What have you done to your BMW today?
Discussion
ieuandkernow said:
I’ve been replacing my wheel well liners on the e46 as mine decided to disintegrate because they were not properly fastened.
When the wheel was off and I had a look at the engine from underneath and I noticed 1) a sh*t load of oil which looks quite fresh so I’m hoping it is a combination of a clumsy hand on the oil change in February and the leaking rocker cover gasket which has been repaired. 2) I’m not sure if I’m being silly and I am a novice when it comes to this but something looks like it is missing from just above the oil sump
In the image you can see hole and a couple of screw holes around it. This is from the passenger side looking at about 1 o’clock (sorry for the vague directions) it’s a 2.2 m54 2005.
It might be completely normal but it looks a bit off to me?
Nothing missing. See below (circled area corresponds to the section you've photographed)When the wheel was off and I had a look at the engine from underneath and I noticed 1) a sh*t load of oil which looks quite fresh so I’m hoping it is a combination of a clumsy hand on the oil change in February and the leaking rocker cover gasket which has been repaired. 2) I’m not sure if I’m being silly and I am a novice when it comes to this but something looks like it is missing from just above the oil sump
In the image you can see hole and a couple of screw holes around it. This is from the passenger side looking at about 1 o’clock (sorry for the vague directions) it’s a 2.2 m54 2005.
It might be completely normal but it looks a bit off to me?
On Tuesday I smashed my wing mirror off today the new one came, they told me it was the full electric wing mirror, it wasn't.
So instead I had a job of taking off all the plastic parts needed to put in my electric wingmirror then wire it all back up!. Not going to lie i was quite proud of myself since my fella said he would do it next week but I couldn't wait so I did it myself. This is the non electric wingmirror
So instead I had a job of taking off all the plastic parts needed to put in my electric wingmirror then wire it all back up!. Not going to lie i was quite proud of myself since my fella said he would do it next week but I couldn't wait so I did it myself. This is the non electric wingmirror
E63eeeeee... said:
Probably normal if you think about how many different cars that block will have been used in. I'd still be inclined to get a camera or a mirror up just to make sure but I'd be surprised if it's not fine.
I wasn’t sure it just looked a bit odd with the empty screw holes. I need to have a look up there anyway to see if there are any obvious oil leaks. g3org3y said:
That’s awesome, thanks for the pic at least nothing major has fallen off 
I’m having big problems with my diff on the E92 330d at the moment. It started ‘grumbling’ a while ago so I got a transmission ‘specialist’ to put new bearings in it. I work away most of the week so I removed it myself on the drive and gave it to them for the week. I refitted it the following weekend and all was good for a couple of weeks then it started whining again! I took the whole car back and they sucked some oil out which was grey, bearings have failed again! “Don’t worry, it’s our problem and we’ll sort it” 3 weeks later and still no contact from them despite me texting, calling and dropping in to see them.
I am worried because there’s quite an expensive quaife atb in it which I obviously don’t want ruining so last weekend I bought a cheap diff from the breakers and fitted it. I couldn’t find a manual 2.35 ratio diff so fitted an auto 2.81 which is lovely and quiet luckily.
Got a feeling “our problem” is now my problem but I won’t give up. Refund or rebuild.......
I am worried because there’s quite an expensive quaife atb in it which I obviously don’t want ruining so last weekend I bought a cheap diff from the breakers and fitted it. I couldn’t find a manual 2.35 ratio diff so fitted an auto 2.81 which is lovely and quiet luckily.
Got a feeling “our problem” is now my problem but I won’t give up. Refund or rebuild.......
Have ordered 2x Michelin Pilot Sport 4s for the 630i. Decided now is the time to make the change off the RFTs.
Thanks, will look into this (if only to take a photo of my car snowfoamed up! 
)
JaseB said:
g3org3y said:
Which snowfoam and pressure wash system do you use?
I use Ultimate Finish own brand snowfoam (about 20% foam to water mix) with a Karcher pressure washer and a 20 quid (MJJC?) lance from Ali Express after my old one died, seems to work really well.)The weekend just gone I managed to fix something on my E61 without spending hundreds of pounds.
The wipers had been playing up, and not stopping at the rest position: instead flicking up a couple of cms.
The wiper relay was the prime culprit, which I managed to fish out quite easily. When I opened up the relay, a small piece of metal fell out.
So I suspect a contact had broken off and was keeping power to the wipers after they should have stopped.
I cleaned up the contacts with emery paper and put it all together again (minus metal flake) and it all seems to be fine! Which is good as new relays are near £100
For this week, I plan to do battle with my dcan cable and inpa cd again...just cannot get the thing to work, but getting quite curious about what codes my car has built up since getting it a few months ago.
The wipers had been playing up, and not stopping at the rest position: instead flicking up a couple of cms.
The wiper relay was the prime culprit, which I managed to fish out quite easily. When I opened up the relay, a small piece of metal fell out.
So I suspect a contact had broken off and was keeping power to the wipers after they should have stopped.
I cleaned up the contacts with emery paper and put it all together again (minus metal flake) and it all seems to be fine! Which is good as new relays are near £100
For this week, I plan to do battle with my dcan cable and inpa cd again...just cannot get the thing to work, but getting quite curious about what codes my car has built up since getting it a few months ago.
Edited by Ian Geary on Tuesday 30th March 21:42
2x Michelin Pilot Sport 4 on the front of the 630i, replacing the very worn Dunlop RFTs. What a difference! Smoother, quieter and just overall more pleasant to drive. Will do the rears at some point (currently also RFTs) but need to examine the OS to check the alloy is ok as it loses air every few weeks.
Changed the rear shocks on the E91 yesterday. What a git of a job.
I had prepped it last week, removing the interior trim and soaking all the bolts in PlusGas, but still had issues. The bolts for the shock itself were fine...the bolts for the lower rubber mount were not. The medial ones were ok, but the lateral ones were very rusty and misshapen. OS went ok. NS, gave me problems, totally seized and rounded the head. Needed a combination of blow torch and impact wrench to remove.
In situ
You can see how rounded the thread got. I do not really like these star bolts.
Bit worn
Car is no longer wayward and wanting to kill me, which is nice.
I had prepped it last week, removing the interior trim and soaking all the bolts in PlusGas, but still had issues. The bolts for the shock itself were fine...the bolts for the lower rubber mount were not. The medial ones were ok, but the lateral ones were very rusty and misshapen. OS went ok. NS, gave me problems, totally seized and rounded the head. Needed a combination of blow torch and impact wrench to remove.
In situ
You can see how rounded the thread got. I do not really like these star bolts.
Bit worn
Car is no longer wayward and wanting to kill me, which is nice.
I nerded out giving my 140i it’s spring clean...
Snowfoamed with Garage Therapy Decon shampoo
Washed with decon shampoo
Dried
Chemical decontamination with Cat Pro Trix followed with Bilt Hamber Korrosol
Rinsed and washed again
Clay bar to remove the last few stubborn bits
Polished with Menzerna 2500 and a Hex Logic green pad
Polished with Menzerna 3800 and a white Hex Logic pad
Two coats of Dodo Juice Supernatural
Tyres dressed
Glass cleaned
Leather cleaned with Heaven for Leather
Alcantara cleaned
Scrubs up pretty well.
I’m changing the rear dampers on it tomorrow for some Bilstein B8’s. The rear end has always been the cars weak point so I’m hoping these will sort it.
Also revived the alcantara dash trim for the E89 so popped that in. Top work by RSW as usual.
Snowfoamed with Garage Therapy Decon shampoo
Washed with decon shampoo
Dried
Chemical decontamination with Cat Pro Trix followed with Bilt Hamber Korrosol
Rinsed and washed again
Clay bar to remove the last few stubborn bits
Polished with Menzerna 2500 and a Hex Logic green pad
Polished with Menzerna 3800 and a white Hex Logic pad
Two coats of Dodo Juice Supernatural
Tyres dressed
Glass cleaned
Leather cleaned with Heaven for Leather
Alcantara cleaned
Scrubs up pretty well.
I’m changing the rear dampers on it tomorrow for some Bilstein B8’s. The rear end has always been the cars weak point so I’m hoping these will sort it.
Also revived the alcantara dash trim for the E89 so popped that in. Top work by RSW as usual.
Changed the oil & filter, air filter and cabin filter. Then gave it the weekly wash to get the dust/sand/whatever it is off. Yesterday I took the EGR valve off and gave it a clean although it didn't look too bad in all fairness and then did a quick adjustment on the handbrake. The old E46 330d will be thinking it is its birthday weekend.
Now I'm just weighing up whether I want to spend money refreshing the front suspension which means I'll keep it a while longer, or whether I get serious about buying an E9x. If I keep it I'm still left with a rusty rear wheel arch to contend with and a car that will still be worth next to nothing with 185K on the clock.
Now I'm just weighing up whether I want to spend money refreshing the front suspension which means I'll keep it a while longer, or whether I get serious about buying an E9x. If I keep it I'm still left with a rusty rear wheel arch to contend with and a car that will still be worth next to nothing with 185K on the clock.
Changed the rear dampers on my 140i.
The rear end of the car has always felt like it’s biggest weak point with sone fairly cheap dampers. The H+R springs and underbody brace seemed to improve things a bit but there was still room for improvement especially at NSL speeds.
I’ve fitted Bilstein B8’s and the M Performance bump stops. The whole process was a piece of cake and much easier than the E88 ones I replaced a few weeks ago mainly because I didn’t have to remove all of the boot trim.
A quick test drive afterwards and there is a notable improvement; the ride is firm and a bit jiggly still on poor roads at 30mph or so but it’s notably better at higher speeds. There were a few bits locally that really upset the back end (a compression and a sharp ridge) and there’s a big improvement. Before it felt like the OE dampers were still trying to figure out what to do 50 yards down the road, these seem to deal with imperfections much better.
The rear end of the car has always felt like it’s biggest weak point with sone fairly cheap dampers. The H+R springs and underbody brace seemed to improve things a bit but there was still room for improvement especially at NSL speeds.
I’ve fitted Bilstein B8’s and the M Performance bump stops. The whole process was a piece of cake and much easier than the E88 ones I replaced a few weeks ago mainly because I didn’t have to remove all of the boot trim.
A quick test drive afterwards and there is a notable improvement; the ride is firm and a bit jiggly still on poor roads at 30mph or so but it’s notably better at higher speeds. There were a few bits locally that really upset the back end (a compression and a sharp ridge) and there’s a big improvement. Before it felt like the OE dampers were still trying to figure out what to do 50 yards down the road, these seem to deal with imperfections much better.
Smoothed the air box lid on the 125i today.
Supposedly getting rid of the raised supports on the underside of the lid improves the induction noise a wee bit...a cheap version is of the Performance Carbon intake minus the carbon. The theory according to some is that the Performance intake sounds lovely because the carbon lid vibrates. No idea if it’ll make a difference but it’s free.
I’ll be driving it tomorrow so I’ll see if I can hear any difference.
Also have the old girl a quick wash
Tomorrow I’m popping round to see a mate and we’re bumming the CDV and fitting E46 M4 gearbox mounts. If we get time it’ll also be getting larger 330mm front discs.
Supposedly getting rid of the raised supports on the underside of the lid improves the induction noise a wee bit...a cheap version is of the Performance Carbon intake minus the carbon. The theory according to some is that the Performance intake sounds lovely because the carbon lid vibrates. No idea if it’ll make a difference but it’s free.
I’ll be driving it tomorrow so I’ll see if I can hear any difference.
Also have the old girl a quick wash
Tomorrow I’m popping round to see a mate and we’re bumming the CDV and fitting E46 M4 gearbox mounts. If we get time it’ll also be getting larger 330mm front discs.
g3org3y said:
@Court S, will be interested if you can hear a difference with the airbox mod.
eBay has 15% off selected sellers. Going to buy some wipers, air filters and spare N52 coil pack.
Will let you know. eBay has 15% off selected sellers. Going to buy some wipers, air filters and spare N52 coil pack.
Some cut holes in the air box but the consensus seems to be that it’s way too loud and drones loads.
I need some wipers for the 140 so will see if I can save any extra.
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