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Help! My V8 Oil Pump Is Falling Off! This is a big deal... If you own a V8 BMW from the mid- to late-90s, your oil pump bolts are probably falling out. We thought this was an occasional fluke for a few years, but now we've put together data from independent shops all around the US and, lo and behold, it's happening everywhere and to almost every car. That means every V8 530i, 540i, and 740i made in the 90s!! We don't really know when, or if, the problem got fixed----we're still gathering data about that. Here's what we've seen: First, the bolts that hold the oil pump to the engine are vibrating loose and falling out. Literally falling out, and dropping onto the bottom of the pan. Sometimes you can hear them rattle if you tap the pan while changing the oil. Secondly, the single nut that holds the oil pump drive gear onto the pump is getting loose and can fall off. Third, the bolts that hold the oil pump together are vibrating loose and falling out. Can you believe it? (The
Images below were from a 1995 530i)
Why is this happening, you ask? Good question. I want you to let me know right away when you figure that out. Meanwhile, what can we do? We need to check every engine and tighten every bolt. Fortunately, all these engines have a 2-piece oil pan and we can access the pump by just taking off the lower pan. Drain the oil, take off the lower oil pan, look for loose bolts lying in the pan, check all the bolts for looseness. If they're loose, or if you want to be really thorough, take them out, clean the threads, apply red Loc-Tite to the threads, and reassemble. Clean the pan, put in a new gasket, put the pan back on, add fresh oil, and get back out there. We mark the pan to tell us which ones we've already checked. Probably not all engines have the problem---maybe yours is one of those. How much does it cost to check the pump? Hardly anything compared to the alternative. How far will your engine go without oil? |
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