[Willsbma]

Just curious if the pierburg (sp?) pump is a solid replacement. I'm at 91k and feel I should do this and the tstat sooner than later. Anyone have any stories to share?

[kkasson]

I believe the genuine pump is made by Pierburg. I'm not sure completely sure if the Pierburg-branded pumps are exactly the same as the genuine ones, but they make both of them.

[AFLRO]

I started seeing the codes and eventually got the yellow "too hot" warning light come on at 86k. The pump that was extracted was original with build date of 4 or 5/2010.

As far as replacements go, mine was in the VDO package and has Continental logo on it. Same as original.

At 91k, if still on original pump, I'd say you are on borrowed time. It is not uncommon for these pumps to die at around 50-60k.

[N0Chill 335i]

I had 114k miles when mine finally died. No warnings or anything. Went out on me on a drive to work. I was pleased it lasted so long.

[Willsbma]

Originally Posted by Forever Fly

I had 114k miles when mine finally died. No warnings or anything. Went out on me on a drive to work. I was pleased it lasted so long.

Did your say VDO also?

[PhaseP]

335 N54/N55 and 328/325/330 N52 have different water pumps. N52 engine's water pump is made by Pierburg, as it is stamped right on it and the logo is cast on it too, the one that came from factory. N55 ones seems to be Continental sourced from the pictures I saw. Different pump than Pierburg N52, different part number, more powerful, but has plastic propeller housing that is prone to crack.

I don't think one can differentiate between a Pierburg N52 pump without the BMW logo, and with BMW logo (bought from dealer), sans the BMW logo.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by PhaseP

335 N54/N55 and 328/325/330 N52 have different water pumps. N52 engine's water pump is made by Pierburg, as it is stamped right on it and the logo is cast on it too, the one that came from factory. N55 ones seems to be Continental sourced from the pictures I saw. Different pump than Pierburg N52, different part number, more powerful, but has plastic propeller housing that is prone to crack.

I don't think one can differentiate between a Pierburg N52 pump without the BMW logo, and with BMW logo (bought from dealer), sans the BMW logo.

Ahhhhh....wife's aunt's failed in the 40's....did not know her pump was different, she has a '06 330i....I have a N54 and just crossed 50k....

[PhaseP]

The thermostat from factory was Wahler made on my car. It was aluminum, but newer ones are all plastic.

[PhaseP]

Originally Posted by John 070

Ahhhhh....wife's aunt's failed in the 40's....did not know her pump was different, she has a '06 330i....I have a N54 and just crossed 50k....

You never can know these pumps. My 06 325xi's water pump was fine 10 years old over 100K miles with no hidden codes thrown related to it. Replaced it recently because the original thermostat had completely stuck open and was causing too rich codes in addition to thermostat codes due to engine never being able to reach temperature with the cold weather around. So I replaced the pump along with the thermostat. I don't know how long more it would have lasted if I were to leave it in there.

[providenceleaf]

I had 106K on mine. It didn't fail or give off any warnings. I changed it for preventive maintenance.

[Gohan335i7]

Changed mine at 80k along with thermostat. Behr is a good brand.

[Willsbma]

Ok I have the NA engine so pierburg it is. I'm gonna stop in the dealer and see if my parts guy can hook me up with a better price before I buy it online. Is there a way to check the health of it using inpa or some other diag scanner?

[John 070]

Originally Posted by PhaseP

You never can know these pumps. My 06 325xi's water pump was fine 10 years old over 100K miles with no hidden codes thrown related to it. Replaced it recently because the original thermostat had completely stuck open and was causing too rich codes in addition to thermostat codes due to engine never being able to reach temperature with the cold weather around. So I replaced the pump along with the thermostat. I don't know how long more it would have lasted if I were to leave it in there.

Gotcha, seems like it makes sense to just drive until failure....meaning likely to be inconvenienced with a flatbed, but no sense just changing it at any given mileage....

[spicytuna]

Im curious - which of the engine series have the highest water pump failures? N52? N55?

[katatonia]

Originally Posted by spicytuna

Im curious - which of the engine series have the highest water pump failures? N52? N55?

Probably n54 but I imagine they're all close to the same