E91 Straight Six Bearding
Discussion
HI All, popping in for my monthly check in! In suffolk here, all snowy and been down a few days in the freezing cold but main roads fun, if I was braver and not currently changing careers, I'd probably have a bit of a mess about in the snow - lack of LSD really does let it down though!
Fulla - really sorry to hear about your manual 335i, given the rarity of it, and you know your car (second hand ones can be very variable as to how well they've been looked after), I agree that you should try and save it if you can given the damage is cosmetic only. Depending on your situation and the efforts you're prepared to go to, there should still be a decent chunk of value with an N54 and driveline should it come to that.
Fulla - really sorry to hear about your manual 335i, given the rarity of it, and you know your car (second hand ones can be very variable as to how well they've been looked after), I agree that you should try and save it if you can given the damage is cosmetic only. Depending on your situation and the efforts you're prepared to go to, there should still be a decent chunk of value with an N54 and driveline should it come to that.
Swervin_Mervin said:
Odd one today. Opened the car to put my silica dehumidifier back on the dash after "recharging" it. I've just noticed the dash display is illuminated several hrs later. Doesn't change when you start the car either and try going through the menus.
What do we think? A bit of electrical silliness if the batteries not quite fully charged? I haven't had chance yet to move the car so I can leave it charging overnight. It's just had a few hours 2 Saturdays ago.
Swervin - you worked this out, or just a random anomaly?What do we think? A bit of electrical silliness if the batteries not quite fully charged? I haven't had chance yet to move the car so I can leave it charging overnight. It's just had a few hours 2 Saturdays ago.
eezeh said:
Anyone with logic 7 have some decent EQ settings? The one that was on the car when i bought it was quite good but i fiddled with it and didnt save it! The ones ive tried online for the e90/e92 are a bit pants. Thanks
I have logic 7, I'm not an audiofile but can appreciate the difference between tinny crap speakers and reasonable quality ones. I think I'm pretty near mid for all the settings and if I'm tweaked, I'm only one or two off in the +ve direction...hopefully give you a starting place? I find for adjusting audio, classical music works well as it tends to use the full range of frequencies.Hey All,
OP checking in for a rare visit…at some point in the last few years I kinda massively reduced my forum usage and er life stuff. But this thread is a part of me so I like to check in. I still have my E91, my annual mileage has massively reduced, but I am now on a handful of miles short of 245k
.
To join back in with some content, I’ll post a few updates of things that have happened…can’t remember the last update I gave, I’ll jump back to mid 2020 so at least there’s some interesting stuff…)
September 2020, I fitted some Brembo 4 pots from a F32 435i with 340mm discs, they just about sneak behind the 17 inch wheels. I had to do the most minor amount of trimming of the dust shield to make them fit, otherwise fitted straight on. (Actually looking at my records I’d completely rebuilt/refurbed, all new discs pads and shoes on the rear brakes in Aug 2020 too).
In 2021, it seems I literally didn’t need to do anything apart from an oil+filters service. I have a note that I had the check engine light come up for “2aa2” camshaft sensor – I cleaned it and it disappeared and didn’t come up again, and also 29F4 and 29F5 for low cat efficiency – but I didn’t believe them as they happened at EXACTLY the same mileage/time/trigger… and again didn’t return after clearing.
May/June ’22 I didn’t a chunk of maintenance, new front suspension arms (all Lemforder)
Finally changed that headlight levelling arm that failed pretty early on in my ownership and I had just cable tied to get me by..and that had worked I kept the part until a sensible time to install it!
Seems they were the original front arms I was changing – they didn’t even look too bad for 230k miles.
Other little things happened then, like new number plate lights, the old ones had corroded and were intermittently working I worked out, sometimes the lightbulb out warning would flash up on the dash…. I swapped them for LED ones from a 2007 model as I had a spare bootlid – obviously they’re different connectors, so I pieced together some loom adaptors (yes the insulating tape was a bit jank but I couldn’t find my heatshrink at the time!).
Now the number plate lights worked reliably, but the car was telling me that the lights weren’t working (ironic as they were actually working as opposed to before where the corroded connection wasn’t working but the car thought it was!), so I coded that light check out…
Oh yeah – and fitted brand new dealer plates from the original dealer who sold the car afaik…little nerdy touches and that!
Another couple of things that happened in ’22, all the pad wear sensors had a chronic melt down, and the car was freaking out that I had no brakes! No idea what triggered that or why it happened… it was parked on a bit of a slope on a wet field in wales for a week…no idea if that had anything to do with it.
So I got the pad wear sensor and shorted out together and reset everything. I take my wheels off often enough to manually check the pads….
In July 2022, I had a door locking actuator fail (the drivers door did this back in July 2017 – but less spectacularly, I could use the mechanical key, just the remote central locking wouldn’t lock or unlock it). This time it was the rear o/s…and it was stuck in the locked position. So that was fun removing the interior enough to get the door card off from inside, to then try and somehow, and I have no idea how unlock the thing so I could open the door! This part is one of the most common to BMW’s you can buy, it spans many many models, and got an updated revision at some point – so the replacement came from a relatively new 5 series.
At some point I’d get my hands on some Style 216 wheels (from the 320 si, BBS wheel things). I got the refurbed and wrapped in new rubber. I even ceramic coated them, and got those self levelling centre caps.
Here’s a photo of them fitted (and filthy, coz you know, November in Yorkshire)
.
So at the end of 2022, the car intermittently started to take a while to crank, and then would run a bit rough, and then be fine. I had the 2AA2 inlet camshaft fault code – and from experience of once forgetting to plug the inlet camshaft sensor wiring back in, the car cranks a while and does start in like a safer mode as it calculates from the exhaust camshaft sensor and the main crank sensor what it thinks the inlet camshaft sensor should do… I changed the sensor…still did it intermittently. I had vanos solenoid codes…swapped the solenoid and they didn’t follow – but then bought two new vanos solenoids anyway and fitted them… (I’d changed only one way back when I bought the car as it was an issue then…and figured they have been talked about as a semi-service item). Yeah, that didn’t fix it. After much buggering about, I traced the individual cables back to the ecu box, they were all good, I was then backprobing the connector/sensor and manually turning the car over by hand to verify the sensor for no good reason (I’m always buying oe sensor and stuff..bonus points if you have the BMW logo ground off!), and figured out it was a dodgy connection plug onto the sensor! So I bought a new plug, de-pinned the old one, crimped new connectors on, and voila, fault fixed!
No interesting photos for this one, but here’s one for the story.
That’ll do for now, I’ll fill you in with 2023, 2024 so far, and my current issue!
OP checking in for a rare visit…at some point in the last few years I kinda massively reduced my forum usage and er life stuff. But this thread is a part of me so I like to check in. I still have my E91, my annual mileage has massively reduced, but I am now on a handful of miles short of 245k
.
To join back in with some content, I’ll post a few updates of things that have happened…can’t remember the last update I gave, I’ll jump back to mid 2020 so at least there’s some interesting stuff…)
September 2020, I fitted some Brembo 4 pots from a F32 435i with 340mm discs, they just about sneak behind the 17 inch wheels. I had to do the most minor amount of trimming of the dust shield to make them fit, otherwise fitted straight on. (Actually looking at my records I’d completely rebuilt/refurbed, all new discs pads and shoes on the rear brakes in Aug 2020 too).
In 2021, it seems I literally didn’t need to do anything apart from an oil+filters service. I have a note that I had the check engine light come up for “2aa2” camshaft sensor – I cleaned it and it disappeared and didn’t come up again, and also 29F4 and 29F5 for low cat efficiency – but I didn’t believe them as they happened at EXACTLY the same mileage/time/trigger… and again didn’t return after clearing.
May/June ’22 I didn’t a chunk of maintenance, new front suspension arms (all Lemforder)
Finally changed that headlight levelling arm that failed pretty early on in my ownership and I had just cable tied to get me by..and that had worked I kept the part until a sensible time to install it!
Seems they were the original front arms I was changing – they didn’t even look too bad for 230k miles.
Other little things happened then, like new number plate lights, the old ones had corroded and were intermittently working I worked out, sometimes the lightbulb out warning would flash up on the dash…. I swapped them for LED ones from a 2007 model as I had a spare bootlid – obviously they’re different connectors, so I pieced together some loom adaptors (yes the insulating tape was a bit jank but I couldn’t find my heatshrink at the time!).
Now the number plate lights worked reliably, but the car was telling me that the lights weren’t working (ironic as they were actually working as opposed to before where the corroded connection wasn’t working but the car thought it was!), so I coded that light check out…
Oh yeah – and fitted brand new dealer plates from the original dealer who sold the car afaik…little nerdy touches and that!
Another couple of things that happened in ’22, all the pad wear sensors had a chronic melt down, and the car was freaking out that I had no brakes! No idea what triggered that or why it happened… it was parked on a bit of a slope on a wet field in wales for a week…no idea if that had anything to do with it.
So I got the pad wear sensor and shorted out together and reset everything. I take my wheels off often enough to manually check the pads….
In July 2022, I had a door locking actuator fail (the drivers door did this back in July 2017 – but less spectacularly, I could use the mechanical key, just the remote central locking wouldn’t lock or unlock it). This time it was the rear o/s…and it was stuck in the locked position. So that was fun removing the interior enough to get the door card off from inside, to then try and somehow, and I have no idea how unlock the thing so I could open the door! This part is one of the most common to BMW’s you can buy, it spans many many models, and got an updated revision at some point – so the replacement came from a relatively new 5 series.
At some point I’d get my hands on some Style 216 wheels (from the 320 si, BBS wheel things). I got the refurbed and wrapped in new rubber. I even ceramic coated them, and got those self levelling centre caps.
Here’s a photo of them fitted (and filthy, coz you know, November in Yorkshire)
.
So at the end of 2022, the car intermittently started to take a while to crank, and then would run a bit rough, and then be fine. I had the 2AA2 inlet camshaft fault code – and from experience of once forgetting to plug the inlet camshaft sensor wiring back in, the car cranks a while and does start in like a safer mode as it calculates from the exhaust camshaft sensor and the main crank sensor what it thinks the inlet camshaft sensor should do… I changed the sensor…still did it intermittently. I had vanos solenoid codes…swapped the solenoid and they didn’t follow – but then bought two new vanos solenoids anyway and fitted them… (I’d changed only one way back when I bought the car as it was an issue then…and figured they have been talked about as a semi-service item). Yeah, that didn’t fix it. After much buggering about, I traced the individual cables back to the ecu box, they were all good, I was then backprobing the connector/sensor and manually turning the car over by hand to verify the sensor for no good reason (I’m always buying oe sensor and stuff..bonus points if you have the BMW logo ground off!), and figured out it was a dodgy connection plug onto the sensor! So I bought a new plug, de-pinned the old one, crimped new connectors on, and voila, fault fixed!
No interesting photos for this one, but here’s one for the story.
That’ll do for now, I’ll fill you in with 2023, 2024 so far, and my current issue!
Edited by zippyonline on Monday 3rd March 16:38
Help please!
Preferably anyone else with an N52, but similar engines may help.
When you unlock or lock your car, or open a door but no key in slot - does your waterpump run? Easiest way to check is top open coolant reservoir and see if the coolant is squirting round. I'm trying to work out what the car should do as standard...
(I've been having battery drain issues, not quite got to the bottom of it, but it's the waterpump that's doing the battery draining bit, but it's not the waterpumps fault!...)
Preferably anyone else with an N52, but similar engines may help.
When you unlock or lock your car, or open a door but no key in slot - does your waterpump run? Easiest way to check is top open coolant reservoir and see if the coolant is squirting round. I'm trying to work out what the car should do as standard...
(I've been having battery drain issues, not quite got to the bottom of it, but it's the waterpump that's doing the battery draining bit, but it's not the waterpumps fault!...)
JakeT said:
Hey Zippy,
Nice to see you’re back. Well done on the mileage too. My 330i is on 216k now, and is sitting out currently as it needs a rear wheel bearing. Corrosion is getting to it now, but mine is an August 2005 build, so 19 years old soon. You’ve definitely been keeping up with it though, nice job. I’d fit bigger brakes to mine but they’ve done over 80,000 miles now and aren’t worn out, so I have no excuse to.
Hey Jake!Nice to see you’re back. Well done on the mileage too. My 330i is on 216k now, and is sitting out currently as it needs a rear wheel bearing. Corrosion is getting to it now, but mine is an August 2005 build, so 19 years old soon. You’ve definitely been keeping up with it though, nice job. I’d fit bigger brakes to mine but they’ve done over 80,000 miles now and aren’t worn out, so I have no excuse to.
When I did my rear wheel bearings, I built up a separate set with new drive flange, dust shields and bushings, and then swapped the whole thing over. Make sure you pay attention to which way round you put the bearing in, as that's where the wheel speed signal is, if you put it in backwards you won't get a wheel speed signal...
I'm pretty diligent on corrosion prevention on mine, especially places like wheel arches etc. My front O/S wing has got a bit of visible acne on it now, but I'm not as bothered on a panel you can easily remove, and it currently looks smart enough when cleaned tbh.
JakeT said:
On the waterpump I’m 99% sure mine doesn’t. When I unlock the car or wake it from sleep (like pulling the boot handle when locked), the fuel pump primes but that’s about it. I know that when I check the coolant level there’s no flow through the bleed pipe which I would expect when the pump is running. I don’t know if there’s anything else on the BSD bus causing funny things to happen and then make the pump run. I say that as the alternator, oil level/condition sensor and IBS sensor (if fitted) are all on the BSD bus, too.
Cool, cheers. I figured as much, I can't think of any reason logically as to why it should want it to under those circumstances.Court_S said:
Yes, best wheels!Court_S said:
I’ve no issue with the brakes but the F series ones look loads better if nothing else. Shame they’re so expensive now because they’re such a popular upgrade.
Yeah, at the time it cost me about as much to do this as new discs and pads of decent quality, and as I needed new discs and pads, well no brainer!Court_S said:
Re the water pump, I’m sure it’s just the fuel pump priming when it’s unlocked.
Yeah, well versed with that! That's fine, it's meant to happen.the TLDR version of my battery drain issues, after finally pinpointing it to the waterpump, and it's clearly running when it shouldn't be. It will timeout after 30 mins or so, but if you open a door, or unlock it or whatever, it starts all over again.
My diagnosis process is that basically the water pump has power+ground all the time. And then gets a PWM signal from the ecu to control it/the speed.
So the DME calculates what seed signal to give water pump and sends it over.
So I have the following options as to why the water pump is running
1. Bad pump (I’ve replaced this, and it’s behaving the same, so rules this out... I mean I didn't just jump straight to this, if I pulled the fuse for the water pump, obviously it stops, but when you put it back in, it doesn't start again so figured the DME wasn't telling it to go..)
2. Bad DME
3. Bad sensor input to the ECU telling it the engine is hot when it's not – (I’ve verified the temperature sensors are operating, and they seem to be doing so correctly.)
4. Dodgy wiring I guess – but again I’m getting readings and sending commands to water pump/from temperature sensors via ISTA so I don’t think it’s this.
So er, currently looking at a bad DME.
Interestingly, the water pump stops operating if I put the key in the slot and turn the ignition on (no engine start) – and I wouldn’t expect the pump to be running until it needs to be!
Gonna go contact ECU testing. Allegedly the MSV70 DME is an easy one to clone, but I can't see it listed on ECU Testing site as to one they're happy to work on.
Court_S said:
The DME’s are dead easy to clone in these (as I found out last year when ours flooded). If the car starts / runs it’s even easy apparently.
Where did you get yours cloned? I see lots of ebay adverts and random garages that claim to do these things, but it's a bit of a lottery. I'm not all that interested in learning (yet!)... ECU testing I've used before and they're the real deal, so happy to send stuff to them and pay the premium for peace of mind. I'm not particularly up to speed with specialists and other people doing work for me...well because I've not needed to yet.Edited by zippyonline on Monday 29th July 15:27
Swervin_Mervin said:
Hey Zippy! Great to hear from you again after such a long time. And glad to see you're still trucking with the E91 
I think I've resolved in my mind that I won't ever get rid of this unless/until it goes very seriously wrong. I'll most likely just store it if I get something else and occasionally swap back over.
Hey Swervin!I think I've resolved in my mind that I won't ever get rid of this unless/until it goes very seriously wrong. I'll most likely just store it if I get something else and occasionally swap back over.
You had a damp ECU problem way back I seem to remember. After that post I checked in on mine and it's always seemed dry..but maybe they have other issues as I've read a few on the internet now...
Yeah, I have to say replacement cars did cross my mind, but nothing takes my fancy...
Mr Tidy said:
Your door lock issues sound familiar.
So mine are all new O/S, I'm expecting the N/S ones to fail at some point if BMW revised the design and I'm likely still on the originals!Court_S said:
I had mine done at BW Chiptune.
Cheers!JakeT said:
My E46s has self tappers holding the under tray up anyway as the quick release ones broke or seized! 
I'm sortof similar. I have used extensively Stainless allen head self tappers from accu along with a washer for replacing mine as I die. Can use the original receiver clip things with them, and they're less likely to get stuck seized than finer thread alternatives.Oh Helix - pleased to see you in the E91 gang!
RECr said:
AmirGSXR said:
d_a_n1979 said:
Agree with the above; new gaskets needed
They're not expensive from BMW - part numbers via RealOEM and see if BMW have them on their eBay store; if not, speak to Cotswolds BMW for them
A follow up to this...I installed new genuine BMW tail light gasket yesterday and then soaked the whole section with a hose (including the rear window and roof), and unfortunately water is still getting into the battery compartment from somewhere.They're not expensive from BMW - part numbers via RealOEM and see if BMW have them on their eBay store; if not, speak to Cotswolds BMW for them
Does anyone know what I could investigate next? It's a tricky one as there is nothing obvious from where it could leak from.
I was going to say that when you find leaks in gas pipes or water pipes etc, you pressurise from inside and either sniff for them (gas sniffy kit for plumbers) or smoke kits (but then you'd have to fill your car with smoke and see where it escapes from!!). It's the wrong time of year, but you could get the car hot inside, and then take it outside on a cold day and use a thermal camera potentially....
But that talcum powder idea is good!
AmirGSXR said:
Hi Zippy,
When my MSV70 became waterlogged in 2018, I sent it off to ECU testing, who told me they cannot repair or it clone it and sent it back to me. I then found a guy called Henal (his company is called Motortronics) and he charged me £500 to clone my ECU as it was too damaged to repair. I had to send him the CAS module too. He still has a similar service - see link: https://motortronics.co.uk/product/msv70/
My ECU has been perfect ever since, and thanks to a drain hole being unplugged, I have never had any water accumulation again.
Hi Amir, thanks for the input, that's an option I can explore if I need to. I have also found someone local too, which would save couriers or getting people to come to me.When my MSV70 became waterlogged in 2018, I sent it off to ECU testing, who told me they cannot repair or it clone it and sent it back to me. I then found a guy called Henal (his company is called Motortronics) and he charged me £500 to clone my ECU as it was too damaged to repair. I had to send him the CAS module too. He still has a similar service - see link: https://motortronics.co.uk/product/msv70/
My ECU has been perfect ever since, and thanks to a drain hole being unplugged, I have never had any water accumulation again.
Based on your username, I presume you have Gixxer - cool!. I got my moto licence just over a year ago now, been enjoying learning to ride my 2016 MT-09 Tracer, I went across Applecross pass and the Cairngorms a couple of weeks ago.
MajorMantra said:
Swervin_Mervin said:
What have you done/checked so far?
I assume you've checked the DME - I can't recall sorry.
Funnily enough, no I haven't. That's a good point. I was convinced for a while it was a vacuum leak but neither the garage nor I could find one. I assume you've checked the DME - I can't recall sorry.
Over the last couple of years it's thrown various codes but the 2C7F has been persistent, and the problem (or problems) has got worse in the last month or so, previously it wasn't affecting drivability.
So in 2ish years it's had the following engine bits:
- both DISA valves
- all four oxygen sensors
- MAF
- vanos solenoids (and filters cleaned too)
- CCV (or PCV, I still get mixed up with this terminology)
- water pump and stat (obvs not related)
I'm not set up with INPA/ISTA which no doubt would help.
Oh and the spark plugs have done about 48k miles so not too far off needing replacement again.
Otherwise, sensor wise, I've not had anything really fail so far (oh wait, there was the wheel speed sensor, and I know it's had them in the past too), and I'm on 245k miles. If you have INPA/ISTA, you can dive into the fault code and see exactly what mileage the error pinged up, how many times, and running conditions of the car (temperatures, revs etc.) which can help you pinpoint a bit more exactly, or certainly help with theories etc. INPA also gives "test plans" and how to go about fault finding individual error codes (although I rarely use this feature...but having the info doesn't hurt).
If the "2C7F has been persistent" - which a quick google says it lambda probe related, and just one (which is say more believable than when I had a code which said both my post cat sensors had either failed, or both cats, at exactly the same time...and an Italian tune up cleared it!) - that's probably the best one to start at (I know that as this is your problem, you'll have way more thought/insight and knowledge than me...so sorry if this sucking eggs and you've already been through all this!) - if you can read the live data whilst running, you'll get a good idea on if it's the sensor giving odd readings, the wiring being dicky between it etc. Internet also suggest an exhaust blowing...but I expect you've checked that?
I hate electrical.computer issues, they can be such a PITA to trace and diagnose.
Edited by zippyonline on Friday 2nd August 13:08
Court_S said:
Court_S said:
The shift throw on my wife’s 330i seems really, really long compared to my Z4.
The official 330i SSK is no longer available. Does the E60 545i shifter fit in the E90? It appears to be a popular option on things like the E39 and E46.
I can confirm that the E60 545 shifter not only fits bit have a massive improvement on the length of the shift. It’s a massive improvement.The official 330i SSK is no longer available. Does the E60 545i shifter fit in the E90? It appears to be a popular option on things like the E39 and E46.
Compared to theZ3 shifter that I’d previously fitted.
And in
MajorMantra said:
At some point I really should get myself set up on INPA or ISTA, but every time I start researching this I get lost in a rabbit hole of US forums with impenetrable 1,000-page threads explaining how to do stuff.
Is there an absolutely idiot-proof way of doing it, i.e. buy *this* cable, run *this* installer and you're done?
I know what you mean. And these days time is something I seemingly have less of - so whilst I could spend hours diving down on how to to do all that myself... (and I did find an easy INPA distribution to download that did just work), I paid for a laptop with INPA, ISTA+, NCS Expert etc. already setup for me, it cost about the same as what the laptop was worth, and then I've loaded that with a couple of other car software things and it's basically my car diagnostics laptop. I bought a "K+DCAN cable" off ebay, and lucked out it being a good one - I did that years back.Is there an absolutely idiot-proof way of doing it, i.e. buy *this* cable, run *this* installer and you're done?
I did see that there's other car diagnostics software and stuff out there now that would probably give you all the fault finding information far easier and quicker, autel and the like, and the bmw specific apps (carly, bimmergeeks etc.)...but I don't really know enough down that route. Certainly a lot easier, fairly powerful, but the full on ista etc. will give you a lot more power if you have the time/inclination.
MajorMantra said:
Update...
All plugs are a bit coked up but cylinder 6 is soaked in oil. So, valve cover gasket time?
I've got new plugs so will fit now to see if it makes a difference.
Edited to add: new plugs are in, car is running *much* better.
Presumably I now need to do the valve cover gaskets to stop it recurring...
(On this, I really need INPA to relearn the valvetronic position, right? Some claim you don't but I think maybe they've just been lucky?)
When I did my valve cover gasket, I didn't do any valvetronic-ness, I took it off, and put it back on, and it all lined up exactly right. YMMV.All plugs are a bit coked up but cylinder 6 is soaked in oil. So, valve cover gasket time?
I've got new plugs so will fit now to see if it makes a difference.
Edited to add: new plugs are in, car is running *much* better.
Presumably I now need to do the valve cover gaskets to stop it recurring...
(On this, I really need INPA to relearn the valvetronic position, right? Some claim you don't but I think maybe they've just been lucky?)
Edited by MajorMantra on Saturday 3rd August 14:15
If you're going to the trouble of getting the valve cover off, I'd recommend the eccentric shaft sensor, it's an extra 5 mins work and I got a VDO one (bmw logo ground off!) for less than £50. Allegedly these fail without codes showing, so why wouldn't you.
I can't tell you how I got the valve cover out...it was like houdini! You may just find exactly the right angle to slip it out at...or struggle for ages, it's one of those.
I've also been trying to guess the plastic plug, but can't think of anything.
Hey everyone!
So remember this...
So after a lot of this. (note the thermal imaging camera to see if I could see anything warm! - it didn't help... lots of fuse backprobing occurred...)
and this
My battery was fooked and it was a fairly new Yuasa. I sorta blamed the battery, coz it was new I even got a warranty replacement which I now feel bad about, but thought it may have been a duff battery without any other explanation - and the battery being in bad condition did lots of things that you'd expect a bad battery to do. After much fault finding...I concluded I needed a new waterpump despite having changed it in my ownership and that one I changed being the original that lasted 188k miles and this one had only done 60k miles or so and was only "failed" in the way it was operating rather than it's pumping ability or leaking or anything (I learnt quite a bit about the inner workings of it and which cable did what...). I changed the pump...did it quite quickly having done it before...no dice, horrific battery drain still and the same behaviour which was a bummer.
And then I had a brainwave. The climate control panel has a "rest" button on it, which pumps hot water round the cabin heating system when parked. Now I've never pressed this button...but I then remembered I've had a IHKA error on the bmw reader since forever telling my my auxiliary cabin heater doesn't work or something - which given I don't have one coz it's a diesel car thing, I had previously shrugged off. I then also started suspecting the IHKA, because if I'm doing a longer drive (3 hours or more) it starts losing it's ability to keep cabin temperature at whatever I had set it to and it would get quite hot, but if I press "Max AC" it all cools down and the actual AC is good.
I then remember that when I first bought the car, I got given the original IHKA unit, and a newer one was fitted coz it had the LCI shiny dials with the chrome/silver rings.
As it was no effort, I pulled the IHKA unit out.
and then put the original one back in.
And then, for the first time in it's life (well it's life in my ownership), the waterpump didn't run when you simply pressed unlock! I verified a few current readings, and voila I'd only gone and fixed it!!
So I've had this problem since when I got the car, it explains why when it was parked up when I first got it, there was an electrical humming that would go away after half an hour (car had gone into proper sleep mode and no more water pump running) and the humming went away when I changed the water pump the first time...but really there shouldn't have been any humming. It explains the auxilary heater error code (coz the ihka unit had been from a diesel model, so didn't play ball with my petrol car properly), explains the whole battery drain thing and the seemingly random way in which it had gone dead a handful of times over the years and why I never thought my AC controlled the cabin temps quite as it should....
Who knew!
This has been the most brain testing issue I've had so far, all for some shiny climate control dials originally!
So remember this...
zippyonline said:
the TLDR version of my battery drain issues, after finally pinpointing it to the waterpump, and it's clearly running when it shouldn't be. It will timeout after 30 mins or so, but if you open a door, or unlock it or whatever, it starts all over again.
My diagnosis process is that basically the water pump has power+ground all the time. And then gets a PWM signal from the ecu to control it/the speed.
So the DME calculates what seed signal to give water pump and sends it over.
So I have the following options as to why the water pump is running
1. Bad pump (I’ve replaced this, and it’s behaving the same, so rules this out... I mean I didn't just jump straight to this, if I pulled the fuse for the water pump, obviously it stops, but when you put it back in, it doesn't start again so figured the DME wasn't telling it to go..)
2. Bad DME
3. Bad sensor input to the ECU telling it the engine is hot when it's not – (I’ve verified the temperature sensors are operating, and they seem to be doing so correctly.)
4. Dodgy wiring I guess – but again I’m getting readings and sending commands to water pump/from temperature sensors via ISTA so I don’t think it’s this.
So er, currently looking at a bad DME.
Interestingly, the water pump stops operating if I put the key in the slot and turn the ignition on (no engine start) – and I wouldn’t expect the pump to be running until it needs to be!
Gonna go contact ECU testing. Allegedly the MSV70 DME is an easy one to clone, but I can't see it listed on ECU Testing site as to one they're happy to work on.
I fixed this, took forever and a brainwave to do so, and the actual fix cost nothing.... and I'd had this problem all the time I've had this car. It also explains a lot of odd behaviour that I didn't understand and had just shrugged my shoulders on.My diagnosis process is that basically the water pump has power+ground all the time. And then gets a PWM signal from the ecu to control it/the speed.
So the DME calculates what seed signal to give water pump and sends it over.
So I have the following options as to why the water pump is running
1. Bad pump (I’ve replaced this, and it’s behaving the same, so rules this out... I mean I didn't just jump straight to this, if I pulled the fuse for the water pump, obviously it stops, but when you put it back in, it doesn't start again so figured the DME wasn't telling it to go..)
2. Bad DME
3. Bad sensor input to the ECU telling it the engine is hot when it's not – (I’ve verified the temperature sensors are operating, and they seem to be doing so correctly.)
4. Dodgy wiring I guess – but again I’m getting readings and sending commands to water pump/from temperature sensors via ISTA so I don’t think it’s this.
So er, currently looking at a bad DME.
Interestingly, the water pump stops operating if I put the key in the slot and turn the ignition on (no engine start) – and I wouldn’t expect the pump to be running until it needs to be!
Gonna go contact ECU testing. Allegedly the MSV70 DME is an easy one to clone, but I can't see it listed on ECU Testing site as to one they're happy to work on.
So after a lot of this. (note the thermal imaging camera to see if I could see anything warm! - it didn't help... lots of fuse backprobing occurred...)
and this
My battery was fooked and it was a fairly new Yuasa. I sorta blamed the battery, coz it was new I even got a warranty replacement which I now feel bad about, but thought it may have been a duff battery without any other explanation - and the battery being in bad condition did lots of things that you'd expect a bad battery to do. After much fault finding...I concluded I needed a new waterpump despite having changed it in my ownership and that one I changed being the original that lasted 188k miles and this one had only done 60k miles or so and was only "failed" in the way it was operating rather than it's pumping ability or leaking or anything (I learnt quite a bit about the inner workings of it and which cable did what...). I changed the pump...did it quite quickly having done it before...no dice, horrific battery drain still and the same behaviour which was a bummer.
And then I had a brainwave. The climate control panel has a "rest" button on it, which pumps hot water round the cabin heating system when parked. Now I've never pressed this button...but I then remembered I've had a IHKA error on the bmw reader since forever telling my my auxiliary cabin heater doesn't work or something - which given I don't have one coz it's a diesel car thing, I had previously shrugged off. I then also started suspecting the IHKA, because if I'm doing a longer drive (3 hours or more) it starts losing it's ability to keep cabin temperature at whatever I had set it to and it would get quite hot, but if I press "Max AC" it all cools down and the actual AC is good.
I then remember that when I first bought the car, I got given the original IHKA unit, and a newer one was fitted coz it had the LCI shiny dials with the chrome/silver rings.
As it was no effort, I pulled the IHKA unit out.
and then put the original one back in.
And then, for the first time in it's life (well it's life in my ownership), the waterpump didn't run when you simply pressed unlock! I verified a few current readings, and voila I'd only gone and fixed it!!
So I've had this problem since when I got the car, it explains why when it was parked up when I first got it, there was an electrical humming that would go away after half an hour (car had gone into proper sleep mode and no more water pump running) and the humming went away when I changed the water pump the first time...but really there shouldn't have been any humming. It explains the auxilary heater error code (coz the ihka unit had been from a diesel model, so didn't play ball with my petrol car properly), explains the whole battery drain thing and the seemingly random way in which it had gone dead a handful of times over the years and why I never thought my AC controlled the cabin temps quite as it should....
Who knew!
This has been the most brain testing issue I've had so far, all for some shiny climate control dials originally!
Edited by zippyonline on Monday 3rd March 19:42
helix403 said:
I changed a leaking boost pipe on mine today. I hate E9x undertrays! I’m not sure why BMW changed from the quick release fixings on the E46 to a multitude of 8mm screws.
I know what you mean. Mine are all nice SS ones with 4mm allen heads after changing out all the originals which have since died for obvious reasons. The 1/4 turn zeus fittings that hold my motorbike fairings on are a far nicer way to do things.MajorMantra said:
Regret to report that after more than 7 years and 52k miles I'm not longer a member of E91 club. Farewell old friend.
After years of swearing I'd never have another diesel, or an auto gearbox, I've replaced my manual N52 car with a dirty 5 cylinder diesel auto. Go figure...
Safe to say it's a little comfier than the BMW, and very much not a driver's car.
Thanks to all in this thread who've helped with sage advice over the years. I might still dip in now and again...
JakeT said:
Classic N52 stuff, that mine was sounding very poorly, so I put one in before I had to push start it. I did the CCV, inlet and throttle body seals and replaced the big DISA after I found the flap rattling around in the inlet. The starter looked like a bush had fallen out of it, and was machining into case as gears push away from each other under load.
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt! I remember the car stuttering a bit and losing some shove when mine failed (quite early in my ownership), the engine also sounded properly clattery. I replaced the big one with one from BMW and the little one for "peace of mind" I split apart and used a "repair/upgrade" kit. I could never get the back of the unit to stay stuck together, so the back fell off and lost it's internals (which I managed to repair once using the bits from my failed DISA I still had)...so then I just had to get one from BMW! At least they'd updated the design so the failure mechanism was removed (metal shaft, not plastic) and I managed to retrieve all the bits of flap!Court_S said:
Braved the cold this afternoon to remove the salt from both cars. The E91 was particularly bad and I was ordered to clean it! 
]
Ha nice - mine was a bit worse and made it quite stealth with the dirt.]
(Don't worry, I have now cleaned it!)
Edited by zippyonline on Monday 3rd March 18:07
Court_S said:
I’m tempted to buy a small one just in case and return it, if it’s ok. I need to pull the manifold off again at some point to replace the angled heater connection for the CCV. I never got round tomorrow last year because I got a bit fed up pissing around with cars.
On mine, I managed to one of the times I got the little DISA out, I think I removed the airbox and just loosened the inlet manifold which gave me enough space/slack to change it. Yes you're working blind, but it wasn't too bad. This was many years ago so YMMV!JakeT said:
zippyonline said:
Hey everyone!
So remember this...
Good job finally getting the drain sorted! Shame you had to throw a waterpump at it again to no avail. How many miles are you at, now? Mine is on 225k now. Funnily my IHKA also has a habit of occasionally thinking the cabin is freezing and going to full heat, only for a couple of minutes at a time. It doesn’t run the waterpump, but the newer panel does look nice.So remember this...
I replaced that DISA 4.5 years ago, now. I last did a pump on mine in late 2019, around 80,000 miles ago.
I'm on 249700ish miles now. I don't do the mileage I used to, when I first got it in 2016/17 I was doing circa 12k miles/year, often with a MTB in the boot. Life's changed and I'm doing more adulting and I'm doing like half that now, so the miles aren't ticking over quite as quickly.
I have a few more little stories of "fun", I'll dig up a handful of photos and catch you all up as we go... (I don't tend to do forums much, but I really should keep up to date on this thread!)
E92_325 said:
Anyone dealt with a bad Camshaft position sensor on an N52?
On Friday, the car cranked for ages before starting. Thought it could be a bad battery but then I remembered the battery was changed only in March 2023. After scanning the car, code 2A9A appeared which relates to the camshaft position sensor. Symptoms of a bad camshaft sensor are long cranking and stalling during driving (didn’t have that issue).
Once started, the car drove fine. I drove it the following Saturday, Sunday and today, and the car started and drove perfect each time weirdly.
I want to say it was an anomaly, but in my experience that doesn’t exist with cars. I think this is the beginning of the sensor crapping itself. Will give it a more few days to see if it happens again before deciding on replacing it. It’s at the front of the engine so seems an easy enough job. Luckily it’s not the crankshaft position sensor which is under the intake manifold..
Yes I have!On Friday, the car cranked for ages before starting. Thought it could be a bad battery but then I remembered the battery was changed only in March 2023. After scanning the car, code 2A9A appeared which relates to the camshaft position sensor. Symptoms of a bad camshaft sensor are long cranking and stalling during driving (didn’t have that issue).
Once started, the car drove fine. I drove it the following Saturday, Sunday and today, and the car started and drove perfect each time weirdly.
I want to say it was an anomaly, but in my experience that doesn’t exist with cars. I think this is the beginning of the sensor crapping itself. Will give it a more few days to see if it happens again before deciding on replacing it. It’s at the front of the engine so seems an easy enough job. Luckily it’s not the crankshaft position sensor which is under the intake manifold..
From my post a while back, that basically summarises it.
zippyonline said:
So at the end of 2022, the car intermittently started to take a while to crank, and then would run a bit rough, and then be fine. I had the 2AA2 inlet camshaft fault code – and from experience of once forgetting to plug the inlet camshaft sensor wiring back in, the car cranks a while and does start in like a safer mode as it calculates from the exhaust camshaft sensor and the main crank sensor what it thinks the inlet camshaft sensor should do… I changed the sensor…still did it intermittently. I had vanos solenoid codes…swapped the solenoid and they didn’t follow – but then bought two new vanos solenoids anyway and fitted them… (I’d changed only one way back when I bought the car as it was an issue then…and figured they have been talked about as a semi-service item). Yeah, that didn’t fix it. After much buggering about, I traced the individual cables back to the ecu box, they were all good, I was then backprobing the connector/sensor and manually turning the car over by hand to verify the sensor for no good reason (I’m always buying oe sensor and stuff..bonus points if you have the BMW logo ground off!), and figured out it was a dodgy connection plug onto the sensor! So I bought a new plug, de-pinned the old one, crimped new connectors on, and voila, fault fixed!
No interesting photos for this one, but here’s one for the story.
TLDR - backprobed the connector and manually turned the car over by hand to see if I was getting a reading, it was intermittent there, but fine off the actual sensor. So de-pinned and fitted new connector - paid over the odds from BMW, but I was sortof in a rush before a bigger trip to get it done and knew it would be exactly the correct bits!No interesting photos for this one, but here’s one for the story.
I "think" the camshaft sensor are both the same for inlet and exhaust, so you could swap them over and see if the fault follows to rule the sensor in or out.
If you take the lid off, you can soon see if it's been wet in there or not. Pulling all the cables out and stuff is a bit fiddly the first time you do it (I've been in there handful of times to check continuity of a few cables and diagnose my battery drain etc. it's always been dry for me to give you some hope!).
AmirGSXR said:
My rear brakes squeak when I first pull away after releasing the handbrake. I have read that this is because the brake shoes and their mechanisms gets dry with lots of crud in them. Before I tackle this job, does anyone have any tips on what I should be doing to fix this issue?
It's a fairly simple mechanical system in there, when you pull the disc off it will be fairly obvious how it works. There's brake shoes, a couple of springs, a couple of pins to stop the shoes flopping out of place, an adjuster at the top and the cable pull mechanism at the bottom. Moving bits should move, and friction bits should be sorta clean. Not a lot to it really.Only real "tip" I guess would be obviously make sure the handbrake is off, but make sure the wheel is free to turn when you come to take the disc off, that makes life easier so the shoes don't stop you getting the disc off.
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