e46 320d touring....
Moderator: martauto
Hi,
thinking about taking a bucthers at the said car......only problem is that owner says that it needs a new oil cooler as oil is getting into the water,he asures me that its not the head gasket as the car dosent over heat ect...also the erg valve needs cleaning???(whats that??)
the car is a "y"reg 2001,200k miles and no service history......
My question is how much is the car roughly worth and are the fixes easy to do and costly????
Cheers..
thinking about taking a bucthers at the said car......only problem is that owner says that it needs a new oil cooler as oil is getting into the water,he asures me that its not the head gasket as the car dosent over heat ect...also the erg valve needs cleaning???(whats that??)
the car is a "y"reg 2001,200k miles and no service history......
My question is how much is the car roughly worth and are the fixes easy to do and costly????
Cheers..
egr valve is an easy one to sort, your better of blocking or removing it completely,
the oil cooler is part of the oil filter housing, i personally havnt really heard of these going wrong to be honest but again its possible, that sort of age and milage with the possible oil cooler problem you would be wanting to get it for about 1300-1500 do you know what bhp model it is? there pretty good engines, i have a freind whit one thats done 288k and drives spot on, owned from new and jsut serviced when it should be, still on its original turbo
also you could go to B&Q and get yourself the correct size copper pipe and 2 right angles and make yourself up a bypass pipe for the cooler for now.
the oil cooler is part of the oil filter housing, i personally havnt really heard of these going wrong to be honest but again its possible, that sort of age and milage with the possible oil cooler problem you would be wanting to get it for about 1300-1500 do you know what bhp model it is? there pretty good engines, i have a freind whit one thats done 288k and drives spot on, owned from new and jsut serviced when it should be, still on its original turbo
also you could go to B&Q and get yourself the correct size copper pipe and 2 right angles and make yourself up a bypass pipe for the cooler for now.
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pacerpete
- E30 Zone Team Member

- Posts: 18168
- Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: Iver heath. South bucks.
When buying a car, assume the worst and you may get lucky. That car is £1500 tops as a nice together car. £500 is plenty with a possible head issue . If it is such a simple fix, I am sure the seller would get it done........
It's probably just a fuse.pacerpete wrote:When buying a car, assume the worst and you may get lucky. That car is £1500 tops as a nice together car. £500 is plenty with a possible head issue . If it is such a simple fix, I am sure the seller would get it done........
Front wheel arches bubble on these. My 53 plate one is just starting to on both sides. Have a proper good look at the wings on this one as its a much earlier car. IF its not a pricey repair, you should have a good motor that'll go for ages. Mine's 100% reliable, and on original turbo at 165k.
1988 325i SE h/c
Black sport leather, mtec suspension -60mm, LSD, tech1 steering wheel, chipped motronic 1.3 & numerous scabby bits R.I.P
2003 320d ES pov R.I.P Now in swirlflap heaven.
2001 330i SE MV1's
1987 M535i Alpine white
Black sport leather, mtec suspension -60mm, LSD, tech1 steering wheel, chipped motronic 1.3 & numerous scabby bits R.I.P
2003 320d ES pov R.I.P Now in swirlflap heaven.
2001 330i SE MV1's
1987 M535i Alpine white
Had the same on my 51 plate E46 coupe a couple of years back. Absolute feckin joke for an alleged prestige car.e30shed wrote:Front wheel arches bubble on these. My 53 plate one is just starting to on both sides.
Dont think a fuse would cause water to get into the rad???..Andyboy wrote:It's probably just a fuse.pacerpete wrote:When buying a car, assume the worst and you may get lucky. That car is £1500 tops as a nice together car. £500 is plenty with a possible head issue . If it is such a simple fix, I am sure the seller would get it done........
Still got my eye on this car....
Is the oil cooler a straight foward fix or is it a garage job???
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pacerpete
- E30 Zone Team Member

- Posts: 18168
- Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: Iver heath. South bucks.
gman1 wrote:Dont think a fuse would cause water to get into the rad???..Andyboy wrote:It's probably just a fuse.pacerpete wrote:When buying a car, assume the worst and you may get lucky. That car is £1500 tops as a nice together car. £500 is plenty with a possible head issue . If it is such a simple fix, I am sure the seller would get it done........
Still got my eye on this car....
Is the oil cooler a straight foward fix or is it a garage job???
Fuse 786 = oil water thingy
Get it changed, job jobbed !
Ok so an attempt as a serious answer here...
I'm guessing this is an Automatic, if so then the transmission oil cooler is an integral part of the radiator. It may be the transmission oil thermostat that connects to the radiator is broken allowing oil to seep into the radiator. Or the radiator/cooler is broken allowing the fluids to mix.
Oh an 'the egr valve needs cleaning' from what I've seen this is what people mistake for swirl flap issues... it's likely the car is blowing lots of smoke from the back.
Either way, unless the car is really cheap and you're a proficient mechanic, I'd walk away. Cheap E46s are in abundance now.
I'm guessing this is an Automatic, if so then the transmission oil cooler is an integral part of the radiator. It may be the transmission oil thermostat that connects to the radiator is broken allowing oil to seep into the radiator. Or the radiator/cooler is broken allowing the fluids to mix.
Oh an 'the egr valve needs cleaning' from what I've seen this is what people mistake for swirl flap issues... it's likely the car is blowing lots of smoke from the back.
Either way, unless the car is really cheap and you're a proficient mechanic, I'd walk away. Cheap E46s are in abundance now.





