Another silver BMW - 2005 330i Touring

[JakeT]

d_a_n1979 said:

A good job well done I'd say

Always nice to make these fixes yourself etc

I agree. Saves having to do much more invasive work at a time I don’t want to.

Gallons Per Mile said:

Good job! You could double nut the side with no washer to lock it tight. No need for the grinder then

That’s a right plan! I might do that, for the sake of safety.

B'stard Child said:

Glad to return the favour - if your bolts don't have the ball head (and Mine don't) - blob of silicone inside the front face of the cover and the cover looks like it it fixed properly

Oh nice. I think I’ll do something like that. You’re welcome to my old bolts if you’d like them.

Court_S said:

I’m in no rush to do the gaskets. The car doesn’t appear to be using any oil and it doesn’t look any worse. It’s missing the little black cover too.

Week tomorrow that my car is in for diagnostics. I’m hoping it’s not too major because it seems to be running ok other than a slightly rough idle. When I’m not feeling so lazy I’ll take the engine cover off to check the electrical con to the motor and sensor.

No need to in that case. I probably left it a year before doing the one on my car. The Valvetronic fix is way higher on the list either way.

[B'stard Child]

JakeT said:

B'stard Child said:

Glad to return the favour - if your bolts don't have the ball head (and Mine don't) - blob of silicone inside the front face of the cover and the cover looks like it it fixed properly

Oh nice. I think I’ll do something like that.

Sharing is good

JakeT said:

You’re welcome to my old bolts if you’d like them.

They look a little worn so I'll pass - I'll settle for the part number for the ball headed ones - I can't find them on Real OEM and my local dealer can't order them without a part number

[JakeT]

B'stard Child said:

They look a little worn so I'll pass - I'll settle for the part number for the ball headed ones - I can't find them on Real OEM and my local dealer can't order them without a part number

The number is 11427543327

My local BMW dealer wanted £19 for them. I just cancelled my order today, so there’s three about!

[B'stard Child]

JakeT said:

B'stard Child said:

They look a little worn so I'll pass - I'll settle for the part number for the ball headed ones - I can't find them on Real OEM and my local dealer can't order them without a part number

The number is 11427543327

My local BMW dealer wanted £19 for them. I just cancelled my order today, so there’s three about!

Thank You - appreciate that

[CB 987]

No need to be sorry, Chris. You didn't over-tighten the bolts. As you said, it was done before you owned it, in 2012 at c.67,000 miles. The droplinks are a consumable it seems. Fortunately they're not TOO expensive. Hope your ALPINA is still giving good service.


Sorry Jake, just seen the above - the Alpina is all good thanks, but I still miss a petrol engine with a manual box. I am currently looking for an E39 M5 before the prices get anymore silly and I really do miss the boat!

Thanks for keeping this thread up to date, it is great to see the car still going strong.

Cheers

[JakeT]

I think an E39 M5 would fit the bill brilliantly. A real last hurrah, and a pretty solid investment, too!

Thank you. I do plan to keep the car for some time, even if I’ve just bought an E36, too.

[CB 987]

JakeT said:

I think an E39 M5 would fit the bill brilliantly. A real last hurrah, and a pretty solid investment, too!

Thank you. I do plan to keep the car for some time, even if I’ve just bought an E36, too.

Nice one, what are the details on the E36? Have you still got the E46?

[Batch 7.5R]

What a lovely old bus, Jake. And really nice to see someone putting so much love into it!

[JakeT]

CB 987 said:

Nice one, what are the details on the E36? Have you still got the E46?

E46 is still here, I think about selling it but for what it’s worth I don’t want the hassle. E46s seem to attract the worst people when I've sold ones before. Lots of £800 that’s all I’m offering types.

E36 needs its own thread soon, it’s a nice low mileage (57k) 320i auto. Two keepers from new, always garage and very tidy. Stumbled upon it, and had to have it. Really original car now.

Batch 7.5R said:

What a lovely old bus, Jake. And really nice to see someone putting so much love into it!

Thank you. It’s a labour of love nowadays, and E90s are at that stage now where they need a diligent owner or they end up being drifted or on the weighbridge.

Edited by JakeT on Thursday 24th June 08:42

[Batch 7.5R]

Bloody drifters

[Court_S]

That E36 is in proper time warp condition, looking forward to the thread on it.

[CB 987]

That's looks like a great example, back in the late 1990's a neighbour had a very similar dark blue, K plate 325i coupe, it sounded lovely! I honestly can't remember the last time I saw an early E36 on the road.

[JakeT]

Court_S said:

That E36 is in proper time warp condition, looking forward to the thread on it.

I’ll sort one out this weekend. There's some jobs to do, so there’s content!

CB 987 said:

That's looks like a great example, back in the late 1990's a neighbour had a very similar dark blue, K plate 325i coupe, it sounded lovely! I honestly can't remember the last time I saw an early E36 on the road.

My dad had one from new in 1994, until 2000 when an E46 330i touring replaced it. It really feels like it’s the 90s inside. Listening choices is limited to REM, and other 90s tastic bits.

[JakeT]

As posted in the 'What have you done to your BMW today' thread...

Hit a milestone last night:



Everything still works, and with the work I've done to it over the past 2 years, feels better than ever. Just need to have a spot of tidying up done for the paintwork and we'll keep on track to the big 200.

[d_a_n1979]

JakeT said:

As posted in the 'What have you done to your BMW today' thread...

Hit a milestone last night:



Everything still works, and with the work I've done to it over the past 2 years, feels better than ever. Just need to have a spot of tidying up done for the paintwork and we'll keep on track to the big 200.

About due its running in service

[Mr Tidy]

That's quite a milestone!

Your E36 looks fantastic too.

But if you ever think of selling your E46 please PM me - I sold my 325ti in 2018 and still miss it. It's current replacement is an E90 330i, but it just doesn't isn't as much fun.

[JakeT]

MOT day

Nothing too exciting to report, bar the MOT today. A year ago to the day of the last one. Only 10,191 miles covered in that year, lots of work done but it went straight through with an advisory free pass.

Roll on another year of motoring.

[JakeT]

Braking News

Nothing all that exciting, although I had been musing how the car had given no trouble since my last update. A litre of oil was added...



Then the car went on a few trips, down to Cornwall, up to The Highlands and John O'Groats, and then again to Northumberland, and Edinburgh. Rougly 5,000 miles covered since October time, now. Some pictures from these trips, one even had a a big CB aerial on the car for some comms with mates we went with. a few miles of range is great vs two way radios we've used before.

Edinburgh:


Car in full trip mode, CB aerial included:



The Lochs:


Glasgow:


Snow in the hills near the borders, feeling smug with winter tyres on the untreated roads, and A68:


Due to use the car over the Christmas break for ferrying things (and people) around, I noticed the car was grabbing coming to a stop, and lo and behold, a warm rear wheel. a rear caliper was sticking. I last did one in 2019, and this time it's the other one. Fortunately I caught it in time so the pads hadn't worn unevenly, or taken the disc with them. I noticed this on the 23rd, and did a quick caliper swap on the 24th. Years of E46 ownership has meant a caliper swap is a common occurance, with no real gotchas. Some pictures of the job below.

Before...



During...



After (spot the shiny bit)...



Back to its usual self. Coming up on a service again now, current mileage is 177,800ish, and the last service was done at 168,990. I'll get some bits ordered up soon.

That's all for now. Hoping any readers of this peculiar (and not very interesting) blog have had a nice Christmas and have a nice New Year's

[Court_S]

Good stuff.

I have the fun of the valve cover gasket and eccentric shaft sensor to look forward to on Thursday. The garage is cleaned / tidied so I don’t need to do it in the drive.

I need to change the rear callipers in her 125i because I’m 99% sure one is sticking slightly. I’ve been given some beardy new ones from another forum member which just need painting because they’re currently Phoenix yellow.

[CB 987]

Great update, how are you getting on with the fresher Birds suspension kit?

Do you fancy selling it back to me?! Joking aside, I’m currently on the look out for something similar to run and then keep for a while. I’ve just sold my F31 as we now need a larger family car. I have been craving something with 6 cylinders and a manual gearbox to run alongside the new family car.

Current favourites are an E81/E82 130i (always fancied trying one), another E91 330i/335i or another decent E46 330i touring (quite a challenge!)… just to make it difficult I’d much prefer a manual!

Cheers.