Fuel pump foibles finale......maybe......

[Brian C.]

Well, for those who may remember the incredibly long, rather boring, and somewhat humorous adventures that I've experienced in my quest to get my friggin' car started, the dealer called this morning to tell me it's fixed and I can pick it up. Now since I gave in and took the car to the dealer and they give me a "free" loaner.....and this time it's an '04 325i.....I haven't been in too big of a hurry to :

#1...Find out how much it would cost.
#2...Return the "free" new bimmer I've been bombing around in all week.

So when I got the call this morning, I made up something about working late....which I actually did....and not being able to pick it up 'till tommorrow. Maybe tomorrow afternoon. Or evening. Hey, I might as well get my $$$'s worth, right???

So let's digress(....do that Wayne and Garth "deedle-dee-do"-thing....)and remember my symptoms. It would crank, but not start. No coughs. Fuel pump fuse #23 was OK. Fuel pump relay was removed, jumped #87 to #30, and the pump would run. It wouldn't start when jumped. Code feature was not engaged and was disabled. Now this is where I was TRYING to check a few other possible sourses, but due to time and work requirements, I had to throw in the towel. It was suggested that I find the crank position and camshaft sensors and give them a little wiggle. I looked for almost an hour in the dark and rain with no luck. The photo from the ETK just didn't look like what was in my engine compartment. Another hour in the morning didn't help any more so it was time to call AAA and get a tow-in to the dealer.

Are you getting curious yet? Are you asleep yet?

OK, the service guy tells me that it's a bad crank position sensor. I ask about their testing of the fuel pump. He said that the pressure test was good. The relay was good.......everything but that darn sensor. Now come the "if onlys". If only I had been able to get to work with another car or a co-worker, I'd have been able to have the car for a day or two to continue fixing it. Or maybe if only I had stayed out there all night looking for those friggin' sensors. But other than un-plugging it and plugging it back in, I couldn't have done anything else. So the damage is going to be $387. All in all I think that's not too bad, considering I was lubing up for that, "Well Sir. it's your fuel pump, level sensor, fuel filter, and we're gonna need to paint the exterior too. $2,973." And considering I got to drive the new 325i all week for "free". I'm thinking that they did that for a "reason", huh? Whadayathing? Ya know, stroke the guy with the repair bill and maybe he'll think about a NEW car!!

So I'll get it back tomorrow and start with a (relatively)brand new car, right?! Except for the headliner, and the burned out dash lights, and the.............


Brian C.
'95 525ia
...it's only money.

[ScottyWM]

Hey, in a month you'll forget all about the bill. But you'll still have the E34! Would've done the same thing in your shoes.

[632 Regal]

to what the Pontiac dealer wanted to replace an ignition module in my employees car, they wanted 500+, for a part that she bought for like a hundred bux and she can change it in less than 10 minutes now, I timed her. So in retrospect I think you got a sweet deal, how much would it have cost to rent that new Bimmer for a week anyways?

[Brian C.]

.....difficult to believe that I'm gonna get out of the dealer for less than 400 beans!

Brian C.

[Bill R.]

that should count for something in the knowledge aquired area...
I don't know what rental on a 325 would have been but that sounds reasonable to me.

.....difficult to believe that I'm gonna get out of the dealer for less than 400 beans!

Brian C.

[Unregistered]

Like he says, you were on the right track. There's a helpless feeling you get when you can't point and say, "There it is, check the CPS"...

You didn't do bad, driving the hell out of that 325 was worth it I'll bet....you know that's how they sell those things =)

Good job Brian, enjoy the E34!

Jr

[ryan roopnarine]

bma wants 80 something, when i had my trouble autozone wanted 130, 387/130 aint too bad.....me, personally, i'd try a few brake burnouts on the loaner before i gave it back......oh, and while im here, if somebody is ever gonna replace a dead fuel pump, and is just gonna throw it away....could ya PLEAZE offer it up to me, will pay shipping +misc costs for it, it'll end my syphilitic biatching at people in my desire to rebuild somebody's fuel pump...i can take pictures too.

[Brian C.]

....it to be at least three times that amount if it would have been the pump. And I think that I figured out, with a little help from my friends , that it wasn't the pump, probably. If it hadn't been operating when I jumped it, I think I could have handled replacing it.

And by tomorrow evening I should have around 200 miles on the 325!

Thanks for all the help guys!

Brian C.

[Brian C.]

Now, I want you all to know that I DIDN'T DO THIS and WON'T DO IT TOMORROW but, ya know how they check out all the panels and lenses and stuff for damage when you return a rental car? Well, Tuesday I thought I'd see how the trunk compares with an E34 trunk. As I was closing the trunk it caught me eye. The toolkit. The new, complete toolkit. As opposed to my old, incomplete toolkit. I was thinking bad thoughts. Like , "They'll NEVER check the toolkit when I return it!" Bad Brian. BAD, BAD Brian! I promise, I won't do it.

Brian C.
....the made me think it!

[ryan roopnarine]

simple solution is to swipe one each whenever you go to test drive....nobody can bill you....nobody knows the wiser.