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So, we have an ‘88 E30 convertible. Bought it in 1999 off autotrader.com sight unseen. Everybody told me I was crazy for buying a car off the internet back then. Anyway, it’s been 10 years since I’ve done the timing belt, so it’s past due. The E30 enthusiasts say do the timing belt every 4 years or 40k-50k miles. They also say to do the waterpump every other timing belt change. My question is whether to do the waterpump because I’ve only put maybe 5,000 miles on the current waterpump. I get that the belt gets brittle with age, but the waterpump seems like it should be more of a mileage interval than time. Seems like a waste to replace a waterpump with less than 5,000 miles on it. What say you?

I only did that job once on my 2 e30s. My memory is fuzzy cause I haven't hung out n those forums in ages, but as I recall:

1) it's an interference engine, so a snapped belt is bad. Not IMSB bad, but bad. Changing the belt is a PITA (stupid fan), but it's better than the alternative so I wouldn't push it (unless you want to do an s52 swap...)

2) other than draining the coolant, swapping the pump is simple when the belt is off. I believe there were two models where the difference was the impeller being plastic or metal. If you don't know, I'd change it

3) if you haven't replaced the fan, consider doing that. My fan clutch went out like a week after I did the timing belt

If you don't have the special thin wrench to hold the crank shaft, I'd be happy to send you mine. Bought for the fan replacement, made getting the fan off LOADS easier, haven't used it again in 13 years...

Change-out frequency may be better tied to operating hours than to age or mileage individually. This is based on an assumption that exposure to hot coolant is the primary factor influencing aging/embrittlement of plastic bits in the pump.

The following may be totally off, but 4 years/40K miles equates to something like 1000 operating hours (my recollection is that the average speed for the average car is 35-40 mph). If correct, that would suggest the water pump in your E30 ought to be changed every couple of thousand operating hours.