2003 BMW 325ti Sport

[helix402]

Thanks for info. Sachs make the OE E46 dampers, I put a pair on the back of mine after finding the Bilstein B8s too stiff (ok on the front). The Meyle top mounts are good, though having tried both I find the M3 ones last better. Did you fit rear top mount reinforcement plates? If not I have a spare pair if you want to make an offer. I have a spare Vanos unit and seal kit on the shelf for a rainy day.

[ethomas]

gregs656 said:

Did you ever get round to the dash/cup holder upgrades? Cup holder is on my list of jobs but I am not sure if it is worth it with the arm rest - thoughts?

How did you find the Vanos job? Another thing on my list.

Sounds like you car has come a long way since you picked it up!

Cupholder is not brilliant with the armrest, but better than nothing. New plastic lifted the interior quite a bit, it is a nicer place to sit now. I fitted a storm motorwerks gearknob too which is wonderful. Next up for the interior is a steering wheel retrim.

Vanos job is not too bad. Take your time with it and follow the detailed beisan systems guide and anyone should be able to manage it.

Yeah I can't stop tinkering, I do this with everything. If I still have it in 2 years it will probably be treated to an m3 engine!

[ethomas]

helix402 said:

Thanks for info. Sachs make the OE E46 dampers, I put a pair on the back of mine after finding the Bilstein B8s too stiff (ok on the front). The Meyle top mounts are good, though having tried both I find the M3 ones last better. Did you fit rear top mount reinforcement plates? If not I have a spare pair if you want to make an offer. I have a spare Vanos unit and seal kit on the shelf for a rainy day.

I have top mount plates but I have not fitted them yet. I will get them done as soon as I can face wrestling with the boot carpet again

[ethomas]

After a wash at the local "hand wash for a fiver" place, and "stanced" on Eibach springs:


Incidentally, a close look at the springs I took off shows that one was about 30mm taller than the other when not under compression, so not only were the front shocks not matching, neither were the rear springs!

[gregs656]

ethomas said:

Cupholder is not brilliant with the armrest, but better than nothing. New plastic lifted the interior quite a bit, it is a nicer place to sit now. I fitted a storm motorwerks gearknob too which is wonderful. Next up for the interior is a steering wheel retrim.

Vanos job is not too bad. Take your time with it and follow the detailed beisan systems guide and anyone should be able to manage it.

Yeah I can't stop tinkering, I do this with everything. If I still have it in 2 years it will probably be treated to an m3 engine!

Could you ping me the details of your plastics deal? I'd like to get rid of the walnut in mine.

The storm shifters look lovely, z4 shifter in your future?

[ethomas]

gregs656 said:

Could you ping me the details of your plastics deal? I'd like to get rid of the walnut in mine.

The storm shifters look lovely, z4 shifter in your future?

The only bits I replaced were the centre console (what holds the cupholders), nothing that would replace any of your walnut trim. For a decent deal on 2nd hand trim try contacting quarry motors, for new stuff get to one of the BMW forums where Hereford BMW do discounts on dealer prices and get them to quote you up.

I am happy with the throw of the shifter as is, my GF also drives the car and the action is pretty stiff with the stock shifter (new oil going in soon to hopefully help this). Anything that makes the shift more manly is a nono. Storm shifter is lovely, once I get around to fixing my handbrake (new shoes and an adjustment) I will get the matching handbrake handle too.

[gregs656]

Ah, I assumed dashboard trim.

The storm shifter is meant to smooth out the shift. Mine is also pretty stiff but the e46 is well known for having a pretty average shift action so I'm not surprised.

[ethomas]

I just finished the dreaded CCV job. It's a fiddly bugger, but actually not as bad as I was expecting. The dreaded bayonet fitting pipe went on first time, and the whole job took just over 3 hours, I spent about 20 minutes putting the (sodding bd) dipstick bolt back in. To get access to the CCV I removed (in order):

• Air box
• Upper intake boot
• DISA valve
• Lower intake boot
• Idle control valve
• Dipstick
• Wiring box (loosened and left hanging)
• Throttle body

Once this lot is out, access to the CCV is not bad at all. The outgoing pipes all came apart in my hands, so once these had all been removed, the CCV was a doddle. Put the new valve in with no pipes attached, and fit the bayonet pipe first. Remember to put everything back once you are done .

I feel that there should be a special certificate or a sticker from BMW for people who manage to DIY this, it is definitely an E46 rite of passage.

Next up is a reconditioned rack and an alignment (booked in on Wednesday for this), I will get the garage to change out the gearbox oil at the same time. Finally, I have a new ABS/DSC module to fit, along with some new parking brake shoes. After that I am done for the year*, I promise!

• Oh, I also need to repair some scuffs on the driver seat leather, scuffmaster kit coming soon

[BigTom85]

ethomas said:

I just finished the dreaded CCV job.
I feel that there should be a special certificate or a sticker from BMW for people who manage to DIY this, it is definitely an E46 rite of passage.

Its a fun job isn't it Glad it finally got to you (sorry again about that btw).

Let us know how it affects oil usage

[ethomas]

Working from home today, so I managed to tick off another quick job over lunch. Change out the diff oil for Castrol Syntrax 75w-90. The old oil was thick and black, and full of bits of diff.

Some notes for anyone doing this job on a compact:

• You don't have to jack the car to do this, you can do it with all four wheels on the ground if you have a long arm
• I had to remove the spare wheel carrier to get access to the fill plug, remove the wheel and take out four nuts at the front of the carrier
• I used an outboard engine gear pump from ebay, and transferred oil into clean coke bottles (the pump didn't fit on the oil bottle), there is no room to use a funnel

[ethomas]

Another day, another few jobs done. My local garage fitted the recon steering rack today, which has made a massive difference. Where the steering was vague before it is now telepathic, just think where you want to go it it goes. When they did the change they also noticed that the previous owner had been using the wrong fluid (CH11s instead of Dex 3 ATF). They went the extra mile and flushed the system through before they fitted the new rack, so hopefully no long term harm to the pump or any other component.

I also got the gearbox fluid changed, there is a bunch of differing opinion out there on whether to use ATF (as Redline and some specialists recommend) or MTF (as BMW fill when new), I followed the middle route and used a mixture of both Red Line D4 ATF and 75w-80 MTF (as OpieOil suggested). Shifts are easier, and combined with the diff oil change, the car feels somehow smoother and less frantic to drive (99% sure this is placebo, but I don't care).

Lastly I got a new alignment, following the addition of Eibach springs and new struts last week, the results are pretty good:



The operator explained that they do not weight the car (as BMW require in their alignment guide), instead he and a colleague sat in the car when it was on the rack, at which point the front camber went green, so everything is in spec when I am in the car.

I am looking forward to being done with it for a while, will try to get the handbrake done soon so I can stop the car on a gentle incline without panic

[ethomas]

I had a couple of free hours today so I decided to tackle the ABS/DSC unit. The car had two persistent faults, relating to communication with the sensor cluster (yaw and acceleration) under the passenger seat. I replaced the cluster already, so the next step was to replace the control unit itself.

Handily it is possible to replace the electronic part of the DSC module without unplumbing the hydraulic part of the module from the vehicle's brakes. This saves the hassle of bleeding the system, and saves on new brake fluid. Remove the two 13mm bolts that hold the module to the car and pull it up and out. You will be pulling against the existing brake lines, but there is (just) enough flex in them. Unfasten the two torx screws that hold the electronic part to the pump, remove the massive connector, and wrestle with it a bit until it comes out. Installation is, inevitable, the opposite of removal (be careful with the pins that connect the electronic module with the pump, they will get bent the first time you try to install it).

The result of all this is that I have replaced two error codes with some new codes. The new codes are to do with the VIN on the new module not matching the VIN of the vehicle, and that the module expects communication with an automatic gearbox (replacement module is from an auto). Both of these will be fixed when I get NCS expert working and recode the module for my car.

Celebrated with a bit of a B-road blast!

[helix402]

Here's a guide for NCS expert (E39 but the theory is the same).

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1...

Edited by helix402 on Monday 26th October 06:09

[BigTom85]

Progman should be able to do the business too.

[Court_S]

I quite like the Compact, especially the sport version. The one in Imola red look lovely. It's one of my favourite colours for the E46 (and E39).

I had a 325ti SE, pre-facelift that I loved despite it being a bit of a dog. Every E46 issue was experienced in the two and a half years that I had it - broken rear springs, loads of bushes, expanding tank, water pump, thermostat, warped rad, corroded brake lines (they were expensive to sort) plus age related stuff. No rust though. Put 45k on it in the time I had it and it only broke down once (failed fuel pump).

When it went, it had hit to the point where it either turned into a shed or needed sone serious cafh spending on it - full suspension refresh, paintwork due to a poor repair plus a few other bits like VANOS seals. I decided to cut my losses.

If I'd been more willing to do some stuff myself, I would probably hung onto it for a while longer.

It did make a great noise though, was reasonably swift and could carry enough stuff to be practical.

[ethomas]

Success! I managed to get INPA and NCS expert working, they recoded the module and reinitialized the steering angle sensor. This means that I now have an almost error free dashboard:



The last thing is the rear brake pad wear sensor. This will be done in a few days when I replace my handbrake shoes - this is a job I have been putting off for months now, need to get it done before I kill my clutch with needlessly stressed hill starts.

[ethomas]

So, I still didn't get around to fixing my handbrake, however this arrived in the post today:



Royal Steering Wheels, perforated leather sides and nappa top and bottom. Colour coded stitching (decided to avoid the //M colour stitching on account of it not being an M3). It feels LOVELY

Installed it and it looks great, will try to get pictures when the car is next in daylight.

[BigTom85]

That does look lovely!

It's all coming together now then mate, what else is on the list?

[ethomas]

BigTom85 said:

That does look lovely!

It's all coming together now then mate, what else is on the list?

Yeah, I had to drive back from Windsor pretty late last night, and I was struck by just how capable the car is now. It is comfortable at motorway speeds for hours on end, superb steering and handling now the mismatched suspension components and rattly old steering gear are gone. The styling and colour has really grown on me too.

I am running out of things to do to be honest. There are a couple of minor jobs that need to be done:

• Splice in a new external temperature sensor before winter sets
• Replace the oil level sensor
• Replace the handbrake shoes (I really have no enthusiasm for this job )
• Oil and filter change

I have all the parts for these, I will do them next free weekend I have.

Aside from these, just big jobs. I would love to drop a new engine in, this would probably be the M54B30 from a 330i if I can fine one with low enough miles. This is plug and play, just a new map needed for the ECU. Obviously the ultimate 325ti would have the engine, gearbox, and rear axle from an M3, but the total cost of the parts is around 5k from a reputable breaker like Quarry Motors, and it is a much more complicated install... Will see how I feel next summer when bonus season comes

[ethomas]

Not done much to the car in the last few weeks, it has been running beautifully, and as I said last time, there is not much left to do!

I decided that before a small winter road trip (Belgium and France for Christmas week) I will try to upgrade the front seats to (heated, powered) M3 seats. This is apparently reasonably easy, I have sourced a new control panel very cheaply (with the heated seat and dsc buttons), and have founds some nice looking seats nearby which I made an offer on. As well as this there is some wiring - need to figure out if I buy a loom for 80 quid off ebay and be done with it, or DIY it.

Assuming this goes to plan, I will have some pretty decent and recently gliptoned black leather front seats to get rid of, so do let me know if you might be interested before I put them on EBay.