g3org3y's shedtastic £900 BMW E46 330Ci

[g3org3y]

[redacted]

[g3org3y]

Kettmark said:

Where did you get 2 nd hand ones as I need one too?

eBay from this seller.

Aluminati said:

George, if you come and change my pads, i’ll get her to make some pukka Stifado

Unfortunately I'm on a diet (new year's resolution).

[g3org3y]

craigjm said:

A diet? Oh dear

I thought everyone was on a diet in January.

Engine seems to be fine. No Check Engine light and everything seems to be running well. ASC/ABS light back on (now more often then not) so need to get that sorted. Out of interest, could different tyre brands (and treadwear) across the front axle cause the sensor to misread?

Last week did home visit on a patient. Unfortunately they live down a private road which resembles those 3rd world dust tracks that are oft seen in Top Gear Specials. Not very sympathetic to the suspension. Next day when braking to a standstill heard a clunk. Sounded like it may have been coming from the rear.

Inspecting the rear ride height:
NS Rear


OS Rear


Looks like the OS is sitting lower. Broken spring perhaps? When I get the chance I'll get it jacked up and see what's what.

[g3org3y]

Following on from the above, decided it was worth getting a pair of springs. Decided if I was going to do the springs, I might as well do the shocks and the top mounts at the same time.

I found www.autodoc.co.uk to be a really helpful resource with regards to finding the correct part numbers for aftermarket kit.

As I understand it, all coupes came with Sports suspension (S226A). I ended up going for Bilstein B3 (38-233715) and Sachs 556-882. Also bought the BMW 'top mount repair kit'.

As part of the overhaul I needed the various shims and plates, not the kind of things you can buy from ECP. I also wanted the rubber spring holders which sit at the top and bottom of the spring. There was a seller on eBay who did aftermarket items but they were surprisingly expensive.

I found on the BMW website their official parts store: https://shop.bmw.co.uk/bmw-uk-responsive/en_GB/gen...

You're able to search for your car via VIN and identify the parts you need through the same diagrams as RealOEM which is really helpful. You order and they get sent direct for free. It looks like the parts come from the same place (Park Lane) as when you buy OEM BMW parts from the official BMW eBay shop.

MUCH cheaper than a lot of aftermarket places on eBay (for washers, clips, random rubber bits etc).

[g3org3y]

Got the car jacked up to have a look at the rear suspension. Have to park the car skewed in the garage so I can actually access the driver's side.



Looks like the shocks have been done before with the same Sachs kit:


Original BMW bumpstops still in situ. I wonder if these are the original 20 year old items!


Surprisingly, the springs were actually not too bad. I note the blue stripes

Driver's side:


Passenger side:


Based on that, decided to hold fire for a bit on replacing everything and instead concentrate on the front wheel speed sensor (which I suspected was causing the ASC/ABS light).

[g3org3y]

I already mentioned on a previous post that when trying to remove the sensor the head of the bolt sheared.

Rather than buying cheapo eBay pattern parts, I try to get decent OE or equivalent parts. Ordered a Bosch wheel speed sensor


And a replacement bolt. I notice BMW have changed the design of this from allen bolt to hex bolt.


Old sensor:


Clearer view of the sheared bolt


Given there is no thread on the sensor itself, I thought it may be possible to prise the sensor off and then hopefully be able to remove the headless bolt once exposed. Unfortunately it was stuck solid. I've soaked it in PlusGas and may give it another go tomorrow but I must admit I don't want to force things too much as I may make the situation a lot worse!

I notice the rear tyres are needing replacement. Seriously unsure whether to make the drop to 225/45 R17s all round. Would be more comfortable and the tyres cheaper, but I must admit I really like the 18 inch MVs. It's one of the classic E46 wheels I associate with the model. Looking at the options, I'll probably go for Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric.

Edited by g3org3y on Saturday 30th May 12:06

Edited by g3org3y on Sunday 31st May 06:12

[g3org3y]

Finally got round to putting up the TV I'd planned at the end of last year. Decided to put it on the wall between the doors. Makes it more accessible than the original planned location. It's high enough that cars can get in and out the garage with no issues, plus on a swivel bracket so can move it left/right easily.





Works fine. All I needed was a new remote (£4.98 from eBay) and some bolts/plugs etc (<£3). Need to get some long cables (power and HDMI) and will probably have them attached to the wall over the right garage door.

Happy with how it's worked out.

[g3org3y]

160k. Engine hasn't blown up.

[g3org3y]

Mr Tidy said:

Congratulations on reaching that milestone.

And I'm seriously jealous of your man cave!

Thanks!

Kettmark said:

Great cars. Mine's on 242k.

You've made it to the moon!

williamp said:

I love the E46 coupe. A lovely car and I love what you are doing to it.

One thing which has always irked me about them, is the door trim moulding between the door and dashboard. It just doesnt work: like there were two designers working to two different measurements. Why couldnt they line up??.

Thanks! Never noticed that before...unlikely to not notice it ever again.

Car still alive. Here it is (dirty) pictured with our newly set up COVID assessment tent in the carpark of the surgery.



Creaks quite a bit when setting off from standstill or just about coming to a halt on braking. Doesn't clunk or make noise at speed or when going over bumps.

Control arm bushings perhaps?

[g3org3y]

RDMcG said:

Great thread!!

Thanks!

Car decided to troll me last night. Needed petrol so nipped into Tesco on the way home.

Usual Pay at Pump spiel, pushed the fuel flap to open - nothing. Pushed again - nothing. The bloody thing wouldn't unlock. I wasn't happy.

I remembered that there was an emergency pull in the boot. Pulled it - bloody cap popped off, wasn't attached to the cable!!

Luckily the petrol station wasn't busy. Lock/unlock/lock/unlock/punch/lock/unlock/punch - OPEN.

Filled up and drove off in a grump.

I understand the actuator for these can fail. Seems quite cheap to buy on eBay. It will now lock but it won't unlock.

Annoying!


In the locked position with the cap open


I reattached the cable and it works to unlock.

I'll consider getting a second hand one at some point, in the meantime...


Problem solved.


Please don't steal my petrol while the car is parked up. Thanks.

[g3org3y]

JakeT said:

You should be able to clip the cable back on to the little green handle behind the boot carpet too.

I did that. For a second I debated about that being my new way to open the fuel cap...then I decided on the knife.

[g3org3y]

g3org3y said:

And this is where I noticed some bother. I already mentioned on a previous post that when trying to remove the sensor the head of the bolt sheared.

Rather than buying cheapo eBay pattern parts, I try to get decent OE or equivalent parts. Ordered a Bosch wheel speed sensor


And a replacement bolt. I notice BMW have changed the design of this from allen bolt to hex bolt.


Old sensor:


Clearer view of the sheared bolt

Remember this?

Remind me not to work on old cars.

This sensor was solid. Hit it with a hammer - nothing. Tried to prise it off with a flat head screw driver - nothing.

Turns out trying to pull it off (Oh er!) with mole grips...


Results in this:


Hmmm....



Any ideas? (Apart from the inevitable take it to the garage next week option...)

(As an aside, the new impact wrench works well for lug nuts!)

Edited by g3org3y on Saturday 30th May 12:25

[g3org3y]

Thanks for the advice chaps.

Sensor goes in pretty deep and it's bloody solid. Worried about it breaking and bits stuck/fused at the bottom.

I think if I drill in a screw and then pull on it it'll just rip the plastic.

I was going to try and drill a hole into the bolt for a screw extractor, but seems my drill bits are too crap. Looks like I need to buy some cobalt or titanium bits. Any suggestions?

fastbikes76 said:

Just caught up with this, nice bargain basement car !

Thanks! Nice when it's not causing problems, though to be fair this is minor. I've been driving without ABS and traction control for the last few weeks. Haven't died yet!

Edited by g3org3y on Saturday 30th May 17:18

[g3org3y]

craigjm said:

Just scrap it

Git

fk this, might go for a drive...er...to do some exercise/shopping/<insert government approved reason> etc. It's convertible weather.

[g3org3y]

[redacted]

[g3org3y]

Thanks again guys.

Jakg said:

Apologies, I missed that bit!

No chance of using mole grips on it?

If not, cut the head off and drill it out unfortunately.

Tried with the mole grips but the mofo is solid (plus there's not a huge amount of room to manoeuvre). I'll try again today. Still got it jacked up in the garage.

helix402 said:

I’d try heat, Plus Gas and a pair of mole grips on the broken bolt.

Everything is covered in Plus Gas. I went to sleep last night smelling of Plus Gas.

Re heat, are those cheapo butane blow torches/canisters you can buy on eBay any good or should I buy something proper?

TBH, the sensor hasn't been working for a few weeks now (was intermittent, now constant) so have been driving around with no ABS or traction control. Another week (or two) won't hurt. I'm tempted to keep at it to solve this without having to resort to the mechanic.

Working on these old cars is tricky. 20 years of hot/cold/rain/salt etc on bolts and sensors that have never been loosened or removed = possible (probable) problems. A 30 mins job can turn into a whole day (or perhaps can't be completed at all). This is the reason I didn't want to mess around with the crankshaft position sensor (documented earlier in the thread).

[g3org3y]

Pupbelly said:

Great work and good to see some passion for an ageing Beemer.

Thanks. I do love an old Beemer. Still miss my E36 328 Touring. 214k before 'retired' to easier duties.


Isle of Mull

[g3org3y]

mercedeslimos said:

I usually use MAPP Plus gas (propane with some sort of accelerant). Careful with it, can turn things red hot!

I bought the GoSystem AT2071 so nothing too fancy. Awaiting delivery and we'll see how things go. Hopefully will arrive before the weekend.

As an aside, 15k posts!

[g3org3y]

No success with the blow torch. May have to put my hands up and take it to the garage. Oh well... (I am disappoint).

In other other news, have upgraded the ICE to the 21st century late 20th century. Had the original BMW Business cassette head unit and wanted to upgrade to the CD unit with option of aux in. Members in the BMW section mentioned a bluetooth input via the autochanger but I don't put music on my (old) phone.

If anyone wants info about the different head units out there, this is a great resource. I wanted a headunit that could play mp3 CDs (remember those!?) and have aux in capability.

Reasonable straightforward swap. Head unit very easy to get out.




A lot of people run the aux cable down the centre console and exit in the ashtray insert...seemingly my 330 is one of the few out there with the non smoking package so that was a bit annoying.



Instead decided to install it next to the DSC button.


I'm happy with the installation, looks pretty clean.


Aux in works.




Now I can finally enjoy Kylie Pink Floyd properly.

Edited by g3org3y on Saturday 20th June 18:10

[g3org3y]

craigjm said:

That iPod is older than you

But not as old as you.

Anyway, it's not an iPod, it's ' iPod style'.