Do you guys have really small hands? I'm trying to even reach the two top bolts on the water pump and I have zero clearance on my hands to reach up that far with the tips of my fingers holding the wrench by the very end with no leverage. How are people doing this so easy on Youtube?

I thought my hands were small but apparently not.... lol

I see the mechanic on 1AAuto Youtube actually starting the bolt with his hand? how?

 

I'd be very surprised if you had shorter fingers than me.

I did it with the car being jacked up on the front right side only. The trick was to sit on the ground (!) and thread my arms from each side of the suspension towards the pump. It took quite some time until finding the right position and even more time unthreading the bolts (and even more time than that threading them back in.) All work is done by feeling and touching only.

Lying down and looking upwards under good light allows one to see all but one bolt.

 

Ok, I got the last bolt out but now the new water pump doesn't fit back through....
It looks like ECS Tuning sent me a pump that doesn't even match the picture of the one on their website they supposedly sold me.

 

FWIW:

Here's some pictures of the waterpump from factory (black, made of plastic) and the Dayco branded one I installed (silver, made of aluminum):

 

The key apparently is how much the end sticks out as shown in the photo comparing the Febi one from ECS (left) which supposedly is the same size as the OEM (right), but as you can see is NOT side by side with the original. That 2-5mm makes all the difference in the world.

According to ECS listing: *Mounting shaft same as Genuine MINI, so pulley install does not require slight engine movement inward to install / clear the sidewall.
This statement is incorrect as you can see in the photo.

 

I just replaced mine with a Febi one myself. Getting the old black one out was a pita. Then when putting the new one back in, it fought me for almost an hour. I stepped away rewatched the YouTube videos and it slid right back in like nothing. I basically broke them free and used my hands to painfully unscrew and remove the top 3 bolts. I wish I had a flex end ratcheting 10 mm like everyone shows in their videos, would definitely make that top one easier to get.

 

Can I ask specifically which video you watched?
It took me a grand total of 2 mins to get the old one out once the bolts were out.

The Febi one shown in the photos looks very similar if not better than the OEM and given what they promised in writing about it being the same outside length, I thought it was a good choice. However, the Febi I got was completely different than the photos. In addition, it is obvious that the axle comes out significantly further than the OEM. According to my measurements it is somewhere between 2-5mm. Maybe Febi changed their design? I can't tell if ECS just sent me the wrong one or if it changed. I mean the one in the photos I can see doesn't even have the same casting and aluminum pour points. The quality looks much, much cheaper than the one in the photo and equivalent to the $30-40 ones.

At this point, I want the real OEM so I don't have to deal with vendors bait and switching me with photos. Sell me what you advertised I was going to get. Don't show one set of photos online and then send me a part that doesn't look anything like the photos.

I bought some really long ratcheting wrenches to put this back in. I hope it helps. They cost me $60.

 

- this is the one i watched him slide the damn thing right back in

I honestly ordered mine from ECS with new oem pulley and bolts. they need to update their pics because the gasket i got was just a big o ring not a formed gasket like oem, which i would have purchase if i knew. i have no leaking coolant so im not touching it again if i dont have too. i think i finally got most of the air out of the system, temps have been holding pretty steady.

 

Thanks. Yeah, I got that same crummy O-ring. Posting a picture of that alone, would have had me choose a different one. The OEM O-ring has pieces to ensure it says in while you are manipulating it all over the place to get it up in there. I don't want to go to all that trouble and then find the O-ring doesn't fell out "blind" to me.

 

Hello,

Will will get new shots of the pump, They changed the plastics color, (now it looks to match the genuine MINI in color) febi has been known to change these around, they dont even make them with a metal impeller anymore. :(

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Sit...h/11517648827/ We have metal impeller ones and now all of them have metal housings unlike the older Genuine MINI version thats is plastic and tends to leak,crack.


I used a pry bar and a block of wood and it gave me the room when i did it on my old 2007 R56 Cooper S.

 

Besides the false advertising of what you are actually delivering to your customers, the customer service is atrocious. I've spent days on trying to get this resolved and it take literally an hour to get a customer service person on the phone. It didn't take a block of wood or a pry bar to get it out, it shouldn't take one to get it in if your website statements were correct.

I don't see myself buying bubble gum from you going forward.

 

Here's how the factory fitted waterpump out of my Mini compares. Nothing had to be pryed out of the way in order to remove or re-install the water pump pulley. The same applies to the Dayco pump: no noticeable difference in how they looked or "behaved".

PS.:
Are there no consumer protection laws in the US which require the seller to rectify such issues without any costs (e.g. shipment to-from) incurred to the buyer? Whether or not the manufacturer has changed the design compared to the description by the seller should be of no interest to the contract between the buyer and the seller, should it?

In Germany (and I think in the whole of the EU), the seller is obliged to supply the goods as described and is fully responsible for any "deficiencies" (correct legal term in english?). They must therefore account for any damages arising as a consequence (e.g. for re-shipping and return shipping costs). If the seller is unable to supply the goods as described, the buyer is entitled to buy the described goods from a third source and must be reimbursed by the seller for any surplus costs (compared to the original, contractually agreed costs) incurred to him by doing so.

 

We don't have quite the same protection here, but we do have credit cards that we use to pay that are strictly merchant bank to a customers bank which allows us to back charge our credit card giving the merchant an automatic $25-40 charge and virtually no recourse except a formal dispute with Visa that costs $5000 per contest. If the merchant loses, and they do in like 99% of the cases, they must reimburse visa $25,000 for the dispute challenge. If the customer loses, they just have to pay.

I pulled out my micrometer. The original OEM Water Pump sticks out 5mm (which it looks like yours does as well). The particular one from Febi that I was sent, sticks out 8mm. Like I said, I know that is not a lot but it is the difference between fitting and having to move an engine over to make it fit. I don't have an extra set of hands to both pry an engine and place a water pump. I have multiple problems between the picture and what I was sent:
1. It doesn't fit (it is 3mm longer)
2. It has a cheapo O-ring not like the OEM. The OEM O-ring has ribs so to make sure it stays in when you are installing it and you don't have O-ring deflection at the last second.
3. Inferior casting. The casting is extremely poor compared to the polished casting you have on your part and the one in their photos. You can see the casting is completely different as well.
4. No weep holes for bearings. The Normal fail point on a water pump is the bearings. You want the Water Pump to leak as the bearings go bad as a signal to you it needs replacing. That little plastic piece that is on the OEM and also on the one you purchased is for the antifreeze to leak out on to your driveway as a signal BEFORE you get a catastrophic failure of the bearings causing aluminum and plastic parts going throughout your coolant system. The one I have has no weep holes which means it will just fail catastrophically with no warning.


I can see yours looks much closer to the OEM than the one I have. I did look for the one you got after seeing your message and the problems I have had.
However, I don't see it. Anyway, at this point, I already placed an order with a BMW sales and parts supplier at this point to get the real authentic guaranteed straight from the factory part.2 days ago.

 

And I thought, the casting of the Dayco pump is of low quality! Though, it did come with an o-ring similar to the factory fitted one (with ribs at the same positions and just as flexible, only black in color).

I always wondered what the plastic attachment is for. Thanks for clearing that up.

Back charging a credit card is also possible in Europe and sometimes the only way to retrieve money paid in advance for services or goods not delivered (e.g. in bankruptcies). It would still be nice to also have legal options instead of relying on credit card companies (which may at any time change their policies or terms and conditions).

In the end, the loss of time and effort on your part is way more valuable than what money can compensate. Whether or not ECS can make good on that and possibly regain your trust is for them to try. Even though I'm not affected personally (*), them being sponsors of NAM I'd still like to see this being resolved to your satisfaction.

(*): Mini owners in Europe have more choice for parts of different quality levels as well as resellers offering them, including authorised Citroen/Peugeot dealers where the same Mini engine parts for the 2nd gen can be obtained at a fraction of the cost compared to Mini/BMW dealerships.

 

They changed it like the other ones and they did not notify us from the new batch. Site has been updated. Sorry about that. Sorry about the CS team, we are short staffed like most companies. If you need something quick you can always PM me as I have done most of the repairs myself you see on the forums..

 

I wish i would have known about the o ring vs gasket, i would have purchased the stock gasket, but since the pics on the website showed it had a gasket vs o ring i didnt bother too. the o ring fit in there and i dont see any leaks, but for me personally i would much rather have the gasket.

 

Yea, for some reason Febi switched the part up a bunch of times now, they used to have the metal impeller which is what most people want. Its like the old BMWs that have the plastic impeller problem aka M50 engines.

I had the plastic water pump on my R56 and when I did it I found it had a longer shaft on select aftermarkets but then a new batch would come in and be shorter? (which no one really talked about on the forums). The plastic housing was then changed on the original MINI part to metal. As they know it was a problem. They should have been metal in the first place.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...w-owner-2.html

 

So just to be clear, the Febi Water Pump impeller I received may or may not be plastic. I can't tell. It could be aluminum, but it is probably plastic. Basically, as I see it this "new" Febi Water Pump is now equivalent to the $25-40 you can get on eBay. I see really no difference. The one shown on the picture of your website deserves a higher price and I have used many Febi products before that I have been happy with including my fuel pump filter. However, it was a huge let down for me based on the pictures. This job is too much work to replace and the water pump is far too important and something I must "trust". In fact, the current water pump is still good. I am only replacing it because the vehicle has 72K, I am already replacing virtually all the other coolant parts and I don't want to be back in here doing this again 9 months from now.

In terms of the casting, you can tell by how smooth the surface is. This Febi Water Pump is sand casted aluminum. The dayco pump "looks" based on the pictures (I could be wrong) to be molded. That process costs a lot more to make and the part will have a smooth feel to it like the original OEM part and it is more durable. The aluminum in sand casting is more brittle because of the pot holes left by the sand especially for thin, detailed areas of the part which will be slightly more likely to break off. A sand casted part will have a rough feel to it.

The weep holes for the bearings to give you an indicator they are "leaking" is important. The bearings will leak for awhile before they completely fail. Most of us Mini owners will see the antifreeze at the bottom of our car port and take notice. Now it is possible this round aluminum plug type works to do that as well and maybe it pops off or something. I'm not sure. However, I know the OEM part had that feature and the pictured one had that feature and I don't see it anymore.

 

Yep, It looks to be plastic on the febi impeller and i think they just changed the color of the plastic to match OEM. Yep i see its sand casted. Yes, i have had two MINI factory waterpumps go bad and its a pain to change, beat my hands up. They were both plastic on the outside housing(original design) where i could see a slight leak at the bottom of the pump. Looks like it had a hairline crack also at that bottom bolt from the heat expansion and time.
Thats where the old design fails all the time.

 

Yeah, I know it is hard to find good help anymore.right now. I can't even get a hamburger at McDonalds. The economy is crazy.