Re: E36 water pump

[alex.fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxx]

"Steve Ballard" <usaballard@domain.elided> wrote:
> I just purchased a 1999 328is (e36) with about 56,000 miles.  Could 
> anyone tell me if this model has the plastic impeller water pump that
> I've heard about? 

Steve,
The last month of 'bad' plastic impeller water pumps was around 6/96. So 
you are definitely safe.
However, BMW went back to 'redesigned' plastic impeller water pumps some 
time in '98. The only thing I know for sure is that my wife's 02/98 
production E36 had a metallic impeller. The jury is still out as to how 
long the redesigned plastic impellers last. 

> If so, do I need to replace this immediately?

It's not a bad idea to replace those every 60-100K miles or so. 
At least that used to be the water pump replacement interval on late 80s 
bimmers.

alex f

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