[mfindigital]

Being a BMW owner has been fun.

Today on my way to work my fans kicked on very loudly, louder than I've heard them, so loud I thought it was the truck next to me. 15 minutes or so later I got an orange warning light, then about 10 seconds later a red warning light. Temp Gauge showed 250 degrees.

From what I gather this suggests a broken water pump. 2011 N55 with 42k miles, I do primarily stop and go driving in traffic, I'm in the market for a new DD and now I wish I had bought one last week, of course (also wish I went with a more comprehensive warranty, I went powertrain and this repair will likely kick have already made it worth going with a platinum plan).

Is this the correct part to order?
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...Lw_wcB#fitment

Im a 1 series owner, but e90post seems to get more traffic.
I'd like to order the water cooler and tstat today, I have another car to use tomorrow and Monday for work, but need this done by next Tuesday.

[NRigs]

Sounds like water pump to me. Make sure to replace the thermostat too!

[mfindigital]

Originally Posted by NRigs

Sounds like water pump to me. Make sure to replace the thermostat too!

I just checked my coolant level as the car is now cool. The Coolant reservoir is completely empty, is that also a common symptom of a bad water pump? Starting to get more concerned now that it could be something else. No codes at all. I logged the car last weekend and my timing was all over the place, -8.0 at certain points on cylinder 5.

[GoRomeo]

Originally Posted by mfindigital

I just checked my coolant level as the car is now cool. The Coolant reservoir is completely empty, is that also a common symptom of a bad water pump? Starting to get more concerned now that it could be something else. No codes at all.

check for leaks. refill reservoir (blue coolant only)and monitor again...

[mfindigital]

Originally Posted by GoRomeo

check for leaks. refill reservoir (blue coolant only)and monitor again...

could the cause be the water pump? I just ordered one from FCPEuro (along with thermostat), but I'm not sure if that's the cause now that I saw the empty reservoir. Thanks for you help! I'm heading to BMW Santa Monica at lunch to pick some coolant up. Forgot to mention the engine oil temp gauge never exceeded the mid point, peaked right beneath 250 degrees.

[GoRomeo]

Originally Posted by mfindigital

could the cause be the water pump? I just ordered one from FCPEuro (along with thermostat), but I'm not sure if that's the cause now that I saw the empty reservoir. Thanks for you help! I'm heading to BMW Santa Monica at lunch to pick some coolant up. Forgot to mention the engine oil temp gauge never exceeded the mid point, peaked right beneath 250 degrees.

its possible and most likely its the issue but it could also be a leak. Even when car is cold or in the mornings, the coolant level should be up with the needle above the cap like it displays on top of the reservoir.

[NRigs]

I would check to make sure you oil expansion tank isn't leaking. Look for white spots around the tank and on engine cover and see if you can see any coolant puddles on the belly pan. Check the condition of your coolant expansion tank cap to make sure it is sealing properly. I had some leaking out of my cap.

[rich_mane]

Well the orange and then red warning was probably coolant temp getting too high... It's a symptom when the water pump fails, but if the reservoir was empty it could just have been overheating from the lack of coolant. I'd find wherever it's leaking from and fix that first, refill and see if the code comes back after driving a bit. Keeping an eye on oil temp too just in case.

[NRigs]

Originally Posted by rich_mane

Well the orange and then red warning was probably coolant temp getting too high... It's a symptom when the water pump fails, but if the reservoir was empty it could just have been overheating from the lack of coolant. I'd find wherever it's leaking from and fix that first, refill and see if the code comes back after driving a bit. Keeping an eye on oil temp too just in case.

I agree with this here. Refilling the coolant is a lot cheaper than replacing the water pump. Also, put dye in there and use a UV light to look for leaks.

[mfindigital]

Originally Posted by NRigs

I agree with this here. Refilling the coolant is a lot cheaper than replacing the water pump. Also, put dye in there and use a UV light to look for leaks.

Just picked up some new coolant from BMW. When I got back to the office oil temp was at 240 degrees. No warning lights. I removed the reservoir cap to see if the coolant level had risen. And it rose, rapidly, pouring out all over the car and street. Capped it back quickly. I had tried to release pressure slowly. I've never had any smoke out of the tail pipe, but have had intermittent rotten egg smell from the exhaust and steam/feint white smoke out of the oil cap when I remove it. Sounds like a blown head gasket, which is actually better for me because I have a powertrain warranty, aside from the inconvenience of dealing with dropping the car off. Could also be that I shouldn't have reservoir removed the cap when the car was at 240 degrees.

[GoRomeo]

Originally Posted by mfindigital

Just picked up some new coolant from BMW. When I got back to the office oil temp was at 240 degrees. No warning lights. I removed the reservoir cap to see if the coolant level had risen. And it rose, rapidly, pouring out all over the car and street. Capped it back quickly. I had tried to release pressure slowly. I've never had any smoke out of the tail pipe, but have had intermittent rotten egg smell from the exhaust and steam/feint white smoke out of the oil cap when I remove it. Sounds like a blown head gasket, which is actually better for me because I have a powertrain warranty, aside from the inconvenience of dealing with dropping the car off. Could also be that I shouldn't have reservoir removed the cap when the car was at 240 degrees.

yes my friend you better off take it to an Indy shop, you dont want to get injured... you should never remove the reservoir cap when engine hot. You are suppose to check coolant level when car is cold.

[mfindigital]

Originally Posted by GoRomeo

yes my friend you better off take it to an Indy shop, you dont want to get injured... you should never remove the reservoir cap when engine hot. You are suppose to check coolant level when car is cold.

I realized that after my post and made that last edit, haha. I just panicked about the car a bit, I love the old girl. I had convinced myself it was a bad head gasket and the blowing coolant just added to my panic. She's off to an Indy shop this weekend once my plugs and pump arrive, hopefully that is the only issue here.

[GoRomeo]

Originally Posted by mfindigital

I realized that after my post and made that last edit, haha. I just panicked about the car a bit, I love the old girl. I had convinced myself it was a bad head gasket and the blowing coolant just added to my panic. She's off to an Indy shop this weekend once my plugs and pump arrive, hopefully that is the only issue here.

keep us posted...

[Ozzie335i]

In a weird way as you have a powertrain warranty I hope it is a bad head gasket. While it may be inconvenient you may end up with a new engine. If this is the case, and you have 6 MT, you might consider swapping out the clutch even if it looks ok. Would that make you reconsider moving on mfindigital?

[stormtrooper7]

So I just got the yellow temp light last night for a brief second or so. I turned off the car for about 10 minutes and continued driving. After a few minutes got the yellow light again, then after a couple of minutes the red one. They both only showed up for a second or so and haven't been back on. No change in fan speed and no codes. I haven't had a chance to check coolant level yet. Could this be the water pump? I believe it was already replaced at around 90K Km, and I'm now at 165K Km.

[mfindigital]

Made it home with the heater on full blast last night without issue, aside from the drenching sweat. Found my obd II scan tool and monitored temps on torque app, with heater on I saw consistent 190 temps for coolant, as soon as I shut it off it jumped to 215, then I'd throw the heater on. I think that suggests a thermostat issue, possibly the water pump as well. I've already ordered both parts from FCPEuro, having an indy shop take a look at the car when the parts come in Monday.
I was also not totally against it being a blown head gasket as I'd then be covered, but that may not be the issue. I'll report back Tuesday for anyone else that experiences something similar.

[1nityrider]

What's the normal operating oil temperature on these cars? I have 2013 335xi without the oil cooler. The gauge in the car has read 250 degree. I haven't had any lights and stuff. I have noticed that the faster I drive (70-80mph) the closer to 250 it gets.
I have a coworker who has 2015 335xi with the oil cooler and he says he's seeing close to 250 degrees too. So what's the normal operating oil temperature?

[Toome]

Originally Posted by 1nityrider

What's the normal operating oil temperature on these cars? I have 2013 335xi without the oil cooler. The gauge in the car has read 250 degree. I haven't had any lights and stuff. I have noticed that the faster I drive (70-80mph) the closer to 250 it gets.
I have a coworker who has 2015 335xi with the oil cooler and he says he's seeing close to 250 degrees too. So what's the normal operating oil temperature?

230-250*f is normal

[stormtrooper7]

Should add, these are the codes I currently see.

2F0D - 4 - Radiator Blind, activation (GLF)
2EA1 - 4 - Oil condition sensor, communication
2E7C - 4 - Bit-serial data interface, signal
2E8B - 1 - Intelligent battery sensor, communication
2E9F - 1 - Oil condition sensor

By the way, what does the second set of numbers (Type) mean?

[opjose]

Water and oil temperatures are being confused.

The electronics purposely keep oil temps high when the car is not under heavy loads, to assure good lubrication and operation. 200-240 is programmatically acceptable.

A failing water pump or thermostat may spike the water temperature beyond the nominal range overheat the engine and cause a limp mode. Water temp ranges tend to be lower than oil temps.

[stormtrooper7]

Sorry guys, I didn't realize I posted this in 335.

[mfindigital]

I purchased all the requisite parts from FCPEuro, and new plugs (the SILZKBR8D8S that were highly recommended on e90post). Just dropped the car off and all of a sudden I got water pump codes (wasn't pulling any on the MHD scanner or my OBDII scanner with Torque app). So it was/is definitely the water pump.

Install price for the pump is $360. All in the repair will costs 830$ dollars (repair kit from fcp is 470, plus 360 install). The shop I took it to is one of the best BMW shops in Los Angeles (A's repair Monterey Park). The owner loves bmw's, has an abarth, mini cooper, f80 and an X5. They wanted 300 for the DP install, so I passed and will be doing that myself this weekend. The water pump is a fairly easy job, not much to it, but since that's actually important and I tend to break things, I am happy to have A's garage do that.

Will report back once I've picked her up (for anyone that stumbles across this in the future when googling weird symptoms). I won't be able to associate the power lose with the water pump or plugs since I'm having both done, but I'm guessing this will resolve that issue as well.