S54 Water Pump Life?

[mpire]

So does anyone here have a life expectancy on the S54 water pump?

I was thinking of removing the mechanical fan and replacing it with an electric one just so it doesn't explode on me. So that got me to thinking about the water pump.

Rumor is that it doesn't have the short life of the M52 engines.

And has anyone fabricated an aluminum fan shroud for the stock S54 radiator?

[cleanerPA]

I did a ton of research here, on m3post and a few other forums and I never heard much about the S54 water pump having issues. The pump is a $600 list item- I think it's around $400 or a tad less at some discount parts places- it _sounds_ like a really overbuilt part for the price, unless they did something weird with the pricing.

Most people do belts, tensioners, replace radiators and expansion tanks, but I've almost never heard anyone replacing the water pump, although at 10+ years of age, it might be something to replace in a year or two.

I know you're asking about fabrication, but Zionsville has an aluminum shroud for the stock radiator.

[cleanerPA]

I did a ton of research here, on m3post and a few other forums and I never heard much about the S54 water pump having issues. The pump is a $600 list item- I think it's around $400 or a tad less at some discount parts places- it _sounds_ like a really overbuilt part for the price, unless they did something weird with the pricing.

Most people do belts, tensioners, replace radiators and expansion tanks, but I've almost never heard anyone replacing the water pump, although at 10+ years of age, it might be something to replace in a year or two.

I know you're asking about fabrication, but Zionsville has an aluminum shroud for the stock radiator.

[Randy Forbes]

I know of a couple that've exceeded 200,000 miles, so I haven't been too worried about the one on my gray car (42k mi).

[Itsablurr]

I've been through a couple...

original replaced fall 2006 @ 38k

replacement replaced mid 2008 @ 71k

current still going @ 102k


Both that failed ended up leaking out the front bearing seal and were dealer warranty replacements.

[Jeremy]

My S54 M Coupe is pushing 115k, and I have no reason to believe that the waterpump has been replaced. Nothing in the (minimal) records I have indicates that it was done by a dealer, and to the best of my knowledge the P.O. had the dealer do EVERYTHING that was ever done.

[snikwad]

Wish I had found this before I bought one.
Gonna inspect it when I do the expansion tank and what not. If its good to go. I'm not touching it.
The replacement one I got looks very well built. The design much much better than that of the non M water pumps.

[BenFenner]

Curious while we're on the topic, the OEM S54 water pumps have metal impellers, or plastic composite?

[Ferris]

IIRC when I replaced mine 4 years ago both original and new were metal impellers.

[Ghery]

Curious while we're on the topic, the OEM S54 water pumps have metal impellers, or plastic composite?

Genuine ones are composite

[CMM3]

I did mine, the old one was composite the new one from BMW was metal.
With 120k miles and seeing some track time I thought it was worth doing as part of the cooling system overhall, I also replaced the hoses, fan clutch and radiator, put in a 55 dergree thermosate, filled with distilled water and motul mocool water wetter. Before my car was prone to running warm on hot days on the track with the temp creeping up past 230, now no issues never goes above 210 on the hottest days.

[snikwad]

I just got mine. It has. 2012 build date on it. The impeller is composite. I heard a while back that BMW switched to a newer composite material a few years back.
Stick kinda sceptical about it. But have t heard any horror stories.

Also, CMM3, I noticed you're in NH. How does that 55 degree t stat work out for u?
I'm not tracking my car and I've thought about it several times but for some reason in my head I feel like it may prevent the engine getting warm quickly enough during the winter months.