Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Huntsville, AL
    Posts
    4,397

    Post BMW E46 Water Pump Failure Diagnosis and Replacement doityourself

    BMW E46 (including ZHP) Water Pump Failure Diagnoses and Replacement
    Parts required and suggested
    • New BMW OEM Water Pump
    • BMW Recommended Coolant, (Antifreeze)
    • Idler Pulley, these pulleys are lubed when made and never again, good PM
    • Tensioner Pulley, these pulleys are lubed when made and never again, good PM
    • New Belt
    Tools
    • 1) Set of 3/8 drive metric sockets. 8mm- 15mm
    • 1) Set of metric wrenches. 8mm – 15-mm
    • 1) Set of Torx Drivers
    • 1) 8 mm Alan Wrench and a 10” piece of pipe to extend it

    E46 water pumps can fail in two ways.



    In the first case they can leek through the vent hole in the pump. In the illustration above it is very easy to see the vent hole. In the car it’s not as easy as it is located behind the Water pump Pulley.



    The second failure is catastrophic as shown in the picture below. In this case the car can no longer move under its own power for any distance without overheating.



    What led me to finding my second water pump bad was the Low Coolant indicator light coming on. The cooling system is a sealed system and this light will never come on in less there is a leek. My first step was to add coolant and monitor when it came on again and checking it periodically. There is a float in the expansion tank for the correct level. Be careful not to fill it to the top as I did, my tech told me that could cause the expansion tank to explode. BMW recommended fill instructions at the end of this article. The next thing to do is to do or have a pressure check done. Below is a picture of a pressure checker and the run from $50.00 to $200.00. I personally opted to have my BMW dealer do this for me at a Pre quoted cost of ½ hour labor $45.00.



    Once my car was diagnosed by the BMW service facility, and I knew what was needed. I ask them to button it up and put the needed parts and fluid in the car. Note; I do use aftermarket parts on my ZHP, but anything internal to the engine I will only use BMW OEM parts.

    Part II Replacing the Water Pump on my ZHP
    Before starting the project make sure the car is COLD and has sat for at least TWO HOURS. The Coolant system is under severe pressure when hot. OPINING A HOT SYSTEM WILL CAUSE BURNS TO YOUR FLESH.
    First you must remove the air duct form the top or the radiator. This is done by pulling up three plastic pins to allow the expansion pins to collapse and be removed AS SHOWN IN THE PICTURE BELOW.





    Next remove the 2 electrical plugs and un-hook the wires from the retaining clip.







    Next remove the 2 Torx screws from the top of the fan



    Now remove the fan by pulling it in the upward motion



    The next thing you will need to do is loosen the four bolts holing the pulley to the water pump. Note; if you forget to do this before removing the belt you will have a heck of a time because the water pump will rotate freely.



    Next, pry off the covers on both the Idler and Tensioner Pulleys.



    The next step is to remove the belt. The quickest and easiest way to do this is by rotating the tensioner pulley. This is the smaller pulley under the Idler Pulley and above the Power Steering Pulley. Find an 8 mm Allen wrench to fit the bolt in the center of that pulley and a pipe or wrench to extend the Allen Wrench. Rotate it slightly to remove the tension and have a friend remove the belt.



    Before you go any further I suggest that you hang a towel over the radiator. This will protect it in the case of a fallen tool or part. It’s bad enough to drop a tool in a place that is hidden or hard to get to but, watching it fall against the radiator followed by a small stream of coolant coming from the point of impact, is by far more irritating and costly.
    Once the belt is out of the way remove the 4 bolts holding on the water pump pulley. Next remove the pulley. This can be a little daunting as it is a very tight fit to a flange on the water pump. What I have done that worked, was to tap the front outside of the pulley wile rotating it. Just slight taps because, cocking it too much will cause binding and possible damage to the pulley.



    Now you are down to the Water Pump. If you are doing the pressure check and can’t find the leek, this is how far you need to be to tell if the pump is leaking through the vent hole pictured earlier. You may need a mirror to see the vent hole on the bottom side of the water pump. Note; this is how far the Tech at the BMW dealer had mine apart before he gave me the diagnoses that the pump was bad and the area my coolant was escaping from.



    To Change the Pump remove the 4 nuts. From here there are two ways of removing the pump. Between the side holes there are 2 metric treaded holes. Matching bolts can be threaded in to these holes that will act as a puller. The method I used was to gently rock and pull the water pump out. At this point the only thing holding the pump in place is a rubber O-Ring. The picture of the new pump below will give you an idea of what is inside.



    The next picture shows the engine with the water pump removed.



    From this point reverse the process putting everything back together but, don’t fill the radiator until reading that procedure. I may also suggest using Engine Assembly Lube or Vaseline on any metal components that may be a close fit. The items I’m referring to ate the outside diameter O-Ring area on the Water Pump and the inside diameter of the water pump pulley.



    After everything is back together similar to the picture below, it’s time to fill the coolant.



    Remove the coolant cap and THE BLEEDER SCREW. Failure to remove the bleeder screw will result in air in the system. If this happens the car will overheat.



    Slowly fill the expansion tank with specified coolant. According to the E45 Owner’s manual “The coolant level is correct when the upper end of red float is at least even with the upper edge of the filler neck. The end of the float may stick out a maximum of ¾” inch – that is, up to the second mark on the float.”



    Note; this is usually mixed 50/50 with water. Having too much water will risk the possibility of freeze up in cold weather or over heating in worm weather. If you want to check how good, or how low your coolant temp is good for you need an Antifreeze Hydrometer and they are available at your local pars store.
    Once complete cap off the expansion tank and the bleeder. Start the car and let it heat to the normal midpoint on the data in the car. I suggest only taking the car on close test drives and paying very close attention to the gage on the dash. If it does overheat bring it home and weight until it cools for a few hours before attempting to bleed the system again. This system is under severe pressure when hot. Opening THE CAP WHEN HOT CAN AND WILL CAUSE SEVERE BERNS TO YOUR FLESH.

    Good luck,
    3ZHPGUY

    Dinan; Hign Flow Intake System, & Strut Tower Brace
    Turner Motorsports; Underdrive Power Pulleys
    Koni Sport, Bridgestone; Potenza RE-11, Coby Wheel
    Stewart High Performance Water Pump
    Hawk High Performance Street 5.0 Brake Pads
    Brembo Rotor

    The purposeful face of a formidable athlete:

    The spine-tingling 330i Performance Package.

    Purchased CPO on 12/23/2006 with 28,090 miles

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Posts
    15,433
    Guy, great write up. I don't work on my own car but I sure as hell respect the way you detailed that job.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Baton Rouge, LA
    Posts
    1,586
    Very nice writeup! I will definitely use this when the time comes.
    Lance
    Autobahn South
    S/ASH
    My car finds your lack of faith disturbing

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Gulf Coast MS
    Posts
    209
    Very nice write up. Will be using it as a guide when I do mine in a week or two!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Huntsville, AL
    Posts
    4,397
    Thanks, I figure it's a little too far to come and help so, the more in site I can share the better for all.

    Dinan; Hign Flow Intake System, & Strut Tower Brace
    Turner Motorsports; Underdrive Power Pulleys
    Koni Sport, Bridgestone; Potenza RE-11, Coby Wheel
    Stewart High Performance Water Pump
    Hawk High Performance Street 5.0 Brake Pads
    Brembo Rotor

    The purposeful face of a formidable athlete:

    The spine-tingling 330i Performance Package.

    Purchased CPO on 12/23/2006 with 28,090 miles

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Posts
    15,433
    Guy, you ain't that far from me. Ha!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Liberty Township, OH
    Posts
    37,935
    Nice writeup. Thanks for posting....

    ***I will however recommend anyone doing the above, should also replace upper and lower coolant hoses, T-stat, exp tank, temp sensor....or else...you may be spending more time on your coolant system soon. The entire overhaul is what I recommend.
    Call Me Dane l 2/2004 330i ZHP l 18x8 ET45 BBS CK's wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ @ 245-40-18 l KW V1 Coilovers in front l KW V1 springs w/ Bilstein B8 dampeners in rear l BMW Performance Rotors l UUC StrutBarbarian l Racing Dynamics Rear Strut Bar l Jim Conforti Shark Injector l Light Birch Interior Trim l Bimmian Celly Mount l M3 Trunk Mat l l e90 Performance E-Brake & Shift Knob l M3 Tri-Stitched Boots l AL Headlight Retrofit with ZKW Lenses l CobyWheel Wrap w/M3 Stitching l LCM sw 4.5 triple blink and rear fogs l Maple Interior Trim

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Gulf Coast MS
    Posts
    209
    1) 8 mm Allen Wrench and a 10” piece of pipe to extend it

    I probably missed it, but where do we use this tool?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Liberty Township, OH
    Posts
    37,935
    Additionally.....replace "water" with "distilled water", and where you talk about adding the coolant.....refer to the coolant bleed procedure and mention that raising the front end of the car to facilitate air bleed.
    Call Me Dane l 2/2004 330i ZHP l 18x8 ET45 BBS CK's wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ @ 245-40-18 l KW V1 Coilovers in front l KW V1 springs w/ Bilstein B8 dampeners in rear l BMW Performance Rotors l UUC StrutBarbarian l Racing Dynamics Rear Strut Bar l Jim Conforti Shark Injector l Light Birch Interior Trim l Bimmian Celly Mount l M3 Trunk Mat l l e90 Performance E-Brake & Shift Knob l M3 Tri-Stitched Boots l AL Headlight Retrofit with ZKW Lenses l CobyWheel Wrap w/M3 Stitching l LCM sw 4.5 triple blink and rear fogs l Maple Interior Trim

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Huntsville, AL
    Posts
    4,397

    To remove the belt

    Quote Originally Posted by Linh View Post
    1) 8 mm Allen Wrench and a 10” piece of pipe to extend it

    I probably missed it, but where do we use this tool?
    The 8mm Allen Wrench and the pipe are used to remove the Belt. That is the size of the Allen Bolt in the center of the Tensioner pulley. Rotate tat Tensioner to remover the tension from the belt and someone else can remove the belt from the pulleys wile you have the tension off.

    Dinan; Hign Flow Intake System, & Strut Tower Brace
    Turner Motorsports; Underdrive Power Pulleys
    Koni Sport, Bridgestone; Potenza RE-11, Coby Wheel
    Stewart High Performance Water Pump
    Hawk High Performance Street 5.0 Brake Pads
    Brembo Rotor

    The purposeful face of a formidable athlete:

    The spine-tingling 330i Performance Package.

    Purchased CPO on 12/23/2006 with 28,090 miles

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