Anyone out there ever changed an M30 Oil pump?

[genphreak]

How come its $400 for a new one at BMA?

The parts to rebuild it are almost $200!

Ouw!

Does noone ever change the damn things?

Is there anywhere cheaper...? the Stealer maybe? LOL

This is the list of parts;

OIL PUMP DRIVE CHAIN M30 e34 $16.5
OIL PUMP CHAIN TENSIONER M30 e34 $14
OIL PUMP DRIVE SPROCKET M30 e34 $40
02 ROTOR INNER $39.5
03 ROTOR,OUTER $23.90
04 INTERMEDIATE PLATE $2.30
05 OIL PUMP COVER $69
M30B35 OIL PAN GASKET $anyone know?

[632 Regal]

why replace it? They dont wear out unless severely abused with sand in the oil.

[winfred]

dealer list is $407

[ryan roopnarine]

bma is 340$ plus your shipping, and autohauz doesn't seem to carry it.

[Ausmpower]

The M30 in my E12 M535i (my other BMW!) has 365,000 Km on it and it's (original!) oil pump is still fine....... My e34 (535) has 281,000 km on her and o/p is still fine also......

Reportably the bottom end of an M30 is bullet proof for 500,000 km!
I'm in parts at a dealer (the only dealer in W.A!) and we don't even stock the pump parts, chain or even sump gasket for the M30.
What gives? are you doing a full rebuild or trying to fix another problem?

[BMWCCA1]

I replaced the pump in my '87 535is at 200,000 miles. The oil-pressure light stayed on just a bit too long on startup for my taste after the car sat for a couple of days. The new pump fixed the problem and that was about 15,000 miles ago. It's a pretty easy job and I got the pump from Steve Haygood (Automobile Solutions) for $156 in March of 2005, same brand as BMW OE. In my experience the housing is the weak point so rebuilding didn't seem practical considering the cost of a new pump.

[winfred]

the older motors have cheep pumps but they actually have a problem, the releave valve or it's spring craps and you wind up with low pressure, the m30b35 has a good but expensive pump and the filter housing can go to ****, the check valve bleeds oil back into the pan after the engine is shut down a while


I replaced the pump in my '87 535is at 200,000 miles. The oil-pressure light stayed on just a bit too long on startup for my taste after the car sat for a couple of days. The new pump fixed the problem and that was about 15,000 miles ago. It's a pretty easy job and I got the pump from Steve Haygood (Automobile Solutions) for $156 in March of 2005, same brand as BMW OE. In my experience the housing is the weak point so rebuilding didn't seem practical considering the cost of a new pump.

[632 Regal]

probably no correlation but ill get another post point...

when I dismantled, or tried to dismantle the pump on the 850 and the relief valve was stuck from crud. obviously dino oil has a disadvantage as the valve was sticky. perhaps this is common place for engines that dont have synthetic oil. this is about the only thing I can think of that would cause a BMW pump to mess up.


the older motors have cheep pumps but they actually have a problem, the releave valve or it's spring craps and you wind up with low pressure, the m30b35 has a good but expensive pump and the filter housing can go to ****, the check valve bleeds oil back into the pan after the engine is shut down a while

[winfred]

i think it was a actual failure on some of the old m30 pumps, i've read about it in many different places


probably no correlation but ill get another post point...

when I dismantled, or tried to dismantle the pump on the 850 and the relief valve was stuck from crud. obviously dino oil has a disadvantage as the valve was sticky. perhaps this is common place for engines that dont have synthetic oil. this is about the only thing I can think of that would cause a BMW pump to mess up.

[BMWCCA1]

the older motors have cheep pumps but they actually have a problem, the releave valve or it's spring craps and you wind up with low pressure, the m30b35 has a good but expensive pump and the filter housing can go to ****, the check valve bleeds oil back into the pan after the engine is shut down a whileTrue, but actually the E28 535i oil pump lists for over $100 more than the pump for the E34 535i. So, regardless of your concept of "cheap", genphreak might want to check with Steve Haygood to see what he sells them for. It might be a whole lot less than BMW, Bav Auto, or even my E28 pump. Since we never heard the symptoms, he may just need the cannister, an obvious design defect compared to the "cheap" E28 system.

I like my M30 in the E28, but I think the M50TU is better in many ways, some of which are related to how it handles modern emission requirements without stumbling around.

[winfred]

cheep meaning that the $407 list e34 pump costs me $305 and the $443 list e28 pump costs me $128 from worldpac for oem parts, dealer list is only a factor if you can't source it from another place, the e28 pump has always been cheeper in the real world


True, but actually the E28 535i oil pump lists for over $100 more than the pump for the E34 535i. So, regardless of your concept of "cheap"

[Bellicose Right Winger]

It was a problem on early M30 engines in E12s and E28s including my '83 533i. Relief valve would stick shut in cold weather causing very high oil pressure that would extrude oil filter o-ring creating a massive oil leak. Since oil pressure light would go out due to the high pessure, there would be no warning until low oil level light came on. The Metric Mechanic guys had a write up on it and sold a pump with a modified relief valve. Nobody should have to change an oil pump in their driveway in January.

Paul Shovestul


i think it was a actual failure on some of the old m30 pumps, i've read about it in many different places

[genphreak]

I want to say a big thank you to everyone that has taken the time to reply to this thread. I've been trying to get Bruno to send me one of his neat remote
filter kits but can't get a response to my mails. I might call him.

Its good to know that B35 pumps are better - and in most cases bulletproof. My car just makes a dirty noise in the sump so I'm assuming its the pump.
I think I'll go a $160 pump and take a look inside the pan to see what it is. I can't imagine it being anything else. But first I'll get the remote filter mount kit, see if that solves the slight delay in the oil light when cold - taking 3 seconds at 25 degrees C.

[genphreak]

cheep meaning that the $407 list e34 pump costs me $305 and the $443 list e28 pump costs me $128 from worldpac for oem parts, dealer list is only a factor if you can't source it from another place, the e28 pump has always been cheeper in the real world(sorry about the late response) I've been away.

Winfred is it worth risking the e28 pump in an e34? $130 sounds real good. FWIK the rebuild components for the M30B35 pump don't allow a perfect job as the main housing wears also...

[winfred]

i don't think it will fit as the e28 and e34 have the sump in a different position, what makes you think yours is bad?

[genphreak]

i don't think it will fit as the e28 and e34 have the sump in a different position, what makes you think yours is bad?It's the slight gurgling/grinding noise that's getting to me Winfred. After I had that cold-start problem where the oil pressure light refused to go off for 10 seconds idling and I could see no oil squirting up top through the filler hole, I noticed a nasty scrounging noise down below which I described at the time as cavitation noise. After swapping to 15W/40 as you suggested it's much better (no noticable noise since) and the idiot light goes out in just on 1 second at 25 degrees C / Warm day. However the light oil makes the (new) valvetrain noisier at temperature on a hot day so I am not happy to stay with 40 weight during the summer. I am worried that if I go back to 20W/50 I the pump may not oil the engine well- and am a tad worried that it is blocked or losing pressure somehow. Using a stethascope on the motor it sounds like there's a bit of a party going on inside the block, but you have to use a stethascope- trying hard you can just hear it with an ear near the sump underneath. I guess I should swap to 20W/50 and see... and perhaps go and listen to another M30... what do you think?

[winfred]

id throw a mechanical pressure gauge on it and watch it's reactions over a week or so, just a elcheepo generic gauge taped to a wiper or the console, a possiblity could be something loose and it's sucking air or something, the difference in weight between 15w40 and 20w50 is small, my generally noisy valve trained e30 quieted down a good bit when i went from castroil gtx 2050 to the same thing i run in my big diesel, chevron delo 1540, i think it was the difference in oil quality

[genphreak]

Good point Winfred, that's a great way to monitor it. I'll do it before bothering to pull the pan... Cheers, :) Nick