Z4M: Water Pump Service at 80K

pal · 07-20-2013, 02:35 PM

I am at 79.5K miles and about 82 track days on the car in the last 5yrs 9mos. I figured its time to switch out the pump just to be on the safe side. I have ordered up a new pump, thermostat, coolant temp sensor and all new gaskets from Tischer but since the pump was special order, I will have to wait until Tue/Wed of next week to put that back in.

Below is what I did to take the pump out of the car.

- Car in service position

- I drained the coolant from the radiator drain plug and block drain last night. I followed the same steps I did at the 50K flush documented below
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=538686

- Underbody panel removed (8mm bolts, Phillips head bolts)

- Airbox with MAF removed (disconnected MAF plug and 7mm socket or flat head screw driver for clamp)

- Thermostat housing and coolant hose on the right. The engine hoist bracket and the thermostat share the 3 long bolts on top.

- Take wire out of the little black plastic clip

- Removing coolant hose to the right of the thermostat housing and the 3 bolts on top. Then carefully pry up and forward the housing. You will not be able to remove it just yet as the coolant hose to the left is still attached.

- Belts removed next using T50 bit for the top belt tensioner and T45 for the bottom tensioner

- Loosen the clamp on the coolant hose to the left of the thermostat housing. I undid the hose off the thermostat housing from under the car. I was careful to not tug on the hose but to slowly work it off the housing.

- Thermostat housing should now lift off the car. In my case the thermostat stayed on top of the water pump and I could lift it away separately.

- Four water pump pulley bolts removed next (10mm box wrench or shallow socket will work). I broke the bolts loose before taking the belt off, but they did not seem super tight so after should work as well. I was able to get to all 4 from the top.

- Pry the water pump pulley off.

- Put aside pulley and thermostat with housing

- Water pump has 5 10mm bolts; 2 long ones on the top, 2 short ones on the right side and one short one under. This last one is hidden behind the crank pulley and I got to it from under the car.

- Water pump removed; I pulled it carefully forward as there is a pipe with o-ring behind the pump. Unlike e46 M3s, we don't have a side pipe going into the pump and that makes life a bit easier.

My water pump plastic impeller was intact and there was no bearing noise or excessive play in the pump. My guess is this is a perfectly healthy pump but I will put a new one in once it comes in.

bignosejim · 07-20-2013, 04:06 PM

Wow, excellent writeup!! Nice pics. Did you order new radiator hoses also? If not you can get o-rings from bmp design

Do you have plans to replace the plastic hose from the expansion tank? I know people with older Z3M Coupes (s52) replace all plastic cooling system parts by 60k to avoid failures. I've also heard that our OEM pumps are better designed, just wondering what people think about the plastic parts on our cars (radiator end caps and expansion tank also).

inTgr8r · 07-20-2013, 05:43 PM

Great stuff here!
Thanks for writing up a very deltailed procedure

Finnegan · 07-20-2013, 06:31 PM

As others have already said, "thank you"! Wonderful stuff! These DIYs are so incredibly helpful!

ZStig · 07-20-2013, 06:55 PM

I had mine recently replaced at 70k miles, along with upper and lower hoses, and thermostat. definitely great for peace of mind. Too bad my $500 engine fan was the issue

seank · 07-20-2013, 07:01 PM

Are you installing a lower temp thermostat while you are in there?

pal · 07-20-2013, 07:58 PM

No plan to switch hoses this time around. Plan to do that when I do the radiator possibly over the winter. I am still divided on whether I want to get an aftermarket radiator like a Mishimoto or Fluidyne or stick with another stock one??

The stock water pump does not seem to have any indicators of imminent failure but given my mileage and hot track days this summer, I figured it was some added insurance and peace of mind.

seank - I plan to install another stock temp thermostat in there at this time. I have not had issues with OE so far so figured why mess with something that works.

Speaking of OE, I do plan to delete the SAI pump in the near future more for simplifying the engine bay than anything else.

seank · 07-20-2013, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pal

No plan to switch hoses this time around. Plan to do that when I do the radiator possibly over the winter. I am still divided on whether I want to get an aftermarket radiator like a Mishimoto or Fluidyne or stick with another stock one??

The stock water pump does not seem to have any indicators of imminent failure but given my mileage and hot track days this summer, I figured it was some added insurance and peace of mind.

seank - I plan to install another stock temp thermostat in there at this time. I have not had issues with OE so far so figured why mess with something that works.

Speaking of OE, I do plan to delete the SAI pump in the near future more for simplifying the engine bay than anything else.

Tell us more about sai removal. Will you get a cel?

inTgr8r · 07-20-2013, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seank

Tell us more about sai removal. Will you get a cel?

There's a SAI pump thread started here.....
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=777450

yousefnjr · 07-21-2013, 10:11 AM

Awesome writeup, thanks for posting!

beta · 07-21-2013, 02:15 PM

Great job on the writeup, thanks for posting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pal

No plan to switch hoses this time around. Plan to do that when I do the radiator possibly over the winter. I am still divided on whether I want to get an aftermarket radiator like a Mishimoto or Fluidyne or stick with another stock one??

Have you looked into zionsville?

pal · 07-21-2013, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beta

Have you looked into zionsville?

Zionsville looks real nice and fitment looks perfect. This just went to the top of my list. Thanks!

mtrhed · 07-21-2013, 07:28 PM

Nice write up! Will definitely use when I do mine. Also like the look of the Zionsville setup.

pal · 07-24-2013, 09:19 PM

Finished the reinstall today and also replaced the coolant temp sensor on a hard coolant line on lower passenger side.

Old seals removed off the 2 coolant pipes. The top one goes into the thermostat housing and the bottom one into the water pump. I used some dish soap on the new o-rings to ensure they did not bind when slid.

Old and new pump. The old pump had a little side to side play compared to the new one when you grab the black pulley mounting disc and moved side to side. Nothing significant but the play could be an indicator of wear starting.

New water pump gasket and bolts.

New water pump, thermostat and o-rings on.

Thermostat housing on and bolts ready to be tightened down.

Put in 2 gallons of water/coolant mixture in, started engine and turned heat and fan to max. Hooked up OBD2 Elm Can cable and started to monitor coolant temp sensor via Rev on iPhone. In parallel I was bleeding air from the system using bleed screw on coolant bottle.

Just past 180ºF, the thermostat opened and the lower hose coming off the thermostat housing on the passenger side got hot.

Put everything back together and took car for a spin. No leaks after the drive or 2 hours after car sat so installed underside panel.

seank · 07-24-2013, 09:45 PM

Sweet

Walkurie · 07-25-2013, 07:49 AM

Outstanding! Thank you. Any tips on 'burping' the system when refilling?

pal · 07-25-2013, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbalutis

Outstanding! Thank you. Any tips on 'burping' the system when refilling?

If you look at my linked post on coolant flush I have details there. But I basically put about 2 gallons of 50/50 in there, started the car, turned heat to max and fan on full and let it idle. I left coolant cap off to let air bubble out as kept opening and closing the bleed screw on the coolant bottle until frothing stopped and only coolant poured out. I had lots of blue shop towels to not make a mess and was careful as the coolant started to get hot.

Vanne · 07-26-2013, 05:49 AM

Cool! Thx for the write up mate.

Gt4 · 07-26-2013, 07:38 AM

You should also consider to change the harmonic damper disc before 100k. They usually split in 2 pieces around 100k when you track the car a lot.

It happened on my E46 M3 and cost me an engine...

pal · 07-26-2013, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gtfour

You should also consider to change the harmonic damper disc before 100k. They usually split in 2 pieces around 100k when you track the car a lot.

It happened on my E46 M3 and cost me an engine...

Wow! First I have heard of this. Maybe I will go to a fluid damper by ATI that VAC sells??

Gt4 · 07-26-2013, 10:37 AM

You can buy a new OEM replacement, no need for ATI in my opinion if the OEM part last 100k miles.

Take a look at my thread back in 2010. I also had a lightweight flywheel/clutch assy but basically the rubber between the 2 plates of the harmonic balancer gets dry or melt with heat.

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=326722

pal · 07-29-2013, 04:51 AM

Thanks Gtfour. I have put this on my long list of maintenance items for the coming months.

On the water pump, I did 2 days at Summit Point Main this weekend and the car held together well so I am happy with the service.

07-20-2013, 02:35 PM	#1
pal Captain 433 Rep 753 Posts Drives: Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle, WA iTrader: (2)	Z4M: Water Pump Service at 80K I am at 79.5K miles and about 82 track days on the car in the last 5yrs 9mos. I figured its time to switch out the pump just to be on the safe side. I have ordered up a new pump, thermostat, coolant temp sensor and all new gaskets from Tischer but since the pump was special order, I will have to wait until Tue/Wed of next week to put that back in. Below is what I did to take the pump out of the car. - Car in service position - I drained the coolant from the radiator drain plug and block drain last night. I followed the same steps I did at the 50K flush documented below http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=538686 - Underbody panel removed (8mm bolts, Phillips head bolts) - Airbox with MAF removed (disconnected MAF plug and 7mm socket or flat head screw driver for clamp) - Thermostat housing and coolant hose on the right. The engine hoist bracket and the thermostat share the 3 long bolts on top. - Take wire out of the little black plastic clip - Removing coolant hose to the right of the thermostat housing and the 3 bolts on top. Then carefully pry up and forward the housing. You will not be able to remove it just yet as the coolant hose to the left is still attached. - Belts removed next using T50 bit for the top belt tensioner and T45 for the bottom tensioner - Loosen the clamp on the coolant hose to the left of the thermostat housing. I undid the hose off the thermostat housing from under the car. I was careful to not tug on the hose but to slowly work it off the housing. - Thermostat housing should now lift off the car. In my case the thermostat stayed on top of the water pump and I could lift it away separately. - Four water pump pulley bolts removed next (10mm box wrench or shallow socket will work). I broke the bolts loose before taking the belt off, but they did not seem super tight so after should work as well. I was able to get to all 4 from the top. - Pry the water pump pulley off. - Put aside pulley and thermostat with housing - Water pump has 5 10mm bolts; 2 long ones on the top, 2 short ones on the right side and one short one under. This last one is hidden behind the crank pulley and I got to it from under the car. - Water pump removed; I pulled it carefully forward as there is a pipe with o-ring behind the pump. Unlike e46 M3s, we don't have a side pipe going into the pump and that makes life a bit easier. My water pump plastic impeller was intact and there was no bearing noise or excessive play in the pump. My guess is this is a perfectly healthy pump but I will put a new one in once it comes in.
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07-20-2013, 04:06 PM	#2
bignosejim Lieutenant 40 Rep 400 Posts Drives: 2007 IB M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: DFW iTrader: (0)	Wow, excellent writeup!! Nice pics. Did you order new radiator hoses also? If not you can get o-rings from bmp design Do you have plans to replace the plastic hose from the expansion tank? I know people with older Z3M Coupes (s52) replace all plastic cooling system parts by 60k to avoid failures. I've also heard that our OEM pumps are better designed, just wondering what people think about the plastic parts on our cars (radiator end caps and expansion tank also).
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07-20-2013, 05:43 PM	#3
inTgr8r Lieutenant General 2432 Rep 11,667 Posts Drives: M2 Comp Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Toronto iTrader: (10)	Great stuff here! Thanks for writing up a very deltailed procedure __________________ '21 M2C Hockenheim Silver '18 718 Cayman S Lava Orange (sold) '13 E92 M3 Santorini Blue (sold) '07 Z4 M Coupe Alpine White (sold)
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07-20-2013, 06:31 PM	#4
Finnegan Dog Listener 703 Rep 7,850 Posts Drives: Z4M/. Z3M, E36/46 M3 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Teaching the dog to slalom iTrader: (22)	As others have already said, "thank you"! Wonderful stuff! These DIYs are so incredibly helpful!
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07-20-2013, 06:55 PM	#5
ZStig instagram 997turbotom 279 Rep 7,377 Posts Drives: Interlagos Z4MR Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Delray Beach, FL iTrader: (4)	I had mine recently replaced at 70k miles, along with upper and lower hoses, and thermostat. definitely great for peace of mind. Too bad my $500 engine fan was the issue __________________
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07-20-2013, 07:01 PM	#6
seank enthusiast 48 Rep 1,695 Posts Drives: e30 m3,e90 wagon,sprinter,z4m Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: sacramento, ca iTrader: (4)	Are you installing a lower temp thermostat while you are in there?
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07-20-2013, 07:58 PM	#7
pal Captain 433 Rep 753 Posts Drives: Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle, WA iTrader: (2)	No plan to switch hoses this time around. Plan to do that when I do the radiator possibly over the winter. I am still divided on whether I want to get an aftermarket radiator like a Mishimoto or Fluidyne or stick with another stock one?? The stock water pump does not seem to have any indicators of imminent failure but given my mileage and hot track days this summer, I figured it was some added insurance and peace of mind. seank - I plan to install another stock temp thermostat in there at this time. I have not had issues with OE so far so figured why mess with something that works. Speaking of OE, I do plan to delete the SAI pump in the near future more for simplifying the engine bay than anything else.
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07-21-2013, 10:11 AM	#10
yousefnjr salty cowboys fan 6159 Rep 3,408 Posts Drives: ‘06 Z4MR, ‘20 X7, ‘22 M4x Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (2)	Awesome writeup, thanks for posting!
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07-21-2013, 07:28 PM	#13
mtrhed Second Lieutenant 13 Rep 279 Posts Drives: 06 AW Z4MR/w211 e63 AMG/325XiT Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: SoCal iTrader: (0)	Nice write up! Will definitely use when I do mine. Also like the look of the Zionsville setup. __________________ 06 Alpinweiss Z4M R Anthracite Apex EC-7 9F/9.5R, 245/275 Super Sport's, 17" Kosei K1 255/40r17 Direzza II, SS Lines, Pagid RS29, Ate SuperBlue, VT Comp. MM's, RE trans. mounts, AST 4150, Swift springs, Vorschlag camber plates, RE RSM, H&R swaybars, spherical rtabs, SuperFlex poly fcabs, StrongStrut Braces, Euro Headers, Stromung exhaust, ESS Tune, Eventuri intake
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07-24-2013, 09:19 PM	#14
pal Captain 433 Rep 753 Posts Drives: Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle, WA iTrader: (2)	Finished the reinstall today and also replaced the coolant temp sensor on a hard coolant line on lower passenger side. Old seals removed off the 2 coolant pipes. The top one goes into the thermostat housing and the bottom one into the water pump. I used some dish soap on the new o-rings to ensure they did not bind when slid. Old and new pump. The old pump had a little side to side play compared to the new one when you grab the black pulley mounting disc and moved side to side. Nothing significant but the play could be an indicator of wear starting. New water pump gasket and bolts. New water pump, thermostat and o-rings on. Thermostat housing on and bolts ready to be tightened down. Put in 2 gallons of water/coolant mixture in, started engine and turned heat and fan to max. Hooked up OBD2 Elm Can cable and started to monitor coolant temp sensor via Rev on iPhone. In parallel I was bleeding air from the system using bleed screw on coolant bottle. Just past 180ºF, the thermostat opened and the lower hose coming off the thermostat housing on the passenger side got hot. Put everything back together and took car for a spin. No leaks after the drive or 2 hours after car sat so installed underside panel.
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07-24-2013, 09:45 PM	#15
seank enthusiast 48 Rep 1,695 Posts Drives: e30 m3,e90 wagon,sprinter,z4m Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: sacramento, ca iTrader: (4)	Sweet
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07-25-2013, 07:49 AM	#16
Walkurie Lieutenant 9 Rep 452 Posts Drives: 06 M Roadster / 99 Jaguar XK8 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Surf City, CA iTrader: (2)	Outstanding! Thank you. Any tips on 'burping' the system when refilling? __________________ Vibra Technics engine mounts / Rogue trans mounts / Stoptech brakes / original owner
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07-26-2013, 05:49 AM	#18
Vanne Down Under!! 1621 Rep 4,294 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4MC Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Dubai iTrader: (4)	Cool! Thx for the write up mate.
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07-26-2013, 07:38 AM	#19
Gt4 Captain 54 Rep 879 Posts Drives: 2006 E46 M3 Estoril blue 6mt Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Montreal iTrader: (5)	You should also consider to change the harmonic damper disc before 100k. They usually split in 2 pieces around 100k when you track the car a lot. It happened on my E46 M3 and cost me an engine...
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07-26-2013, 10:37 AM	#21
Gt4 Captain 54 Rep 879 Posts Drives: 2006 E46 M3 Estoril blue 6mt Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Montreal iTrader: (5)	You can buy a new OEM replacement, no need for ATI in my opinion if the OEM part last 100k miles. Take a look at my thread back in 2010. I also had a lightweight flywheel/clutch assy but basically the rubber between the 2 plates of the harmonic balancer gets dry or melt with heat. http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=326722
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07-29-2013, 04:51 AM	#22
pal Captain 433 Rep 753 Posts Drives: Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle, WA iTrader: (2)	Thanks Gtfour. I have put this on my long list of maintenance items for the coming months. On the water pump, I did 2 days at Summit Point Main this weekend and the car held together well so I am happy with the service.
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