E91 Straight Six Bearding

[TheGreatSoprendo]

ExVantagemech.. said:

Might be totally irrelevant, but have you got parking sensors that work intermittently? Im sure I had the cruise cut on me once when another car got quite close at 70 mph - Im wondering if it could be linked to a failing sensor that triggers the cruise on/off. Im not absolutely sure but worth a thought. If it were abs / speed sensor it would light up with ABS/ DSC etc as they would be affected.

Parking sensors are working fine.

[stevesuk]

Not so happy E91 straight six experience - the Mrs has just phoned me to say "the car said to switch off the engine and not open the bonnet"... N52 waterpump? To be fair it had lasted in to its 13th year...

[VerySideways]

I got 80k miles out of an N52 waterpump in one car and 62k miles in another. How many miles has yours done?

[stevesuk]

VerySideways said:

I got 80k miles out of an N52 waterpump in one car and 62k miles in another. How many miles has yours done?

Just ticked over 90k miles last week, and at 13 years old I guess the water pump was on borrowed time (if it is that). She's currently waiting for the RAC to come and look. It had been using a little bit of coolant over the last few months. I checked it a couple of weeks ago and had to put about a quarter of a litre in to get the float back up. I guess that should have been a warning, because it shouldn't really use any coolant? Other than that though, it's been running totally fine.

[zippyonline]

I changed my waterpump at close to 190k miles, and it was still working when I did – no overheating or coolant use or anything. It did have an electric hum thought when parked up, and when I removed it, I could rattle the shaft considerably!

I ticked over 200k miles at the weekend – missed the magic moment, but here’s a photo @ 200,013 miles.


075 (16-03-2018) by Chris Reeves, on Flickr

Gonna change the fuel filter now!

[Swervin_Mervin]

I believe mine is still on the original pump at coming up to 12yo and 108k. Fingers crossed it keeps going as long as Zippy's!

[stevesuk]

Swervin_Mervin said:

I believe mine is still on the original pump at coming up to 12yo and 108k. Fingers crossed it keeps going as long as Zippy's!

I suppose mine might not be the pump... the garage I phoned this morning mentioned the thermostats are prone to failure too... But on a cold day, would that cause the car to overheat quickly? I suppose if its dumped all the coolant on the road, it could do

[survivalist]

Got my 335i back yesterday having had a new pump fitted by BMW. Seems the warranty has paid for itself again this year :-)

[ferrisbueller]

zippyonline said:

I changed my waterpump at close to 190k miles, and it was still working when I did – no overheating or coolant use or anything. It did have an electric hum thought when parked up, and when I removed it, I could rattle the shaft considerably!

I ticked over 200k miles at the weekend – missed the magic moment, but here’s a photo @ 200,013 miles.


075 (16-03-2018) by Chris Reeves, on Flickr

Gonna change the fuel filter now!

Nice! Mine is a mere pup by comparison. At my current rate of mileage accrual it raises the prospect of running such a car until IC engines are banned or whatever happens to get them off the roads.

[stevesuk]

stevesuk said:

I suppose mine might not be the pump... the garage I phoned this morning mentioned the thermostats are prone to failure too... But on a cold day, would that cause the car to overheat quickly? I suppose if its dumped all the coolant on the road, it could do

Right, RAC towed it to our local German specialist, who are going to do some diagnostics - apparently it still has all its coolant, which I guess is good news? So its either the water pump, thermostat or ... scarily (since they mentioned it) the head gasket.

[Mr Tidy]

stevesuk said:

Right, RAC towed it to our local German specialist, who are going to do some diagnostics - apparently it still has all its coolant, which I guess is good news? So its either the water pump, thermostat or ... scarily (since they mentioned it) the head gasket.

I'd guess water pump, but they'll know as soon as they run diagnostics on it.

My first Z4 Coupe (N52 engine) only managed 9 years and 60K miles on it's water pump!

My local BMW specialist recommended OEM, but bought it from BMW so it cost £500! He also recommended a thermostat on a precautionary basis (another £100) - ouch!

That was 3 years ago - I've since found out OEM water pumps are made by Pierburg and can be bought online or from ECP for around £300 so I tempted to get one just in case now I've got a 2nd N52 engine in my E91!

[stevesuk]

Mr Tidy said:

I'd guess water pump, but they'll know as soon as they run diagnostics on it.

My first Z4 Coupe (N52 engine) only managed 9 years and 60K miles on it's water pump!

My local BMW specialist recommended OEM, but bought it from BMW so it cost £500! He also recommended a thermostat on a precautionary basis (another £100) - ouch!

Any ouchy morning... water pump confirmed as gone and multiple fault codes stored for the thermostat. So both being changed at the grand total £950, We only have the one car at the moment, and need it back on the road ASAP - so we're going ahead. To be fair, we've had the car for 9 years, and apart from a wheel bearing a couple of years back, this is the only other mechanical fault its had - so can't grumble I suppose. These fancy electronic pumps are great when the car is new (I bet it shaves off a tiny amount off the fuel consumption figures) - but not so good when the car becomes shed age and you need to replace parts

[DVandrews]

survivalist said:

Got my 335i back yesterday having had a new pump fitted by BMW. Seems the warranty has paid for itself again this year :-)

Ditto... at 46,000 miles, header tank was b*llocksed too and I replaced it at 31,000..

Dave

[ferrisbueller]

Hidden engine temp display:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAd86TnqxWc

Haven't tried it but looks legit.

[Mr Tidy]

stevesuk said:

Any ouchy morning... water pump confirmed as gone and multiple fault codes stored for the thermostat. So both being changed at the grand total £950, We only have the one car at the moment, and need it back on the road ASAP - so we're going ahead. To be fair, we've had the car for 9 years, and apart from a wheel bearing a couple of years back, this is the only other mechanical fault its had - so can't grumble I suppose. These fancy electronic pumps are great when the car is new (I bet it shaves off a tiny amount off the fuel consumption figures) - but not so good when the car becomes shed age and you need to replace parts

Very ouch! I thought I paid enough for mine at just over £800 with OEM pump and stat!

But once you get it back I hope you'll forgive it, then go and rag it around - that's what E91s are all about!

[ATM]

stevesuk said:

These fancy electronic pumps are great when the car is new (I bet it shaves off a tiny amount off the fuel consumption figures) - but not so good when the car becomes shed age and you need to replace parts

I think this can be said for all the complicated gubbins on modern cars. It probably started with catalytic converters or maybe even as far back as electronic injections systems. Remember when cars had mechanical fuel pumps, carbs and distributors. I had one when i was young, it was a fiat panda and it was sheet. Still i got to play with a dwell angle meter to make my engine run better. Now we have energy harvesting from brakes and i still dont understand if that means the alternator is dead?

[Mr Tidy]

ATM said:

I think this can be said for all the complicated gubbins on modern cars. It probably started with catalytic converters or maybe even as far back as electronic injections systems. Remember when cars had mechanical fuel pumps, carbs and distributors. I had one when i was young, it was a fiat panda and it was sheet. Still i got to play with a dwell angle meter to make my engine run better. Now we have energy harvesting from brakes and i still dont understand if that means the alternator is dead?

Definitely - my 123d had the silly stop/start b*llocks. I can't help thinking that may be why the AGM battery that needed coding only lasted 4 and a half years and 55K miles. And probably why the starter motor only managed 6 and a half years and 77K miles!

So I sold it before the N47 had cam-chain failure!

I've only had N/A straight 6 petrol BMWs since then.

[stevesuk]

Mr Tidy said:

Very ouch! I thought I paid enough for mine at just over £800 with OEM pump and stat!

It's back and running fine... they had to do a minor wiring loom repair too, because when the pump had failed, it must have got very hot and melted something. They did give it a wash too, so at least it looks presentable for a few weeks Hopefully no more faults for a while.

[ferrisbueller]

TheGreatSoprendo said:

ExVantagemech.. said:

Might be totally irrelevant, but have you got parking sensors that work intermittently? Im sure I had the cruise cut on me once when another car got quite close at 70 mph - Im wondering if it could be linked to a failing sensor that triggers the cruise on/off. Im not absolutely sure but worth a thought. If it were abs / speed sensor it would light up with ABS/ DSC etc as they would be affected.

Parking sensors are working fine.

Does your cruise have the braking function?

[zippyonline]

ferrisbueller said:

TheGreatSoprendo said:

ExVantagemech.. said:

Might be totally irrelevant, but have you got parking sensors that work intermittently? Im sure I had the cruise cut on me once when another car got quite close at 70 mph - Im wondering if it could be linked to a failing sensor that triggers the cruise on/off. Im not absolutely sure but worth a thought. If it were abs / speed sensor it would light up with ABS/ DSC etc as they would be affected.

Parking sensors are working fine.

Does your cruise have the braking function?

Straight 6 E9x's with cruise have braking function, 4 pots do not. I posted some more nerdtastic stuff about it somewhere earlier in the thread (or about the braking function anyway) which includes funky facts like the hill hold brake function is a straight 6 thing only.