BMW E46 330dA Touring

[helix402]

Allow me to don my anorak. According to the E46 training material my car (build date 08/00) should have DSC III Mk20, it doesn't-it has ASC+T. I guess BMW had a few spare ASC pumps on the shelf, or the training material is wrong!
I'm not sure how the pipes differ, I guess perhaps slightly different length or maybe union size. Real OEM will have the difference if you look it up. Does your 328 need brake pipes? They may be the same if it has ASC.

[helix402]

Calipers aren't too expensive. You may find the 328 a little under braked if you drive it briskly. The 330 got the larger brakes.

[helix402]

Calipers aren't too expensive. You may find the 328 a little under braked if you drive it briskly. The 330 got the larger brakes.

[helix402]

Gave it a clean today:

232592 miles

[helix402]

Had to pay for work to be done on my car, this made me sad. Sadly I do not own a 4 wheel laser alignment rig so here is the result:






The toe is set to the standard spec but camber is to my taste.

[helix402]

Fitted a boot release switch today:



Wired into pin 6 of the centre GM plug.



I've programmed the car so that the key release does the glass and the interior button does the tailgate (handy when the glass button packs up, as it will)

Edited by helix402 on Wednesday 1st February 19:58

Edited by helix402 on Wednesday 1st February 19:58

[helix402]

It's Carly for BMW, wifi dongle and app. It's very good, it does all the ncs expert functions in seconds. Also does service /cbs reset in newer models, forced regens and battery registration. Some features are payable add ons.

[helix402]

Bought this:



E46 M3 conv. front anti roll bar, 27mm. Just waiting for the new bushes to arrive.

[helix402]

Standard BMW ones, I prefer the oe ones for a better ride. Although I do have Eibach pu ones on the rear, only as it came with them. How's your Compact? I forget which one it is, is it theM3 rear axle one?

[helix402]

That's not a shed load of miles!

I passed a magic mileage the other day:




Apologies for the poor photo. I was expecting unicorns to dance from the tailpipes as a celebration, sadly this didn't happen. I did drive over some rubbish on the road which cut the brand new n/s/r Conti Sport Contact 5 to the cords.


Magic mileage was 234567.

[helix402]

I'm pretty much sorted with the changes to my car now. Just got the wheel arches to do. The fronts have been changed already for aftermarket ones and are just starting to rust. The rear arches are original and rusty so will be replaced.

[helix402]

M3 Conv front arb is on. I put new gen bushes on, they were over £60! It feels rather lovely and roll free. I had 24/19 bars on my 328, this has 27/21. I guess it needs the bigger bars due to the extra Touring weight and iron block.

[helix402]

Did a little job today, I didn't like the peeling plastic coating on the gear lever surround. I got a used one and wrapped it with 3m 1080 satin black.





I also got fed up with the rear arch rust:



I can weld and paint but have never changed a rear arch before, I've enlisted a friend to help. He used to rebuild MGs so has lots of rust experience.

Sadly the mileage has changed too. The buttons on the cluster packed up. I put a used in on but couldn't change the mileage without swopping the chip. It has gone from approx 236k to 175. I have documented it so I can't be accused of being a conman!

Edited by helix402 on Saturday 11th March 19:58

Edited by helix402 on Saturday 11th March 20:00

[helix402]

JakeT said:

Won't that illuminate the tamper dot as the LCM has mileage info stored in it?

It has indeed put the dot on. I could fix it by changing the cluster chip but it's not really worth the hassle. It's not like I'm trying to hide the mileage change. I have kept the original cluster so I can refit it for the MOT and have the correct mileage recorded.

[helix402]

These arrived today:



They will replace the M3 ones that are starting to wear out. They are made by Bimmertune, I've had several of their products and always found them to be excellent quality.

[helix402]

Glad you enjoyed it. There's are lot to be said for the good old E46.

[helix402]

Parked next to my old car today:

[helix402]

Stripping begins for the new rear arch:

[helix402]

Arch repair continues:







The small round hole is where a grommet was. Rust has crept under the underwear/grommet join and enlarged the hole. The hole will be welded up. A free bonus was this:



This is a first for me, a stress crack in the n/s/r suspension turret. There are actually three. There are several panels joined together at this point. It'll be repaired. My rear suspension set up is: Sport springs, standard dampers, M3 top mounts, Eibach 21mm anti roll bar. Car has covered 237000 miles. I've never seen or heard of an E46 cracking here. Has anyone else?

[helix402]

Work continues: