I have a 08 E61 with 75,000 miles on it.

I have heard that water pumps fail at my millage level and thinking about changing it?
Also wondering if BMW improved the design over time and if an 08 pump should last longer than a 04?

I was also wondering if it is time to do all or part of the hoses. The dealer tell me that I have 8 hoses and the cost is about $1,000 just for the hoses. The water pump is an additional $1,100,


Your thoughts with facts would be appreciated.


PS I just change the trans oil but have original power steering oil should I change that or any thing else?

 

Water pump and thermostat together should run $400-$450. I bet an independent mechanic would do for under $1000. When the time comes (I'm at 28K miles now) I'll tackle it myself. Other things to consider would be transmission fluid and filter change, differential fluid change, spark plugs, etc,... depending on when they were last serviced. No harm in changing the PS fluid either. Let us know how it goes.

 

Your water pump will go out at some point. I'd just do it now and avoid the inconvenience. While you are there, replace the thermostat as well. I didn't replace any hoses except one. On the N52 engine, there really is only one hose that is hard to get to and that is a small one that connects the water pump to thermostat.

 

Yes but is some point 75,000 miles or 150,000 miles?

 

Wife's 2009 X5 went out at 60,000 miles. My 2006 530xi went out at 63,000 miles. Mine had been complaining for some time when I dumped the INPA messages about RPM fluctuations. Mine finally went with yellow "drive carefully" warning on iDrive. Wife's went out without warning and left her stranded with red "stop now" warning on iDrive.

 

Holy crap this water pump thing keeps coming up a lot. And I now consider myself the resident expert on N54 e60 x drive water pump replacements. Why you ask?

Well, I just did it. Cost about $500 for parts. And it sucked. I mean sucked. It took hours and hours the first time, though by the third time I have the system and the sequence down pat and could do it from start to finish in 2-3 hours.

None of the on line research helps for the x-drives. There is a chassis part blocking all access to the back of the pump/thermostat. It has to be dome from above (mostly) and the front.

I posted my trials and tribulations on bimmerfest.

I had a pump go out at 78K. Left me stranded. Replaced under CPO. At 148K car had 2 yellow overheat warnings. That was enough for me to try to tackle it on my own. And I did. If you have any specific questions let me know.

I wonder how many hours the dealer charges for labor?

 

Link?

 

Ultimate 535xi water pump replacement thread - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

I hopefully will eventaully add pics but at this point I am still in recovery mode.

 

Mine lasted until 177K, so it varies greatly...

I have a 2006 530i.

 

Yes, BMW began using electric water pumps with the introduction of the 'N' series engines. Your '04, if it was a six cylinder car, still used a mechanical pump driven by the engine crankshaft.

Having said that, it seems like no matter what BMW does in terms of cooling system design you can pretty much bank on your car needing a water pump around the 60,000 mile mark. Driving beyond that and it becomes a ticking time bomb. It's been that way since the 1960s.