2004 e46 BMW 330i Sport Touring 6 speed

[NiceCupOfTea]

helix402 said:

I buy oil in 20l drums from TPS (VAG). Meets LL04 and VW 507. It's called Longlife 3. Normallly only sold to the trade. Very good and very cheap.

I know that LL04 supercedes LL01, but anything wrong with LL-01? It's what BMW specified in the owners manual... Not sure I will use 20 litres!

[_Nathan_]

helix402 said:

I buy oil in 20l drums from TPS (VAG). Meets LL04 and VW 507. It's called Longlife 3. Normallly only sold to the trade. Very good and very cheap.

Any advise on how to register with TPS as a non trade ?

[helix402]

I'm sure you'll be fine with LL01, just change it every 10k. Re 20l, what's the oil capacity, around 6.5l, so not even three oil changes. If you want smaller quantities try carparts4less with a discount code, they had 5l of Petronas LL04 for £17 the other day.

[helix402]

_Nathan_ said:

Any advise on how to register with TPS as a non trade ?

Sorry, I bought mine was I in the trade. Maybe try any friends who work in the trade.

[Sf_Manta]

Have you done the CCV and breather system replacement yet?
If it's drinking hideous amounts of oil, good chance that the breather's are clogged and it's forcing the oil up through the rings.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Sf_Manta said:

Have you done the CCV and breather system replacement yet?
If it's drinking hideous amounts of oil, good chance that the breather's are clogged and it's forcing the oil up through the rings.

I mentioned it to the specialist and he said that if it's not noticeably burning oil (blue smoke etc) then it's ok, but maybe he just doesn't want to do it as i gather it's a pig of a job.

Hoping using 5w40 will slow down the consumption

[Sf_Manta]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Sf_Manta said:

Have you done the CCV and breather system replacement yet?
If it's drinking hideous amounts of oil, good chance that the breather's are clogged and it's forcing the oil up through the rings.

I mentioned it to the specialist and he said that if it's not noticeably burning oil (blue smoke etc) then it's ok, but maybe he just doesn't want to do it as i gather it's a pig of a job.

Hoping using 5w40 will slow down the consumption

Going 5w40 will help, but the CCV and breather pipes are the main cause, and it is a bit of a sod. Sounds like your specialist doesn't want to do it.

[NiceCupOfTea]

OK, just back from its Inspection II and they seemed to think it was a decent enough car which is encouraging.

List of todos from them:

• slight runout on front brake discs (so that would account for the judder and I will renew those and pads)
• diff output seals leaking x2
• trailing arm bushes perished
• small crack in subframe mounting point (20mm) (NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
• slight leak from thermostat housing
• oil filter housing gasket leaking

Nothing too bad then apart from the sodding subframe. He didn't seem to think it was too bad though and reckoned it would cost £700 or so to fix which sounds better than some of the amounts I have heard people mention. He was standing under an e46 CSL on which he was doing the same thing as we chatted about it.

I know it's only a £3k car but I think I might as well get it done otherwise it will just get worse. Any thoughts on the other bits?

[JakeT]

All par for the course and nothing to worry about. Subframe isn't ideal but once it's done it's done.

[helix402]

You can fit M3 trailing arm bushes. Gen BMW are the best. Diff seals are easy to change. Shame about the floor crack.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Yeah, I think I will just get it booked in in the next couple of weeks and then it's done. Maybe ask them to do the CCV at the same time.

Regarding discs/pads - anything special to go for? ECP defaulted to Brembo ones, but listed about 5 at various different prices. Presumably 325mm are standard on 330 Sport? I think they are bigger than the standard 330 ones aren't they?

[JakeT]

All 330 models come with 325mm discs. ATE are pretty good also. Brembo should be good. They're the most expensive!

[helix402]

I normally only fit gen BMW pads and discs, I go for value pad kits (they come with the wear sensor too). If you look up the part numbers for brake pads and discs you can put the numbers in eBay. You often find real bargains on gen brake parts this way. (Don't buy the gen BMW front discs for £88, I want them! ) They're sold, this is the cheapest I can find now:


As mentioned Brembo and ATE brake parts are fine. Avoid Pagid as I found their pads squeak. Carparts4less are the same as ECP but cheaper.

Edited by helix402 on Monday 8th May 17:29

[helix402]

I have a set of Value Line gen BMW f pads and sensor if you're interested. £60 delivered.

[Sf_Manta]

NiceCupOfTea said:

OK, just back from its Inspection II and they seemed to think it was a decent enough car which is encouraging.

List of todos from them:

• slight runout on front brake discs (so that would account for the judder and I will renew those and pads) - Eurocar parts are reasonable for pagid parts, and easy enough to DIY with basic tools and some copper grease (don't forget those sliders)
• diff output seals leaking x2 - Mine's leaking on one side, top up for the moment unless you plan for sorting it / upgrade to LSD
• trailing arm bushes perished - I put Powerflex items in, barely noticed the increase in NVH but tracking has been spot on since, DIY fit too with not too much issue
• small crack in subframe mounting point (20mm) (NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Bugger I'm guessing mine may not be far off, though if you're getting it done - http://www.redish-motorsport.com/RedishMotorsportE... BMW even took recalls to this place and yes if they do it's £1500 for the job The kit though is £130+VAT, and if you've got someone who's willing to do the work, I would recommend getting them to fit this
• slight leak from thermostat housing Easy fix if you're willing to do the work yourself
• oil filter housing gasket leaking again as above, should be reasonably easy given access is good

Nothing too bad then apart from the sodding subframe. He didn't seem to think it was too bad though and reckoned it would cost £700 or so to fix which sounds better than some of the amounts I have heard people mention. He was standing under an e46 CSL on which he was doing the same thing as we chatted about it.

I know it's only a £3k car but I think I might as well get it done otherwise it will just get worse. Any thoughts on the other bits?

Added my thoughts on each point. here in italic, I'm actually planning to get the work done for the subrfame and diff, given that on https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/ there's only about 250 330i manuals around so quite the rare car and worth preserving.

[helix402]

Plastilube (BMW branded stuff) or Ceratec is the best pad grease. I won't go into the reasons as a lot of people are still fond of Copperslip as they have grown up with it.
Trust me, Plastilube/Ceratec is better, and it looks nicer.

[NiceCupOfTea]

In other news, have tidied up a couple of the things that have been annoying me - the load cover was really tatty, the hardboard bit was broken and all the vinyl was peeling. There was a 3 inch gap where you could see what was in the boot as well! Anyway, tracked down a pretty clean one in grey for £30 so it looks a lot nicer in the back.

Finally fixed the glass tailgate - noticed that the knuckle on the hinge was facing the wrong way for some reason. Even taking it off and smacking it with a BFH couldn't get it to "flip", so effectively there was no lift on one side and the window just flopped. Found a hinge on ebay for sensible money and swapped them over tonight. Aligning everything was tough work (putting the old one back on was OK, but because the new one pushes upwards it's difficult to get the angle of the shims right) but it's together now and lines up OK. It doesn't automatically lift or anything but it holds fine, so that is another job done.





Old RH hinge on the left, new on the right. Notice back to front knuckle on the old one. Weird.

Annoyingly I couldn't find a way to disconnect the high level brake light ribbon cable in the spoiler so that was flapping around getting in the way.

Still to be done:

- Track down an off-side wing in Mystic blue as mine as awful lacquer peel (possibly get the front bumper resprayed too)
- New front discs/pads
- Back to the garage to weld the subframe crack and sort out some bushes/minor leaks (and CCV refresh)
- Find and fit a decent double-DIN Android stereo. BMWpowerandaudio seems to be well thought of but I really want to see a decent youtube video of it in operation before I spunk £400 on it!
- Get the interior deep cleaned (grey leather is in decent nick but it is a bit discoloured.
- Give the headlamps a polish
- either get the wheels refurbed or replace with OEM BMW 18" of some type (currently there is a Z4 living locally with CSL reps on that I am coveting...)

[helix402]

Spoiler ribbon connection is under the spoiler. It plugs into the diversity module. The connection is covered in clear plastic membrane to stop water ingress.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Bugger.



I guess the extra stress of having a working glass hinge has made the tailgate hinge shear. Quite a common fault I think. Hopefully nothing I have done! Wondering whether to get a pair and change them both, although I suppose any second hand ones are going to be just as likely to suffer the same stress effects.

Unfortunate side effect is that the tailgate/window are now rendered useless They are closed now but I am not happy about the amount of stress on the other hinge and that it might give way as well so I'd better not drive until sorted.

Oh well...

[helix402]

The joy of old cars! I heard a knock from mine today so checked it out, no floor cracks! Needs a nsf control arm bush, large diff bush and a nsr wheel bearing or bush ( need a friend for wiggling duties).