Hi club friends....my next project will be replacing water pump and drive belts, on 540i. Has anyone done this work already on m62 engine? All i want to know is if i need to have special tools to remove fan clutch or any other parts that are going to be in way. I have Bentley book just want some feed back..Any tricks to the trade from club..Thanks P.S Hey Paul are you on vacation
32mm wrench to get the fan clutch off is the only "special" tool It must be thin enough to fit. I suggest getting the set of thin wrench and pulley holder (BMP, Bav Auto, etc), because if it is tight, you need some special tricks and language to get it off. Remember it is LH thread. Do the thermostat as well. How many miles again? You may want to do your coolant tank (or at least the pressure cap) if it is over 60k. You need to pull hte balancer, IIRC, and sometimes it won't budge, but remember to not force it. Use a puller or gentle rocking with a prybar to remove it. If your car has MAP cooling (electronic thermostat, I am 99.9% sure it does) check the wiring! if it appears crusty at all in the plug, the t-stat has been leaking, and this can take out the ECU! If you find evidence of this, check the ECU plug for crustyness and definitely replace the t-stat. I'll let you know if I think of anything else.
I'll second the bike shops. What you might want is a Park Tool Headset Wrench ($15): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012Q4EH6 If you want the BavAuto one it is $35.
I did this job on my S52 last weekend. I found that a large crescent wrench was suitable for the 32mm hex on the fan clutch. But a special spanner wrench to hold the fan pulley (by the mounting bolt heads) was the savior of the day. I bought my generic version for about $30 from a local car parts store.
2003 e39 540 water pump I replaced the water pump on my 2003 540iA sport this last weekend and as a public service thought I would add on here. Have been turning wrenches on my cars for about 30 years now and this was about middle level of effort for a water pump. About 2 hours being careful. The fan bolt was easy with a standard large cresent on my 540, no special tools required (only remember left hand thread ). The key element of difficulty was the bottom bolt on the water pump behind the crank pully. A short flat metric combination wrench was the trick to getting this in and out without pulling the crank pully. The other trick is to not be afraid to pull the bolts on the left and right ends of the nifty allum pipe that is right in frount of the water pump so you can pull it forward a couple of inches to get the pump out. Also, remember to buy the three O rings (2 water cross over pipes, one therm), water pump gasket, new therm, and 2 gallons of BMW coolant in addtion to the pump. The engine is a joy to work on, just take your time and be light to the touch on the alloy bolts and various connectors/ hoses. BTW, also, my dealer's first diag was a new radiator and they wanted $1100 for a radiator job. After this I see it will take me about 45 minutes to swap a $225 radiator. Radiator is a very easy job on a 540. I bought it new and really love my car, but to be honest I still think that on this level of car a water pump bearing should go longer then 50K miles. And plastic coolant hardware everywhere....ouch. Hope this helps...
You shouldn't need a thin 32mm wrench to get the fan clutch off. Just get a regular sized one, place it on the fan clutch with the end sticking up, with one hand use push slighty towards the drivers side, while you hit the end of the wrench with a hammer (hit straight down). This should get the fan clutch loose with 1 maybe 2 hits. Don't forget, it's reverse thread. Lefty tighty!
I guess when I say thin, I mean thinner than Craftsman. I had to grind mine down for M20 fans, so now it fits all of them. THe hammer trick does not always work, especially if a ham fisted mech has gotten a hold of your car. We had to destroy the water pump pulley on one car because the dealer tightened the bejeezus out of it. After talking to the guy, they probably did it because he was a real jerk and totally deserved it. Sometimes it has to be thin enough to get a spanner to hold the water pump pulley bolts while nailing it with a hammer, and sometimes I just use a long zero offset wrench to hold the pulley bolt as I loosen the fan. At any rate, thinner is better than too thick, because as your BMW collection grows, you can be assured that it will fit all your cars, even that E30 325i you have been eyeing for a track toy.
Ah, I use my Craftsman 32mm on my '90 325i without issues. I really don't know why someone would crank a fan clutch down. They're supposed to tighten as it turns. I work as a mechanic on BMW's to make extra cash, and it always grinds me when I get someone elses screwup.
I couldn't get mine to fit next to the water pipe on E30 325i so I ground it thinner. I certainly couldn't use a snap-on zero offset wrench with it as thich as it was. Maybe they cast them a little thinner now? Hmm. Anyhow, there have been many times where it has rusted on or cranked on too tight even for a swift hammer whack to cure. Some people. Oh, and I did find out long ago why you snug it just a little. Nothing like firing up a car to test it, only to have the fan spin itself off the water pump when you turn the motor back off. At least that one didn't do any damage, I just felt like a moron.
Come to think of it, I have had 1 car that my trick wouldn't work on, a 2000 750iL. That car was a huge pos tho.
Hey clarkethomason, thank you for info. What what water pump did you go with..Im told stuart makes a great water pump but not for this model... you have any suggestions?
