Z3 1.9 Water Pump removal

[MickZ3]

The Water Pump on my Z3 1.9 started to be noisy, removed the drive belt and you could feel the play.
Tried to remove the Water pump using the jacking screws, under light pressure the casting cracked around both jack screw holes.
To remove the Water pump I made up a jig which attached to the front of the Water Pump, to protect the front of the engine I used wooden blocks with a metal plate to stop the jack screws entering the wood.
The water pump came out without any problem, the initial force was quite high.
It looks like the rubber O ring had hardened up and stuck to the engine.
Photos

[AndyT62]

Good effort on the pump removal! I replaced the pump on my 1.9 last year...came out a lot easier than yours. I also replaced the timing cover gasket while I had the pump out which was leaking like a sieve. Had fun getting the crankshaft pulley bolt off but perseverance is required some times as I'm sure your aware. Cheers Andy.

[tonybaker]

when you put the pump back in, a thin smear of no seize lube on the bolts and rubber ring will help the next owner!

[Gareth 161]

Hi
A sort of related question? Yesterday whilst having mot done and with engine left running on ramp for some time with no air flowing past,the outlet pipe at top of radiator cracked off leaving about 10mm stub. Obviously not the best scenario whilst undergoing an mot but they managed to reconnect hose to stub and after refilling with water, did the emissions test ok and luckily she passed the mot and I gingerly drove about 10 miles home.
She is a 2000 3.0 with 125k and I have read that the plastic radiators do get brittle?
I have noticed a tendency to start to overheat if stuck in traffic but I don’t think the z3 cooling systems are that good in the first place and I can’t see any signs of head gasket failure.
My problem is what do I replace other than the radiator? Don’t want to spend too much but is it worth doing the water pump and thermostat whilst garage has her together presumably with top hoses?
Fan seems ok and as with all these things, where do you stop but would like to do the essentials.
Thanks for any guidance.
Gareth

[AndyT62]

Hi,
I recently have had to replace on my 2000 1.9 the plastic elbow at the back of the cylinder head and a few months later the plastic pipe below the inlet manifold. The pipe below the manifold was a #w#t to replace as I did it without removing the inlet manifold. Looking on various forums the plastic pipe work seems to fail at around this age mark. A as precaution I also replaced the elbow joint coming out of the engine block which on inspection on removal was also getting ready to fail.
Fortunately these parts are relatively inexpensive and I replaced them myself.
I replaced the radiator when I bought the car. A relatively straight forward job you might want to try yourself as obviously this will keep the cost down.
Cheers Andy.

[Gareth 161]

Thanks Andy and will have a look at some of the other plastic parts which as you say are probably getting brittle as well although where do you stop!!
Managed to cut a part of the mesh away from the front of the auxiliary fan and it was stuck. After a bit of persuasion and wd40 it now spins freely with the air con turned on and possibly if this was free previously,it might have prevented the radiator blowing although by the sound of it, it’s time was almost up anyway. Also had to change fuse no 40 as that presumably blew when fan first seized up?
Will see where I can get a radiator as might try it myself but do they come out through the top or bottom as I don’t have access to a ramp or pit?
Gareth

[Robert T]

Rad removes from the top. I had problems getting an OEM one, and finished up fitting an aftermarket one a couple of years ago. At the age the cars are now, I suspect that many of the plastic and rubber items under the bonnet will have past their best. I've had a metal clip on the bottom hose fail as well. If you go to the extent of swapping the rad, it may be worth your time to change a few other bits as well.

Cheers R.