E91 Straight Six Bearding

[JakeT]

Well, 2 and a half weeks into ownership of my bus, we've covered 2,500 miles now. I've ordered oil and a filter to do next weekend, since it was last done at 129,000. I like to do oil every 10 or so thousand miles. Up to 140,000 miles now.

I bought a MANN HU-816 X oil filter. I did some snooping, and the BMW filter is the exact same part. Even has the MANN logo and 816 written on it.
For oil, I went for Fuchs Titan 5w30. Because it was on Amazon, and I had a gift card that needed using.
I've changed oil in a 630i before, but the lack of dipstick concerns me when doing oil. I'm sure I'll get over it. Remove 6 or so litres, and put the same amount back. Sorted.

I'm really getting on with the car now, too. It's done really well, and fuel consumption is better than I had hoped for, too. The Birds suspension kit is very good, too. It's easy to drive this thing quickly down a B-road. I would imagine Bilstein B8 dampers could achieve a very similar result, too. The N52 really is a good engine too. So smooth at low or high revs, and eager to rev no matter what. The sound is classic BMW too, which I am fond of. Word is out on reliability yet, but all I've had to do is put a bulb in the drivers door puddle light. Oil level has dropped a little, but fast running in 40 degree heat will do that sort of thing. It feels similar in Character to the M52 I had in my favourite car ever, an E46 328ci. They both have cloth sports seats too, which is my BMW nirvana in seats.

Since all threads need pictures, here it is on the tunnel, coming home. I think cars look cool on the train.

[CB 987]

JakeT said:

Well, 2 and a half weeks into ownership of my bus, we've covered 2,500 miles now. I've ordered oil and a filter to do next weekend, since it was last done at 129,000. I like to do oil every 10 or so thousand miles. Up to 140,000 miles now.

I bought a MANN HU-816 X oil filter. I did some snooping, and the BMW filter is the exact same part. Even has the MANN logo and 816 written on it.
For oil, I went for Fuchs Titan 5w30. Because it was on Amazon, and I had a gift card that needed using.
I've changed oil in a 630i before, but the lack of dipstick concerns me when doing oil. I'm sure I'll get over it. Remove 6 or so litres, and put the same amount back. Sorted.

I'm really getting on with the car now, too. It's done really well, and fuel consumption is better than I had hoped for, too. The Birds suspension kit is very good, too. It's easy to drive this thing quickly down a B-road. I would imagine Bilstein B8 dampers could achieve a very similar result, too. The N52 really is a good engine too. So smooth at low or high revs, and eager to rev no matter what. The sound is classic BMW too, which I am fond of. Word is out on reliability yet, but all I've had to do is put a bulb in the drivers door puddle light. Oil level has dropped a little, but fast running in 40 degree heat will do that sort of thing. It feels similar in Character to the M52 I had in my favourite car ever, an E46 328ci. They both have cloth sports seats too, which is my BMW nirvana in seats.

Since all threads need pictures, here it is on the tunnel, coming home. I think cars look cool on the train.

Jake,

Really glad to hear it has made it safely back to the U.K. without a hitch. It’s a great car, I am missing that engine note and the manual box!

Looking forward to further updates.

Cheers.

[EnthusiastOwned]

Hi All,

I'm looking into joining the fold and I have my eye on a LCI 335i - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Is anyone aware of this car or have any thoughts on it?

[JakeT]

I've met the owner of this, he bought my 330d and is selling this to boost his house deposit if I recall correctly.

He said it had an issue going into limp mode, but I would imagine that's sorted now. Look out for some work from BMW on it. His brother came with him when he bought my 330d, and he's a BMW technician too, so I've no reason to think it's not been looked after properly. 12k is probably reasonably priced, provided everything checks out. The nearest priced E91 335i is £1,000 less with double the miles.

[EnthusiastOwned]

JakeT said:

I've met the owner of this, he bought my 330d and is selling this to boost his house deposit if I recall correctly.

He said it had an issue going into limp mode, but I would imagine that's sorted now. Look out for some work from BMW on it. His brother came with him when he bought my 330d, and he's a BMW technician too, so I've no reason to think it's not been looked after properly. 12k is probably reasonably priced, provided everything checks out. The nearest priced E91 335i is £1,000 less with double the miles.

Thanks for the info - how long ago was this?

It has BMW warranty on it according to the advert so should have been sorted (provided it's a warranty issue).

[JakeT]

I sold to him at the beginning of June, so I would imagine he was getting my 330d as he wanted it, and then getting the 335i gone. The limp mode thing should absolutely be sorted, just make sure to give a thorough test drive, and check the paperwork. Hopefully it was something small, like a vac line leaking.

[Sir_Dave]

That space grey one does look lovely!!

Have pondered it myself on many occasions, but realistically, i dont need it

Re: the black 335i touring that is slightly cheaper, i wouldnt buy it purely on the fact the dealer bought it on ebay for £6.5k and beat me to it.

Autotrader: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-BMW-335i-e91-estat...

It doesnt have xenons either.

[JakeT]

I'd expect nothing less from Dave. Healthy profit there! Might be able to badger them down to 8k. Everyone happy then!

Looks like the grey once has been advertised since the 23rd of June, looking at the ad link. He might do a deal if it's been for sale for some time.

[EnthusiastOwned]

Sir_Dave said:

That space grey one does look lovely!!

Have pondered it myself on many occasions, but realistically, i dont need it

Re: the black 335i touring that is slightly cheaper, i wouldnt buy it purely on the fact the dealer bought it on ebay for £6.5k and beat me to it.

Autotrader: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-BMW-335i-e91-estat...

It doesnt have xenons either.

Cheeky traders! It's too high mileage for me anyway.

JakeT said:

I'd expect nothing less from Dave. Healthy profit there! Might be able to badger them down to 8k. Everyone happy then!

Looks like the grey once has been advertised since the 23rd of June, looking at the ad link. He might do a deal if it's been for sale for some time.

Where did you find the date on the advert? That would be really useful for any other cars I'm looking at.

[JakeT]

EnthusiastOwned said:

Where did you find the date on the advert? That would be really useful for any other cars I'm looking at.

So, as an example. we'll use the link for the black one:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

The first numbers of the ad are the date it was posted

20190612

The first four are the year, second two are the month, and last two are the day.
2019 06 12

So, that ad was posted on the 12th of June this year.

Hope that helps.

[ATM]

Sir_Dave said:

Re: the black 335i touring that is slightly cheaper, i wouldnt buy it purely on the fact the dealer bought it on ebay for £6.5k and beat me to it.

Autotrader: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-BMW-335i-e91-estat...

It doesnt have xenons either.

That was a proper bargain!

[Sn1ckers]

ATM said:

Sir_Dave said:

Re: the black 335i touring that is slightly cheaper, i wouldnt buy it purely on the fact the dealer bought it on ebay for £6.5k and beat me to it.

Autotrader: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-BMW-335i-e91-estat...

It doesnt have xenons either.

That was a proper bargain!

The Autotrader ad is from a company I’ve used in the past and have only good things to say about them. Very relaxed experience and no quibble about sending me a cheque to cover some minor repairs I needed doing shortly after buying the car. No relationship with the garage whatsoever.

[rallycross]

ATM said:

That was a proper bargain!

Certainly was (shame I missed that would have bought it) the owner was probably offered £5k for it in PX from a Bmw main dealer hence putting it on eBay at that price.

[phil_cardiff]

Does anyone know what the difference is between the 3.0 N53s fitted to the 325i and 330i please? Is it just the engine mapping?

[chunkytfg]

phil_cardiff said:

Does anyone know what the difference is between the 3.0 N53s fitted to the 325i and 330i please? Is it just the engine mapping?

My understanding is it's mostly engine mapping with the 330i also getting a 3 stage intake manifold to give it the last little bit of power

[snake_oil]

Sn1ckers said:

ATM said:

Sir_Dave said:

Re: the black 335i touring that is slightly cheaper, i wouldnt buy it purely on the fact the dealer bought it on ebay for £6.5k and beat me to it.

Autotrader: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-BMW-335i-e91-estat...

It doesnt have xenons either.

That was a proper bargain!

The Autotrader ad is from a company I’ve used in the past and have only good things to say about them. Very relaxed experience and no quibble about sending me a cheque to cover some minor repairs I needed doing shortly after buying the car. No relationship with the garage whatsoever.

I'm not surprised given the enormous margin they've added to the car after giving it a quick polish.

[Sn1ckers]

snake_oil said:

I'm not surprised given the enormous margin they've added to the car after giving it a quick polish.

Fair point.

For me, nigh on £11k for a 112k miles E91 3 series is way too much but they are a decent company to deal with (once they’ve dropped the price by £3k!).

[g3org3y]

ferrisbueller said:

g3org3y said:

ferrisbueller said:

Just lumpy at idle and OK elsewhere or lumpy everywhere when revved?

Seems to be the first 15-30 seconds when starting from cold in the morning.

MAF? Coolant temp sensor? Might be worth checking coils and plugs but you'd see the issue elsewhere, too, I think.

Actually experienced this before driving the car this morning.

Idle was really all over the shop as soon as the car was turned on (from cold). Felt like it could stall. After 5-10 seconds idle went normal and fine thereafter. No problems on a prolonged motorway drive. No problems when turning it on again later in the day. Issue only occurs when the engine is left overnight.

Not had a chance to do a code check yet.

[phil_cardiff]

chunkytfg said:

phil_cardiff said:

Does anyone know what the difference is between the 3.0 N53s fitted to the 325i and 330i please? Is it just the engine mapping?

My understanding is it's mostly engine mapping with the 330i also getting a 3 stage intake manifold to give it the last little bit of power

Interesting, thanks. If I struggle to find a N52 330i when I'm looking then I can at least consider the 325i with the N53.

[g3org3y]

g3org3y said:

ferrisbueller said:

g3org3y said:

ferrisbueller said:

Just lumpy at idle and OK elsewhere or lumpy everywhere when revved?

Seems to be the first 15-30 seconds when starting from cold in the morning.

MAF? Coolant temp sensor? Might be worth checking coils and plugs but you'd see the issue elsewhere, too, I think.

Actually experienced this before driving the car this morning.

Idle was really all over the shop as soon as the car was turned on (from cold). Felt like it could stall. After 5-10 seconds idle went normal and fine thereafter. No problems on a prolonged motorway drive. No problems when turning it on again later in the day. Issue only occurs when the engine is left overnight.

Not had a chance to do a code check yet.

Code check today:

DME [DIGITAL MOTOR ELECTRONICS]
2A82 Vanos Intake

Originally had both 2A82 Vanos intake and 2A87 Exhaust Vanos Mechanism but I cleared the codes and then drove the car. The 2A82 reappeared.

Other ones, not relevant (I think)
SGM-zGM [SAFETY & GATEWAY MODULE]
A6CF AUC Sensor

FRM [FOOTWELL MODULE]
9CB4 Ride Height sensor rear faulty

So is this the (intake) Vanos Solenoid that is causing the issue?

Looking back at the SH, in Dec 2017 it had an EML light on. At the time they replaced the exhaust and inlet CAM sensor and the battery.

For some reason, I thought the previous owner had done the Vanos Solenoids as well but I can't seem to find it in the SH.

From reading around the subject, sounds like it's worth getting it out and trying to clean it before considering replacement.

If replacing, go for OEM (~£100) or is aftermarket (~£30) ok?

Edited by g3org3y on Wednesday 24th July 23:47