E91 Straight Six Bearding

[Swervin_Mervin]

It's a tricky one Sam - I don't think you've had any issues that are out of the ordinary - we've all had them. But as someone that's had most of the common failures dealt with mine's been brilliantly reliable. I've noticed recently as well that my 20yo (this year) E91 seems to creak and rattle less than our 7yo Skoda Superb. It's one of the reasons I'll likely hang on to mine until it has a terminal issue - our experience of the later F-generation onward models is that they're simply not built as well.

But - happy wife, happy life as we all know!

I'm now on the lookout for a new o/s wing after some total clown pulled a stupid manoeuvre on me and caught it, and then disappeared before I could get the reg. The paint is relatively undamaged but the arch is dented beyond the capabilities of PDR. Trying to find a non-dented and non-rusty 2nd hand arch, at a reasonable price, is proving a bit of a struggle though. I'm so annoyed as, whilst it has some paint issues and is a 10yd car, it was undamaged in my 14y of ownership. It's made it to nearly 20yo and then some muppet spoils it.

[Court_S]

Swervin_Mervin said:

It's a tricky one Sam - I don't think you've had any issues that are out of the ordinary - we've all had them. But as someone that's had most of the common failures dealt with mine's been brilliantly reliable. I've noticed recently as well that my 20yo (this year) E91 seems to creak and rattle less than our 7yo Skoda Superb. It's one of the reasons I'll likely hang on to mine until it has a terminal issue - our experience of the later F-generation onward models is that they're simply not built as well.

But - happy wife, happy life as we all know!

I'm now on the lookout for a new o/s wing after some total clown pulled a stupid manoeuvre on me and caught it, and then disappeared before I could get the reg. The paint is relatively undamaged but the arch is dented beyond the capabilities of PDR. Trying to find a non-dented and non-rusty 2nd hand arch, at a reasonable price, is proving a bit of a struggle though. I'm so annoyed as, whilst it has some paint issues and is a 10yd car, it was undamaged in my 14y of ownership. It's made it to nearly 20yo and then some muppet spoils it.

It is indeed a tricky one - to be honest, I've tried to step back a little bit (the 330i was my idea). We've run older cars for a little bit now, but the 330i has probably caused the most headache and has failed enough to be unusable twice.

It needs some cash chucking at it to keep it nice (mainly both rear arches welding due to the onset of corrosion) and it's how far I take it given I was thinking of moving it on next year anyway. I still like it, but it certainly keeps me busy!

[zippyonline]

Court_S said:

Had a look today, and there is definitely a DISA issue .after six months and seven thousand miles, the Febi DISA I fitted in July is fked. It s floppier than a floppy thing in a stiff breeze.

Oh bummer - at least you've worked out that is the issue, and the butterfly is still attached to it.

Court_S said:

JakeT said:

Mental! What brand is it? I bought a genuine one for mine, as I needed it next day. That was in 2020 and it was still bloody expensive.

Febi.

The BMW ones are bloody expensive.

FWIW, I bought my BMW one in March 2017, and almost 9 years later as far as I can tell, all good. Cost me £204.03 at the time!

[zippyonline]

Swervin_Mervin said:

I'm now on the lookout for a new o/s wing after some total clown pulled a stupid manoeuvre on me and caught it, and then disappeared before I could get the reg. The paint is relatively undamaged but the arch is dented beyond the capabilities of PDR. Trying to find a non-dented and non-rusty 2nd hand arch, at a reasonable price, is proving a bit of a struggle though. I'm so annoyed as, whilst it has some paint issues and is a 10yd car, it was undamaged in my 14y of ownership. It's made it to nearly 20yo and then some muppet spoils it.

Sorry to hear that. I changed my O/S wing about a year ago coz the tiny rust bubble had become a not so tiny one and that winter killed it. Found one on the ebays for £60, it wasn't perfect ( a few scratches and stuff that mostly polished out), but it was basically rust free. Makes you appreciate how big the washer bottle is on the car when you take the wing off!

[Court_S]

zippyonline said:

Sorry to hear that. I changed my O/S wing about a year ago coz the tiny rust bubble had become a not so tiny one and that winter killed it. Found one on the ebays for £60, it wasn't perfect ( a few scratches and stuff that mostly polished out), but it was basically rust free. Makes you appreciate how big the washer bottle is on the car when you take the wing off!

Yeah, the washer bottles are massive - the three hundred trips to the tap when filling it up remind me!

I guess it's harder to find good, used wings as these cars get older.

[AmirGSXR]

Just had both recalls completed at BMW this morning for my 2005 E90 330i. The first recall was for the blower controller plug and the second was for the drivers airbag. Surprisingly, contrary to what I have read online, the defective airbags are not just in sports steering wheels, but standard SE ones like mine. Anyway, all done. It was nice be the oldest BMW at the dealer (21 years in April).

Now onto the next jobs for this car:
1) Valve cover gasket needs replacing to cure my oil leak. In December, when I changed my spark plugs, there was oil in two adjacent cylinders in the middle of the engine so I really must get this done. Can anyone recommend an all in one kit for this job?

2) Inner and outer tie rods. These are mechanically fine, but corroded enough that the alignment guy doesnt want to be wrenching them! Thus, I am going to replace them given the age of the car and my desire to refresh parts as needed. RealOEM Part numbers are:
left tie rod: 32106765235
right tie rod: 32106765236
ball joint left: 32106767781
ball joint right: 32106767782
I could get the parts individually, but wondered if there is a kit or if anyone had used a non-OE manufacturer like Febi Bilstein for replacement? I don't mind paying OE prices, but if there is a kit which is cheaper but 'just as good' then it makes sense to go for that.

Any advise on above greatly appreciated.

[stevesingo]

AmirGSXR said:

Just had both recalls completed at BMW this morning for my 2005 E90 330i. The first recall was for the blower controller plug and the second was for the drivers airbag. Surprisingly, contrary to what I have read online, the defective airbags are not just in sports steering wheels, but standard SE ones like mine. Anyway, all done. It was nice be the oldest BMW at the dealer (21 years in April).

Now onto the next jobs for this car:
1) Valve cover gasket needs replacing to cure my oil leak. In December, when I changed my spark plugs, there was oil in two adjacent cylinders in the middle of the engine so I really must get this done. Can anyone recommend an all in one kit for this job?

2) Inner and outer tie rods. These are mechanically fine, but corroded enough that the alignment guy doesnt want to be wrenching them! Thus, I am going to replace them given the age of the car and my desire to refresh parts as needed. RealOEM Part numbers are:
left tie rod: 32106765235
right tie rod: 32106765236
ball joint left: 32106767781
ball joint right: 32106767782
I could get the parts individually, but wondered if there is a kit or if anyone had used a non-OE manufacturer like Febi Bilstein for replacement? I don't mind paying OE prices, but if there is a kit which is cheaper but 'just as good' then it makes sense to go for that.

Any advise on above greatly appreciated.

ZF Web Cat is a good resource for part numbers.

https://aftermarket.zf.com/en/aftermarket-portal/o...

[Swervin_Mervin]

AmirGSXR said:

Just had both recalls completed at BMW this morning for my 2005 E90 330i. The first recall was for the blower controller plug and the second was for the drivers airbag. Surprisingly, contrary to what I have read online, the defective airbags are not just in sports steering wheels, but standard SE ones like mine. Anyway, all done. It was nice be the oldest BMW at the dealer (21 years in April).

I was fairly sure I'd checked the recall for my '06 330i and it had shown nothing required. However, I checked again last night after reading your post and it's now showing an open recall - presumably for the airbag as the blower one was done years ago.

Trouble is, all the BMW dealerships near me are terrible (S Manchester/N Cheshire), and there's no way I want to let them loose on my car. So currently wondering what to do.

[AmirGSXR]

Swervin_Mervin said:

I was fairly sure I'd checked the recall for my '06 330i and it had shown nothing required. However, I checked again last night after reading your post and it's now showing an open recall - presumably for the airbag as the blower one was done years ago.

Trouble is, all the BMW dealerships near me are terrible (S Manchester/N Cheshire), and there's no way I want to let them loose on my car. So currently wondering what to do.

I know what you mean about letting some dealer monkey touch our cars. I used Halliwell Jones in Llandudno (North Wales), they may just be close enough for you to consider. They were fine, but I told them not to wash my car or vacuum it. Annoyingly, the tech who worked on my car left his oily boot prints on my footwell (lemon Dakota interior) so its likely he didn't use those paper protectors on the floor. This is the type of thing I might expect from a backstreet garage but not a franchised dealer. As long as there are no more recalls, I don't expect ever to visit the dealer again!

[Swervin_Mervin]

Yeah, it's Halliwell Jones near me (Wilmslow) or Williams Stockport. The reviews of HJ on Google are fairly awful, and those of WIlliams aren't much better. My personal experience with Williams was enough to put me off ever setting foot in there again.

[sortedcossie]

Dealers vary so much, our local is Oldbury but I travel further to use Wolverhampton - 100 times better to deal with, and if you say "don't wash it" they don't for example.

[Mr Tidy]

AmirGSXR said:

Just had both recalls completed at BMW this morning for my 2005 E90 330i. The first recall was for the blower controller plug and the second was for the drivers airbag. Surprisingly, contrary to what I have read online, the defective airbags are not just in sports steering wheels, but standard SE ones like mine. Anyway, all done. It was nice be the oldest BMW at the dealer (21 years in April).

That's strange. I had the blower controller plug done soon after I bought my 2005 E90 330i SE in 2019, but when I sent BMW a photo of the VIN and steering wheel they said it didn't need the airbag recall and there is nothing showing on the DVLA.

[bodhi]

Swervin_Mervin said:

Yeah, it's Halliwell Jones near me (Wilmslow) or Williams Stockport. The reviews of HJ on Google are fairly awful, and those of WIlliams aren't much better. My personal experience with Williams was enough to put me off ever setting foot in there again.

I haven't heard any horror stories with Looker's, our local branch and they have one in Crewe which might work? Me old man bought all his BMWs from there when it was Blue Bell.

Looker's Stafford did my recall on the battery cable behind the dash and were fine - handled it quickly and put everything back together properly on what was a 12 year old 1 Series at the time iirc. They did the "further work" report afterwards and gave it a clean bill of health, which I wasn't expecting from a main dealer.

[helix403]

I just checked my car for recalls and it’s due one. Booked in for new driver’s airbag.

Edited by helix403 on Thursday 5th February 09:53

[AmirGSXR]

Ok some updates....

Valve cover gasket change has been booked with my trusted independent for end of March. He will also change the plastic valve cover, and it is Febi gasket kit that he uses. Hopefully once done, it will be the last of my oil leak issues!

Next...I opted for Lemforder tie rod assemblies from ECP https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/336212920835 and received them today. Interestingly, the N/S one has a black finish on the outer tie and is Made in Germany, while the O/S outer tie has a silver finish and is made in Turkiye. All part numbers are correct, and they weigh similar. However, my OCD is not accepting that I fit two steering critical components that are made in different factories and have some visual differences. I have asked ECP to exchange the O/S one to a Made in Germany part. I have an opportunity now to have matching parts rather than regret later, but I do wonder if I am worrying over nothing.

[JakeT]

I had my airbag changed in Jan ‘25. Mine is too early for an SE wheel, so got a sport one. New airbag is nice though.

Amir your 330 has a metal valve cover so shouldn’t need changing. I’d change the track rod, too.

[Swervin_Mervin]

AmirGSXR said:

Ok some updates....

Valve cover gasket change has been booked with my trusted independent for end of March. He will also change the plastic valve cover, and it is Febi gasket kit that he uses. Hopefully once done, it will be the last of my oil leak issues!

Next...I opted for Lemforder tie rod assemblies from ECP https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/336212920835 and received them today. Interestingly, the N/S one has a black finish on the outer tie and is Made in Germany, while the O/S outer tie has a silver finish and is made in Turkiye. All part numbers are correct, and they weigh similar. However, my OCD is not accepting that I fit two steering critical components that are made in different factories and have some visual differences. I have asked ECP to exchange the O/S one to a Made in Germany part. I have an opportunity now to have matching parts rather than regret later, but I do wonder if I am worrying over nothing.

I'd say you're right to request the swap to a German made part. M539 has been through this a number of times in his vids, and the non-German made ones are often questionable. Not sure if it's necessarily ones made in Turkey that he's had a problem with, but best to try and just get German ones. He stripped a joint down in one vid and there was almost no grease in it!

[AmirGSXR]

I had my car booked in to my local mechanic yesterday to change the track rod assemblies. At close of play today, they informed that they needed a special tool to take of the inner tie rod off as the nut? was an unusual size. Anyway, they wasted two days keeping hold off the car. They have apparently ordered the right tool but it may take a week to come in which case I now have the car back still with the old assemblies on. I will have to rebook with them once the tool arrives. Does anyone know if what they are saying is accurate regarding the need for a special tool?

Regarding the ECP issue, they were quite good in that they ordered two different Lemforder track rod assemblies from different warehouses for me to check and both came back as Made in Turkiye. It is possible that the right hand side ones are made in Turkiye instead of Germany like the left hand side ones. On the basis that if I go elsewhere and find the same problem, I decided to keep the track rod assemblies from ECP.

[helix403]

AmirGSXR said:

I had my car booked in to my local mechanic yesterday to change the track rod assemblies. At close of play today, they informed that they needed a special tool to take of the inner tie rod off as the nut? was an unusual size. Anyway, they wasted two days keeping hold off the car. They have apparently ordered the right tool but it may take a week to come in which case I now have the car back still with the old assemblies on. I will have to rebook with them once the tool arrives. Does anyone know if what they are saying is accurate regarding the need for a special tool?

Regarding the ECP issue, they were quite good in that they ordered two different Lemforder track rod assemblies from different warehouses for me to check and both came back as Made in Turkiye. It is possible that the right hand side ones are made in Turkiye instead of Germany like the left hand side ones. On the basis that if I go elsewhere and find the same problem, I decided to keep the track rod assemblies from ECP.

I guess they have ordered a 38mm crows foot spanner or normal 38mm spanner. I used water pump pliers as I’m sure lots of people do.

[Swervin_Mervin]

Still not booked in for the recall.

I have, however, hopefully found a good 2nd hand osf wing. Just waiting for it to arrive. Will need a polish, and might need a small spot of corrosion treatment. But hopefully it should blend nicely with the rest of the far from perfect bodywork.

Will probably wait for warmer weather before swapping it over.