Those of a sensitive disposition, look away now.....

For the M Powered Z3 derivatives
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Mike123
Joined: Tue 21 Mar, 2006 14:34
Posts: 323

  M roadster S50
Location: Leamington Spa

Those of a sensitive disposition, look away now.....

Post by Mike123 »

Image

......yes, I know, but it had been sitting in a dusty car park for 5 hours.

2nd time on a recovery trailer in 10 years is probably not too bad.

Last time it was the Vanos, this time the water pump.

A bit odd - the car was running perfectly until parked for half an hour, then on trying to restart, turned over really sluggishly as if a flattish battery and wouldn't catch. Checked the battery connections, belts all felt fine, battery almost brand new showing fully charged. Tried again, this time it just caught, but smoke from a belt frying, followed by nasty graunches, so switched off.

Water flowing out of the pump, fan loose having unscrewed itself, but no apparent damage to fan blades/ radiator/ cowling.

I understand the pump failure, but still can't see where the flat battery symptom came from. Any suggestions? The battery still appears to be fully charged.

It is already booked in for an aircon condenser replacement, so that job has got bigger!
Del
Joined: Sat 19 Nov, 2011 18:35
Posts: 2136

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Those of a sensitive disposition, look away now.....

Post by Del »

Auxiliary belt either broken/slipping or not rotating properly due to a seized water pump? :shrug
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Re: Those of a sensitive disposition, look away now.....

Post by pingu »

Del wrote:Auxiliary belt either broken/slipping or not rotating properly due to a seized water pump? :shrug
Not my first thought, but I hope that's what it is.
Pingu
Chazzy
Joined: Wed 16 Jul, 2014 09:04
Posts: 23

  M roadster S50

Re: Those of a sensitive disposition, look away now.....

Post by Chazzy »

I had a similar problem on a different car when the water pump failed. It just wouldn't turn over quickly and I thought it was the battery. This was combined with it overheating and failing the head gasket. Anyway, after replacing everything it still seemed like a dead battery. It turned out to be the starter motor. However, if the pump has seized or is very stiff/draggy, this will put additional load on the starter/battery and this caused my start motor to fail!
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Mike123
Joined: Tue 21 Mar, 2006 14:34
Posts: 323

  M roadster S50
Location: Leamington Spa

Re: Those of a sensitive disposition, look away now.....

Post by Mike123 »

Well, it wasn't too bad.
Del was spot on. Still not sure why there was no warning lights or noises, but maybe I'm getting deaf and blind in my old age!
The air con condenser needed replacing anyway, so took the opportunity to replace all of the pulleys, belts, and tensioner at the same time.
OEM pump, which was expensive, but I've heard some sad stories about cheap pumps failing soon after fitting, so hopefully it's good for another hundred thousand miles.
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Re: Those of a sensitive disposition, look away now.....

Post by pingu »

Mike123 wrote:Well, it wasn't too bad.
Glad to hear that :) . My glass was half empty.
Pingu
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