The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread

[Dale79]

daniel-5zjw7 said:

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

I think you could be right, I've also noticed the revs bounce up & down a little at standstill now? hopefully nothing major as the car still seems to run like a dream once it's moving.

Look up 02 pilot mod

Took a look & thanks, could be on to something with that, a new update alas.. today has warmed up somewhat so jumped in the car for my commute to work & decided to turn the climate control off as no need for the warmth, upon doing so the bouncing revs have disappeared & the car is running a dream again! I'm now thinking voltage drop or something a miss with the air intake? The interior lights definitely flicker slightly when instruments are switched on/off

[daniel-5zjw7]

otis criblecoblis said:

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.

Huge difference isn't it. Recently done the same but fitted Koni's, my dampers were also the originals at 133k, no leaks but clearly past their best! Can recommend doing the front ARB bushes and droplinks if they haven't already been done.

[daniel-5zjw7]

Dale79 said:

Took a look & thanks, could be on to something with that, a new update alas.. today has warmed up somewhat so jumped in the car for my commute to work & decided to turn the climate control off as no need for the warmth, upon doing so the bouncing revs have disappeared & the car is running a dream again! I'm now thinking voltage drop or something a miss with the air intake? The interior lights definitely flicker slightly when instruments are switched on/off

I did it on mine at the weekend which has been having similar oil consumption to yours, evaluating it at the moment which is fun as mine burns more when driven hard, so there's only one way to see if the mod helps :-) It's nice and simple to do anyway, a short oil change with an engine flush isn't a bad idea either, nor is switching to 5/40 oil.

Your voltage drop is an interesting one!! What battery does the car have fitted?

[anonymous-user]

e30m3Mark 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)

Sadly they declined my 325ti as an entrant! - but could meet beforehand and park up together.

It's not on. Final SS is BMW HQ in December.

I plan on attending, just waiting for the sign up to be released. Could meet up just before and park up as a group.

[JakeT]

eezeh said:

e30m3Mark 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)

Sadly they declined my 325ti as an entrant! - but could meet beforehand and park up together.

It's not on. Final SS is BMW HQ in December.

I plan on attending, just waiting for the sign up to be released. Could meet up just before and park up as a group.

I'd be up for that too.

[e30m3Mark]

JakeT said:

eezeh said:

e30m3Mark 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)

Sadly they declined my 325ti as an entrant! - but could meet beforehand and park up together.

It's not on. Final SS is BMW HQ in December.

I plan on attending, just waiting for the sign up to be released. Could meet up just before and park up as a group.

I'd be up for that too.

Hope to head up from Cornwall but will be in the E30. It'd be good to see a gaggle of Compact though.

[Dale79]

daniel-5zjw7 said:

Dale79 said:

Took a look & thanks, could be on to something with that, a new update alas.. today has warmed up somewhat so jumped in the car for my commute to work & decided to turn the climate control off as no need for the warmth, upon doing so the bouncing revs have disappeared & the car is running a dream again! I'm now thinking voltage drop or something a miss with the air intake? The interior lights definitely flicker slightly when instruments are switched on/off

I did it on mine at the weekend which has been having similar oil consumption to yours, evaluating it at the moment which is fun as mine burns more when driven hard, so there's only one way to see if the mod helps :-) It's nice and simple to do anyway, a short oil change with an engine flush isn't a bad idea either, nor is switching to 5/40 oil.

Your voltage drop is an interesting one!! What battery does the car have fitted?

It's had a yuasa ybx3000 fitted around 2 months ago brand new just before I purchased the car, I've also noticed if I put the windows up & down the revs decrease slightly? I've travelled back from work again with only the stereo on & had zero issues at all, oil consumption now seems normal but there is definitely something happening with the electrics on this car to make the revs bounce once the heating is on!

[Max M4X WW]

eezeh said:

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.

Change the reservoir and cap too, apparently there is a filter within and the cap no doubt leaks. I got a new reservoir (with cap I think) from ebay. I believe it was a Land Rover part which was cheap, but the same.

[daniel-5zjw7]

OK thanks, I have a new seal for the cap but wasn't planning on replacing the reservoir just yet, I'm guessing you meant to say there is a filter in the reservoir? I think I saw about this in a video the other day and it does make sense to replace the reservoir this being the case, that said I'm sure the hoses are probably getting a little tired also.. may just do the fluid for now and consider a full refresh at a later date.

This weather has made me appreciate little things about the car again, namely how cosy the alcantara seats always feel and the wipers with the intermittent adjustment and the fact they switch back to intermittent when the car comes to a stop.. simple things!

[anonymous-user]

Finally sourced a bluetooth dongle for my grom that wasn't 40 quid (because im tight).
Will give it a go, see how i like it and how the phone call integration is in terms of quality.

[MrC986]

It's been a busy week...my Compact has had a major service & more. As well as the service it's had a gearbox fluid change & new Ferodo DS2500 front pads & racing fluid with a new set of Yoko ADO8Rs sat ready for when the wheel refurb is completed in the next few days. Oh, & a new pair of matt-black grills to go on the front. I'm just waiting hopefully on some seat runners to mount some bucket seats.

[daniel-5zjw7]

Decent progress!!

[daniel-5zjw7]

daniel-5zjw7 said:

Car looks good Fred! Would love to see a sport in that colour.

Well what do you know..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-BMW-325ti-Individu...

[MrC986]

daniel-5zjw7 said:

Decent progress!!

The car will hopefully see its first "proper use" next Friday at Oulton Park (BMWCC TD) before it has an easy few months over the winter & I attempt some of the smaller jobs that are within my range of abilities! It's had a proper shakedown in just under 2 weeks with nearly 600 miles including a reasonably spirited run to the PHSS.

[FredClogs]

daniel-5zjw7 said:

daniel-5zjw7 said:

Car looks good Fred! Would love to see a sport in that colour.

Well what do you know..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-BMW-325ti-Individu...

Mines Monza blue, I don't know what that colour is, looks purple, think I'd pass on that.

[s m]

daniel-5zjw7 said:

daniel-5zjw7 said:

Car looks good Fred! Would love to see a sport in that colour.

Well what do you know..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-BMW-325ti-Individu...

Love the colour - if it had a sunroof and 6-speed I’d be very tempted to buy it and store

Just come back from hols in Barça in mine - went to see El Clasico last weekend
Going excellently - saw quite a few white Compacts over there but none were 325tis

[anonymous-user]

I like many have a sagging bonnet insulation liner that has shrunk, I happened across this original liner fitted to 316ti's and 318ti's but not the 25.
Any difference in sound / heat insulation? Helix, you might know.

https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-E46/1963973-new...

[s m]

eezeh said:

I like many have a sagging bonnet insulation liner that has shrunk, I happened across this original liner fitted to 316ti's and 318ti's but not the 25.
Any difference in sound / heat insulation? Helix, you might know.

https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-E46/1963973-new...

This is the normal one - a bit pricier

https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/product/1937864-new...

[helix402]

According to realoem the 325ti uses a different part.

[anonymous-user]

But why? The rigid liner won't sag and is cheaper, increased sound absorbent properties in the fabric matting?