E91 Straight Six Bearding

[preacherman]

Mr Tidy said:

My 2005 E90 got an advisory for the corroded rear subframe for the first time last September.

I'm tempted to try to have a go at it myself if I can find a "rent a ramp" place as that replacement price would be more than the car is worth!

No advisory but I think mine should be. Tempted to try and treat it myself on the driveway but imagine it's a bit of a filthy job! It's hard enough choosing between the myriad of possible treatment products.

[E-numbers]

You can’t really see it in the picture, but having wiped down the hoses and pump where I could reach, there’s a little drop of coolant on the seam between the plastic and metal halves of the water pump. I don’t know if it’s original thanks to GDPR/BMW weirdness about service records, but if it did 130k miles I’d be very surprised.

The UV dye I added to the coolant lights up in that slow drip, so a water pump it is.

Thankfully I’m heading to the US on Monday and will probably buy one from ECS. I have a load of other hoses to change based on 14 years of heat cycles and 130k. The boy was very helpful in getting the Undertray off, much more easily than I would have managed. I could really do with one of those kiwi lifts…

[p1stonhead]

I m finally back in an E9* series. God I missed these cars particularly the interiors. Been 6 years.

Sadly it s an E93 as the kids wanted a convertible to cruise around in but it s as near as I ll probably get again because I already have an estate and an EV too .

These are crazy cheap these days though aren t they? I paid £2500 for an N53 330i with 80k miles. Quite lovely I must say but you can definitely feel the weight! With the roof down it s got such a fat arse

BUT - it s so nice to be in a car the feels mechanical again. Like it can be fixed without a supercomputer. It doesn t feel like it ll be a burden to try and fix if the time comes. One small screen and BUTTONS everywhere! Love love love.

Edited by p1stonhead on Sunday 3rd August 15:00

[Mr Tidy]

Yes, values seem to be bottoming out for E0*s just now, and yet E46s are increasing.

[helix403]

Mr Tidy said:

Yes, values seem to be bottoming out for E0*s just now, and yet E46s are increasing.

This is the way it goes with old BMWs. Prices drop. People buy cheap ones and run them into the ground. The good ones remain and values rise in the long term.

[AmirGSXR]

Hi All,
This evening I have got the red steering lock warning on dash. When turning car off it would not start again. The fault codes are as follows:
A0B5 cas: fault, road speed signal
A119 cas: power supply electric steering lock
A117 cas: programming error.

Clearing codes made no difference.

What is the best course of action to get this repaired? Is there a workaround to get the car started?

[Seek]

Just been through the steering lock issue.

The red icon denotes the ELV error counter has been triggered.
This will lock ELV as well as preventing engine start - engine will crank but not start.

What may help is locking the car and letting the modules go to sleep - typically 30 seconds. You will hear them power down.
After that, insert the keyfob while jiggling the steering wheel to take strain off the steering lock.
Once the steering lock is no longer engaged, the ELV icon may still remain due to ELV counter having been triggered.
In INPA/ISTA there is an option to resync ELV counter values between CAS and ECU.
If I recall correctly it's in the CAS menu.

BMW will recommend replacing the steering column which makes little financiel sense.
Best course of action towards a permanent fix is to order an ELV emulator, for example:
https://bimmertoolkit.com

Edited by Seek on Monday 18th August 08:45

[RECr]

If you have a red steering lock icon you will need to reset the counter, ISTA or Tool32 will do it. Some better 3rd part scanners probably will aswell.

As you have a code for ELV power supply I would then check the connection to the column lock motor. You can see this when you take the kick panel above the pedals off. If you want to keep the steering lock then it's possible to clean up/relube the mechanism and clean fhe motor commutator.

[Seek]

RECr said:

If you have a red steering lock icon you will need to reset the counter, ISTA or Tool32 will do it. Some better 3rd part scanners probably will aswell.

The toolkit I linked to will reset the counter as well.
Without any technical knowhow required.

RECr said:

As you have a code for ELV power supply I would then check the connection to the column lock motor. You can see this when you take the kick panel above the pedals off. If you want to keep the steering lock then it's possible to clean up/relube the mechanism and clean fhe motor commutator.

In my view for a car of this age and value it makes little sense to keep the steering lock.
Especially as it's a faulty design that was phased out by BMW pretty rapidly.

Edited by Seek on Monday 18th August 19:31

[AmirGSXR]

Seek said:

Just been through the steering lock issue.

The red icon denotes the ELV error counter has been triggered.
This will lock ELV as well as preventing engine start - engine will crank but not start.

What may help is locking the car and letting the modules go to sleep - typically 30 seconds. You will hear them power down.
After that, insert the keyfob while jiggling the steering wheel to take strain off the steering lock.
Once the steering lock is no longer engaged, the ELV icon may still remain due to ELV counter having been triggered.
In INPA/ISTA there is an option to resync ELV counter values between CAS and ECU.
If I recall correctly it's in the CAS menu.

BMW will recommend replacing the steering column which makes little financiel sense.
Best course of action towards a permanent fix is to order an ELV emulator, for example:
https://bimmertoolkit.com

Edited by Seek on Monday 18th August 08:45

Thanks for this.

The car started fine this morning and the red icon did not appear. However, I will take your advice and buy the emulator you linked. For an e90 2005 330i, do I just need to buy the 4 pin one?

[RECr]

Seek said:

In my view for a car of this age and value it makes little sense to keep the steering lock.
Especially as it's a faulty design that was phased out by BMW pretty rapidly.

Edited by Seek on Monday 18th August 19:31

I agree, unfortunately my insurer didn't when I told them I planned to remove the steering lock!

[Seek]

AmirGSXR said:

Thanks for this.

The car started fine this morning and the red icon did not appear. However, I will take your advice and buy the emulator you linked. For an e90 2005 330i, do I just need to buy the 4 pin one?

Nice to hear that the issue resolved itself.
But be aware that most electronic issue will at some time return.

Yes - the 4 pin one works fine.

[AmirGSXR]

I tried to fit the emulator today and couldn't find the ELV connector. Does any one have a picture for the e90 that shows the exact location?

UPDATE: I have found the location of the plug but it's a pain to get off. I don't want to break it and can't see any tabs I need to press or lift.

Edited by AmirGSXR on Tuesday 26th August 13:55

[AmirGSXR]

Had an issue last night that led to a tyre blow out!

My e90 330i was making a screeching noise from wheels. A short time later it disappeared but then a loud bang was heard from front right front wheel. I carried on driving about half a mile and could smell a strong burning rubber smell. No wheel was hot when I stopped and checked. I drove a little more to get the car home and smoke was later coming from right front and a short time after the front right tyre blew.

I have a feeling a coil spring may have snapped and then damaged the tyre. Will get it recovered to a garage today.

What are my options for a suspension refresh? Do I stick with OEM SE suspension or go for upgraded coil lovers?

[g3org3y]

p1stonhead said:

I m finally back in an E9* series. God I missed these cars particularly the interiors. Been 6 years.

Sadly it s an E93 as the kids wanted a convertible to cruise around in but it s as near as I ll probably get again because I already have an estate and an EV too .

These are crazy cheap these days though aren t they? I paid £2500 for an N53 330i with 80k miles. Quite lovely I must say but you can definitely feel the weight! With the roof down it s got such a fat arse

BUT - it s so nice to be in a car the feels mechanical again. Like it can be fixed without a supercomputer. It doesn t feel like it ll be a burden to try and fix if the time comes. One small screen and BUTTONS everywhere! Love love love.

Probably unpopular opinion: I prefer the E9* interior to the E46 interior.

[JakeT]

AmirGSXR said:

Had an issue last night that led to a tyre blow out!

My e90 330i was making a screeching noise from wheels. A short time later it disappeared but then a loud bang was heard from front right front wheel. I carried on driving about half a mile and could smell a strong burning rubber smell. No wheel was hot when I stopped and checked. I drove a little more to get the car home and smoke was later coming from right front and a short time after the front right tyre blew.

I have a feeling a coil spring may have snapped and then damaged the tyre. Will get it recovered to a garage today.

What are my options for a suspension refresh? Do I stick with OEM SE suspension or go for upgraded coil lovers?

Sounds like it! If you’ve got a lot of miles on your car I’d say replace the damper on both sides too, but stick with SE springs.

[JakeT]

g3org3y said:

p1stonhead said:

I m finally back in an E9* series. God I missed these cars particularly the interiors. Been 6 years.

Sadly it s an E93 as the kids wanted a convertible to cruise around in but it s as near as I ll probably get again because I already have an estate and an EV too .

These are crazy cheap these days though aren t they? I paid £2500 for an N53 330i with 80k miles. Quite lovely I must say but you can definitely feel the weight! With the roof down it s got such a fat arse

BUT - it s so nice to be in a car the feels mechanical again. Like it can be fixed without a supercomputer. It doesn t feel like it ll be a burden to try and fix if the time comes. One small screen and BUTTONS everywhere! Love love love.

Probably unpopular opinion: I prefer the E9* interior to the E46 interior.

Agreed. Though the E36 is my favourite.

[Seek]

AmirGSXR said:

I tried to fit the emulator today and couldn't find the ELV connector. Does any one have a picture for the e90 that shows the exact location?

UPDATE: I have found the location of the plug but it's a pain to get off. I don't want to break it and can't see any tabs I need to press or lift.

Edited by AmirGSXR on Tuesday 26th August 13:55

Yes - it's a pain to get to the ELV connector.
There are no tabs.

[illmonkey]

After a fairly cheap E91, petrol only (obvs), if anyone has one going? Not overly fussed about exterior/interior condition as it'll be a bit of a work horse. TIA!

[hooneybadger]

Hi all,
I'm on the verge of first time E91 ownership, first one I've seen in the spec I want but it's a bit tatty, so after some advice if that's okay on here. Is the rust below easily fixable?

MOT history also shows "coil spring corroded both front" for the last 2 MOTs as advisories. Front tyres are also showing as nearly out of tread.

Asking is about £2.5k so pretty cheap for a 330i but want to make sure I'm not walking into a massive immediate hefty outlay of cash.

Thanks in advance for any help!