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

Originally Posted by 2003 325i

Going to say this once and then be gone...

There are many people on here with 3x the mileage of Mango's 60K service interval on their original fuel pump and doing just fine.
If you want to have peace of mind and spend the hour or 2 to replace a pump twice (total time) and the roughly $250 that takes that is up to you.
For me with CAA and them willing to tow me up to 200 kms it is not mathematically worthwhile to replace the pump until it fails, or shows signs of failing, which it has not.

It is up to the individual, but to say that changing it proactively saves the person money is no more true than saying wait until it fails, both could hold equally true, and in my case as well as many others who have given mileage totals on original pumps, we're saving money by not doing it as a PM item, especially at 60K miles.

PS I'm a technician so saying this is shooting myself in the foot and giving me less work, I also hold an economics degree so don't worry, my math pans out. Up to you whether to trust me or not. I really don't care, but in an era of overspending and lack of savings by young people (we can all agree that runs rampant on here) I would rather you save your money.

I also have AAA which will tow me 100 miles when needed, and they did tow me home when my pump failed. When you talk about overspending, how about if the pump fails, and you need it fixed right away, you end up at the dealership spending (from what i've heard) 1000 dollars for them to fix it because your in a bind, or even just the 400 or so dollars for the part alone. But if you can order it online, and do it yourself, you just cut the cost of this repair by 80-90 percent, down to 120 dollars.

As I said, my only car is my BMW, and if it breaks down as it did, I end up scrambling just to make it to work, etc. It makes more economical sense to replace the fuel pump before failure, rather then after, in my situation. This may not hold true for all, just sayin...

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Yet when the mango or fjoj spend that money on a fuel pump, it's considered "overspending".

did you just refer to yourself in the 3rd person??!!
my friend the Internet has officially made you

JFOJ has a catchy name. I'm just trying to make myself sound a bit more cooler. The Mango.

But yeah... I think my brain's DME needs an update. Throwing lean codes left and right. Both banks

This is a good thread, i have been exhibiting the "soft" fuel pump failure recently. When the fuel level goes under 1/4 tank I am and have been in danger of stalling out because of lack of gas. Looks like I will be doing this PM item in the very near future. :/

Is there a production date stamped somewhere on a fuel pump? I've no idea if my car still has an original one or FP was already replaced....

Yes there is. You can also tell if the square flap of insulation has not been cut or tampered with. If not, then its the original pump.

Originally Posted by Nervous

Is there a production date stamped somewhere on a fuel pump? I've no idea if my car still has an original one or FP was already replaced....

iirc, when you look under the rear seat there is a seal you will notice if it hasn't been broken to get inside the tank. although this doesn't show if the pump was ever changed,
it gives good suggestion if anyone has ever been in there. and if so likely for that.


although in my previous case, i only went in to add the baffle.

also most all bmw units have a date stamp on them. i can Not confirm if our fp does aswell.

photos of the FP, can't tell where the month/year circle date stamp is
probably on top?
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330.../Fuel/ES37448/

Originally Posted by Alex323Ci

photos of the FP, can't tell where the month/year circle date stamp is
probably on top?
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330.../Fuel/ES37448/

Mine was on top in black dotted lettering. Though it was slightly faded and very hard to see even with close inspection.

Thanks, guys, I'll check it out.

Another 2004 fuel pump bites the dust!

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=931185

Originally Posted by jfoj

Another 2004 fuel pump bites the dust!

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=931185

I was 1 day late in coming to the jfoj fuel pump party and wasn't aware that it was a candidate for PM and an easy DIY fix. Mine failed and stranded me last Monday, '04 330Ci, 77,000 miles. To make matters worse, the Indy I took it to hit me with a $1000 bill. Now my fuel gauge is wacked. Lesson learned the hard way. Mango has me brainwashed for a cooling system refresh, so it's his fault.

Another pump failure situation on a 2004! - http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=931335

After 7 years I would be getting nervous!

Originally Posted by ExitBuddy

I was 1 day late in coming to the jfoj fuel pump party and wasn't aware that it was a candidate for PM and an easy DIY fix. Mine failed and stranded me last Monday, '04 330Ci, 77,000 miles. To make matters worse, the Indy I took it to hit me with a $1000 bill. Now my fuel gauge is wacked. Lesson learned the hard way. Mango has me brainwashed for a cooling system refresh, so it's his fault.

Wow that's a crazy low mileage/age failure. In your thread, I guessed $500 was your total bill--it was $1,000?! Whoa! Yeah the fuel pump is super easy. but when it goes out on you unexpectedly and no parts stores around, you have no choice but to take it in sometimes. Good job definitely do the cooling system.

Originally Posted by jfoj

Another pump failure situation on a 2004! - http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=931335

After 7 years I would be getting nervous!

JFOJ or GTFO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As if they are pushing a button in Munich and BAM, another few pumps bites the dust......

The E9x fuel pumps are so bad I think NHTSA is looking into a possible recall if there numbers meet mass quantity!

Originally Posted by jfoj

The E9x fuel pumps are so bad I think NHTSA is looking into a possible recall if there numbers meet mass quantity!

Just the 135/335/535 high pressure fuel pump. Not the regular 325/328/330 as far as I know. And even then the fuel pumps were updated for the later models with a superceded part#

Yea, I have not stayed on top of the specifics of the E9x, but there has been a lot of noise about fuel pump problems on some of the models.

Lucky for me, I do not know anyone that has an E9x and not sure I would want one, probably just skip that generation?

hmm, so is it VDO that is making bad pumps or is it BMW that makes flaws? I replaced mine for a Bosch pump, I hope it holds...

Originally Posted by jfoj

Yea, I have not stayed on top of the specifics of the E9x, but there has been a lot of noise about fuel pump problems on some of the models.

Lucky for me, I do not know anyone that has an E9x and not sure I would want one, probably just skip that generation?

The rest of the car (especially the cooling system) is robust. Water pumps on those are electric and more expensive than ours but last until around 150k. Most people don't even touch their cooling systems on the E9X. They seem to be an extremely reliable car.

Originally Posted by Vigilante

hmm, so is it VDO that is making bad pumps or is it BMW that makes flaws? I replaced mine for a Bosch pump, I hope it holds...

VDO-Siemens makes bad nothing. It's just a simple matter of fact that all things in life break down. FWIW, our pumps are actually robust outlasting fuel pumps of many cars. My friend's 2001 Firebird fuel pump died at 10 years, 56k miles. And the cost for his pump (online super discount price) is $600. Installing it requires $600 (super cheap indy) labor. GM dealer quoted him $1,700.