316i Service

[dskhuthan]

Hi all,

Im looking at giving my 316i Automatic transmission a full service this weekend. Which is a G reg

What I need are
Brake Fluid
POwer Steering Fluid
Engine Oil
Oil Filter
Air Filter

I have brought spark plugs and a fuel filter from BMW, though I may return the 34pounds + VAT fuel filter and buy a non genuine one.

The problem is the guy at the garage told me that i should use on BMW parts non genuine parts will damage the car in the long run.

Now abit of history behind the car it has 47k on the clock backed with every single MOT and maintenance receipts, which correspond with the service stamps in the service book.

I will also be changing the fan belt, but the guy at bmw also said that buying a non genuine bmw belt wont be of the correct profile as compared to the bmw belt(which isnt in stock)

Please help me locate the parts i need for this weekend. I am unsure which engine oil and other fluids to use either for the flushing of power steering and brake fluid. Please bear in mind that has only been driven around town for 5-600 miles in the past 3-4 years.

I am looking at using carparts4less as they are significantly cheaper then eurocarparts.

[greg124]

I always use OEM parts from (usually) German. Swedish and French. They are the same quality as parts you would buy from BMW, but without paying a premium for having BMW stamped on them. You could also try Euro Car Parts or Motormec.
The guy at the BMW dealer will obviously try to get you to buy parts from them, but OEM parts are the same quality and specification. BMW do not make oil filters, fan belts etc. They buy them in from OEM manufacturers.
I use a good quality 10W/40 or 15W/40 engine oil, currently using Castrol GTX as it was on offer at Asda. DOT4 brake fluid, and Dextron 2 fluid for both the auto box and power steering.

[tha881]

http://www.c3bmw.co.uk/Page.asp?CategoryID=1

Fuel filter i would return to bmw and save yourself £20. Bought an oil filter from these today for £5 and it was meyle which is as good as oem

[30316]

Dochanges compare prices from dealers and Euro car parts. I have occasionally found parts at dealers actually cheaper!

I would add do check the history of cambelt changes as 47k mileage this may not have been done frequently. Cambelt needs to be changes at 30k or 4 years which ever comes first.

[jimmyspeed]

carparts4less !!! - essentially euro car parts but cheaper - have used several times, with no problems at all

[dskhuthan]

The cambelt was changed back in 2004 from a specialist along with a service 2 inspection. It is due another one as it has been 9 years, and it just scraped 5k miles since then - the perks of buying a car from a 1 mature/elderly lady owner

The fuel filter may not be returnable as the invoice states special order items are non-returnable - and this had to be ordered in from another dealer, which now leaves me unsure whether this item is classed as special order or not. So i may just return the £8.50 x 4 = £34 spark plugs as in those were in stock.

Are there any special reccomendations on spark plugs for this model e30? and as for fuel filter which one shall i get there are so many.

[broadie]

Your overdue a cambelt.
Car Parts For Less do Contibelt wich was Gates belts. Stick to decent brands and you'll be fine and save a fortune.
M40 engine was built to run fully synthetic oil I use the quantum oil from TPS. If it runs fine don't bother changing plugs.Piston engine planes don't have plugs as a service item.
Code "CP15LESS" will get £15 off when you spend over £100 at Car Parts For Less

[dskhuthan]

How much brake fluid would i need 1L or 5L?

I think I may just stick GSF as majority of previous maintenance parts from the service folder contain GSF invoices

[jimmyspeed]

GSF as majority of previous maintenance parts from the service folder contain GSF invoices ?????

just get the best quality/brand parts you can, its irrelevant whether there from gsf or ecp - i check both websites and see who has the best quality part and the best price. They all offer free delivery so you don't lose out shopping around


contitech are used by bmw (oem)

[dskhuthan]

sorry, not the majority but there are are some parts which were brought from GSF and the invoices have been added to the maintenance folder which he kept, along with specialist garage invoices. by maintenance parts i mean items such as engine fluid, brake pad sensors + brake pads, the rest of the service and maintenance was done from a garage in leicestershire called - Bob Gerard.

[Brianmoooore]

The problem is the guy at the garage told me that i should use on BMW parts non genuine parts will damage the car in the long run.

Name and shame the dealer who is feeding you this utter garbage!
What you have been told applies to BMW less than most other brands, since BMW actually produce very few of their own parts. Most bits are produced by usually more than one outside supplier to BMW's specifications, and in many cases, especially for service parts, these parts are available in that manufacturer's packaging rather than a BMW box.
Any part on the ECP or CP4L website which has a part number ending in zero should be one of these parts - identical in every way to the part in a BMW box, but without the BMW logo stamped or moulded in.
As an example, a year ago I bought a set of E39 rear subframe bushes from ECP. These had the remains of the BMW roundels moulded into the rubber, where they had been removed by a grinder.

[greg124]

To echo what Brian says above, I've just fitted some Lemforder (OEM) top mounts which are identical in every way to the parts that I have removed, except where the letters 'BMW' have been ground off

[dskhuthan]

BMW sytner birmingham!!!

I was abit gobsmacked when i had brought 4 spark plugs and a fuel filter for £80 , after i was told some horror story that people tend to put the wrong spark plugs or 'non-genuine' spark plugs and it causes them to burn up and create large holes. That was scary enough for me(didnt want my red car rendered useless). I will be returning these parts on saturday.

http://www.gsfcarparts.com/905aa3600 - these are the spark plugs i will now be using. never knew there would be so much hassle involved in servicing a car. but to say the least its a labour of love

on a brighter note i got my whole service set inluding brake oil and dextron2 oil and the v drive belt for £76 this is excluding the engine oil all from GSF and i get to use a nice little 10% discount off voucher.

Ill probably purchase the engine oil elsewhere something along the lines of 10w/40 semi synthetic?