Water Pump Brand Conversation

[PurelliCondoms]

Went to put my HVAC delete kit and and I found out that my water pump sounds more like a blender. Is the URO pump any good for $93 shipped? Or should I just not be stupid and buy the Rein for $153. Both utilize a metal impeller.

[nahvkolaj]

Saleri is the OEM IIRC. That said, I replaced my first Saleri pump after 20k miles with a new one via FCP's guarantee. Hopefully the new unit does better.

I’ve heard mixed things about Uro.

[ATB88]

contrary to what seems obvious, you actually want the one with the plastic impeller

[chris719]

Went to put my HVAC delete kit and and I found out that my water pump sounds more like a blender. Is the URO pump any good for $93 shipped? Or should I just not be stupid and buy the Rein for $153. Both utilize a metal impeller.

Neither of those, and not Saleri or Geba either. The only pump you should use is the genuine BMW one with the composite Nidec impeller unfortunately.

[PurelliCondoms]

I feel like I’m missing something, why do we want the non metal impeller? I’m not spending $450 on a water pump.

[Johnvu]

I feel like I’m missing something, why do we want the non metal impeller? I’m not spending $450 on a water pump.

I am in the same boat as you. BTW your username made me chuckle 😆

[JakeM346]

I feel like I’m missing something, why do we want the non metal impeller? I’m not spending $450 on a water pump.

the plastic impeller is actually a 3 dimensional design that leads to higher and more efficient water flow rates. This is unachievable with a metal impeller, since without very expensive 5 axis cnc you can’t aachieve these geometries. Also many of those metal impellers in aftermarket pumps react strongly with the bmw coolant introducing rust in the cooling system and eroding the coolant flanges on our cylinder heads (since the O rings between them and the pipe contains a small metal strip that starts to corrode the Aluminium-this Reaction is made faster when introducing oxidation particles)……soooo it’s basically also $450 against the risk of having to buy a new cylinder head down the line.

[JakeM346]

[chris719]

I feel like I’m missing something, why do we want the non metal impeller? I’m not spending $450 on a water pump.

As Jake alluded to, the metal impeller pumps don’t flow as well as the stock pump. The aftermarket pumps are also a quality crapshoot. The BMW pump has a really nice composite impeller that isn’t usually a failure mode like the other E46 pumps. Unfortunately there’s no OE pump available not BMW branded. I just paid more than that for my Z4M water pump. The impeller was perfect but the bearing not so much, just like yours. For me the BMW pump was an easy choice because my time is worth more than having to do the job twice because of a cheap pump. Buy once cry once and it’ll probably last 100k.

[jayjaya29]

Genuine only, there are no other options.

[George Hill]

I feel like I’m missing something, why do we want the non metal impeller? I’m not spending $450 on a water pump.

Why do you WANT a metal impeller?

[bigjae46]

I'd be prepared to replace the water pump every couple of years if it is a track car. I don't think any water pump is going to last seeing high RPMs. I guess you could take steps to polish the bearings, balance the shaft but then the impeller blows up and you're back at square one. An underdrive pulley may help it live longer.

[nahvkolaj]

Making a mental note to buy genuine next time

[bran.stum]

The Saleri unit I installed began showing signs of premature failure after only 9k miles, replaced with Genuine BMW. As others have said: buy once, cry once.

[fattycharged]

The Saleri unit I installed began showing signs of premature failure after only 9k miles, replaced with Genuine BMW. As others have said: buy once, cry once.

cry every 100k or so