The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread
Discussion
Just another update on my current 325ti, just over 1 month in, around 400 miles done & used 1 litre of oil so far, no leak to report but little Smokey here & there, it's pointing at valve stem seals to me? Also today a slight knocking on the passenger side real wheel area when turning left, felt & sounded like the handbrake had not disengaged completely, only happened twice though so not much to worry about there, other than that all is good thus far!
Dale79 said:
Just another update on my current 325ti, just over 1 month in, around 400 miles done & used 1 litre of oil so far, no leak to report but little Smokey here & there, it's pointing at valve stem seals to me? Also today a slight knocking on the passenger side real wheel area when turning left, felt & sounded like the handbrake had not disengaged completely, only happened twice though so not much to worry about there, other than that all is good thus far!
It wont be stem seals it will either be a crankcase breather issue or the piston ring issue that so many of the M54 engines are afflicted by 
some do some dont (much) I am fortunate that I have an high miler that uses nowt well very very little 
luck of the draw in previous usage maintenance etc IMO do a Google search and you will find reams of info on the problem with various fixes both cheap and expensive Sardonicus said:
Dale79 said:
Just another update on my current 325ti, just over 1 month in, around 400 miles done & used 1 litre of oil so far, no leak to report but little Smokey here & there, it's pointing at valve stem seals to me? Also today a slight knocking on the passenger side real wheel area when turning left, felt & sounded like the handbrake had not disengaged completely, only happened twice though so not much to worry about there, other than that all is good thus far!
It wont be stem seals it will either be a crankcase breather issue or the piston ring issue that so many of the M54 engines are afflicted by some do some dont (much) I am fortunate that I have an high miler that uses nowt well very very little luck of the draw in previous usage maintenance etc IMO do a Google search and you will find reams of info on the problem with various fixes both cheap and expensive RelentlessForwardProgress said:
I’ve really enjoyed reading about the love for these cars. A fine BMW straight six in a small package. Last weekend I saw a 325ti local to me, unfortunately, it looked like this:
All I could think was “what a waste” closely followed by “was that a BMW paint colour? Maybe stahl Grau?”
All I could think was "who keeps all 3 rear headrests up?!" All I could think was “what a waste” closely followed by “was that a BMW paint colour? Maybe stahl Grau?”
danp said:
eezeh said:
There seems to be quite a few of us in the Hampshire / Surrey area.
Should organise a little breakfast (bacon butty
) meet.
Sounds good, hot hatch breakfast club at Goodwood anyone? (Sun 4th Nov)Should organise a little breakfast (bacon butty
) meet.Sadly they declined my 325ti as an entrant! - but could meet beforehand and park up together.
eezeh said:
I'm interested if anyone else is around; JakeT, Tidy etc etc
Sorry, I don't think I'd be allowed to join in - I replaced my 325ti with an E91 325i in February! 
It was meant to be my vaguely sensible practical car, so I just went a bit more practical!
Because practical is what my E86 definitely isn't.
Dale79 said:
Sardonicus said:
Dale79 said:
Just another update on my current 325ti, just over 1 month in, around 400 miles done & used 1 litre of oil so far, no leak to report but little Smokey here & there, it's pointing at valve stem seals to me? Also today a slight knocking on the passenger side real wheel area when turning left, felt & sounded like the handbrake had not disengaged completely, only happened twice though so not much to worry about there, other than that all is good thus far!
It wont be stem seals it will either be a crankcase breather issue or the piston ring issue that so many of the M54 engines are afflicted by some do some dont (much) I am fortunate that I have an high miler that uses nowt well very very little luck of the draw in previous usage maintenance etc IMO do a Google search and you will find reams of info on the problem with various fixes both cheap and expensive Mr Tidy said:
eezeh said:
I'm interested if anyone else is around; JakeT, Tidy etc etc
Sorry, I don't think I'd be allowed to join in - I replaced my 325ti with an E91 325i in February! It was meant to be my vaguely sensible practical car, so I just went a bit more practical!
Because practical is what my E86 definitely isn't.
daniel-5zjw7 said:
Guys I want to change out my pas fluid for fresh stuff as guessing whats in there has never been changed, any particular spec/brand of ATF i should use or will any do?
ATF D3 i believe, go for a good brand like castrol, mobil 1 or get a quote from the dealership, sometimes in my experience the dealers can be cheapest especially if you have a discount with them.danp said:
eezeh said:
There seems to be quite a few of us in the Hampshire / Surrey area.
Should organise a little breakfast (bacon butty) meet.
Sounds good, hot hatch breakfast club at Goodwood anyone? (Sun 4th Nov)Should organise a little breakfast (bacon butty
) meet.Sadly they declined my 325ti as an entrant! - but could meet beforehand and park up together.
eezeh said:
danp said:
eezeh said:
There seems to be quite a few of us in the Hampshire / Surrey area.
Should organise a little breakfast (bacon butty) meet.
Sounds good, hot hatch breakfast club at Goodwood anyone? (Sun 4th Nov)Should organise a little breakfast (bacon butty
) meet.Sadly they declined my 325ti as an entrant! - but could meet beforehand and park up together.
Drove it to work today. Still a great little car. Think about putting smaller wheels on it though. The 18 inch ones are just a little too big.
Thanks Eezeh, need to get some coolant from the dealer so will see what they want for atf at the same time.
Car looks good Fred! Would love to see a sport in that colour.
Jake don't think you can go wrong with 17's, oe sport wheels are about as light as a gen BMW wheel gets as well so are a decent choice, also tyre prices aren't too bad for the standard sizes.
Car looks good Fred! Would love to see a sport in that colour.
Jake don't think you can go wrong with 17's, oe sport wheels are about as light as a gen BMW wheel gets as well so are a decent choice, also tyre prices aren't too bad for the standard sizes.
Put a new set of stock replacement ( Mtech 2 ) Sachs dampers on mine at the weekend, huge improvement. Hardly a surprise really, at 140K miles and the dampers all having BMW stickers on them and probably factory original.
I had new front and rear top mounts ready to fit, but the fronts still looked new and didn't need replacing, rears were torn in half.
I had new front and rear top mounts ready to fit, but the fronts still looked new and didn't need replacing, rears were torn in half.
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