Save yourself up to $200 and some headaches - Electric Fuel Pump PM

Originally Posted by FenderGuy05

that's years if you drive "the average" 12k a year.

Two years for me...

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Same thing minus logo.

Thanks, $107.15 after the discount at BMA and free shipping. Since I don't have any local dealers I think I'll pick one up and then decide if I want to install it now or wait a while.

Make sure you pick up the fuel pump relay and filter

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Make sure you pick up the fuel pump relay and filter

indeed

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Make sure you pick up the fuel pump relay and filter

So I think I read somewhere here that the relay is the "middle one" behind glove box. However correct me if I'm wrong, the fuel pump relay is the one on the top row, left side? There's two on the left, vertical, and four accross the top in my car. When I do replace it just want to be sure I replace the right one. Is it absolutely necessary when the pump is installed, I have the filter and pump but no relay and I don't know if I can get to the dealership today.

Nah, just good PM. If you ordered from BMA, call them and ask to throw the relay in. IIRC, its the first relay of the row of four.

http://www.bmwgm5.com/E46_Relays.htm

you'll have a bit of a time trying to fish it out but just stuff your fingers in there and wiggle the relay out while pushing on the release tab. it'll come out slowly but surely. Make a mental note on the way the relay is oriented so when you put the new one in, you'll have no problems pushing it back into place. it's easier said than done with all the wires down there but overall its a quick task

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Nah, just good PM. If you ordered from BMA, call them and ask to throw the relay in. IIRC, its the first relay of the row of four.

http://www.bmwgm5.com/E46_Relays.htm

you'll have a bit of a time trying to fish it out but just stuff your fingers in there and wiggle the relay out while pushing on the release tab. it'll come out slowly but surely. Make a mental note on the way the relay is oriented so when you put the new one in, you'll have no problems pushing it back into place. it's easier said than done with all the wires down there but overall its a quick task

torx30 bolts for those who need to access behind the glove box?

No the glovebox is held on by standard philips star head screws. Very easy to remove. replacing the relay actually takes longer than removing the glovebox.

By the way kudos to BMW on the E46 glovebox. extremely well made and fits together extremely well. Huge improvement over the E36 glovebox.. HUGE.

Originally Posted by E46Mango

No the glovebox is held on by standard philips star head screws. Very easy to remove. replacing the relay actually takes longer than removing the glovebox.

By the way kudos to BMW on the E46 glovebox. extremely well made and fits together extremely well. Huge improvement over the E36 glovebox.. HUGE.

and the cool bmw fleshlight... i mean flashlight.. very cool.

Is this how a fuel pump looks like? for a 325i?

That's them!

Do I need to order this pump gasket or does it come with one?

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330.../Fuel/ES35936/

you need to order it

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Nah, just good PM. If you ordered from BMA, call them and ask to throw the relay in. IIRC, its the first relay of the row of four.

http://www.bmwgm5.com/E46_Relays.htm

you'll have a bit of a time trying to fish it out but just stuff your fingers in there and wiggle the relay out while pushing on the release tab. it'll come out slowly but surely. Make a mental note on the way the relay is oriented so when you put the new one in, you'll have no problems pushing it back into place. it's easier said than done with all the wires down there but overall its a quick task

No joke, I swapped the horn and fuel pump the day it went out just to rule that out...what a PITA!

Originally Posted by mrmaico

Do I need to order this pump gasket or does it come with one?

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330.../Fuel/ES35936/

It came with my VDO..

That's hard to believe. It doesn't even come with the Genuine BMW pump (obviously as its sold sep) so not sure why it'd come with the OEM pump. Didn't come with mine. Call the vendor to make sure.

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Good post. This absolutely needs to be done. Anybody who disagrees, step up. There is no reason not to do this.

There should be a popup that asks a series of questions:

Have you JFOJ'd in the past 60,000 miles?

Have you replaced your entire cooling system in the past 60,000 miles?

Have you replaced your fuel pump, fuel pump relay, and fuel filter in the past 60,000 miles?

Have you replaced your voltage regulator, battery in the past 60,000 miles or five years?

If the person answers 'no,' a big slap machine reaches out of the computer screen and slaps the offensive person in their face. If the person answers 'yes,' proof must be submitted and approved by JFOJ. Then and only then can they deserve to proceed to the forums.

Anything short of doing any of the above and you might as well be wearing a shirt that says "I love to be stranded!" cause that's pretty much what you're wishing for when you don't maintain critical parts of your car.

What does JFOJ'd mean? I have replaced the cooling system My intake is AFE done about 3k ago. I didn't know the fuel pump was a PM item, but I did replace the filter at 110K. Same with the voltage regulator or that battery. I have 137k on the car now. So really what I want to know now is: what are ALL the PM items that need to be looked after, and when do I need to address them? And if there is a thread that addresses this question.

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Good post. This absolutely needs to be done. Anybody who disagrees, step up. There is no reason not to do this.

There should be a popup that asks a series of questions:

Have you JFOJ'd in the past 60,000 miles?

Have you replaced your entire cooling system in the past 60,000 miles?

Have you replaced your fuel pump, fuel pump relay, and fuel filter in the past 60,000 miles?

Have you replaced your voltage regulator, battery in the past 60,000 miles or five years?

If the person answers 'no,' a big slap machine reaches out of the computer screen and slaps the offensive person in their face. If the person answers 'yes,' proof must be submitted and approved by JFOJ. Then and only then can they deserve to proceed to the forums.

Anything short of doing any of the above and you might as well be wearing a shirt that says "I love to be stranded!" cause that's pretty much what you're wishing for when you don't maintain critical parts of your car.

Well said, nice quote about the t-shirt...what I say is ' fixt it right, you are driving German not rice'


Sent from my SCH-I405 using Bimmer App

Patton,

As for a PM thread, check this link - http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=923563

It is fairly complete, the only things that may not be in the first post are possibly the fuel pump/filter/relay and buying a 2nd key for the car.

We see time and time again, problems lately with fuel pump/fuel filter/relay failures leaving people stranded and/or with performance problems that linger on after much more money is spent on other PM type of items that could probably wait.

For example we see coils, VANOS seals, MAF's, DISA's, complete CCV's, valve covers and all sorts of other things sometimes replaced in an effort to sort idle and cold start problems. Many of these items are a problem and do cause issues, but would it be great if you replaced the fuel pump, filter & relay for less that just the cost of a MAF or many of the other stated repairs and it solved most of your problems and improved your cars reliability?

You need to triage these cars to help determine what should be replaced first.

As for the 2nd key, most used BMW's seem to only come with 1 key. Within a short period of time it seems like about 20%+ of the owners loss or lock their only key in the trunk. Then they are in panic mode and have to pay full pop at the local dealer for a key and have to wait for 1-4 days to get their key depending on when and where it is ordered from. So getting either a $60 replacement key or a $160 replacement keyfob should be very high on the list for new owners. Do not let the dealer sell you a $60 valet key when you can get a "master" key for same money that opens the trunk and glove box!

As for JOFJ, see the first link below in my signature or look very carefully under Mango's picture in his signature, he has 3 links, but they are not as pronounced as my links.

Some folks seem angry that I posted this, but my intention is to inform the community and make them aware that fuel pumps are problems and for less than $200 spent on your own time can head off a future problem, probably improve driveability and save you at least $200 and a lot of time if you replace the pump/filter/relay as a PM item.

Face it, there are only a few things that really strand these cars, fuel supply issues, crank & cam sensors (cam sensors are more likely to fail), intake boot failures (but they rarely strand your, but for $30 why not PM it, and cooling system failures.

Yes batteries are problems, but usually a jump or roll start may get you going, can't do much to really convince a fuel system problem to clear itself enough to drive reliably.

So it is not a bad idea to really reflect on what is important to you. If time, money and inconvenience is not important, then do not do any PM.

If you are a gambler, then at a minimum replaced your fuel filter and swap the fuel pump relay with the horn relay. Then you can decided if you should buy a pump and gasket for $110 and keep it in the trunk along with the tools, or wait and see if your car ever needs a pump?

My wife has an '06 E46 Vert with 60k on the clock. I need to decided when I pull the trigger. I think I should at least buy the pump and gasket now and have it on hand. My bet is if I have the pump on hand, it is like buying a snow blower, it will not snow that Winter! But at least I have it in hand and can put her on the road in 45 minutes. I will swap the pump relay as I would bet the horn has only been used about a dozen times in the car and the filter will be replaced soon during Inspection II next week that will be performed at no cost as the car has extended maintenance that the original owner purchased and was transferred when we purchased the car as a CPO.

It is well worth the small expense in my household for peace and tranquility not to have my wife stranded and upset at the car and me!! If she knew I had her sitting on the edge of a limb for less than $200, she would have my jewels in a vice!! So I will likely be placing my BMW pump order very soon!

As they say YMMV, what you choose to do is up to you, I just wanted to point out my observation and views and how I will likely handle my own situation.

142k, 11 years and 10 months, no issues. I got this one, its only the motor and filter,

Van Drop Box

It's going in tomorrow, along with a new fuel filter, sparks, complete cooling system and doing an electric/mechanical fan swap/upgrade at my DiY Garage