BMW Blog

my car overheated today, need a new waterpump but i dont want another factory one, does bmw sell metal propellors or are they all plastic and i will have to give him a new waterpump to install

The newest pumps from BMW use a composite impeller, but they are much better than the exploding orange plastic ones. Stay away from the OEM pumps, they're know to suffer from premature bearing failure.

my cars in the shop right now awaiting the call from the mechanic to tell me whats wrong with it, if it is indeed my waterpump should i tell them to install it or buy an aftermarket one and give it to him?

As I just said, don't buy an OEM (aftermarket) pump because they are garbage.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. The dealer sells O.E.M. parts meaning when you purchase parts from them they may be made by one of several manufacturers all of whom manufacture these as original equipment for BMW. OEM is not aftermarket; aftermarket parts are made by manufactures that DO NOT originally make these parts for BMW and in many cases are inferior.

Actually BMW dealers sell OE parts, Original Equipment. bimmerparts.com and the like sell OEM parts. OEM parts are manufactured by companies that manufacture OE parts, but are often not built to the same standards as true OE parts.

so where is a good place to pick up a metal propeller water pump quickly?

ReVsHoT:
I also wouldn't recommend a water pump with a metal impeller since it would be an aftermarket part and may be inferier. You just don't want one with the original designed plastic impeller (you can tell because it's orange) The dealers haven't sold them for years.

If we're going to split hairs the dealer sells both OE and OEM and in some cases aftermarket parts as well.

ok good news i got my new waterpump installed today and i asked if it was plastic or metal and he said metal so im in good shape now

ok good news i got my new waterpump installed today and i asked if it was plastic or metal and he said metal so im in good shape now

Not necessarily, if it's a Graf, they've been known to leak around the shaft. Do a search for Binh's WP failure. Alot of the metal OEM pumps have come back because of leaks and shaft failures.

Not necessarily, if it's a Graf, they've been known to leak around the shaft.
Exactly what I was talking about. A leak around the shaft means that coolant is getting through the inner seal, flooding the bearings and leaking out the other side. Bearings + coolant = dead bearings.

What about the BMW dealer waterpump vs the one from bimmerworld?

why cant they make a decent one god dammit!

my trans am used the origional water pump until i re-built the engine, it lasted 26 years god dammit!

The only one I trust is the newest one from BMW, that's why I stock them too...
http://www.understeer.com/images/store/waterpump.jpg