Short story: Got an engine over temp alarm but after immediately pulling over and checking the engine was not overheated at all and coolant was in the reservoir tank. Upon restart the car would run for a couple of minutes, alarm out, then slowly lose throttle but maintain idle until I shut it down for a few minutes. The car has 128k on the clock and I suspect a faulty T-stat. Since I have to remove the water pump to reach it, my plan is to swap out both.

Has anybody done this before? I've seen posted videos on the removal from a 335i but the 535i internals are different. I looks like I have to disconnect several power steering lines and maybe even remove the fan, intercooler and rack and pinion assembly to get at the water pump.....ugh.

If any members paid to have this job done please let me know the cost so I have idea what to expect. I'm in the Atlanta area so if someone can put me up on a good indy shop it would be greatly appreciated.

 

When I did mine on my '08 535xi, I had the cooling fan out, belly pan under the rad out, and the charge pipe connection from the turbos to the intercooler removed. It was still a PITA, but nothing else needed to come off.

Take the pump and t-stat out as an assembly. If the three bolts holding the pump to the block are aluminium, they need to be replaced. The replacement bolts I got from ECS were steel.

 

This is ~$1,200 dealer service

 

You plan on doing it yourself there is no way I would pay $1200 for that. It is fairly easy if your use to turning a wrench I did it the hard way and still got it done in an hour. I removed nothing but what i had to on my friends 06 525i. I think they are set up the same way. It was a pita to get to but straight forward job

 

The X models are hard. The non X models should be considered "easy".

The hard part is the pump going out anywhere in the vicinity and right timing to be even an option for doing it DIY at home.

I have had to pay the dealer rate for our 535xi and wait overnight out of town. On our 530, it went out about 10 miles from home and it took me a couple hours to drive it, cool it down, drive it, etc. That one I did DIY.

 

The hardest part on my x was the pump outlet hose to the water manifold by the turbos. There's literally no room to do anything, and it's a real 'test and try' situation. I've read the non-x models have a bit more space around the pump/t-stat. My actualy downtime was long but I did a bunch of other 'while I'm at it' service at the same time.

 

Aftermarket T-stat and Water Pump go for close to $500. BMW parts cost close to $700 so I can see how a dealer can charge $1,200 for the job with their labor rate. Now I have an idea of what a fair price would be of an indy mechanic to do the job.


I was lucky that the unit failed when I was driving close to home in the morning - the night before I drove back from a 2 hour interstate trip. Breaking down at night on the highway would have been all kinds of bad.


My concern is the braided steel and hard lines that are in the way of getting clean access to the pump - these appear to be hydraulic lines (the car has ARS) and disconnecting them creates more work. I'll think it over before deciding whether to pay a mechanic. At least I don't worry about towing since I have a p/u truck that can handle it.

 

OE Pump and Thermo Kit

This is the kit I bought and a gallon of BMW fluid. You do have the same setup my friend had when I changed his. It was easy and saved a lot of money. The parts are OE so it's the same thing you get from the dealership without the BMW logo. If you do decide to do it yourself make sure you change the U hose (do not remember what it is called). My friend left it at his house thinking I was not going to need it was in bad shape so he had to go retrieve it. Lol

 

ARS will complicate things for sure.

 

I did the water pump and tstat on my 535xi E61. I spent about 12 hours under the car. It's not impossible and once you figure out the correct order to remove and install the hoses from the tstat to the water pump, you'll know that you could do it in half the time the next time it happens.

You need to get a flexible shaft 1/4" drive extension and some good 1/4" drive metric sockets for the clamps on the hoses. If you're lucky, the main pump hose in the back will have the clamp facing the crossmember like mine (thanks factory guy) and it will be a bear. I found that snaking that extension through various access holes in the frame and crossmember saved me a lot of time fighting to get the clamps tight.

The extra xi stuff makes it a challenge, but it's not impossible. It takes a little finesse to get it out and get it back in with the hoses connected and get the clamps tightened.

My new 2010 E60 came with a warranty, so when the pump quit 2 weeks ago, the dealership changed it