M20 water pump swap

[pauldeacs]

Right im about to change the water pump on my 1986 E30 325i and am after some advice on how to go about it. is it easy enough to do? do i need any special tools? ive been quoted 60 quid for a garage to fit the new pump i have already purchased but would rather save the cash if i can.

[ollielsd]

just done mine on sunday mate - do a search on here - i think it was called water leak - but where from.

did the pump, cambelt and tensioner and viscous fan

all v easy

[Ziggy]

Bit of a PITA to be honest... cambelt & all that lot has to come off to get at it, but that's a good job to do anyway. No special tools though, & it's not difficult as such, just a bit more involved than you might expect!

[pauldeacs]

cambelt was changed only a matter of months ago so is there a way to change the pump without taking off the cambelt?

[ollielsd]

yeh shud be able to get away with just resetting the tensioner afterwards

[JimmyC]

You dont need to take belt off or tensioner

Use som mole grips to compress spring un bolt, replace remove mole grips, job done

[pauldeacs]

so are there any timing belt covers to remove

[ollielsd]

taking off the upper one makes things easier, 2x13mm and a 10mm i think, one 13mm is the stay for the alternator. i dropped rad and all hoses to make it easier

[pauldeacs]

Ideal, sounds pretty straight forward. i take it there are differences in the pump etc on a early/late engine (mine is an early one) but hopefully it will be just as easy on a early m20

[ollielsd]

yes i believe there are two types of pump, the difference being one (not sure if early or late as mines crossover yr) pump has an extra stub for a cooling hose, so check the box before you buy - as i had to do a bit of chasing!

obvioulsy the upper timing cover is taken off after the dizzy cap etc