E91 Straight Six Bearding

[stevesuk]

Sorry another question, whilst I'm waiting for the garage to get back to me. I guess it would be best to avoid driving it whilst its in that state? Not that we're making any cross-country trips over Christmas. Would short journeys be OK, or should it stay on the drive until the garage can look at it?

[JakeT]

Personally I wouldn't drive it. You've got one shock absorber not doing what it should, so the car will handle like a double bed, even not when on it.

[helix402]

ferrisbueller said:

Do the old E30 reinforcement plates still fit the newer cars? I had them on E36s but not on anything newer.

Different design on the E91. BMW normally sell a top mount kit with all the bits needed. You’ll need bump stops too if they’re original.

[zippyonline]

Main reason they break is that they seem to corrode like buggery....and you're effectively using the foam bit as the mount.

This is what's in the BMW kit (there's also the nut inside the car, but I don't see to have a photo of it...)



The actual mounting point in the car is pretty hefty:

[stevesuk]

zippyonline said:

Main reason they break is that they seem to corrode like buggery....and you're effectively using the foam bit as the mount.

Thanks, have it booked in tomorrow - I guess that the other side is probably in a similar state after 15 years.

[ferrisbueller]

Just looking at autodoc wondering whether to buy some parts in case post Brexit prices get silly.

The DISA valves on my 2006 car were both the newer variety but I've swapped them both anyway as it was all stripped down for the CCV job. May well be placebo but it does "feel" slightly better.

[g3org3y]

JakeT said:

Personally I wouldn't drive it. You've got one shock absorber not doing what it should, so the car will handle like a double bed, even not when on it.

Yeah...not going to be ideal.

Had this with my E36 325i saloon...

Left:


Right:


But then again, I drove my 328 with the rear shock absorber looking like below for a while before it was replaced!! Suffice to say, not the nicest (or safest!) driving experience.

[MajorMantra]

I posted a bit about doing my rear shocks some way back in the thread. See here and preceding pages, I listed some part numbers and a handy DIY video:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[stevesuk]

MajorMantra said:

I posted a bit about doing my rear shocks some way back in the thread. See here and preceding pages, I listed some part numbers and a handy DIY video:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Thanks - the garage have it at the moment. I'm sure we had both the rear shocks replaced 4 years ago, because one was leaking (MOT fail). So I'm hoping, for the sake of our finances, that its just the top mount that needs replacing at this time.

Since I'm not in a position to do most repairs myself (aside from minor things), you get to the point where you wonder when it's time to throw the towel in. After today, we will have spent significantly more than its value on repairs over the past 2 months. After the last repair, I was hoping we'd get a good few months of trouble free motoring out of it, but it seems not. As the only car in our household, it also becomes a pain in the backside if it keeps breaking.

But I am well aware of course that newer cars can also suffer faults (perhaps more expensive faults)

[pmorg4]

This is the issue with older cars, you will often have lots of relatively minor issues to deal with, which inevitably arise from wear and tear. You'd expect far fewer of these types of problems with a newer car, although some of the newer BMWs appear to have the potential to throw rather large bills at you, so it seems to be about picking your poison (unless you buy new enough to be in warranty).

Interestingly, I recently sold my E46 330Ci coupe for less than what I've spent on it over the last few years, and I've done next to no mileage during that time. The car never let me down, it was all routine stuff like new discs/pads and tyres all round, track rod ends, wheel bearings, standard servicing (oil, plugs, etc). I'd have been financially better off to have given it away for free two years ago and used a hire car for the few journeys it has made since then Of course hindsight is a wonderful thing and none of us knew that our cars would spend the best part of 9 months this year sitting on the driveway.

Having bought its replacement - an N52 330i Touring - I'm expecting more of the same. Lots of minor maintenance jobs, hopefully no major expensive or "car unusable" type problems

[stevesuk]

pmorg4 said:

Interestingly, I recently sold my E46 330Ci coupe for less than what I've spent on it over the last few years, and I've done next to no mileage during that time. The car never let me down, it was all routine stuff like new discs/pads and tyres all round, track rod ends, wheel bearings, standard servicing (oil, plugs, etc). I'd have been financially better off to have given it away for free two years ago and used a hire car for the few journeys it has made since then Of course hindsight is a wonderful thing and none of us knew that our cars would spend the best part of 9 months this year sitting on the driveway.

I feel sorry for anyone who had a brand new lease car delivered in February, and has presumably been paying £300 a month since then to not drive it as much as they'd planned. Aside from repair bills, at least we've only been suffering a small amount of further depreciation - and still have a car that's nice to drive/sit in (when its working).

I work from home (even before COVID), and we don't need two cars in our household really. We did have a 330 Ci as a second car until a couple of years ago. However, we were doing so few miles in it, it didn't make any sense to keep it (it seemed also that from a condition point of view, it hated sitting on the driveway not being used).

The trouble is though, my wife does need a car to commute, so when you do drop down to a single vehicle, you want it to be reliable. Hence the conundrum of keeping an older car on the road as your only daily driver

[MajorMantra]

In addition to the good points above, I do think an often conveniently overlooked fact is that you pretty much need to have a second vehicle available for DIY repairs to be practical, or be in a position where being without your car isn't a major headache.

TBH while DIY repairs can be satifying, I don't relish the prospect of rolling around under a car on a freezing, damp drive. If I had a workshop with a lift it'd be another matter. That's the dream...

[tenmantaylor]

JakeT said:

Personally I wouldn't drive it. You've got one shock absorber not doing what it should, so the car will handle like a double bed, even not when on it.

I can attest to this. I drove my e91 320d on 3 dead shocks for a few weeks until it comicly failed it's MOT... but not before I'd slid off the road trying to find grip on some mud and bumps on a fast B road... slid up a bank, through a bush (luckily not a tree) then jumped back onto the road on two wheels toward 2 oncoming cars. Luckily didn't flip it and have a head on. Landed right side down. In need of new underpants aswell as shocks

BMW quoted 2k.

Ordered a 700 quid bilstein eibach kit from Germany and had it fitted with new top mounts from a local indy for 400. Handled as good as my old m3 since!

[anonymous-user]

Joined the club today!

[helix402]

eezeh said:

Joined the club today!

Good choice.

[anonymous-user]

helix402 said:

Good choice.

Need to book it in for a recall that according to dvsa is outstanding, any recommendations for a good dealer in hampshire? I've heard a few bits and pieces about barons in farnborough and i think i'd rather take it elsewhere.

Cheers.

[JakeT]

eezeh said:

Joined the club today!

I think you're copying me Another one to spot when the commute is back on!

I know a few people that have been happy with Partridge in Eastleigh, and it's near you too. The dealer in Winchester closed a few years ago now sadly.

The recall that you need (I believe) is the blower motor wiring recall. It's a couple of hours labour.

[anonymous-user]

JakeT said:

eezeh said:

Joined the club today!

I think you're copying me Another one to spot when the commute is back on!

I know a few people that have been happy with Partridge in Eastleigh, and it's near you too. The dealer in Winchester closed a few years ago now sadly.

The recall that you need (I believe) is the blower motor wiring recall. It's a couple of hours labour.

Quite possibly! Poor old compact needs some TLC, i have a list of jobs that need doing and a growing list of things to fix
My own fault really for piling the miles onto a 17/18 year old car!

I will have a look into eastleigh, its on my drive, hopefully get a courtesy car from them otherwise I won't have time to book it in.
Do you know how much depth they go into replacing the wiring harness and what bits/pieces the remove?

Its in really good nick and it is rattle free!!! If I can gauge what sort of bits / pieces remove I can have them replace all the trim clips at the same time to stop the horrid squeaks / creaks that I endured in the compact.

Cheers

ETA - i haven't read through the thread yet but I have bluetooth connectivity and it appears to only operate the handset rather than play audio through the stereo? Does anyone know of a product which i can fit to pair bluetooth to the stereo and use steering wheel controls to change track etc?
I have a grom audio box in my e46 which is fantastic and does everything I want it to but from a quick search it doesn't appear to be compatible with the e90? Thanks

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 29th December 17:55

[Gtamaddog]

Very nice. Funnily enough I was looking at it online yesterday and thought to myself if it was a bit more local I would have been quite tempted to go for a look. I'd say it is a pretty rare thing these days given the condition, spec and the fact its a manual. Nothing with decent spec seems to come up for sale around my way though, or they sell before any photos get added.

Current plan is to get the E46 through its MOT at the beginning of January and then see if there are any decent E9x's for sale after that. I may not end up fitting in with this thread though because I'm looking at anything as long as it isn't a convertible.

[JakeT]

eezeh said:

Quite possibly! Poor old compact needs some TLC, i have a list of jobs that need doing and a growing list of things to fix
My own fault really for piling the miles onto a 17/18 year old car!

I will have a look into eastleigh, its on my drive, hopefully get a courtesy car from them otherwise I won't have time to book it in.
Do you know how much depth they go into replacing the wiring harness and what bits/pieces the remove?

Its in really good nick and it is rattle free!!! If I can gauge what sort of bits / pieces remove I can have them replace all the trim clips at the same time to stop the horrid squeaks / creaks that I endured in the compact.

Cheers

ETA - i haven't read through the thread yet but I have bluetooth connectivity and it appears to only operate the handset rather than play audio through the stereo? Does anyone know of a product which i can fit to pair bluetooth to the stereo and use steering wheel controls to change track etc?
I have a grom audio box in my e46 which is fantastic and does everything I want it to but from a quick search it doesn't appear to be compatible with the e90? Thanks

Edited by eezeh on Tuesday 29th December 17:55

Understandable that, I did the same namely. It's the blower wiring. I believe they take the glove box down to access the blower motor that way. My car went in on a waiting appointment in Feb, and came out with no added rattles. I think E90s are better for interior rattles vs. The E46s.

For a bluetooth 'thing', One of the following can be good. There's a switched power in the armrest next to the AUX input, so you can leave it in there and forget about it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TUNAI-Firefly-Bluetooth-R...