Loving Every Minute - BMW E46 328i, still only 20..
Discussion
pits said:
Count yourself lucky, I had a thermostat from the same place mainly because I can't get one anywhere else (seriously, always get the revised version which doesn't fit) set my car on fire, which was nice.
Well, as I mentioned mine stuck closed very suddenly so that was cause for some concern.. Couldn't believe how quickly it overheated, and when rolling at 50mph off-power can't cool it, you know there's something seriously wrong.. But a fire, how did that come about?! 
pits said:
sparks_E39 said:
If the E46 is anything like the E39 then you should only use oem or BMW parts for most things. Buy cheap, buy twice. Especially when it comes to the cooling system.
This always, brakes, coolant system, basically just buy everything from BMW, I am still struggling to find the crack stat for mine so opted to change stat and use original housing.Don't buy cheap s
t parts for them, BMW parts are just as reasonable in price, sometimes cheaper and they actually work, and don't buy cheap radiator caps either, buy a BMW for the same price as anywhere else as they work.With both this and the E36 I've found the BMW dealers very good, in fact in some cases it's impossible to beat their prices and it becomes clear some factors are using the same suppliers. Little bits and pieces like pad anti-rattle clips, wear sensors, fasteners and so forth are really good value so I like going to the dealer whenever possible
Apart from tyres (Michelin Pilot Sport 3s rather than OEM Bridgestones) and the brake discs/pads, I can't think of anything I've fitted which wasn't a new or used BMW original part.
McSam said:
pits said:
Count yourself lucky, I had a thermostat from the same place mainly because I can't get one anywhere else (seriously, always get the revised version which doesn't fit) set my car on fire, which was nice.
Well, as I mentioned mine stuck closed very suddenly so that was cause for some concern.. Couldn't believe how quickly it overheated, and when rolling at 50mph off-power can't cool it, you know there's something seriously wrong.. But a fire, how did that come about?! pits said:
sparks_E39 said:
If the E46 is anything like the E39 then you should only use oem or BMW parts for most things. Buy cheap, buy twice. Especially when it comes to the cooling system.
This always, brakes, coolant system, basically just buy everything from BMW, I am still struggling to find the crack stat for mine so opted to change stat and use original housing.Don't buy cheap s
t parts for them, BMW parts are just as reasonable in price, sometimes cheaper and they actually work, and don't buy cheap radiator caps either, buy a BMW for the same price as anywhere else as they work.With both this and the E36 I've found the BMW dealers very good, in fact in some cases it's impossible to beat their prices and it becomes clear some factors are using the same suppliers. Little bits and pieces like pad anti-rattle clips, wear sensors, fasteners and so forth are really good value so I like going to the dealer whenever possible
Apart from tyres (Michelin Pilot Sport 3s rather than OEM Bridgestones) and the brake discs/pads, I can't think of anything I've fitted which wasn't a new or used BMW original part.
Best experience ever, I go in with part numbers, can look at my build sheet if needs be (btw anyone who wants to know just check under your passenger or drivers seat, build sheet is there)
Just don't buy the Merchandise, as much as I love the BMW Motorsport jacket you just feel and look like a proper
wearing one nick s said:
I had a Supercharged Elise at 20... Far too much performance for my age now I think about it. Bought my 450bhp S4 at 22 aswell! Those were the days....
Heh, nice going.. The only problem with the title of this thread is that it's now completely inaccurate and becoming slightly wistful 
My favourite way to sort parts out is to ring the dealer parts desk while I'm at my PC with http://realoem.com/ open, then I can see the same diagrams they do and just give the label number of the part in question
makes it super easy and most of them seem relieved to get someone who knows what they're after!Delivery time is awesome, too. Same day if requested before 12pm, always next day if not.
Well, this car has been ticking along nicely, as evidenced by nothing to report for the last ten months! It's most impressive. It's just about to reach 157,000 miles now, and has averaged 32.9mpg over the last three tanks. Hard to complain, really.. I thought I'd decided on a replacement, quite fancying a 645ci depending on how short my commute for my new job turns out to be, but when the E46 carries on this well it seems strange to think of selling it.
Some attention was needed today, though. I came out to the car early one morning last week and found my door handle was completely limp. Still fitted to the car OK, but operating with zero tension and doing nothing to open the door. Of course this would happen on the way to give it to the valet chaps at Stansted airport, pfff. Thankfully it opened normally from the inside, so I carried on and explained how they'd need to access the car to park it!
On getting back home after my holiday I did some research and found that it's a pretty common problem. The latch inside the door seems to be a poor design, and the plastic guide retaining the cable can break, resulting in the symptoms I had. So I got the door card off (handy diagrams here if you haven't done it before) and peeled away the weather seal. A Stanley knife is handy here to cut away the sixteen-year-old Mastic, but go slow so you don't cut the soft foam.
Here's the messy view at this stage. Handily enough, the exterior door latch mechanism is really nicely buried up inside the door skin, in the top right, and access is tricky. I spent a good while arsing about looking for the cable that all evidence online told me would probably be knocking around loose, having detached from the mechanism, but found nothing. On studying photos of the latch people had posted in DIYs, mine looked substantially different. I decided to take the exterior door handle off to see if that gave me a better view. This is done by taking out a plastic cover on the rear of the door (which comes off in two parts, inside section first!), then getting a 5mm hex key to a small screw within:
It's a bit concerning undoing that screw because you're conscious that if you drop it inside the door you may never see it again - however, the design is perfectly judged and its thread is long enough that the head is outside the door skin by the time it comes out, so you can't really drop it in. With that off, you can prise out the lock barrel part of the handle, which comes off easily.
At this point, every online guide and YouTube video will tell you that you need a T15 bit to undo another little screw holding the door handle to the latch mechanism. Not on a 1999 car, you don't. I think this screw was introduced in the technical update in 2001 - on an early car, simply pull the handle out and backwards as far as you can, and it'll come away. It immediately became obvious I had an entirely different problem to the norm...
The tab that fits into the latch mechanism had snapped clean off. There is no cable on my early car, the door handle actuates a big metal lever which opens the latch directly. It seems someone tried to force my handle when it was parked on the street at a relative's house overnight, and snapped the handle. I also realised at this point I didn't need the door in bits, because you can do all this with the door card in place
though it was useful for understanding how the mechanism works.
Two minutes later, the driver's rear door handle is available for comparison:
Hmmm. There would be no bodging that, so I decided to fit the good rear handle onto my driver's door, and put the dead one on the rear door. This isn't such an issue as I very rarely have anyone sitting behind me, and can easily open that door over my shoulder from inside the car anyway. I'll replace it with a handle from a breaker when I find one the right colour. Everything went together smoothly and the driver's door now works perfectly again.
So the moral of the story is, if you have an early E46 and your exterior door handle stops working, don't go to all the hassle of getting the door in bits like everyone tells you, you may not even have the cable they're trying to refit - just whip the handle out as described above and check it's not that!
Some attention was needed today, though. I came out to the car early one morning last week and found my door handle was completely limp. Still fitted to the car OK, but operating with zero tension and doing nothing to open the door. Of course this would happen on the way to give it to the valet chaps at Stansted airport, pfff. Thankfully it opened normally from the inside, so I carried on and explained how they'd need to access the car to park it!
On getting back home after my holiday I did some research and found that it's a pretty common problem. The latch inside the door seems to be a poor design, and the plastic guide retaining the cable can break, resulting in the symptoms I had. So I got the door card off (handy diagrams here if you haven't done it before) and peeled away the weather seal. A Stanley knife is handy here to cut away the sixteen-year-old Mastic, but go slow so you don't cut the soft foam.
Here's the messy view at this stage. Handily enough, the exterior door latch mechanism is really nicely buried up inside the door skin, in the top right, and access is tricky. I spent a good while arsing about looking for the cable that all evidence online told me would probably be knocking around loose, having detached from the mechanism, but found nothing. On studying photos of the latch people had posted in DIYs, mine looked substantially different. I decided to take the exterior door handle off to see if that gave me a better view. This is done by taking out a plastic cover on the rear of the door (which comes off in two parts, inside section first!), then getting a 5mm hex key to a small screw within:
It's a bit concerning undoing that screw because you're conscious that if you drop it inside the door you may never see it again - however, the design is perfectly judged and its thread is long enough that the head is outside the door skin by the time it comes out, so you can't really drop it in. With that off, you can prise out the lock barrel part of the handle, which comes off easily.
At this point, every online guide and YouTube video will tell you that you need a T15 bit to undo another little screw holding the door handle to the latch mechanism. Not on a 1999 car, you don't. I think this screw was introduced in the technical update in 2001 - on an early car, simply pull the handle out and backwards as far as you can, and it'll come away. It immediately became obvious I had an entirely different problem to the norm...
The tab that fits into the latch mechanism had snapped clean off. There is no cable on my early car, the door handle actuates a big metal lever which opens the latch directly. It seems someone tried to force my handle when it was parked on the street at a relative's house overnight, and snapped the handle. I also realised at this point I didn't need the door in bits, because you can do all this with the door card in place
though it was useful for understanding how the mechanism works.Two minutes later, the driver's rear door handle is available for comparison:
Hmmm. There would be no bodging that, so I decided to fit the good rear handle onto my driver's door, and put the dead one on the rear door. This isn't such an issue as I very rarely have anyone sitting behind me, and can easily open that door over my shoulder from inside the car anyway. I'll replace it with a handle from a breaker when I find one the right colour. Everything went together smoothly and the driver's door now works perfectly again.
So the moral of the story is, if you have an early E46 and your exterior door handle stops working, don't go to all the hassle of getting the door in bits like everyone tells you, you may not even have the cable they're trying to refit - just whip the handle out as described above and check it's not that!
Due to the arrival of a dirty great V8 coupé, my lovely E46 is now for sale. This thread should give a pretty good account of the three and a half years this car's spend in my custody, it's wanted for very little and been a consistently great all-rounder. I think it says a lot that it's taken a 645Ci to get me to change - there simply isn't any competition at this price point, it takes a hell of an upgrade to think about selling!
Drop me a message if you're interested
Drop me a message if you're interested
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