[muncie21]

I started to get intermittent overheating issues a few hundred miles ago. At the start I could go a week or more without getting an overheat warning, but recently it has gotten more frequent, so I bit the bullet and replaced the water pump and thermostat.

I should note that the only code that's been set thus far is 2e83, which is a communication (WP to DME) related code. I will need more seat time to determine if the replacement of the WP fixed this issued or not, as 'most' WP failures I've read about, set additional codes and typically don't allow you to drive for hundreds of miles between overheating 'episodes'...

I replaced the water pump and t-stat on my E92 xi this weekend. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on replacing the pump on a xi model with the members here. The procedure is a little bit different than what the non-AWD folks have to go through. I did this on a lift and didn't need to remove the P-side tire as some folks have done.

Here's the basic sequence I followed (there are pictures below to highlight areas of interest) to remove the pump and t-stat.

• Remove metal shield from bottom of car
• Remove plastic shield from bottom of car
• Unbolt bracket that holds passenger side of power steering line to front frame/subframe
• Loosen driver's side bracket hold the same hose
• Unbolt the 4 (2 on each side) bolts holding the sway bar to the frame
• Disconnect the remaining 2 bolts (1 on each side) in each wheel well, hold the sway bar
• Remove the 2 hoses (attached with clips) from the t-stat
• Loosen the hose clamp on the water pump inlet
• Disconnect WP electrical connector
• Unbolt t-stat from water pump
• Loosen the 2 remaining hose connections on the t-stat now that it is free to move a bit
• Unbolt WP
• Reverse and repeat j/j

New vs. old water pump





There are 2 hoses attached to the t-stat with jesus clips, for the most part these came off without much work.


The hose in the picture below, which is connected to the WP (discharge) was a pain to get the clamp loose because of the steering rack. When I re-installed this clamp, I tried to figure out a better angle to place it, but all other locations were less optimal. I'd be interested in hearing from other xi owners how they'd suggest installing this clamp. I probably spent 20 minutes trying to figure out a good way to loosen this clamp.



Removing the 4 bolts (2 on each side) on the sway bar doesn't allow it to drop. I had to unbolt the bar completely (1 additional bolt on each side, in the wheel well) and remove the bracket outlined in the pic below



Here's a picture showing the t-stat unbolted from the WP and the sway bar dropped (after removing the PS hose bracket) notice the WP is still bolted to the engine (old style WP with grommets) at this time. I wanted to remove the t-stat and all connected hoses before I unbolted the WP and lost leverage.



I didn't take any pictures but to help with the installation, I bolted the t-stat to the water pump (on my work bench) and mocked up the angle of the "u" shaped hose connecting the WP inlet to the t-stat.

I installed the water pump (loosely, no bolts) with the U hose connected, connected the discharge hose (neither hose is tightened at this point) to the WP. After the intake/discharge hoses were installed on the WP, I wrangled the t-stat in place; this took a bit of coaxing.

With all of the hoses loosely connected (aside from the 2 with the J-clips) I attached the WP to engine and t-stat to WP bolts (loosely) to get the hose angles correct before tightening the hose clamps.

Once the hoses (with clamps) were secured, I installed and tightened the remaining t-stat and WP bolts.

Before buttoning everything up, I bled the system and checked for leaks.
No leaks so I buttoned everything up, bled the system again and took it for a drive to get t-stat up to temp., brought it home and bled the system again (after letting it cool) to ensure all the air was removed.

Hope this helps some of the other folks contemplating replacing the WP themselves or shelling out the $500 or so for the dealer to do it.

[GoRomeo]

Thanks for sharing.

[07lilredwagon]

thanks for sharing this....if you dont have a lift available, as Muncie21 stated, you can remove the PS wheel and inner fender shield. (which is what I did) and it made things MUCH easier than trying to do it from the ground only. Yes, you have to get under there no matter what.

dropping the sway bar was not necessary for me from above (PS fender well), but if you can get the car up high enough, it makes sense to take it down as OP did.....

Normally, from what I experienced, and from what I hear the waterpump failure is immediate without the luxury of an intermittent problem...mine just gave out after a brief rest stop just off the highway on a long trip...long story, but I got lucky finding a mechanic 150 miles from home....

I had pushed the limits too far but did get 115,000 miles on the car before it went!

JP

[Alihbaloch]

just got mine done today