Power Steering Pump Issues (reverse spinning)

[FOURSIXTEEN]

I did hours of searching on the forums and via google in relation to this issue and didn't find anything so thats why I decided to post. Any links or info from anyone is greatly appreciated.

Okay, so this is going to likely sound weird and make zero sense to most but I wanted to make a thread for both others to benefit from and to get peoples thoughts. This is in relation to there being multiple steering pumps for the E90Xm3 and ones from 2008 spinning in "reverse" from what is now considered stock. If you are thinking this is silly talk or not possible for any reason we are in the process now of changing a pump on my early 2008 and the belt layout and steering pump are indeed reversed from post 2008 m3's

I lost power steering during a track day and after inspection of fluid it was pretty obvious the pump had passed on. No big deal since the pump lasted longer than I actually expected (100,009mi) so I ordered up another one from Pelican and down the rabbit hole we went. The part number for the new replacement from Pelican is 32412283002 but the one off my car is 32412283041 and is super seeded by a 32412283003. I would of happily gotten the same exact part number if it was possible but no rebuilt pump available and nothing via BMW matched and all defaulted to the 002 part I ended up buying. My mechanic (Greg Smith Racing) mentioned seeing something regarding reverse threading on the feed tube and confusion as to why there were different pulleys, belts and tensioners part numbers for my vin in comparison to say a 2009 he had in shop getting a steering rack. He also saw some saying CCW and some saying CW with no other detail or explanation

The new pump comes in and was installed and the steering was DOA as predicted. After getting a way to spin the pump in reverse compared to stock belt layout it worked perfectly. This confirmed that Early 2008 e9xm3's indeed do have a different layout of belt pulleys and tensioners AND a steering pump that spins "reverse". I cant remember which one was CCW and which one was CW so my apologies.

So now I will be buying ~$500 in additional parts to change all the pulleys and tensioners to match the new updated layout and change spin direction on the pump. Not to mention the labor aspect of the whole ordeal.

BMW was (or played) ignorant to the whole deal and kept insisting the 002 pump would work fine and was the matching pump to my vin. This is very obviously not the case. So if you have a early 2008 e9xm3 and your steering pump goes out be prepared for some confusion from mechanic and also to spend a good bit extra on the whole ordeal.

I anyone is looking to go deeper on this, the last 7 vin on my car is E041372 and you can compare what I have spoken about and listed above to a newer vin. It is frankly mind boggling that I couldn't find anything on this online or that BMW could not reconcile the PN splits and CCW/CW inconsistencies. There is no way I am the first or only person to run into this ridiculous issue thus far.

Part numbers you will need for pulley/belt changes to run current steering pumps are;

Belt - 11287841529
Adjusting pulley with lever - 11287841527
Belt tensioner - 11287841546
Deflection pulley - 11287841531
Hex bolt - 07119906591
Protection Cap - 11287535867

[Todd0131]

I had mine replaced under aftermarket warranty. I believe it was the early pump, mine is a 2011 and the shop had to change belts around and such. Hasn't caused any issues so far. Would be annoying if I was coming out of pocket though

[Patrón]

Had the “pump”go out according to my tech, replaced with a new unit and didn’t work. I wonder if they ordered the wrong part? Mine is an ‘09 with an 11/08 build date....

[FOURSIXTEEN]

Originally Posted by Patrón

Had the “pump”go out according to my tech, replaced with a new unit and didn’t work. I wonder if they ordered the wrong part? Mine is an ‘09 with an 11/08 build date....

Yeah mine didn't "work" either when installed but was not really possible since it was new. Reversed the rotation and boom it worked.

[HerbNRacer]

Originally Posted by FOURSIXTEEN

Yeah mine didn't "work" either when installed but was not really possible since it was new. Reversed the rotation and boom it worked.

How did you get it to spin in reverse fast enough to work? ( Real question not trying to be an ass)

[deansbimmer]

This is common knowledge for shops with experience in these cars. Sorry you had a bad experience with your dealer.

All you need is a quick glance at the PS pump to know which version it is. Early cars have the belt routed on top of the PS pulley. Later style has the belt routed under the PS pulley.

You can also get into trouble buying that late style belt from anywhere other than BMW. The later style is a double sided belt and I'm not aware of any other source for that belt than from BMW. Auto part stores, Amazon, etc will almost always sell you the wrong belt if you're looking for the late style belt.

[FOURSIXTEEN]

Originally Posted by deansbimmer

This is common knowledge for shops with experience in these cars. Sorry you had a bad experience with your dealer.

All you need is a quick glance at the PS pump to know which version it is. Early cars have the belt routed on top of the PS pulley. Later style has the belt routed under the PS pulley.

You can also get into trouble buying that late style belt from anywhere other than BMW. The later style is a double sided belt and I'm not aware of any other source for that belt than from BMW. Auto part stores, Amazon, etc will almost always sell you the wrong belt if you're looking for the late style belt.

Thanks for input, I appreciate it. We only called the dealer for information. My car is at Greg Smith Racing. I dont trust dealer to work on a pencil sharpener hahahaah

Im not doubting this may seem common to you or others, in-fact thats comforting, but it is very annoying not being able to find any information online regarding it and also multiple BMW dealerships / Indy shops being ignorant to it as well (not huge fault on indi but still). I have found others on facebook with their cars being dead for months due to no information on this and not being able to get new pump to function (obviously spinning backwards). I would have loved to find the matching pump that spun the correct way, but BMW does not offer it and Bosch (ZF/Maval) do not have rebuilt versions that are anything other than the 002 version, so we were screwed regardless.

It is crazy to think you have to spend ~$500 plus labor on all new pulleys, belts, etc to change a pump due to BMW changing them mid production. I would be one thing if there was ample material regarding it and what to do etc OR the old style parts avalible. This kinda make we wan to go burn down my M3's in front of BMW NA hahaha. Im not sure why but this one really rustles my jimmies. I met a poor dude that bought a new rack thinking it was that (I almost did this) and it didnt fix issue and he wasted another grand.

All and all this is going to cost me more than rod bearings and also be an exponentially bigger pain in the a$$, so I am I bit bitter to say the least

Do you know of any underdrive pully work around to this or is the only option to use all OEM parts to re-rout everything? Im glad I havent put a MS underdrive pulley on yet since that would have to be replaced too.

[deansbimmer]

The PS pulley works the same it's the belt that's different. The reason the people selling underdrive pulleys note stark compatibility differences is because the (smaller) belt is determined by whether the belt gets routed over the pulley (single sided serpentine belt) or under it (double serpentine).

[Patrón]

Originally Posted by FOURSIXTEEN

Yeah mine didn't "work" either when installed but was not really possible since it was new. Reversed the rotation and boom it worked.

do you happen to know how they "reversed" the rotation. to my less than average knowledge:

my example has the belt going underneath the pulley, the other style has the belt on top of the pulley.

would changing the location of the belt position affect rotation? i've had a long day and can't see it in my head.

[deansbimmer]

Yes the belt rotation stays the same. Belt over top of pulley = clockwise. Belt underneath = counterclockwise.

[FOURSIXTEEN]

Originally Posted by HerbNRacer

How did you get it to spin in reverse fast enough to work? ( Real question not trying to be an ass)

My mechanic just re-routed the belt in an incorrect way around the tensioner and pulley to spin "reverse" but this make the tensioner rub. This was done for a short time just to prove concept per say.

[HerbNRacer]

Originally Posted by FOURSIXTEEN

My mechanic just re-routed the belt in an incorrect way around the tensioner and pulley to spin "reverse" but this make the tensioner rub. This was done for a short time just to prove concept per say.

Awesome! Thanks, didn’t know it would still tension up enough to make it spin.

[houston]

Hunter / Coulter do either of you have pics of the pumps? Do they look physically identical?

P.S. what were your indications that your pump went out?

[Helmsman]

Originally Posted by deansbimmer

This is common knowledge for shops with experience in these cars. Sorry you had a bad experience with your dealer.

All you need is a quick glance at the PS pump to know which version it is. Early cars have the belt routed on top of the PS pulley. Later style has the belt routed under the PS pulley.

You can also get into trouble buying that late style belt from anywhere other than BMW. The later style is a double sided belt and I'm not aware of any other source for that belt than from BMW. Auto part stores, Amazon, etc will almost always sell you the wrong belt if you're looking for the late style belt.

I'd love my local dealer if they had a guy like you managing the shop Deansbimmer. Answers on everything!

[deansbimmer]

Unfortunately, from what I remember the pumps look identical from the outside. I'd have to get a couple close together and compare.

I've taken them apart before though and wonder if it would be possible to reverse the vane plate to reverse the flow.... Hmmm, something to mess with next time I have one...

If someone has a defective old style pump they want to send me for analysis I will pay shipping.

And thanks Helmsman.

[GMWNashville]

This info can be found in the repair instructions-it shows the different belt routing and all that! What sucks is if the shop working on it doesn't have access to factory repair instructions this can certainly be a learning process!

[FOURSIXTEEN]

Originally Posted by houston

Hunter / Coulter do either of you have pics of the pumps? Do they look physically identical?

P.S. what were your indications that your pump went out?

They look identical. My indication was almost going off track at about 90mph coming into a sweeping left hand off camber turn.

[FOURSIXTEEN]

Originally Posted by GMWNashville

This info can be found in the repair instructions-it shows the different belt routing and all that! What sucks is if the shop working on it doesn't have access to factory repair instructions this can certainly be a learning process!

Most of the issue is BMW and Bosch insisting the the 002 pump fits all cars and not indicating you need ~$500 worth of new parts in the process of doing the switch. Saying CCW and CW and showing belt routing to me doesn't tell the whole story. But yes I get what you are saying.

[FOURSIXTEEN]

Update....... swapping the pulleys and belt does not fix the issue. If fact I have found dozens of others now with down cars and no fix via BMW. BMW insists the 002 part works on all cars and it does not. If you have a early 2008 e9xm3 you will have this issue.

after we bought all pulleys and belts ($500) we found out the oil filter housing is now in the way and also has to be replaced (another $550).

We are going to order up a few single sided underdrive pulleys and see if we cannot get the proper clearance. we will have to source a custom belt going this route since we will be mix matching. A belt shouldn't be hard to get once you get away from the stock double sided belt and into a single sided belt

[Patrón]

good luck. sad we have to deal with this.

[romemmy]

Originally Posted by FOURSIXTEEN

Update....... swapping the pulleys and belt does not fix the issue. If fact I have found dozens of others now with down cars and no fix via BMW. BMW insists the 002 part works on all cars and it does not. If you have a early 2008 e9xm3 you will have this issue.

after we bought all pulleys and belts ($500) we found out the oil filter housing is now in the way and also has to be replaced (another $550).

We are going to order up a few single sided underdrive pulleys and see if we cannot get the proper clearance. we will have to source a custom belt going this route since we will be mix matching. A belt shouldn't be hard to get once you get away from the stock double sided belt and into a single sided belt

When putting my engine back together I used the filter housing from my donor engine block (I believe from 2008) and all the pulleys, etc, from my engine (2011), and then was pretty upset to find that the filter housing design was different! The bolt hole that holds the idler pulley was about 1.5" shorter (but in the right place). I made a spacer and it all worked out though.

Does the older idler pulley have a spacer built in to it? Is that why you had to replace your oil filter housing, or is there a 3rd design?

Thanks!

S.

[Solo_M_Tech]

Excellent post


05/2008 is when they made the change officially, though some 2008 m3's built into november/december still have the older routing. Though this is rare, it's worth noting you need to check the belt routing before ordering the pump. I replaced my PS pump and got the correct pump the first time. Didn't have to change anything else.

I confirmed with my BMW parts guy and there is indeed 2 different part numbers for each rotation direction.