E46 330i Auto Sport Touring Daily

[capri_rob]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-BMW-M ... 2326523a30

£450 with tyres that will need replacing soon

[pony]

Nearly 50bhp more

40.

The M54B25 produces 192bhp and the M54B30 231bhp.

The auto boxes are actually quite reliable and an oil and filter change is wise circa 80-100k despite being "sealed for life".

Suspension

Front wishbone bushes wear out at approx 40-60k depending on wheel size and how the car is driven.

Rear trailing arm bushes wear as to rear shock top mounts.

Rear coil springs are very common for breaking normally at the bottom coil.

Shock absorbers are normally weak by about 100k and a set of Bilstein B4's coupled with some Eibach 35mm springs give a better ride and better handling than the M sport suspension.

Brakes

Calipers a prone to seizing, normally the fronts

Rear brake lines can go rusty and cause the car to fail an MOT. To repair correctly is a pain of a job on a drive way as it involves lowering the fuel tank. Wire brush and wax oil before the get rusty!

Front discs are prone to warping, especially on the 330 which are bigger than all other non M3 brakes.

DSC pressure sensors can fail leading to the ABS and or DSC light being lit. If one is faulty replace the pair as the other one wont be far behind.

Body work

Front wings on coupes and cabrios are prone to going rusty from the inside out, the arch liner rubs the protection away on the inside and crud rusts the wing out. Remove arch liners and wax oil.

Rear arches can get scabby if not cleaned out regular

The rear subframe mounts on the boot floor can crack and rip out, inspect carefully. Earlier cars are more prone.

Engines

We'll stick with the M54 six pot as thats what you asked about.

Oil leaks from the cam cover gasket, oil filter housing seal are the most common although sump gaskets are not unheard of.

Water pump has a plastic impeller which can fail, coolant rads are normally done by 100-120k and bulge out at the bottom.

Running problems and EML warning lights can be caused by a failing cam sensor, failing lambda sensors, blocked cyclone valves, split vacumm pipes and split intake pipes.

Electrical

The heater blower motor resistor (final stage or "Hegehog") can fail causing irratic fan speeds or only working on full speed and/or a battery drain.

Central locking motors can fail and window regulators can get noisey before failing all together.

There more but that should help you out enough.

Other little niggles I have noticed which may be relevant from my E46 323 .... Door handles need a shot of BMW spray grease; check strap can get loose .... Pricey to replace, not sure if M54 suffer from camshaft sensor failure; Rear subframe cracking is a well documented issue; Under black plastic cover when you open the doors can hide rust underneath the covers ....

But I think a E46 330i Touring that has been well looked after, full history and money spent is a good set of wheels .... Creamy smooth straight six; decent torque; fast ish; rare; very very understated .... Back in its pomp this thing was F Ing QUICK plus you have fly-by-wire-throttle

[DanThe]

I would be changing the oil in any 'sealed for life' BMW box at 50k miles maximum.
Robs car is 73k IIRC and the oil was really dirty, the magnets in the sump were like hedgehogs too.

[capri_rob]

More grief today

Dan's had it back to stick a new waterpump in ( cheers Matt ) and found the new stat fitted a few weeks ago has a hairline crack along one of the manufacturing seams and is leaking

The stat came from Motormec via Ebay - I've just messaged them to ask about warranty on it ( purchased 28th September ) - whats the chances of getting my dosh back ? I've ordered another one off Matt anyway ( should have done that to start with )

Quick update

Motormec say they will have the faulty stat back subject to confirmation of mileage when fitted, mileage when failed, copy of receipt etc - will send it back in January when it stands less chance of being lost in the post.

Dan identified the dreaded Disa valve rattle whilst working on the turd this week - thats gonne be another £150 or so unless I can get a good used one

I've also done an experiment by filling up with 99RON fuel this tankful being as it says in the brochure its designed to run on this stuff - was £3 more expensive than 95RON standard unleaded for a full tank - it feels slightly perkier but I'm hoping for an extra couple of MPG - its doing around 20-22 on my daily commute

[bss325i]

Same as my M3 then! And that's a drive through central London.

Tbh, my old 330i auto touring did about that as did my recently sold E36 328i cab auto.

Auto FTL! Well fuel wise anyway.

[capri_rob]

Its 2.7 miles from my house to work and I come home at lunch so doing that 4x a day - it gets up to temp within about a mile but nothing over 30mph so whatever i drive is gonna drink it - I figure I may as well do it in a bit of comfort

[bss325i]

I wish my comute was 2.7 miles!

25 there and 40 back. All through London. Savage!

[capri_rob]

Sadly my time with this car is coming to an end

A house move has been an itch needing to be scratched for the last few years and it looks like it will be happening soon so having around £5k tied up in a 20mpg daily driver when we only live 3 miles from work ( and may be moving even closer ! ) makes no sense

Have to say though that much as I love the noise it makes and the amazing power delivery when you push the loud pedal I've started to find it very frustrating to drive the last couple of months or so - I don't know if its the Auto box or just the power of the thing its just too bloody fast for the public roads

At anything other than probably 1/8th of the travel on the loud pedal you're doing illegal speeds before you know it - it doesnt seem to like being driven everywhere on a throttle thats barely open and still only returns around 20mpg

I will be returning to my comfort zone of a sub £1000 turd that I can service myself without worring about breaking the full dealer history and than can be thrown away if a big bill arises or sold/px'd without losing much if I feel like a change

[capri_rob]

I've also done an experiment by filling up with 99RON fuel this tankful being as it says in the brochure its designed to run on this stuff - was £3 more expensive than 95RON standard unleaded for a full tank - it feels slightly perkier but I'm hoping for an extra couple of MPG - its doing around 20-22 on my daily commute

Oh yeah - £3 more expensive for a tank - made F00k all difference to the MPG

[Andyboy]

One E46 turd goes, and another arrives.

This poor 320d is with me. Jay-zus.

It's had a craftsman working on it. Already been de-flapped but with the usual missing bolts, tippex marks and vac hoses hanging off. The turbo is in trouble with zero boost and a whine like an air raid siren. Driving it 50 miles home in a snowstorm was entertaining - I was just waiting for it to go bang. Old wings off, new ones being painted and a very long list of mechanical bits to fix starting with taking tyhe turbo off for a look next week.

E36 FTW!

[capri_rob]

Is this a personal or Car Mechanics project Andy ?

[e301988325i]

At anything other than probably 1/8th of the travel on the loud pedal you're doing illegal speeds before you know it - it doesnt seem to like being driven everywhere on a throttle thats barely open and still only returns around 20mpg

Hear you there, but having done 2x 45miles in ours today it's a dream, they're just not very good around town.

Three & a half passengers, baby paraphernalia, on lpg, held a 12plate 2.0TFSI A5 at bay all the way through third off a roundabout today!

[Andyboy]

Is this a personal or Car Mechanics project Andy ?

As there's a thimble full of my claret on the inner wing, it's fackin' personal!

[capri_rob]

Don't get me wrong I bloody love this car and will miss the amazing spec, sound and the way it shifts on a clear road, but as most of what I do is 30mph speed limit to and from work its really wasted on me at present - and shelling out £150+ a month on fuel when work is only 3 miles away takes the p1$$ - I've lived with it for 7 months, its another one of the cars I really wanted ticked off my list but a bigger mortgage looming means its time for us to part ways

[Morat]

3 miles each way is brutal on engines, you'll be in cold enrichment all the way

[capri_rob]

3 miles each way is brutal on engines, you'll be in cold enrichment all the way

Since Dan did the thermostat it gets up to temp within about 1.5 miles on the gauge but I agree it can't be doing it any good

[e301988325i]

Since replacing the hedgehog I've been using the clear screen button which somehow or other means the car switches to LPG sooner and hence is warming the engine quicker, anyone know how it actually works?

[DanThe]

It turns the air conditioning on, hence the engine warms up quicker