V70Cat

I don't plan on doing it myself.

twh

Well, even if not yourself, you see the parts price. A shop will most likely get those at a better price. So, figure $500 parts and then labor. I'd say $800 to $1000 is a decent price.

dgjk

Agree. If you can get then to do it for <$1000 then I wouldn't hesitate. As an aside, you can negotiate with the dealer prices. Just ask them if they will take $800. I bet they will say yes.

V70Cat

I seems like a good idea to change the pump for $1,000 +/- already change the trans oil so I should be good for another 25,000 to 30,000 miles.

ronmexico

I just did the waterpump and alternator on my 550i.

It was a BITCH. Mostly the disassembly. The waterpump itself actually goes on really easy. Getting the belts off, and the harmonic balaner off was way more work than I expected.

But I got it all done myself. Saved an easy $500-$700 on labor

550sport87

I know you did it already, but future reference. ....You don't have to remove the crank pulley to get the bottom bolt out, remove all the other bolts, then angle the pump. Grab a magnet and keep the magnet on the shaft of the bolt or you'll be cussing when it falls lol.

As far as the alternator, they go pretty easy if you have fan shroud removed. Should only be 2 bolts holding it in right? Out of curiosity, why did you replace it?

ronmexico

I know it wasn't necessary. but my belts needed replacing anyway. Little did I know that my autozone belt stretch tool wouldnt work for my ac belt! So I have the bmw equivalent ordered, and it won't be here until Friday! Awesome! (not really. total sarcasm)

I replaced the alternator because it died. On the way to work the other day, I lost almost all of my modules: ABS, DTC, Check Engine, e-Brake, and dynamic drive lights all lit up. I also lost power steering. It was a gamble between the alternator and the battery, but my battery is pretty new - and my alternator had some coolant leak onto it last summer when I had to replace my radiator hose. So after I got it in, and my waterpump all connected back (with no leaks!) I took it for a drive (with no a/c!) and all my alerts went away after the battery got chraged up. I know it's not the optimal way to do it, but I can't find my trickle charger.

I'd agree that the alternator went in "pretty easy" - but in the 550i, there are a lot of extra cooling lines in the area where it goes. The fan shround is also a bit more of a pain in the ass becuase of the extra radiator and oil cooler on the 4.8L. After dicking with it for about half an hour, I went UNDER the car, and got it to slide right into the bracket. It would not line up properly with a top-down install.

HPIA4v2

Mine just exhaled it's last breath 2-weeks ago, N54 535i 73k miles.
boy this is one of the suckiest job to DIY.
If you patient and have small hands :-) you'll be fine.


BTW, Monterey CA BMW dealer has genuine Continental BMW WP for $389.
I've decided to go with genuine BMW parts this time, cause I don't dream to do this sucky job again

hoser

Last time, my Indy charged 4.2 hrs for the job @ $130/hr ($546), $686 in parts for water pump, thermostat, coolant. 52k miles later, my water pump cracked. This time I tackled it myself. $400 parts (Pump, thermostat, hose, coolant) and 2.5hrs of my labor. Anyway, after inspecting the cracked pump, I found these plastic pieces stuck in the impeller. Anybody guess where they are from? Could it have caused the crack?

Edit: could not get attachments to work

kd7iwp

Someone said this earlier in the thread and I think I could accept that as a possibility. Also might suspect the hose that goes from the thermostat to the cylinder head up front. Took mine off the other day to do OFHG and was surprised how easily the hose pulled off, only to find a good chunk of it stuck in the head still. Amazon sells lots of aluminum fittings you can get and I bought one of those for half the price of a new hose from BMW (including paying for 2-day shipping) and the rest of the hose still looks fine. I wouldn't be surprised if chunks of that fitting broke off.