Good job on the scheidman pump
I wouldn't trust a plastic impeller pump as far as I can throw it
I wouldn't trust a plastic impeller pump as far as I can throw it
Water pump 6 cyl
- Thread starter Alan W
- Start date
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- Tags
- bmw z3 thermostat water pump
There have been several threads on water pump problems on this and lessor forums. With this in mind and with 2 continental trips coming up this year, I decided to do a precautionary front end overhaul.
As my car has done 105,000 miles without problems and having been very impressed with how it coped with high temperatures on last year’s trip to Italy I decided to stick with OEM parts.
As usual I was impressed by how easy these cars are to work on.
The fan and shroud were removed very easily, a modified spanner and a gentle tap with a hammer and the fan just spun off.
The thermostat and water pump came off easily, the belt tensioner had an awkward bolt but didn’t put up too much of a fight.
The old water pump was in perfect condition with no sign of wear at all. The area which had been inside the block was as clean as the new one.
Everything went back together quite quickly and the job was finished in about two hours until the last part. The radiator drain plug was brittle and sheared off. To remove the part which was in the radiator, I now had to remove the radiator for access. As Alan W has said the problem is the transmission oil cooler which is bolted to the front of the rad. The upper two bolts come out easily but the lower two require you to jack up the car and gain access from below. This is easy enough but after removing these I found myself wearing fifteen years’ worth of leaves and dirt which had been trapped between the two heat exchangers.
The mishap with the drain plug was no bad thing as it made me clean the radiator properly.
I am glad I have done this for peace of mind but it shows that all the scare stories about water pumps are not necessarily true.
As my car has done 105,000 miles without problems and having been very impressed with how it coped with high temperatures on last year’s trip to Italy I decided to stick with OEM parts.
As usual I was impressed by how easy these cars are to work on.
The fan and shroud were removed very easily, a modified spanner and a gentle tap with a hammer and the fan just spun off.
The thermostat and water pump came off easily, the belt tensioner had an awkward bolt but didn’t put up too much of a fight.
The old water pump was in perfect condition with no sign of wear at all. The area which had been inside the block was as clean as the new one.
Everything went back together quite quickly and the job was finished in about two hours until the last part. The radiator drain plug was brittle and sheared off. To remove the part which was in the radiator, I now had to remove the radiator for access. As Alan W has said the problem is the transmission oil cooler which is bolted to the front of the rad. The upper two bolts come out easily but the lower two require you to jack up the car and gain access from below. This is easy enough but after removing these I found myself wearing fifteen years’ worth of leaves and dirt which had been trapped between the two heat exchangers.
The mishap with the drain plug was no bad thing as it made me clean the radiator properly.
I am glad I have done this for peace of mind but it shows that all the scare stories about water pumps are not necessarily true.
Ha ha mike.. you made me laugh when l read your post.. lol got a face full of that muesli that's caked between the auto box rad and the main rad.. comprised of dried leaves and dead insects from what l could make out!! How did you find getting those two bottom bolts back in.. in particular the one that was fiddly to get out?
Hi Alan, those two bolts were tricky but not too bad using a small 1/4 inch drive socket and ratchet handle. Getting it back in just needed locating the hole and half a turn with fingers then it was easy.
Considering all the dirt that came out, I was surprised how effective the cooling has been.
Considering all the dirt that came out, I was surprised how effective the cooling has been.
