MondoM3

Hi everyone. Time for an update... I've picked the car up from Jeff Gray and so far so good! Running sweet and havnt been able to wipe the grin off my face since. Thanks for everyone's advice over this. I've now got the old pump in my possession. They said that they bench tested the pump after removing it and it ran briefly before stopping all together.. For now i'll let it sit while I enjoy the car, but at some stage I'd like to have a look at it and see if theres any hints on what the failure was. Had completely forgotten how awesome this car is! Cheers, Simon

I have mixed feelings about JG. Overall I'm just disappointed with the lack of confident diagnostics. Its all been a bit wishy-washy at times. There are people there that are good to deal with, however there are one or two that I will do anything to avoid.

Thanks Tim, you're absolutely right and I did need to take a step back. I've since walked my way through the whole situation and decided to replace the pump with a used unit from an '04 M3 with around 75,000 k's (big thanks to Ray at Hell BM). Ive accepted the risks Im taking with an old pump but I think its worth doing as I'm saving massively on the price of a new unit. I'm going to have a close look at the old pump once removed and try and figure out what has fried it. Will update with any progress.

Very valid thinking! Remember, Im am already well past the point where the BMW repair manual says "replace pump". Perhaps they are right, it could very well be facked. Those sorts of diagnostics are not part of their plan though and I'm in a bit of an awkward situation here. Although they seem to genuinely want to help me, they're just not setup for unique problem solving really. I'm at the point where I need to replace the pump or go elsewhere for further investigation. Jeff Gray seem convinced the pump is fried. Lol. Well I definitely have less hair than 8 months ago! for 26, its getting a bit thin up there! I cant help but feel that this is an electrical fault. Might be wrong but that's my gut feeling. Purely because of the original symptoms of temperature related behaviour and the fact that the pump would work whenever the ISIS computer told it to. And now it suddenly has no response at all... Right at this moment I really don't know what to do. But I need to make some sort of decision soon before I have a stroke. Edit: This afternoon I had actually decided to go ahead and replace the pump. But now im back on the fence... what would you guys do in my situation?

UPDATE Things haven't gone well today. Now that the wiring terminals have been dried and cleaned up, everything was assembled back as usual. Now absolutely nothing from the pump. Wont prime or anything. Jeff Gray have tried supplying the pump directly with power and nothing. Completely dead. So the pump has gone from working fine until hot, to not working at all... Trying to think of why its suddenly stopped all together. What do you guys think? Has it finally just given up or has something caused it to burn out here.

Sounds like a good solution. I think I need to address the water issues first then get back to whatever problems still remain. I should probably let you all know that I found out today that the guys at Jeff Gray have been doing their own research online and in particular have been reading this very thread.... So here we are all learning together. We'll get there in the end.

Cool, thanks guys. I really appreciate the support. Ive found being an M3 owner in chch is a lonely experience! haha. There just isn't the volume of BMW's here to allow for competition between dealers and workshops. Jeff Gray is literally all I have. I just want my car back! Exactly 228 (that's two hundred and twenty eight) days since I last drove it. Friday 5pm has arrived and yet another week has passed with little/no progress... The battle resumes Monday. Until then I'll continue to see what info I can find on all this. Simon

Which one above are you thinking of? I guess they kind of both could apply at the moment lol

Yeah you're right, I could have an issue that hasn't even been discussed here yet. I haven't come across this in other forums before, although I'm not saying it hasn't happened a lot in the past. pressure washing your BMW's engine bay => DONT DO IT! lol

Have since been shown the diagram (same as Tom's) by the foreman so it they have the right one I believe. Chassis number: JR03279 That water has been sitting for months and months which explains why this has occurred immediately after getting my Vanos sorted. Im just hoping the damage caused does not go past electrical connections and fuses.

UPDATE After a discussion with the operations manager and the workshop foreman it seems that the gear selector angle sensor fault is independent from the hydraulic pressure issues...hmm After leaving the dealership I was called back and told that one of the techs had just pulled off the plug connected to the pump. This plug was completely swamped with water!! When the plug was pulled off, water has pissed out onto the shop floor. Just when you thought this couldn't get any stranger. At some point the car seems to have been pressure washed in the engine bay, causing water to collect in the wiring plug. This can only have happened before December 2012 which is when I bought the car. I have since contacted Tom and discussed a plan of attack... I've asked them to disconnect the battery, dry out the plug connections, check all fuses, reconnect battery, clear all fault codes and see if the car starts. Will keep you guys posted.

Arrrrgh. The story continues. Jeff Gray have said they have cut the circuit for the SMG temp sensor. First the car started with no problems. Now the car doesn't seem to know what gear it is or isn't in... Apparently the fault related is for failed gear selection. fault code: Selection angle sensor p1758 Seems so strange and unrelated!? I have a feeling that they have cut wrong wire!!!!! f**k I hope not.

Thanks mate. I think if this pays off then I owe everyone and particularly Tom a round of drinks!

DUUUUUUDE. You're an absolute legend. Im not sure how I couldn't find all that info on the countless existing threads! One more question: If I JUST do the resistor splice, might that take care of the problem?? I believe that wire is quite accessible right?, so if I just add the resistor, leave the existing sensor and see what happens I have nothing to lose? if the fault comes back then I will fork out the cash to access the sensor, get it replaced then bleed the system. Still, its not 100% certain that this sensor is the problem. Even so, this possibility should have been eliminated before Jeff Gray quote me for over $5k of work!!! If I didn't raise this issue with them, I probably would have ended up replacing the pump..... which would have fixed the issue. BUT I would have unknowingly been shafted 5k. It makes me wonder how many people out there have just spend buckets of cash for no reason. I have talked to Jeff Gray and I am meeting them in the morning. They have agreed to cut the wire to the sensor and test the car. If it gets rid of the problems then BINGO. If it doesn't, then on to the next solution..... Will keep you posted. Cheers

yeah I haven't had much luck with this car that's for sure. have owned it 8 months and have only drive 1000km!... anyway, I have heard back from JG. They have admitted that either of two temperature sensors are likely the cause.. I was hoping it would be the separate sensor that I mentioned earlier (http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMG-Transmission-Fluid-Temperature-Sensor-for-BMW-m3-Series-2001-to-2006-/310672976927) BUT what I overlooked initially is that that sensor is for the GEARBOX OIL TEMPERATURE. not SMG HYDRAULIC FLUID. So I feel it is more likely to be the SMG fluid temp sensor which is actually a part of the hydraulic unit. Can anyone confirm for me that this sensor inside the pump is the ONLY temp sensor related to the SMG Hydraulic fluid? Or is there a separate sensor also? This sensor is not serviceable/replaceable by Jeff Gray. Tom mentioned to me the possibility of doing a small re-wire of the sensor at the pump to trick the computer into receiving lower temperature readings. I think this is my best bet. Simon