diff --git a/mm/mempool.c b/mm/mempool.c
index fe6e05289cc5..ccd8cb8cd41f 100644
--- a/mm/mempool.c
+++ b/mm/mempool.c
@@ -238,8 +238,13 @@ repeat_alloc:
 	init_wait(&wait);
 	prepare_to_wait(&pool->wait, &wait, TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE);
 	smp_mb();
-	if (!pool->curr_nr)
-		io_schedule();
+	if (!pool->curr_nr) {
+		/*
+		 * FIXME: this should be io_schedule().  The timeout is there
+		 * as a workaround for some DM problems in 2.6.18.
+		 */
+		io_schedule_timeout(5*HZ);
+	}
 	finish_wait(&pool->wait, &wait);
 
 	goto repeat_alloc;