Car won't start now...fuel issue?

[WanaBm3]

Hi folks. So my wife drove my car today cuz I took her car(hers had gas in it and I was in a hurry). In the back of my mind I knew something was gonna happen. Well, the car had been driven for I don't know maybe 20 Miles past when the orange Empty gas light is on. Then she got gas and continued on her way, travelled maybe 5 or 10 miles, doing various errands and leaving one place she says she heard a loud noise(having a hard time getting her to describe the noise), she says it came from the front of the car like the engine bay. She says she thought it was the bumper scraping or something, the noise stopped and she continued on her way. I guess then a mile or two later it started sputtering(like the engine was gonna stall), she stopped and turned it off and it won't start now. It will turn over and it sounds like it wants to start. I guess i'm thinking the fuel pump fried or the fuel filter sucked stuff up from the bottom of the tank or maybe air got sucked into the fuel lines and through the injectors from the tank having gotten so low on gas. Please give me some ideas as to what it could be. I'll try to answer any questions. Thanks in advance! I need my car back!

[bmwdirtracer]

I'd personally start by investigating "the loud noise". If you crawl under the car, and peer carefully into the engine bay, you may be able to find damages from a rock, curb, etc, which will identify the nature of the problem. Pay particular attention to the fuel lines, as they travel from the engine bay to the tank alongside the frame rails.

After that, you'll be doing the usual checks for fuel delivery, spark, etc. But I'd suspect the loud noise as the primary culprit.

[WanaBm3]

Okay so I decided to try to skip some of the guesswork and tow my car to a reputable shop here that i've had cooling system components replaced at previously. Well, they say from their diagnostic they did that it's the fuel pump and they want $550 to replace it. They say $280 of that is for the fuel pump itself. Holy crap that seems high.

I did a little ebay search for a walbro fuel pump and it was 100 shipped, and that's a good name brand. They say theirs is the OEM part so it's more and that they'd charge more and couldn't gaurantee the work if they put my non-oem part in. I told them i'd let them know tomorrow what I want to do.

I was thinking all along this was probably either the fuel pump or the fuel filter or maybe the injectors got f'ed up. Trying to decide if I should order the $100 walbro and install it myself and the fuel filter I already bought.

Can anyone give me any suggestions or advice/comments on this? I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

[thejlevie]

I didn't know that Walbro made an OE replacement fuel pump for a BMW.

If you don't already know this car has an in-tank pump. The pump assembly is also the mount for one of the fuel level sensors. A generic pump might able to be grafted onto that assembly, but won't be a "plug-n-play" parts swap.

[bmwdirtracer]

+1. Just out of curiousity I flicked over to realoem, checked their price. I believe your shop is treating you well. I believe you're comparing apples to oranges though, as Jim says.

With an oem part, you're getting a "fuel delivery unit", with level senders and wiring and filter, and plumbing intact. You want to intentionally do wiring and plumbing on tiny plastic fittings that live in a gas bath, you go for it. Most pros wouldn't, if they didn't have to..... And if you go the cheap route, order a new gasket, too.

[WanaBm3]

Alright fellas, well thanks a lot for your advice and comments. I guess i've decided to go ahead and have the shop carry out the work, hopefully this will be the end of it and it won't cost more than the $550 they quoted me, cuz i'm super tight on cash. Thanks again!