was 190-210 degrees F, seemed totally normal.

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by burnout8488

Nice! I was googling like crazy last night and couldn't find a single thread regarding the fan behavior connected to WP failure. So this is comforting. :-)

I wonder why the fan acts like this? Does the pump fail by running slower and slower until it stops? I was monitoring coolant temp the last two days and it was 190-210 degrees F, seemed totally normal.

You were?

Googling "E90 water pump fans" yields like a thousand threads.

I think most people assume that when the car detects some pump error, or pump output change, it preventatively runs the fans.

Not sure what the most common mode of failure is. From what I understand, the failures result from coolant leaking into the electrical control portion of the pump. Some people can find "low pump RPM" codes thousands of miles before full failure. So I guess at least sometimes there's a degradation in performance.

[SharpAndCunning]

This is discouraging.

I don't put a lot of miles on my x1 at the moment, but 60k miles isn't a lot of time to be having to tear the motor apart for a water pump.

Now I'm wondering if I should be trying to get an extended warranty before the factory one expires.

[fiehlsport]

Originally Posted by jpc647

This is discouraging.

I don't put a lot of miles on my x1 at the moment, but 60k miles isn't a lot of time to be having to tear the motor apart for a water pump.

Now I'm wondering if I should be trying to get an extended warranty before the factory one expires.

Luckily the pump is standalone, it sits underneath the engine with a few hoses connected to it. No teardown required. :-) But it is in a tight spot, and sucks for whichever technician has to do it.

My dealer quoted about $1300 for the job out of warranty, you can probably do better at a good independent shop. Hard to gamble on if an extended warranty would be worth it, something else would have to fail from 50-100K to hit the break-even point.

[SharpAndCunning]

Originally Posted by burnout8488

Luckily the pump is standalone, it sits underneath the engine with a few hoses connected to it. No teardown required. :-) But it is in a tight spot, and sucks for whichever technician has to do it.

My dealer quoted about $1300 for the job out of warranty, you can probably do better at a good independent shop. Hard to gamble on if an extended warranty would be worth it, something else would have to fail from 50-100K to hit the break-even point.

Was that pump and thermostat or just pump?

[e36addict]

But look at it this way, around the mileage that your water pump fails, most likely the oil pan gasket will be leaking. If you do those jobs at the same time, the water pump adds about 10 min to the oil pan job.

[SharpAndCunning]

uhm.... this is the saddest thing I think i've ever heard.


A lot of people lose water pumps between 40k and 60k miles, you're saying the oil pans are only going to last 40-60k miles? That's absurd.

[solidsleeper]

Originally Posted by SharpAndCunning

uhm.... this is the saddest thing I think i've ever heard.


A lot of people lose water pumps between 40k and 60k miles, you're saying the oil pans are only going to last 40-60k miles? That's absurd.

saddest? have you read through the e90post forum? there's some sadder things on there that you could read about ....

40-60k and a 6-7yr old car it could be likely you'd see some oil seepage, but does it warrant to replace it? If you're losing a lot of oil and have to add lots of oil between changes then maybe (check valve cover gasket/oil filter housing gaskets first). I don't think e36addict is suggesting it's necessary to change the oil pan gasket, probably just recommending it if you're already DIY'ing your water pump since you're down there and the gasket is fairly inexpensive in price. If you're taking it to a mechanic to replace you're water pump, I doubt they would recommend the oil pan gasket at that mileage.

Edit: jk it does look like a fairly common occurrence e90s lol so I guess it's pretty saddd. You need either a trusted indy mechanic, willingness to DIY, and/or a lot of $$$

[e36addict]

Originally Posted by solidsleeper

saddest? have you read through the e90post forum? there's some sadder things on there that you could read about ....

40-60k and a 6-7yr old car it could be likely you'd see some oil seepage, but does it warrant to replace it? If you're losing a lot of oil and have to add lots of oil between changes then maybe (check valve cover gasket/oil filter housing gaskets first). I don't think e36addict is suggesting it's necessary to change the oil pan gasket, probably just recommending it if you're already DIY'ing your water pump since you're down there and the gasket is fairly inexpensive in price. If you're taking it to a mechanic to replace you're water pump, I doubt they would recommend the oil pan gasket at that mileage.

Edit: jk it does look like a fairly common occurrence e90s lol so I guess it's pretty saddd. You need either a trusted indy mechanic, willingness to DIY, and/or a lot of $$$

I mean, I've replaced the oil filter housing gaskets 3 times on the N55 in my mother's 135i in 80k miles. Sometimes it be like that. Haha. I've also done the valve cover assembly (squealing crankcase vent valve) the oil pan gasket, the water pump left her stranded at around 78k, the charge pipe popped and I replaced it with VRSF, the expansion tank gave out a couple weeks ago and within 200 miles the radiator started leaking.

[SharpAndCunning]

Originally Posted by e36addict

I mean, I've replaced the oil filter housing gaskets 3 times on the N55 in my mother's 135i in 80k miles. Sometimes it be like that. Haha. I've also done the valve cover assembly (squealing crankcase vent valve) the oil pan gasket, the water pump left her stranded at around 78k, the charge pipe popped and I replaced it with VRSF, the expansion tank gave out a couple weeks ago and within 200 miles the radiator started leaking.

That's insane!
Yeah, I just tried to do the water pump on my x1 35i, and after about 8 hours, I got it back together and it's leaking. No idea from where yet, but I've replaced engines, even done timing chains that were easier than this waterpump. I'm close to giving up and having to bring it to a shop.

[solidsleeper]

Originally Posted by e36addict

I mean, I've replaced the oil filter housing gaskets 3 times on the N55 in my mother's 135i in 80k miles. Sometimes it be like that. Haha. I've also done the valve cover assembly (squealing crankcase vent valve) the oil pan gasket, the water pump left her stranded at around 78k, the charge pipe popped and I replaced it with VRSF, the expansion tank gave out a couple weeks ago and within 200 miles the radiator started leaking.

I've seen in the sunshade pano post you did that too! I need your skills/knowledge/patience!

[Chicone]

I received notice about a class action settlement on the water pump several weeks ago. If your X1 has less than 7 years/84,000 miles, you are eligible for reimbursement of the water pump/ thermostat up to $1000.00. Also the warranty is extended to 7 years/84,000 miles on those items. https://electriccoolantpumpsettlement.com/