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

It's probably not physiological, its probably real, many of these pumps are soft failing causing driveability issues and until the pump is replaced you do not even really realize what is going on.

There have been many reports where cold start issues, stumbling, throttle response issues have many times corrected by replacing the fuel pump. Many people chasing elusive issues sometimes break down and replace the pump after replacing 2-4 times the cost of the pump of other parts that did not correct the problems.

One additional point of reference for others to consider.

Glad to hear your car seems to be running more responsive.

Finally got around to doing this today. My old pump was in pretty decent shape at 127k as it still had some pressure built up in the line. Throttle response feels improved.

lol

Originally Posted by jfoj

replace your battery every 4 years

While i mostly agree with your pump initiative, the battery is a different story. Most factory batteries last much longer, and even if it fails to start (mostly in winter), you can always jump start it to get you home, or can get from road side assistance.

Changing the battery every 4 years is a big expense. Euro car batteries are larger then Japanese cars and more expensive. Here in AU it easily exceeds $200, OE is a whopping $600+.

My original battery is more than 8 years old. It is now under volt (11.5V). By PM standard it should be replaced long ago but I don't see the point. It cranks up quite easily, even in the coldest winter mornings. I have listen to music for hours on this battery and still easily starts up next morning. So yes I'm in borrowed times but this time can be years and years.

TonyJ,

I guess in your situation where the battery is so expensive, I can see you point. Most of the non OEM batteries cost about the same as a fuel pump, so this was my point.

But in any event, a battery will not always really leave you stranded, you can usually jump start or roll start your car if a manual transmission and get on your way, however, usually a failed fuel pump leaves you where you are. There are many people that do proactively replace their battery because it is rather cheap insurance, and this is the point of my original post it to point out owners that their fuel pump is not lifetime, or it only lasts the lifetime of the fuel pump!, so you might as well step up after 7-8 years and replace it for improved reliability of your car. But as you can see many are thumbing their nose at this suggestion bragging about their 12 year old fuel pump. Not to worry, they may be stranded in the near future.

Not sure the percentage, but most failed pumps I have seen fail to start the car, but I do know some pump failures can leave you stranded on the road mid travel.

As you can also see many of the recent posters seem to feel improved throttle response with their new fuel pumps. I have had other similar feedback outside of this forum, so I do not think this is the placebo effect, but is likely real world improvement.

About to pull the trigger on a new pump and filter from BMA. The specE30 code brought the pump down to 118 not 105. Is that deal over or what? Not that 13 bucks really matters.

Yeah I think prices magically shot up a bit.

And to those who are against replacing your battery as PM, you deserve to get stranded.

Yup, prices went up a couple of days after I bought mine about a month ago.

Originally Posted by E46Mango

And to those who are against replacing your battery as PM, you deserve to get stranded.

Yes, people deserve to spend extra money just on the "safe side". It can be a nightmare if stranded for other components such as cooling system, but stranded by battery is hardly an issue. You don't need to be towed to a shop and you can always be back on the road shortly.

Your battery cost $200+ every 4 years. Without this PM, I may be stranded in 12 years, but even then, just a call to the road side assistance. I'm sure you have similar services in US. Here you pay for the membership, limited number of free services including towing, so most people pay it anyway. It is more like an insurance. They will jump start and off you go. Then you can buy a new battery at the time and place you prefer. It may delay half an hour, but I saved several hundreds in delaying battery replacement. I know where my money should go. In my book, only the battery should be run to the ground.

Originally Posted by TonyJ

Yes, people deserve to spend extra money just on the "safe side". It can be a nightmare if stranded for other components such as cooling system, but stranded by battery is hardly an issue. You don't need to be towed to a shop and you can always be back on the road shortly.

Your battery cost $200+ every 4 years. Without this PM, I may be stranded in 12 years, but even then, just a call to the road side assistance. I'm sure you have similar services in US. Here you pay for the membership, limited number of free services including towing, so most people pay it anyway. It is more like an insurance. They will jump start and off you go. Then you can buy a new battery at the time and place you prefer. It may delay half an hour, but I saved several hundreds in delaying battery replacement. I know where my money should go. In my book, only the battery should be run to the ground.

A suitable replacement battery here in the US is $85. Autozone offers one. Walmart offers one. Same price.

I can't imagine that not being an option in Australia.

Originally Posted by E46Mango

I can't imagine that not being an option in Australia.

Not an option in Autralia. Do you know they charge $180k for an M3?

The $80 battery is mostly 200CCA rubbish. Do you want to put that into your BMW?

Originally Posted by TonyJ

Not an option in Autralia. Do you know they charge $180k for an M3?

The $80 battery is mostly 200CCA rubbish. Do you want to put that into your BMW?

Not ours.

http://reviews.paonet.org/20070221-D...-DL/index.html

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Not ours.

http://reviews.paonet.org/20070221-D...-DL/index.html

My point being, even if I'm in US, and it only cost $85, there is still no reason to replace it every 4 years. Every 10 years maybe, but I prefer to run it to the ground. It is not much as an issue if it dies. This is the critical difference between the battery and other components.

Originally Posted by TonyJ

My point being, even if I'm in US, and it only cost $85, there is still no reason to replace it every 4 years. Every 10 years maybe, but I prefer to run it to the ground. It is not much as an issue if it dies. This is the critical difference between the battery and other components.

A healthy battery won't strain your charging system. Wrong vehicle for you if replacing your battery periodically is putting strain on things.

Replaced my pump and fuel sending unit today. I was having a problem with the gauge giving inaccurate readings so I decided if I am going to replace one, might as well do both. I now suspect the problem was the pump had soft failed and was not transferring fuel between the tanks. I am pretty sure the sending unit was fine, but the pump was definitely on its way out. Either way, everything seems to be working fine now, took about an hour and a half with a break in between to escape from the heat.

I guess I have a spare, used fuel sending unit if anyone wants to buy it in the El Paso area. I also have a brand new sealing ring.

AAA card in my wallet.

Im about to tackle the fuel pump diy today, is there a pictorial diy somewhere around? Thanks.

Originally Posted by Amhague

Im about to tackle the fuel pump diy today, is there a pictorial diy somewhere around? Thanks.

HPF did a couple videos of them doing an M3 but it pretty much the same procedure. I think video #2 is just about their pump hanger and not relevant to our cars.

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Yeah I think prices magically shot up a bit.

And to those who are against replacing your battery as PM, you deserve to get stranded.

I was wondering about The recent price increases in battery prices. I paid $85 or $90 for the Autozone Battery for the e46 about 3 years ago. They are in the $130 - $160+ range now. Apparently lead prices have gotten very volatile lately, and are increasing daily.

Edit: the original link was blocked for some reason, so try this one. The next to last paragraph mentions rising lead costs:
http://www.car-batteryprices.com/tag...-costs-rising/

well peoples..... this is what i like to tell my customers with there fuel filters that have 100k plus miles on them.

i relate it to a human.

think of the fuel pump as a heart and the fuel filter as your arteries.

if your arteries (fuel filter) begin to clog or does clog you're going to over work your heart (fuel pump) and have a heart attack (fuel pump failure)

just change your filter on a regular basis every 25k miles or so and dont run your fuel past a quarter tank. you should get a very long life out fo your fuel pump.... most fuel pump failures are due to lack of maintenance.