jon545

The SMG pump failed at 70K and i'm going to replace it and have been researching how to bleed the system. I keep running into a special tool. Has anyone bled the system manually? Can I have the car on jack stands and cycle the car through the gears and bleed it manually? I'm open to any information on this one!

jon545

I think it's safe to say that this has not been done before since no one has replied! The pump is being changed this afternoon and I'll let you know how it goes. I'm most concerned about bleeding the system. Replacing the pump appears to be pretty straight forward. The bleed valve on the slave cylinder is out of sight and something you'll do by feel. I like a good challenge!

jon545

A friend of mine helped change out the pump yesterday and it was really pretty straight forward. Much more so than I expected! After removing the splash shields and the two small heat shields by the transmission, you will find everything pretty much staring you in the face! The pump is right there at the front bottom on the passenger side of the trans. It's held in place by 3 screws and has a ground wire connected to the side of the trans and a power wire that connects on the driver's side of the transmision. There is a protective plate mounted to the bottom side of the transmission covering the solenoids you'll need to remove since the power wire is routed under that plate. The connector for the power wires that is attached to the pump (not the car) attaches to the trans to hold it in place and the car side pulls away. You will need a small screw driver to release the catch to remove it from the trans. Next we loosened the high pressure fitting from the pump and covered it with a rag in case it was still under pressure. It wasn't! Once the wires are disconnected and the hydraulic line is disconnected, you can remove the 3 screws holding the pump in place and pull it away from the expension tank. It simply pushes into the bottom hole on the pump to supply the pump with hydraulic fluid. Make sure you have bucket to collect the fluid in the tank.

Installation is basically the reverse of removal. Make sure you don't reconnect the electrical connector to the pump before you fill the tank up to the proper lever of Pentosin CH11s! There is no need to remove the tank or anything else for that matter. Once you are in there this will make more sense! It was actually easier than I expected! Use the supplied new screws to secure the pump to the bracket and the ground wire to the trans. Also, don't forget to use the new o-ring on the expansion tank where it goes into the pump. Press the pump onto the expension tank supply nipple and then screw the pump in place. Secure the ground wire. Route the power wires just like the original and then connect it. I then got in the car and cycled the gear lever between D N R with the engine OFF. You will hear the pump cycle the first few times you change gears until it fills the system with fluid.

Button it up and take it for a drive around the block. I was suprised at how smooth it shifted after the new pump was installed. It threw a code of 1887 which is for "Hydraulic Pump Failure" and we cleared that. It's been great ever since!

turboawd

well thats good to hear you got her taken care of.

how did you diagnose the pump as being bad?
is it a combination pump and electric motor?

jon545

At first it wouldn't go into gear right away and after restarting the car it finally did. The next day all was fine until I was on the way home with a trunk full of groceries at a stop light on a hill and the transmission had only downshifted to 4th. Light turns green and was I didn't move! Managed to pull over and restart the car and get it into first gear. Pulled into a Sonic drive in and thats where it all went south! It wouldn't go into reverse for about 15 minutes and tells me its operating in the fail safe mode and I only had R -N - 1,2,3! Fortunately I had a code reader in the car and found it set a code of 1887, which is "hydraulic pump failure". After a few minutes it went into gear and I limped home and parked it! Did a bunch of research and all my symptoms were consistant with pump failure and the code was the ringer. Actually bought the pump at the dearlership for $351 with BMW CC discount and didn't have to wait for shipping! It's SO smooth now!

akbar

i thought you have to connect a machine to the pump for the bleed or is this not needed.

my m5 recently broke down with same pump failure, im considering having go and just replacing the motor. can you give any advice jon.?


aki

AlexFW

What about the actuator (motor?) ?
I replaced it (with the pump) some yrs ago at the stealer and I'm afraid I'll need a new one in some yrs (my SMG is faster than stock configuration). So.. If it's so easy to replace the pump.. What about for the actuator?
Thanks!

Ali Rivera

Did you bleed the pump Manually and how did that work??