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Thread: ABS Pump...Throw away part or rebuild?

  1. #1
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    1995 325i

    ABS Pump...Throw away part or rebuild?

    My ABS pump has gone out. I only have 64,000 miles on the clock and refuse to spend the $2100 and change the dealer has quoted me to replace the pump. On an earlier post someone mentioned that they replaced a wire in their ABS pump and that it has been in operation after the repair for 2 years. Is this a part that can be rebuild or should it be replaced. Also where can I get one on the internet, I think the dealer said they cost something like $1400.

    One more thing was I born under a bad sign or could I have done something to prevent this pump from going out. I'd had to think that this is typical.
    What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    I have never heard of an ABS pump going out before. Check your PM, I may have something for you...

  3. #3
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    I have also suffered... my abs pump went out without any signs except for the abs light... had to pay $$$ to the stealer and get it fixed I don't think there's any way of prevention, we're just one of the unlucky ones.

  4. #4
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    there;s a 328 e36 with light front end damage in san diego if you want to try to get it from that

    www.autobahnparts.com
    619 444 2290
    talk to john or sean... they'll hook it up
    two words to describe myself?adrenailine junkie...

  5. #5
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    You could take the bulb out from behind the dash and return to the dark ages of non-ABS cars...
    -Bungy.

    1999 323ti
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  6. #6
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    Edham,
    I think I am the guy you are talking about with the repaired ABS pump.

    No, there was nothing you could have done. The wire inside is acutally a flat wire filamet type, like a flexible circuit board. Over the years, the VERY thin, flat "wire" flexes enough to eventually crack and break.

    If you get the codes pulled from the ECU, and any of the solenoids comes up as being bad, that is most likely the problem, the wire, not the solenoid. You can test the pump itself by grouding some pins on the ABS ECU.

    You won't find a "repaired" ABS pump as no-one will assume the liability. I doubt you will find one from a junked car, but you might. The trick is to test it before installing it, or you just wasted a lot of time.

    Let me know if you want more details. I repaired two pumps, mine, and a friends.

    Matt
    1994 325is Spec3

  7. #7
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    Matt, Thanks for the information. ANYTHING you can send me about the process would be greatly apprieciated. How many hours did it take you? How hard was the process. I've never worked with an ABS system before.
    What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

  8. #8
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    I am curious as well. If you did the pump yourself, how did you get the air out of the pump system? The dealer reportedly has a computer to cycle the valves in a certain order to drive the old fluid (and air) out.

    Removing the pump is not an really simple task. It is buried under the master cylinder, and booster, and even the intake manifold is in the way. The master cylinder needs to come out for sure, and removing the booster would probably be recommended (though I didn't). I also needed to remove the throttle housing to finally have enough room to get the pump out.

    Good luck with the repair!

    Butch

  9. #9
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    The first thing to do is to verify that the pump IS bad. I had an independant shop read the codes from the ECU. It came up as "bad left solenoid". At this time, he also gave me a bad pump he had sitting on the shelf, same problem...but bad right solenoid. We opened up the pump and put 12V across the two connectors on each solenoid (see picture link below). All the solenoids worked. So the problem was between the ABS pump connector and the solenoid connectors.

    But I wasn't positive that my pump had the same problem, since it was still in the car. I used the Bentley manual and from the ABS computer connector under the glovebox, tested the reistance across the wheel senors, the resistance across the pump solenoids, and then put 12V across the pump (the one still in my car). Everything checked out except the left-front solenoid.

    I then did the same thing, but this time at the ABS pump (the one still in my car) connector under the hood, except for the sensors. This verified that the wiring between the ABS computer and the pump was OK and the pump worked. Same result...bad left-front solenoid.

    I then took the pump the shop had given me and found the problem in the shorted filament wire. It took about an hour to trace the wire path and then re-solder it with individual wires. I then tested the resistances across the solenoids at the pump connector, and then at the ABS computer connector of the repaired pump (just not installed in the car)

    I then had the independant shop swap the pumps. I am pretty sure he had to go through all the effort that Bernan mentioned., but I wasn't there. I was charged a total of two hours (~$130). He kept my bad pump in exchange for the pump I repaired, now in my car.

    As for the bleeding, I had the same concern about air, but we basically went out and exercised the ABS, and re-bled. I have since bled the brakes twice since the repair, and no problems. I also successfully fixed a friend's 95 M3 pump a few weeks later.

    It took more time to verify that the code reader was right than to fix the pump itself.

    Finally, you can check out some pictures at http://www.thetremmels.com/bmwabs.htm and see the filament wire I am talking about and the repair. I have the traced out wirepath on a piece of paper somewhere in the garage.

    I doubt you can get a shop to do this work. My shop had never tried it, they didn't know how. But the main problem is potential liability. If the pump fails again and you die in a crash...this is the reason BMW makes you buy a new pump. Not worth the risk.

    But, the wire filament is a main cause of failure with these pumps. Very simple to fix, just a PITA.

    All in all, worth the effort compared to $1400 for a new pump.

    Matt
    1994 325is Spec3

  10. #10
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    Awesome Matt! Thanks for taking the time to write that up

    Your wiring looks suspiciously like RC car silicone jacketed wire

    Nice work!

  11. #11
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    328i 1996
    I wanted to reply and say that I too had an ABS light on my car when I bought it and got the $2000 quote as well. I read Matt's post and without checking anything pulled the pump off and opened it up. sure enough, the filament traces were bad. I re-wired it and installed it back in the car. I bled the brake like you would normally do on any car...farthest wheel to closest wheel someone puming and holding the brakes.... Now my ABS works like a charm! I have a wiring diagram I made in case someone needs it... I would bet if you have a similar pump and the ABS light is on, this is the problem. All the solenoids share a common connection, then the other connection on the solenoid goes to a pin on the connector. So, if it is still installed on the car and you can find 2 pins that give you 3 or 6 ohm reading then you have found one of the solenoids. If you find 9 ohms, then you are going through 2 solenoids and need to find another pin until you get 3 or 6 ohms. On a GOOD pump, there should be 3 solenoids that check out with 3 ohms, and 3 solenoids that check out at about 6 ohms. These are aproximately the readings that I had on mine. They may be 3.2 or 5.9 but you get the idea. You will know when you hit one. If you don't have 3-3 and 3-6 ohms, then one of your cables is broken.
    Last edited by paulstaf; 01-22-2006 at 01:44 PM.

  12. #12
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    Well, I don't have a problem with my ABS yet, but go ahead and post that diagram as a message attachment or something. I'm sure when my ABS does go out, it'll be a great reference.

  13. #13
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    If someones ABS light is on, what are the first things to check into with a attempt to fix it?

  14. #14
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    reman. pump for $610...

    let me add, my lite was on, did the easy checks/tests and finally feared the pump.
    had local garage run the code, yep, bad valve in pump was code readout.

    i have not attemped matt' s repair, i tend to put things off. today i think there are more wires that i wish to solder.

    after much web searching the only alternative i found, was a reman. unit at rockauto.com for $610.
    of course when i mentioned this part source at garage they quickly said they could not warrantee it-so what else is new. that means i would have to pay for another installation if i let them install it and the part failed.
    of course i would not expect them to warranty it as this is the manufacturers responsibility.
    anyhow, a garage wants to charge the big markup for the $1800 usual quoted part.
    you know that web parts can be as little as a third of the garage prices after healthy markups

  15. #15
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    I hate to beat a dead horse, but for $610 I would pay a friend to solder it up for you! Like I said, I am pretty sure that it is exactly the problem as I had and for a few dollars in wire and fluid, you could do it yourself. I looked at the BMW service manuals and it shows bleeding the brakes just like a normal car without any special jumpers or programming with regards to the ABS. I bled mine normally and it works fine. Thanks to some recent rain, I have put the ABS through a couple of tests and still have normal pedal feel.

  16. #16
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    Im about to replace my abs pump as well and I wanted to know did you have to drain all the brake fluid out first before taking the abs pump out?

    2011 328i X-Drive~Mercedes ML55 AMG~2000 E320~1998 Chevrolet Corvette~2001 BMW 740iL

  17. #17
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    I have an ABS pump from a 97 M3 and 3 from a 93 325is for sale.
    Rob Driscoll

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  18. #18
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    My ABS has been acting up for a couple months, sometimes when I'm braking hard I get the ABS light and the ABS stops working. Could it be this too? I'm not affraid of soldering all those wires.


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  19. #19
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    so does anyone have the wiring diagram to rewire the abs pump? I'm thinking of attempting to do this myself. Also when removing the abs pump from the car, do I have to drain all the brake fluid from the car or can I simply remove it.

    2011 328i X-Drive~Mercedes ML55 AMG~2000 E320~1998 Chevrolet Corvette~2001 BMW 740iL

  20. #20
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    Wiring diagram

    I have no idea how to put a picture in here. I built a little web page with a couple of pictures of how I did mine here and it includes the diagram.

    Unfortunately, every time I try and post the URL here, it says I don't have permissions. I also don't know how to put a picture in here.

    I also can't figure out how to get permission to put urls here. Hope I am not pissing anyone off, but here is a work around:

    staffordnet.net/bmw

    Paul

  21. #21
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    Talking Abs Fix!!! Awsome!!

    My light has been on the whole time I have had my car. I think the only thing i've tried todo is replace the relays, with no success.. Is there anyway to see what's causing the ABS light besides going to the stealer? (im about 2-3 hours away!) and I also have a friends ABS pump which was great (now crashed) should this work as he had ACS? thanks guys!!
    I LOVE THIS THREAD!!!
    Zach
    I love this car.
    DIY Videos and Help

  22. #22
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    I would bet it is the ribbon cable that I fixed on mine that is causing your problem as well. The two pump asssemblies are different between the traction control cars and the non-traction control cars so your friend's pump probably won't work. Extra brake lines on the ASC one. I would pull the pump and rewire it. It can't hurt, only takes a couple of hours and could end up being the fix for you!

  23. #23
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    is there a way to read the ABS light code without paying the stealer?

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by luckytopher
    is there a way to read the ABS light code without paying the stealer?

    nope.. there's no way.. a special computer needs to be hooked up to read the codes.

    2011 328i X-Drive~Mercedes ML55 AMG~2000 E320~1998 Chevrolet Corvette~2001 BMW 740iL

  25. #25
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    here's the link that paulstaf provided.. http://www.staffordnet.net/repairs/b...ump_rewire.htm

    awsome write up by the way...thanks a lot


    one question that i haven't been able to get answered is does the brake fluid have to be drained prior to taking the pump out?

    2011 328i X-Drive~Mercedes ML55 AMG~2000 E320~1998 Chevrolet Corvette~2001 BMW 740iL

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