eazye757

Forgot to report back but I finally got the car running again. The AC belt was annoying. It took me and friend about 45 mins to get it back on. He was under the car keeping the belt on the ac pulley and i was above it turning the crankshaft until it finally went into place.

Only thing that sucks is that the water pump i bought appears to not have been any good. My weep hole is still leaking intermittently . Guess I'll be going back in soon....

dingolfing

Before you think the water pump is bad, make sure you are diagnosing the weep hole leak correctly. There is also another weep hole to the left of the pump on the timing cover of the engine. Water pump weep hole is to the right of the pulley. Since you have a 545i, you may have a failure of the internal cooling transfer pipe if the weep hole leak is from the timing cover.

eazye757

O no, its on the left (passenger side). So that probably means my water pump was fine then. Is that a easy fix or something I would have to put in the shop?

dingolfing

Your water pump may have been fine, but if it was the original factory unit, it was time to replace anyway.

Take a look at this link (don't mind the incorrectly titled thread):

https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...i-help-137246/

For further research, you can also search for "coolant transfer pipe" on this forum or even google.

ncsugrad2006

If it's the hole further to the left, most likely it's coolant transfer pipe.

Another one bites the dust... (coolant transfer pipe on N62) - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums is a thread from when I fixed mine. Basically you remove the intake, remove the valley pan cover, cut the old pipe in half to get it out, then install an aftermarket two piece pipe

The alternative is pulling the whole front of the engine apart.

eazye757

Agreed so not complaining to much, I'm sure it would've failed eventually. No better time to do it than when I already had her open doing the alternator.

eazye757

I've been reading on this process now, do you recall how much time it took you to do the job. Will there be a bunch of gaskets to replace once i get the intake off. How hard was that I guess in comparison to the alternator?? Just trying to get my head around it to see what I'm up against.

ncsugrad2006

Time wise, I could do it in an afternoon now.. but for a first time it basically took me one Saturday to pull it apart and the next to put it back together. That was working in a parking lot though too..

The only gaskets you need to replace are the intake gaskets and you should also replace the valley pan. It has a gasket/o-ring made into it. That's it for gaskets

I removed the throttle body on my intake, but that was not necessary.

The hardest parts of the job are:
--Physically picking the intake up (I was by myself and it is heavy)
--Getting the seal for the front seated correctly. It is a very tight fit and has to be seated down very well, and access is not so great.

That's about it. The intake bolts can be a pain. The trick there is to get a magnetic pick up tool, put some tape on the end of it, and use it to get the nuts started. Some flexible sockets make it easy to tighten them as well

Basic process is:
-remove all the engine covers
-remove intake tubing/air filter box
-disconnect wires at front of engine that go over fuel rails (knock sensors, water temp., etc.)
-get wiring harness out of the way as much as possible
-remove intake (leave fuel injectors, etc. alone. Comes out as assembly)
-remove valley pan
-cut old coolant pipe in half with saw and remove
-remove old o-ring in rear and clean seal surface thoroughly on front
-install new seals, front and rear. Front is a pain and must be seated properly. This took me a good 2 hours
-Install new (2 piece) pipe per instructions included in whichever kit you buy
-Everything else is reverse of disassembly

eazye757

Ok you just gave me more confidence to tackle this job lol. I can drive a week now before the low coolant light comes on so im going to tackle it in about 2 weeks once I have some more time and all of the parts. Ive cut down on driving it due to the leak anyway. I think I'll copy you and use the links you provided for the parts (thanks for that by the way). Just have to get a saw to cut it. I've read not to use an electric drill to clean out the old seal pieces but I dont have access to air tools. What did you use to clean it out?

ncsugrad2006

I used a hand saw to cut the pipe.. just a little flimsy hack saw like thing from home depot. it was one where the blade sticks out a few inches past the front of the saw. It's slow, but it worked

I just used some brass brushes I found at home depot and did it by hand. I don't think i'd want to use any power tools there personally