# 545i N62 Water Pump/Pulley Replacement DIY



## Axion_E46 (May 3, 2009)

Recently my car started making a rattling grinding noise. After removing the belt and hand spinning all items I found that the bearings in my water pump and both the tensioner and idler pulley were all failing (also found vacuum pump to be leaking). Car has 130k on it and everything appeared original. Since I have already replaced the rotors, pads, break fluid, battery, upper & lower control arms, inner & out tie rods, I decided to take on this project myself as it seemed straight forward and I have access to nearly every tool imaginable 

I thought I'd share my experience, pictures, frustration. Unfortunately due to very greasy hands and time, I wasn't able to take pictures of every step.

Removed skid plate


















Removed pulley dust cap. Released tension. 









Removed belt.







\

Removed radiator cover.









Disconnected hoses.









More hoses.









Removed fan.









Removed all pump hoses. 4 in total I believe.









Removed water pump pulley.









What possessed anyone to put 1 bold underneath the main engine pulley is beyond me.









Everythings out finally. 









Transplanted thermostat to the new water pump with new seals.









Here's where everything went wrong. Upon removing the water pump, this tube (next picture) is recessed and only the very end is visible. Being a new seal for this opening was included with the water pump I assumed the old seal was just stuck on. Big mistake, it was part of the tube&#8230; had to leave the car apart for nearly a week waiting for a replacement.


















Since I had everything apart this far I decided to tackle the leaking oil pump. 



























After searching around, I found a bearing and hydraulic shop that had a new seal for the front cover of the pump. I took the pump apart and cleaned all components with gas, dried then reassembled. I also replaced to vacuum tube that attaches to the front of the pump.









Kinda scary to see it this far apart!









Old stuff.









This project ended up costing around $180 total (rebuilt water pump was cheap).
2000 miles and a good engine bay cleaning later everything is working great, with the exception of the vacuum pump which is now leaking from the large pressure fitted nipple. Guess I'll be replacing it after all ($400+).

Hope you enjoyed reading my first thread!


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## mfumbesi (Oct 6, 2009)

Thanks for the write up. 
I have a leaking Vent Hose (small pipe on top of the radiator, connecting the expansion tank) and the radiator cap is damaged.
I am even scared to ask if my pump will be damaged by the radiator cap shredding.


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## top6491 (Mar 22, 2005)

*Vacuum Pump Replacement results*



Axion_E46 said:


> This project ended up costing around $180 total (rebuilt water pump was cheap).
> 2000 miles and a good engine bay cleaning later everything is working great, with the exception of the vacuum pump which is now leaking from the large pressure fitted nipple. Guess I'll be replacing it after all ($400+).
> 
> Hope you enjoyed reading my first thread!


Did you replace your vacuum pump? How did it go? Where is it located? Thanks...


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## mfumbesi (Oct 6, 2009)

I'm going to be tackling the water pump replacement this week-end. I would like to find-out why you had to remove the bottom cover. It wasn't in your way. Was it just for cleaning?


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## Axion_E46 (May 3, 2009)

It's not necessary. It was mostly just for cleaning. I've since done the same procedure on an E38 without jacking it up. Happy wrenching.



mfumbesi said:


> I'm going to be tackling the water pump replacement this week-end. I would like to find-out why you had to remove the bottom cover. It wasn't in your way. Was it just for cleaning?


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## mfumbesi (Oct 6, 2009)

Axion_E46 said:


> It's not necessary. It was mostly just for cleaning. I've since done the same procedure on an E38 without jacking it up. Happy wrenching.


Thanks for the well wishes.
I've already tackled my water pump on Saturday (28 Jan), again thanks for this thread.:thumbup:

I was also swearing when I saw the hidden bolt, I only loosened (didn't completely pull it out as you, was a bit scared about re-assembling it without any way of adjusting the tension) the bottom pulley to get access and space.


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## thorsond81 (May 6, 2012)

*Waterpump fun*

So I just purchased my 2004 545i on Tuesday and after driving about 10 miles I blew the radiator hose off of the radiator. I had test driven it (pretty hard) twice and heard nothing and had no issues. The car was babied by the previous owner, only 64k miles on it.

Anyways, after all of that ordeal I got the hose on and clamped and started hearing squealing. Thought it was only coolant on the belt but after the same investigations you did, I have found the water pump is loose and squeaky. Needless to say I am glad to see this is possible to DIY. I have quite a bit of experience fixing cars but mostly older models. Nothing as advanced as this car.

I appreciate the blog, but I do have one question. I am about to order all of the parts needed, do I need to order another tube like the one you were talking about? Did you get a rebuilt pump?

Thanks again.


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## Kalil147 (Aug 7, 2011)

I am having a similar issue. Every morning, I hear a loud screeching sound coming from the engine. After about 5 minutes, the sound goes away. I already purchased the water pump. How do I know if the cause of this noise is the water pump bearing or the belt tensioner?


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## thorsond81 (May 6, 2012)

This is a pretty easy diagnoses. Just remove the serpentine belt and spin each wheel by hand. You will find the culprit. Look for anything binding or has any play. 

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Bimmer App


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## tq2k (Jun 15, 2003)

Old thread bump... Hidden lower coolant pump bolt behind damper pulley can be loosened and removed using a flex ratcheting wrench. I used a craftsman 10mm. Did not have to remove the damper pulley. Work performed on an E53 N62.

Thanks to OP for starting this DIY thread.


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## Qwietstorm (Sep 16, 2012)

I have taken everything off but the water pump is still stuck on pretty good? Is there something else I have to take off after the crank pulley?i have 5 bolts that came out of the water pump, is there more?


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## westsidebalto (May 29, 2012)

Qwietstorm said:


> I have taken everything off but the water pump is still stuck on pretty good? Is there something else I have to take off after the crank pulley?i have 5 bolts that came out of the water pump, is there more?


No. But the black pipe in the back can stick. I had to give it some umpfh when I removed it. If you did not drain the engine block of coolant, you will get a sudden rush of coolant.


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## westsidebalto (May 29, 2012)

tq2k said:


> Old thread bump... Hidden lower coolant pump bolt behind damper pulley can be loosened and removed using a flex ratcheting wrench. I used a craftsman 10mm. Did not have to remove the damper pulley. Work performed on an E53 N62.
> 
> Thanks to OP for starting this DIY thread.


Thank you also to OP and to you Tq2k, for your flex wrench suggestion. I was able to perform this on the E60 N62 without issue. It takes a little finagling of the water pump to full dislodge this bolt, but as long as the other four are removed first, it comes out no problem.


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## A B Able Truck (Jun 13, 2013)

A few tips;
- The bolt on post 1 (photo 11) can be removed easier if you align the damper pulley timing pin notch with the head of that bolt (all other bolts removed)
- Before reassembling waterpump, grind the threads down about 1/8th on that bolt to ease reassembly







- Replace the transmission thermostate while it's apart (my part #70807754 MAHLE)
- I installed a new A/C belt with tensioner (my part #11 28 7 549 589 INA tensioner - #K040338 Gates belt)


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## Bdr_ (Mar 7, 2015)

How do you loosen the ac belt to remove motor pulley? I'm in the middle of it?


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## westsidebalto (May 29, 2012)

Bdr_ said:


> How do you loosen the ac belt to remove motor pulley? I'm in the middle of it?


I basically wrapped a shop towel around the belt, right before it went onto the AC puley. Then I rotated the belt around with the main engine damper pulley (I think it's a 27mm socket?).

As the belt rotates around the AC pulley, I pulled the belt off and away from the pulley. This is the factory method I believe and is in the Bentley Manual.


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## Quarta2Six (Jun 8, 2011)

Bdr_ said:


> How do you loosen the ac belt to remove motor pulley? I'm in the middle of it?


As post #10 suggest. You dont need to remove dampner to do this DIY saved me alot of time and aggrevation. Your probably already done by now.


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## rydogg513 (Apr 5, 2016)

Hello everyone, I'm a new owner to a used 545. I desperately need to see those pics in the first thread about the water pump. Am I the only one unable to see them? :-(


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## westsidebalto (May 29, 2012)

rydogg513 said:


> Hello everyone, I'm a new owner to a used 545. I desperately need to see those pics in the first thread about the water pump. Am I the only one unable to see them? :-(


Unfortunately it looks like they are gone for good. Let me know if you need help with a specific step. Also check 5series.net for various write ups on this.


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## Juliano065 (Apr 18, 2016)

*Help*

I know I am in the wrong spot can someone help me. So this morning it rained a lot got in my 2005 525i no problem. Started just fine. Got to work park and got down and 1hr later got sent home do to the rain got in the car was struggling to crank. Got home parked about 2 hours in try to start it went crank battery is good display won't come on nor do i here the BMW sound. I call my dad and he asked if I hit high seating water. I said yes. What happened to it and how do I fix it? Please BMW forum your my only hope***128560;


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