BMW 330D E46 - My new car
Discussion
helix402 said:
Pretty sure it does have flaps having checked realoem. I’d recommend alloy blanks and it’s also worth changing all the vacuum pipes for silicon ones while the manifold is off. I use Ramair silicon hose.
Is that fairly simple to do? Going to do an oil change tomorrow, checked it yesterday and it's not looking that fresh!
helix402 said:
LL04 is a BMW spec, it’s short for Long Life 2004, it replaces LL01. I use 5w30 simply our habit as that’s what we used when I worked at a BMW dealer. I’ve been using Quantum Longlife 3 oil for the last few years as I get it at a very good trade price. (Not in the trade any more but you can find it on eBay).
This is the stuff:
Forgot to mention Mann have decided to supply an alloy sump plug washer in the filter kit rather than the copper they used to. I don’t like the feel of these when tightening so keep a stock of copper ones (Febi Bilstein). Sorry if this all sounds rather anorakish but I am something of an E46 geek.
Thanks again! This is the stuff:
Forgot to mention Mann have decided to supply an alloy sump plug washer in the filter kit rather than the copper they used to. I don’t like the feel of these when tightening so keep a stock of copper ones (Febi Bilstein). Sorry if this all sounds rather anorakish but I am something of an E46 geek.
Oil change completed. Annoyingly someone said that a local garage do it for £60 or so...wish I had seen that before. Spent £50 on oil/filter and then 90 minutes doing the bloody thing. Plus I'm not a fan of going under the car when its on blocks. But its done. Just found a old service sheet from around 2,000 miles ago, but the oil was filthy when it came out so can't do it any harm.
2wheelsjimmy said:
Would be £60 labour (1h) + parts. So still a saving.
Worth checking the coolant temperature, to check thermostats are working, as someone said before. Just had to change both on my 530d.
Thats what I thought, but nope...£60 for everything. Not sure what oil it was though *has a look* Titan GTI Pro-C3 5w30 XTL...no idea if thats any good or not! Worth checking the coolant temperature, to check thermostats are working, as someone said before. Just had to change both on my 530d.
On the plus side...I wouldn't end up with oil over my clothes and in the back garden from where I tried to pour it back into a bottle to take into the tip...
Since Wednesday I've checked the oil every time in the morning before going out to make sure its normal and to see if its going down. I made sure when I parked at work on Thursday there was no oil on the floor. When I left there wasn't any either. Today I checked the oil level again and its all good, and no fresh oil on the floor.
I can only think it was dripping when I poured it in...I didn't do a great job as didn't have a funnel. I'll keep checking it daily for a bit.
I've noticed when I first drive and accelerate (engine is warm though) hard there is a load of smoke, normally black but did have white after I washed it. Is this anything to worry about or normal?
I can only think it was dripping when I poured it in...I didn't do a great job as didn't have a funnel. I'll keep checking it daily for a bit.
I've noticed when I first drive and accelerate (engine is warm though) hard there is a load of smoke, normally black but did have white after I washed it. Is this anything to worry about or normal?
Edited by LosingGrip on Friday 6th April 17:55
Managed to hit a pothole on the way home from my girlfriends earlier this morning. Spare put on and drove the three miles to get a new one. I wanted a Pirelli P7, but no one had them in stock. I didn't fancy leaving the space saver on for a few days, so went for a Yokohama AE50. Slightly cheaper, but still £90 that I wasn't wanting to spend. To be fair they did only have 3mm left, so would be replaced in the next month or so anyway.
Its just ticked over 175,000 miles.
If anyone is in Dorset, I can't recommend DCM Tyres in Blandford (and Shaftesbury) enough. Phoned them up (Shaftesbury by mistake!), really helpful on the phone. Thought I had phoned the Blandford one so popped there as down the road. Bit of a wait, but in and out within 30 minutes. Which I don't think was too bad considering I just turned up!
Its just ticked over 175,000 miles.
If anyone is in Dorset, I can't recommend DCM Tyres in Blandford (and Shaftesbury) enough. Phoned them up (Shaftesbury by mistake!), really helpful on the phone. Thought I had phoned the Blandford one so popped there as down the road. Bit of a wait, but in and out within 30 minutes. Which I don't think was too bad considering I just turned up!
sparks_E46 said:
Where do you take it?!
Never been here before, but WDH Autos in Poole, Sterte area. Friend I work with recommended them. Phoned a few places, National and Kwit Fit that came in at around £100-£120, but would rather go to someone recommended, fact they are cheaper is just a bonus. ![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/owI0baYT.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/HL0R0aQW" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/HL0R0aQW.jpg)
helix402 said:
Looking good! Is that the road down towards Shaftesbury?
Yep top of Zig zag hill. sparks_E46 said:
Best roads in Dorset around there. My car came from Shaftsbury.
100%! Had a three week driving course with the police and spent most of it around there. Was great. Girlfriend lives in Wincanton so get to use it a fair bit
. Dropped the car off to the garage today at 0830. Said it will take a hour to 90 minutes. Took a walk into town and came back and it was still in the air...never good!
Long story short, it needs a new offside brake caliper as its leaking. £320 later (including the brake pads!). But not something I can ignore when it comes to brakes! Thank god I get a bonus from work shortly...
Long story short, it needs a new offside brake caliper as its leaking. £320 later (including the brake pads!). But not something I can ignore when it comes to brakes! Thank god I get a bonus from work shortly...
Longest trip since owning it today. 180 miles to Coventry. Sat at 70 for most of it on cruise control and returned just over 60mpg. Rather pleased with that!
I doubt I'll get that on the return as leaving in rush hour.
Was comfortable until the last 30 minutes. Then back did play up a bit.
I doubt I'll get that on the return as leaving in rush hour.
Was comfortable until the last 30 minutes. Then back did play up a bit.
I can't describe how much I love this car. Every drive is fun. I know its nothing special, but it is to me. Getting used to its little quirks. The clutch/flywheel is still making the noise, but everything else is fine. The warning light for the brakes has come on twice since, but touch wood its been off for a week now (brakes are all fine, garage checked them over).
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff