The way you dont want to replace a water pump

[njg86]

My belt snapped while driving thus taking out 2 fan blades,mangled a tensioner and yeh,was a mess..so my waterpump was spinning freely and well,desperate times calls for desperate measures. I had to take the waterpump out with the fan connected still and put the bottom of the water pump in a bench vise to break the fan nut loose.What a PITA this was
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/inutero11/image002.jpghttp://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/inutero11/image001.jpg


And yeah i know,a metal propeller came out and a plastic one is going in. The metal one was getting rusty though

[LouieD]

Get yourself the correct fan clutch 32mm thin wrench. I got mine from ebay for $25 shipped and I have used it a lot more than I though I ever would.
Just my .02, but I'd return the plastic impeller pump and get the metal one.
GL.

[BavarianFanatic]

http://www.bimmerwerkz.com/forum/attachments/3-series-e46-e90/28573d1255775279-2000-bmw-328ci-belt-noise-bmw1-001.jpg

The proper tools are worth their weight in gold. The secret weapon is the pulley holder. I can pull a clutch with the fan attached in under a minute.

[russiankid]

The key really is to put the fan clutch on hand tight. I've removed mine with just tapping the 32mm wrench with my hand.

[moroza]

Eh, they like to get tighter over time (and they appear to be surprisingly suceptible to rust). The BMW pulley holder tool isn't all that great - mine's broken on both ends. Aftermarket ones usually work fine and cost less. What's the point of the adjusting pulley?

[russiankid]

I made my own tool to hold the pulley out of 1/4" steel.

[CO535i]

put some anti seize on the threads of the pump so that he fan clutch comes off easier. I've done this to all of the BMWs I have owned over the years. Combo of this and a hand tightening of the clutch has eliminated any need for whacking at a wrench with a dead blow. Also helps stave off some of that surface rust.
http://www.germansupply.com/home/image.php?productid=16962

[njg86]

Yeh i have a 32mm wrench,but since the belts busted off the waterpump was spinning freely so there was no way to hold it to bust the bolt loose. I had to take the entire waterpump out with the fan attached,then removed the fan and held the metal propeller in a vise until it got crushed all the way to the shaft. I tried to make a pulley holder tool like the one above,but didnt succeed. Vise worked,but obviously mangled the useless waterpump. PITA way easier when the belts are connected to the car,yank pop done.

[strad]

You can also jam a screwdriver between the bolts to hold the pulley in place while you wrench the 32mm nut. Of course as of this week I have a holder so I never have to do that again :D

[LaytonDavis]

I,m like Russian Kid. I took a peice of flat bar and made my wrench with a mill..Also made the holder at home too. And when i take em off I put em on hand tight.....

[njg86]

Hahaha we tried everything you guys mentioned but thats what it came down to,vise the shaft so it wont turn and yank the bolt..used pb blaster on it too

[E34Kevin]

So It doesn't need to be super duper tight? Its so hard to try to get the fan nut off without the proper wrench and holder, never again will I even try with out them.

[strayts]

buy the tools. worth it.

EDIT: this is for people who haven't had this happen to them :)

[sander06]

LOLed. Been there, done that on a number of car-part-dismantling jobs. Correct tools are the best, the best you can afford are gold, and sometimes you've got to show the car who is in charge and use brute force. Keep in mind that the Germans lost the war and now this is the only way they can get back at us is by making things difficult! At least that's my theory... and I'm sticking to it!!!!

[M Quick]

So It doesn't need to be super duper tight? Its so hard to try to get the fan nut off without the proper wrench and holder, never again will I even try with out them.

No, as the threads are backwards on the fan clutch, it'll automatically not unscrew it self while the engine is running as the engine is running the other way, and automatically it thigtens the fan clutch instead.

You could basically just spin it on, so it goes down all threads without tightening it at all, it'll tighten itself anyway so. And it's easier to take the fan of later on.

[attack eagle]

Just my .02, but I'd return the plastic impeller pump and get the metal one.
GL.
the newer design is composite, not plastic. Metal ones are hard on the bearings and wear out sooner. these should have the impeller durability of metal with teh bearing durability of plastic....

80-100K waterpumps like everyone else.

[ross1]

Crude but effective.
A spare fanbelt(or strap wrench) around the pulley sometimes will give enough grip to loosen the clutch nut.

[loustylez]

I knew there was a reason to keep that strap wrench around even though I don't use it for oil changes anymore ;)

[BavarianFanatic]

No, as the threads are backwards on the fan clutch, it'll automatically not unscrew it self while the engine is running as the engine is running the other way, and automatically it thigtens the fan clutch instead.

You could basically just spin it on, so it goes down all threads without tightening it at all, it'll tighten itself anyway so. And it's easier to take the fan of later on.

But what about when you drive in reverse?

[E34Kevin]

No, as the threads are backwards on the fan clutch, it'll automatically not unscrew it self while the engine is running as the engine is running the other way, and automatically it thigtens the fan clutch instead.

You could basically just spin it on, so it goes down all threads without tightening it at all, it'll tighten itself anyway so. And it's easier to take the fan of later on.

Thats cool, gotta love German engineering.:buttrock(christmas is old news lol) But does it keep tightening or stop a certain point? I would imagine it stops since its easier to take it off later on.

[billygoat777]

But what about when you drive in reverse?

the fan still spins the same direction which is what keeps it tight.

anyone who diys should definitely get the 32 mm wrench, I haven't had to make a pully holding tool yet and mine comes right off. In fact I used the wrench today to take the fan off and tighten the bolt on the front of the engine behind the cps to magically fix my oil leak :D

[Uber 525i]

I had 2 belts snap on me the other day as well.... it sucked uber big ones... at least it didn't break anything, just got some new belts put them on and drove off :)