Not much difference Graf is made in Italy, Hepu is made in Germany. The Stewart EMP is made in Michigan. Any of these will work fine

 

Thanks. Will flip a coin on Graf or Hepu. We liked Hepu on our old Volvos.

 

I'm going to post a separate warning thread about this, but stay away from the Hepu pump. The flimsy metal impeller with hasty welds looked questionable when new, but due to the positive reviews I gave it a try.

After 2 years and 40K miles, it suffered a catastrophic failure and the impeller broke in two. As a comparison point, the composite impeller on my OE BMW pump with 120K miles on it still looks brand new. It went from sitting on the shelf to going back into the car, and is still going strong while I conduct some testing and wait for my replacement pump.

The Saleri pump looks like a better-designed alternative. Under $50 and comes with a 2 year warranty. Personally, moving forward I see either a re-manufactured OE BMW pump or a Stewart pump as the only options for me.

 

The Saleri pump looks like a better-designed alternative. Under $50 and comes with a 2 year warranty. Personally, moving forward I see either a re-manufactured OE BMW pump or a Stewart pump as the only options for me.

I'm pretty sure that the Saleri pump is the OE pump. I put one in on my buddy's car a few months ago and it looked solid.

I know that's the pump I'm buying when I replace my rad and coolant next spring.

 

I used Saleri on mine. Wasn't *identical* to OE, but it has a made in Germany Impeller made of the same PPS-GF40

 

Stewart is officially on my no-go list. Ask Famous Moderator SolidJake if I lie. Left him stranded right before a trip if I recall correctly. Or ask TXZHP04 (long time member but havent seen him post in a long time) he had 4 replacement Stewarts in a row take a dump. He ended up going back to Professional BMW Stock if i recall correctly Many others too.

 

From what I researched on the Stewart pump, multiple failures were from cars with a fan clutch and also from a bad o-ring material. I converted to an electric fan and a few years back Stewart switched to Viton for the o-ring. Backed by FCP's warranty and price-matched for $170, I'll give it a shot.

 

I'm a fan of the Stewart pump. I put 80k on my first one, it started to leak a tiny bit and I replaced it under warranty. The second has been running for 70k now with no issues.

 

Fan of Saleri...no pun intended!

 

I personally didn't get much life out of my Graf (~40k miles) before the bearing started screaming. I've read similar experiences here, and some have speculated that it's because of the heavier impeller material, or the harmonic frequencies of the stamped part, similar to breaking a wine glass using a tuning fork.

I have no empirical evidence to support the latter, but I do know I won't buy one again given the short life I got out of mine.

 

40K miles for a pump is silly when you consider that some people have taken their original pumps up to 190K.

 

Not that bad considering pump costs $40 and 20 minutes to replace.

Try other cars... accord, civic, camry, firebird, etc. SUPER DUPER expensive pumps. and MASSIVE labor to get to.

We have it nice =) but yes... buy BMW!

 

Haven't read previous comments, but I have had a Hepu pump for 20k miles and have no complaints (not that I should at this mileage). They're pretty popular with the Volvo guys

 

Oh man, so now Stewart pumps are pieces of ****? Im looking to do my pump on friday and i was all in to go with Stewart now im scared. Im now looking at a genuine BMW one for $119 but what brand is it? I dont want to get a "genuine" BMW pump and then see its a graf or saleri that i could have ordered for half the price. Genuine BMW part #11-51-7-509-985

 

Saleri is the OEM.

 

No need to screw around. Buy the Mango kit and be done w/ it. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bm...di7BRCL6Zmjk5-rsTwSJABmrVabm86WEeBRFpiYNJ_5GGRoRAgnJuhqHVfRpwmEeyNdUxoCdjXw_wcB

Professional++ (Genuine) https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-water-pump-genuine-bmw-11517527910oe - $112.99, and even cheaper with discount code MangoFCP5
Professional(Graf) https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-water-pump-11517527910 - $51.99, and even cheaper with discount code MangoFCP5
Amateur lite (Stewart) https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-water-pump-emp-stewart-888010330 + $195, and even cheaper with discount code MangoFCP5

Ratings key:

Professional++: Highest grade possible, Usually Genuine BMW or other high-end brand. Reserved for the best of the best!
Professional+: One step below highest grade. Usually OEM or OEM-equivalent.
Professional: High quality aftermarket. Great value.
Semi-professional: Decent quality aftermarket. Decent value.
Amateur: Just enough to get by. It will work. Somewhat decent value.
Amateur lite: Same as above, but with mixed reliablity feedback.
Poorboy: Avoid this part. Poor quality, poor value.

 

Curious why you had FCP put a Saleri pump in your Mango kit, yet clearly do not recommend it here in your list? Also you said that it has been established that it's the OEM maker of the Genuine Pump, yet others have said it's very close to the original pump, yet NOT EXACT. This concerns me, so I will stick with my new genuine pump. No doubt when I remove the old one that is exactly the same, it will look brand new and can be used longer I'd bet. 120K so far and no issues.

 

FWIW I've had a Graf pump in my e36 for 7 years, not many miles, with no issues and a Meyle with the cast aluminum impeller in my m54 for the last 30k and it's working just fine. If the Meyle fails it'll go back to FCP and the original will go back in till a replacement arrives.

 

With FCP you can actually just purchase the new part, install it when it arrives, ship the old part back, and get a refund.

 

It's likely Saleri supplied the pumps on the assembly line and not surprising they have changed at least somewhat in 15 years. Both the original pump I removed and the Saleri replacement had INA bearings and identical metal castings, among other minor details.

Also I vaguely remember the "remanufactured" water pumps sold by BMW are actually new, just listed as remanufactured. This is at least true on the E90.

 

Plugging 11517509985
into http://www.furiousmethod.com/
shows that Saleri was the OE maker of the water pump. (Note the AutoHausAZ result)

AZ is the best vendor site about identifying the OE for a given "BMW" part.
http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=0sg22i2ocs0oac55h2jda245&partnumber=11517509985

 

Ive used the Stewart pump on my e36 track car for 3 years now. It sees more time at 7,000RPM than it does at "regular" speeds and I am also running the stock fan clutch setup. Compared to any OEM unit the Stewart pump is a seriously solid piece. Ask anybody who tracks their e36/e46 what pump they use, and 9 times out of 10 we rely on Stewart. They also have a lifetime warranty.

My e46 is overdue for a cooling system refresh, and Im sticking with an oem style as I think the Stewart is overkill for a car that isnt tracked.

 

For what it's worth, I used the Hepu pump--I think I mentioned that on this thread, but it might've been a different one--mainly due to the fact that I have a Volvo and they're considered the gold standard in the Volvo community. Knight, another member here, said that his Hepu pump failed pretty early on. My mechanic said that he hasn't seen any problems with the Hepu pump, but that he feels the composite impeller pump is better because it's more balanced. The impeller on the Hepu pump doesn't look great, either. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Hepu pump again, but I don't know yet if their pump is the best option for the M54.

 

I use the GEBA pump myself. I like the cast metal impeller, you can get it from ECS tuning.

 

So I pulled the water pump out of the 330 tonight to find that the tack- welded metal ring's no longer part of the impeller...

...I can't tell what brand it is, but it looks identical to the Graf that's in a box that I WAS going to put in.

I changed my mind.

I gotta order a different pump, now, I guess.

not impressed,
t

 

So I pulled the water pump out of the 330 tonight to find that the tack- welded metal ring's no longer part of the impeller...

...I can't tell what brand it is, but it looks identical to the Graf that's in a box that I WAS going to put in.

I changed my mind.

I gotta order a different pump, now, I guess.

not impressed,
t