Expert: Josh Fields - 10/5/2006

Question
I own a '91 318is that is overheating and i bought the new water pump so i could replace the old one. Im not much of a mechanic so i needed a step by step on the replacement. Also i understand that i should replace the timing chain and tensioner. How do i replace everything properly without the timing being off?

Answer
Thomas,
 First off, you might not need to change the timing chain.  Maybe if it has 300k miles, and it's stretched some, but mostly you change timing BELTs (because they break).

 I wouldn't worry about the chain.  However the waterpump shouldn't be too bad.

 If you go to Google.com, you can type in "E30 318i waterpump removal" and you should see a list of sites with instructions.  There's no use in me typing out the instructions when they are already on the net in several places.

 Good luck,
 Josh