BMW E46 330dA Touring

[helix402]

Sorry that hear of your gearbox woes. Depending on the failure I have a spare tcc solenoid, filter and sump gasket for the GM box.

[helix402]

helix402 said:

Sorry that hear of your gearbox woes. Depending on the failure I have a spare tcc solenoid, filter and sump gasket for the GM box.

Drop me a PM if they'd be any good to you.

[rallycross]

helix402 said:

Drop me a PM if they'd be any good to you.

Thanks very much for the offer, funnily enough those are the parts I had changed over (using new parts) when fitting the 2nd hand gearbox from eBay - but there is another problem in there now).

[helix402]

If I hear of a gearbox I'll let you know. I know some people go for a manual conversion.

[helix402]

New battery today, old one was a little weak on cold mornings. The battery was the original, 16 years and 229k miles!

[helix402]

Gearbox service time today, new oil, filter, fill and drain plugs, magnet and two solenoids.

[JakeT]

I've just had a look at the battery in my 325ti after seeing the pic of the negative post on yours. Mine is a 29/01 battery! Can't believe it has lasted that long. Might replace it soon. I've also got an E46 328ci coming in the works. Needs a few bits for its MOT, but for £850 it would be rude not to. What is the mileage coming up to on yous now?

[helix402]

Mines on 230k now. There's a lot of potential for the 328, have a look through my old thread for ideas. The 330 manifold is a good move.

The first no on the battery is the week of manufacture. Many years ago BMW dealerships used to have a chart displaying the battery build date and when it should be charged (on new cars prior to delivery). Then it was abandoned and they all got a full charge with the pdi.

Edited by helix402 on Thursday 10th November 20:57

[JakeT]

Not bad at all that. My dad's had an E53 X5 from new and it ticked over 205k yesterday. It's got an M54 too. The 328 does have potential, and I think it will have a manifold swap at some point. They're strangled from the factory. Does an M50 manifold fit the M52 in an E46?

That makes sense, as the car is a 29/01 build. I was more surprised that the battery had lasted so long.

[helix402]

M50 manifold won't fit the M52tu, you need an M54 330 manifold and adaptor plate for the throttle. You can bin the aux air pump too and put an M54 blanking plate on. Watch some eBay sellers with the manifolds, they'll try and sell you a non 330 manifold as a 330 one.

[helix402]

[carpetsoiler]

You've done literally everything I'd ever recommend to be done to one of these lumps, short of sticking a hybrid turbo on it and mapping it.

Nice to see it looked after properly- the vac lines made a HUGE difference to my old 530d Sport Touring.

Engine mounts also helped a lot too- such a weird setup but the vacuum operation is genuinely funky- loved knocking it into Sport and feeling the engine mounts stiffen up.

I have a very sad looking manual one of these I need to dump a fresh lump into. If you need any M57D30 spares, I have 2x 184 lumps laying around.

[helix402]

If it was a manual I'd map it but I wouldn't risk it with an auto. I've got a spare M52tu sump gasket on the shelf if you need one. Thanks for the offer re 184 bits, will drop you a message if I need any.

Edited by helix402 on Thursday 24th November 07:33

Just remembered I have remapped it, but only with the BMW software for the later air mass meter.

Edited by helix402 on Thursday 24th November 09:14

[SebringMan]

Aha, I thought you may have been a guy I know off another forum when I saw your post about this car.

Your car is certainly looking sorted and goes to show that mileage is not everything .

Out of curiosity did the prop bearing make much difference? I ask as I am chasing down a minor vibration in my M3 that only happens when acellerating and now being a slight vibration at 80mph with a very very quiet hum, although it has got quieter with the new tyres.

Polynesian said:

In an old life, I used to write for Evo. One friday I had a call to go and work on an Ascar team for the weekend, at Rockingham. It was Bintcliffe Sport, running Jason Plato and Darren Manning in the new formula. Not my kind of racing but a lot of fun wearing the overalls and being the most useless pit crew in the series.

John Bintcliffe drove a 330d (on the road, not track!), and raved about it. Preferred it to the M3. Now, he drove one, so of course he preferred it, probably had a family to cart around in it, but he spoke very highly of it, and it certainly shifted. This was 2002, and i'm not sure if there was much tuning for the diesel engines then or if it was standard. But it flew! Oh, and Plato won one of the races and it was pretty crazy racing. Good feeling of speed with the concrete next to you at 160mph- I passengered in a car, didn't get a drive :-(

That is something I didn't realise!

[helix402]

The prop bearing made a huge difference as it had failed (more the rubber support than the bearing itself) to the point where the prop was banging on tight turns under load.

[helix402]

eBay made me do it:



21mm Eibach rear anti roll bar. I have a 19 on now but wanted a 20 from a convertible, couldn't find one. If it turns my car into an oversteering disaster I'll have to put an M3 26mm on the front.

[helix402]

New links for the rear bar:



M3 links arrived somehow, let's hope they fit!

[JakeT]

You mention the M3 26mm... But you can get a Compact 26.5mm for even more street cred...

[helix402]

I haven't found any Compact arbs for sale yet, there seem to be more M3 ones around. I'll see how it goes first with the 21 rear bar .

[helix402]

Turns out M3 rear anti roll bar links are shorter than standard E46 ones. Two M3 links now on eBay if anyone wants some!