The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread

[Fishy Dave]

Well, the engine had a week of soaking in the Seafoam, new vanos bolts and the whole lot reassembled today. The most time consuming part is working out where to locate the catch tank (still not sure about it under the filter).



As expected I had to evacuate the workshop for 15 minutes when I started the car as the Seafoam burnt off, major smoke screen!



The increased vacuum is really noticeable when removing both the oil filler cap and the dipstick, although this then triggered an engine light which I cleared and it hasn't come back on.
A slight improvement in performance on the drive home, probably the vanos seals. Quite looking forward to starting it tomorrow to see if the familiar blue fog has disappeared.

[Fishy Dave]

Great news, no blue smoke on start up and once fully warmed up I gave it a good run through the gears with no noticeable smoke behind me. However, the engine light and codes P0171 and P0174 came back on at the end of my journey, so the extra vacuum has found a small hole somewhere else in the system and is letting in unmetered air. A job for another day, will report back in a week about oil consumption as it would usually use a litre or more in this amount of time!

[venskip]

Fingers crossed Dave - or is it time for that S54 swap?!

[ethomas]

Picked up the E46 rear axle this morning. The good news is the bearings on the diff seem smooth, no roughness or anything turning them by hand. The bad news is the ball joints on the trailing arms seem buggered. Still smooth, but the rubber is no longer giving a nice seal, so it is only a matter of time before they go.

I managed to strip it a bit already: removed the diff, wishbones, trailing arm brackets, brake calipers, ARB. The big job is going to be finishing stripping the trailing arms, the bearings are apparently a pig to remove, and the hub nut is on with about 200lb/ft. I have the right size socket (36mm 12 point), a long breaker bar, and a set of bearing pullers, so I will give it a go at the weekend. Any tips? The camber arm bolts are stuck in the bearings too, I will have to punch them out with a BFH.

The other fun job will be getting the subframe bushes out. I think I need to find a friendly specialist with the right tools.

[helix402]

Bearings aren't too bad, they're are a few back yard US vids on you tube which may help. You will need some special tools though. FAG are the best bearings for BMs.
Slide hammer for getting the drive flange off, to get the old bearing out-by the book way with many special tools, not by the book way-big hammer and suitable sized circular metal piece. The bearing fitting tool is basically the right sizes pieces and a threaded rod and nuts. When fitting the drive flange back that too is pressed into the bearing-make sure you do it properly or you'll kill the new bearing. If it's not quite pressed all the way in the driveshaft nut will pull the last few mm in.
You can hire bearing tools from Phoenix Motorsport if you don't fancy "bodging it/making do with what you've got".

Edited by helix402 on Wednesday 24th February 22:25

[ethomas]

helix402 said:

Bearings aren't too bad, they're are a few back yard US vids on you tube which may help. You will need some special tools though. FAG are the best bearings for BMs.
Slide hammer for getting the drive flange off, to get the old bearing out-by the book way with many special tools, not by the book way-big hammer and suitable sized circular metal piece. The bearing fitting tool is basically the right sizes pieces and a threaded rod and nuts. When fitting the drive flange back that too is pressed into the bearing-make sure you do it properly or you'll kill the new bearing. If it's not quite pressed all the way in the driveshaft nut will pull the last few mm in.
You can hire bearing tools from Phoenix Motorsport if you don't fancy "bodging it/making do with what you've got".

Edited by helix402 on Wednesday 24th February 22:25

It is good to hear this. I have a hub puller, a set of bearing tools, and a selection of large hammers so I should be fine. FAG bearings are already here

[helix402]

Have fun! Lemforder make the ball joints if you're doing them.

[gregs656]

I do like the look of these things.



The wheel in each corner look and the proportions generally really work.

[Fishy Dave]

One week on and I'm very pleased to report there is still no smoke at any point and the oil level has not budged on the dipstick, previously it would have used a litre by now! The soak and/or catch can really has worked. I can move on to more exciting things now, like a wheel refurb and planning a trackday in July with Goldtrack at Thruxton.

[gregs656]

Fishy Dave said:

One week on and I'm very pleased to report there is still no smoke at any point and the oil level has not budged on the dipstick, previously it would have used a litre by now! The soak and/or catch can really has worked. I can move on to more exciting things now, like a wheel refurb and planning a trackday in July with Goldtrack at Thruxton.

Brilliant - good to know!

[ethomas]

Fishy Dave said:

One week on and I'm very pleased to report there is still no smoke at any point and the oil level has not budged on the dipstick, previously it would have used a litre by now! The soak and/or catch can really has worked. I can move on to more exciting things now, like a wheel refurb and planning a trackday in July with Goldtrack at Thruxton.

This sounds like something I should try. Can you let me know where you got the seafoam on this side of the pond and send me a link to the catch can you used?

[Fishy Dave]

I bought the Seafoam from ebay, not cheap though: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEA-FOAM-Motor-Purge-Die...

The catchcan I went for is this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120959791639?_trksid=p20...
I used the 15mm fittings which meant I could use just two hose diameters, 16mm and 19mm (most of the guides talk about stepping down twice to 8mm at a catch can. This catch can is quite big however and i may relocate it. I inserted a small length of pipe inside the can so that the air must travel through the wire pot scourers I bought as a filter.

The 16mm bung in the pipe from the dip stick tube http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171391328907?_trksid=p20...

I used one brass 19mm to 16mm reducer http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121368740932?_trksid=p20...

Lastly this PCV valve from the states, I couldn't find one in the UK http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111718418025?_trksid=p20...

Hope that helps.

[ethomas]

Fishy Dave said:

Hope that helps.

It does indeed. So the setup goes:
Engine vent (front of the rocker cover) --> catch tank --> PCV valve --> Intake manifold (existing CCV pipes)?

[Fishy Dave]

ethomas said:

It does indeed. So the setup goes:
Engine vent (front of the rocker cover) --> catch tank --> PCV valve --> Intake manifold (existing CCV pipes)?

You've got it, I removed my CCV and bunged the hose coming up from the dipstick tube.

[ethomas]

I had a good look at the subframe yesterday, I am starting to get concerned about the amount of rust. It seems to be structural rather than just surface stuff (the last photo shows some holes that seem to be caused by rust):
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/tx8yjzz861yxy90/AAChwFt...

I can get another subframe for about 50 quid, so it is far from the end of the world, but I may just be overreacting. Any advice?

[mark.c]

It's a bit tricky to see on the pictures but I would be having a go at the worst bits with a flapper wheel or wire brush so you can see what's what. If the last picture really is holed due to corrosion then since you have access to a new one then I would just ditch the old one.

If the secondhand one is good then you could do worse than paint it with something like POR15 prior to fitment. Quick coat of Bilth Hamber and it will likely outlive the car

[BigTom85]

I'd be replacing that for certain, its got holes in, so you can be assured what's left in the area is going to be pretty thin.

[ethomas]

BigTom85 said:

I'd be replacing that for certain, its got holes in, so you can be assured what's left in the area is going to be pretty thin.

Yup, just ordered another one from a chap on M3 Cutters. I also ordered a hydraulic hub puller, since I broke a crappy screw puller trying to get the nearside axle out of the hub (offside came out ok, nearside appears to be stuck). A lot of things are stuck on this: both rear discs were more or less welded to the hubs, the RTABs were a nightmare to remove (much worse than those on my car), and both camber arm bolts were jammed in the ball joints (one is now out, the other remains despite being encouraged by a BFH). This is turning out to be much more work than I expected

Still, there is a nice pile of Lemforder boxes here, ready for when everything is cleaned up

[Lazzer325ti]

Fishy Dave said:

One week on and I'm very pleased to report there is still no smoke at any point and the oil level has not budged on the dipstick, previously it would have used a litre by now! The soak and/or catch can really has worked. I can move on to more exciting things now, like a wheel refurb and planning a trackday in July with Goldtrack at Thruxton.

Had mine out at Rockingham end of Feb. They are great fun on the track and handle themselves well against more powerful machines. I've posted a few videos on my YouTube channel Lazzer Track Days

[drophead]

Started mine up for the first time in a while since moving onto a new MINI Cooper SD. Gosh, I miss the noise it makes. 124k miles and the engine's still butter smooth. Just sorting out the ad etc, moving insurance over to the MINI and it'll be up for sale soon



Anyone else think the interior of these things are just great. Love the way it lights up at night. Although it's typically German in its colour palette, I still find it slightly special to sit in compared to your equivalent Golf.