My "new" E46 (1999 328i) [Archive]

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Jazzbass

01-02-2016, 05:59 PM

My daughter got her driver's license last week, so I picked up this 99 328i 5 speed yesterday:

49644

Super-cheap Craigslist find. Lots of miles, and I think almost all of the common E46 problems are there (cooling system, window regulators, worn bushings). Cosmetically it's decent, and I wanted a car with a manual transmission to teach both the kids to drive on. Plus I figured if I was going to be in the garage constantly maintaining another car for one of my kids, it was going to be a car I liked this time.

Wish me luck. I'm really, really going to need it.

VaSteve

01-02-2016, 06:13 PM

Good luck.... They are so simple to work on you should be up and rolling in no time...how maby miles?

Jase007

01-02-2016, 06:30 PM

Looks great.

Good car for them plus SRS / ABS / traction control, etc... AND a 5 speed!

Need help wrenching on it let me know.

:lol:

86911TLCAB

01-02-2016, 09:03 PM

Much the same as the e36s I am working on. Agree pretty easy to work on, but I suppose they all are if you know what to do. Have fun.

BlackTalon

01-02-2016, 09:10 PM

Aren't 5 speeds rare? Salvage the drivetrain after the inevitable teen 'oops' moment.

Jazzbass

01-02-2016, 09:23 PM

Up on the lift and working my way through the car. After 1 hour, progress so far:

49645

"I think I can get one more run session out of these"
I'm 0 for 4 on pads and rotors. I knew the pads were shot, and I assumed the rotors were as well, but I was hoping I might get away without new rotors. Nope.

49646

These are not track tires, despite their complete lack of tread. They are 12 yr old Khumos, and one has a nail in it. I knew this as well, so again no surprise. On tires the score is 2 bad, 1 good, 1 iffy. I'll probably replace all 3 non-good and keep iffy as the new spare.

49647

Intake air boot after the MAF. Also knew about this. Pretty sure this is the cause of the weird throttle dependent wheezing and the CEL that's on (the codes jive with this problem). $15 for a new one. Go figure, I'm sure BMW will rape me elsewhere.

49648

Headlight full of moisture. Not sure why. Thinking of pouring desiccant in it to dry it out.

Jazzbass

01-02-2016, 09:25 PM

Oh - best thing I've discovered so far? M/T cars have an electric fan, not a mechanical fan. Yeah! No fucking with the stupid fan clutch to get it off.

LPM911

01-02-2016, 09:27 PM

Fun stuff! When will you be bringing it to the track? We can have a BMW day at the skip pad during a Porsche event. :)

VaSteve

01-02-2016, 10:43 PM

Oh - best thing I've discovered so far? M/T cars have an electric fan, not a mechanical fan. Yeah! No fucking with the stupid fan clutch to get it off.

Why is that? I found that I have it down to a science, but for an old mystery car I'd be sweating it.

Put the bent rim in the trunk for the spare.

cmartin

01-03-2016, 12:30 AM

Good score. I'd be interested in the same in a 2 dr, even with the typical bmw 'issues' they are hard to beat.

Jazzbass

01-03-2016, 01:06 AM

Ok, after going through the car tonight, my current plan is to work in three stages:

Stage 1: Safety. New tires, brakes, windshield. Oil change, air filter and replace MAF boot.
Get inspected, tagged and insured.

Stage 2: Cooling, tune up and convenience odds and ends (window regulators, seat heater, etc)
Teach kids to drive it.

Stage 3: Drivetrain. After the new drivers are finished abusing the clutch, pull the transmission, driveshaft and dif and replace the dif bushings, clutch, center carrier bearing, shift linkage bushings, and detent pins in the transmission.

God willing that'll be it.

racer

01-03-2016, 08:52 AM

Just curious. After all is said doing items 1,2 +3, plus original purchase price, plus the cost of your time, could you have found another manual transmission car out there (any brand) that would have cost overall the same and saved you hours of work (fun)? I admire your can do willingness and spirit and maybe your kids will be there with you doing all this work but it sure seems like you wanted another project ;)

Trak Ratt

01-03-2016, 11:43 AM

Jazzbass

01-03-2016, 02:20 PM

^ my experience supports Jazz's decision. Even a 2 year old car will need some work. Or at least a thorough going over to include; changing fluids, checking breaks etc. Not to many "older" cars that have been so well cared for that they are ready to go out of the gate.

Seems a sound decision to pick up something you might actually enjoy owning rather than just another insurance liability.

Yup. Over a certain age, all cars are crapshoots. One thing about cheap cars, the seller doesn't try to hide anything. There's no illusion that the car has been kept in a heated garage and maintained by angels sent from Bavaria, like all the guys trying to sell $6000+ cars will try to tell you. IME those cars will need new brakes, new cooling, etc, as well.

This car was dirt cheap and the seller told me everything he knew that was wrong with it. So far, everything I've seen has matched up. My goal was to get a car for under $3000 that would last the kid a couple of years in high school. We'll see how close we can come to that.

Dr K

01-03-2016, 07:09 PM

Jazz, if the "good" tire is 12 years old, it's likely not good any more (even if the durometer says its soft enough). Your children will be in this car - keep the "good" tire as the spare, maybe put the "iffy" one in the rack over your garage doors, and put 4 new, safe tires on the car, in my opinion.

And Dave - don't you remember the replacing of the fuel lines, and before that TD's (now HoodPin's) electrical system? Jazz loves this kind of stuff!

Jazzbass

01-03-2016, 08:39 PM

Jazz, if the "good" tire is 12 years old
The good tire is three years old. Bad tires are 12 yrs old.

Your children will be in this car - keep the "good" tire as the spare, maybe put the "iffy" one in the rack over your garage doors, and put 4 new, safe tires on the car, in my opinion

Yeah, no shit Peter. :lol: You think I'd almost kill myself redo-ing TD's POS 944 (no offense Tony) but suddenly decide to start cutting corners on my own child's car? C'mon now... you're smarter and and know me better than that.

Vicegrip

01-04-2016, 07:55 AM

I guess you must have finished up the last one. ;) Looks like a fun project.

Dr K

01-04-2016, 10:28 AM

you...know me better than that.

True dat! Sorry to have doubted you.

HughA44s

01-04-2016, 12:06 PM

Hey BT, The 6-Speeds are the rare ones as most of the manuals were 5-Speeds. Having said that, manuals of any type are far less common in these cars. The good news is that the 5-Speeds are far stronger and more durable than the 6-Speeds to the point that hard core racers of these cars go with the 5-Speed (or so I have heard).

87turbolook911

01-04-2016, 01:13 PM

Jazz,

Call me I've got lots of tips and parts after resurrecting Pig Pen (below).

Jazzbass

01-04-2016, 01:41 PM

Call me I've got lots of tips and parts after resurrecting Pig Pen (below).

Nice. I like those wheels :D.

I'll give you a call when I get out of meetings this afternoon.

Jazzbass

01-06-2016, 01:46 PM

Progress so far: got the car up on the lift and did the initial inspection. Rotors and pads removed for replacement, headlight removed for seal replacement, engine oil drained, passenger door panel removed for impending window regulator replacement. Now waiting on parts which you can see are starting to trickle in. I dropped $1000 on stuff at ECS on Monday, but at least $200 of that was OCD stuff for my E90. By the end of the week I should have the brakes sorted, windshield changed, the fluids changed and new tires on and ready for MD state inspection.

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Trak Ratt

01-06-2016, 01:51 PM

Looks like it cleaned up real nice.

cmartin

01-06-2016, 02:28 PM

sweet, I like your pace

Let me know when you want to pickup the extra wheels I have, you know you need ra1s for this!

John Clay

01-06-2016, 03:56 PM

sweet, I like your pace

Let me know when you want to pickup the extra wheels I have, you know you need ra1s for this!

Do they have brake dust caked on them?

Jazzbass

01-06-2016, 04:12 PM

Do they have brake dust caked on them?
They're BMW wheels aren't they?

John Clay

01-06-2016, 04:46 PM

I like the white car/black wheel look.

87turbolook911

01-06-2016, 11:31 PM

Some inspiration for you... LOL

cmartin

01-07-2016, 07:54 AM

Do they have brake dust caked on them?

But of course, I wouldnt have it any other way.

Vicegrip

01-07-2016, 08:24 AM

I think I still have a case of Metal dust remover in the loft.

Jazzbass

01-07-2016, 04:49 PM

I just spent 30 mins researching oil filters because I was convinced I was sent the wrong one. The 328i has a M52 engine, and according to everyone the correct filter is a Mahle OX 154/1D. OK, bought that, open the old filter and see three o-rings. Two green at the bottom and one black at the top. The filter fit - no small o-rings. That's weird, my E90 filters always come with the small o-ring (only one in that car). Internet research says nope - Mann and Mahle filters don't come with these o-rings any more. Does this jive with what others see?

49689

VaSteve

01-07-2016, 04:52 PM

Correct. You get the big one and a crush ring for the oil pan no little greenies.

Jazzbass

01-11-2016, 01:06 PM

Quick run down of my interaction with the windshield guys:

Friday
Me: And the glass you use - OEM glass like Pilkington, Sekurit, PGW?
Them: Yup

Today:
Me: OK, price is X, moldings are correct, and glass is OEM right?
Them: Yup
-- later --
Them - brings in Chinese made no-name glass

Me: :bang:

We're trying again tomorrow with an OEM windshield

HughA44s

01-11-2016, 01:12 PM

Good point of the moldings inserts - Mine disappeared on the last BMW windshield I replaced. My insurance company (I have windshield replacement) also does not cover insert moldings as part of the windshield replacement costs.

roundel

01-11-2016, 01:32 PM

My GT3 filter did not have the small rings either. :roll:

HughA44s

01-11-2016, 01:34 PM

I am working through the exact same process on a 2002 e46 M3 which I bought from a gippo lot down on Route 1. Although there was a bunch of bad and to be worked issues the Good are:
- 6-Speed Non-SMG (Mandatory)
- Clean Body (Clean Carfax and I can't see anything)
- Motor runs great and is a monster
- COMPLETE
- Good interior (some minor wear on the driver's seat finish but the leather is OK)
- Great price (Especially for a Non-SMG car) but I had to look pass some eye-ball issues and the completely gone suspension and brakes and the unsightly wheels. The brakes were the first things to be fixed, along with the broken rear spring.

My plan of attach is very similar to yours and others. For instance, After 1.5 days of laying on my back this weekend, I now have new motor mounts and FCABs - What a huge difference!!!!!! although the shocks and struts are still shot. I did fix the broken rear spring.

Next up:

- Drive shaft support
- Rear Diff Seal
- Trans Mounts
- Diff Mounts
- Rear Sub-Frame Mounts

I am finding that I am grouping things: For instance the above requires removal of the Exhaust and Driveshaft (Porsche Owners may find it shocking that some cars still have these) so might as well bite the bullet and tackle all at once. Good luck with your project.

Patrick3000

01-11-2016, 02:36 PM

HughA44s

01-11-2016, 03:59 PM

Karl,

That would require me to wash it first - Will see what I can do.

Hugh A.

Jazzbass

01-11-2016, 09:38 PM

Brake caliper rebuild fun. Rebuilt the two fronts and left rear yesterday with no problems. Everything came apart pretty easily, cleaned up nicely, and the pistons looked good. Tackled the last caliper tonight and this is how the piston looks.
Ugh. The pitting extends far enough into the working surface of the piston to be hitting the piston seal when the piston is fully retracted. And, since I'm putting on new rotors and pads, it will be fully retracted. Damnit.

No one (that I could find) except one place in the UK actually sells the pistons. Good news is I can get another caliper for $30 on eBay.

49731

Dr K

01-11-2016, 10:46 PM

I found some places that sell Centric steel pistons online (search is your friend) but they were about $23 for the P-car (free shipping)--it was posted on Dorkiphus last spring. A whole caliper for $30 (if in good shape) sounds like a better deal. I'm pretty sure I bought mine from Car Part Kings, and it came quickly and in good shape. Despite the Dorki thread hecklers talking about Miata calipers, it was for the 911 and worked well all summer.

Peter

HughA44s

01-12-2016, 08:16 AM

Jazzbass,

I have a set of 330 calipers I took off my 330 ZHP - If you want them you can have them. I have no idea if they are any better than the ones up have however. Let me know.

Jazzbass

01-12-2016, 02:51 PM

Jazzbass,

I have a set of 330 calipers I took off my 330 ZHP - If you want them you can have them. I have no idea if they are any better than the ones up have however. Let me know.

Hmmm... that might be a solution. What year/body type is the 330? I'll check RealOEM to see if they are the same caliper. Thanks!

HughA44s

01-12-2016, 09:59 PM

Hey Chris, It looks like I have a complete set of front and back loaded with HAWK HPS pads - at least on the front and the rear pads are near new. The rears maybe Hawk DTC -60s as I ran them on the track one year. They are from a 2004 330i Sedan with the ZHP option. I do not think the ZHP drove any changes to the brakes. The car is also a manual if that matters. I can not vouch for the condition of the pistons but the price is right if you want them. Need to clean out junk and otherwise they go in my metal recycle pile.

HughA44s

01-12-2016, 10:00 PM

Oh and the stock break lines are still attached.

Jazzbass

01-15-2016, 01:10 AM

So here's the car as it sits today. Drove it about 30 miles and it was mostly good. Mostly*. Check out my cool E90 wheels, courtesy of our very own PCA executive director and fellow crappy E46 owner.

49756

While I was waiting on parts to sort out the rusty brake piston problem, I tackled some cosmetic stuff. First, the grilles were loose. Super common problem - the plastic clips age, become brittle and break off. The grilles then rattle around in the hood. The proper solution is to buy new grilles, $60 each from BMW. But this is a 220k mile 17 yr old BMW for a 16 yr old kid, so it gets the improper solution - a $3 tube of black silicone RTV and it's fixed. Yeah, I feel a little dirty about this, but not that much.

49757

Next, the Homelink Garage Door opener. This car didn't come with one. It was a several hundred dollar option at the time. This is one of the things I love about old BMWs - expensive add on features can be bought for almost nothing on eBay. This transmitter is actually from a newer car so it compatible with my opener. I paid $20 shipped from eBay. It snapped right in to the panel, plugged into the wiring harness and *voila* like it came from the factory.

49758

Anyone who owns a BMW should recognize what I'm doing here:

49759

Ah, BMW and their craptastic window regulators. My E90 has had both rear ones replaced, and this car needed 3 of 4. I'm guessing that the only reason that it didn't need 4 of 4 is because the only one I didn't replace, the driver's, had already been done.

49760

Cool thing about changing the window regulators? You get to see how many dead stinkbugs you can find stuck to the butyl tape of the vapor barrier. I think I got 20 or so over the course of three doors.

49762

New windshield installed. Finally resolved the screw-up around the Chinese windshield. They came back the next day with a German made Sekurit. Everything is installed and the rain sensor is even working properly. I had to replace the cowling at the bottom of the windshield as well, as the old one just fell apart when you touched it.

49761

Finally, the stereo sounds like absolute crap. A little bass, but not much. Problem number 1 - the woofer in the driver's door is not working. I need to pull the door panel and look into that. I'm guessing that when they replaced the driver's door window regulator, they forgot to reconnect. Problem two, no bass when the fader in in the rear. I wonder if the speakers are blown? Let's see...

49763

Looks like someone couldn't bear to part with their bitchin' set of Kenwoods, so they pulled them :lol:. It certainly explains the lack of bass. Funny when I think of the number of 5 1/4" speakers I've tossed over the years simply due to no space to store them. This is why I tell my wife I need to save shit. "I can't throw away this set of JBL Power Pros from 1991! I might buy a crappy E46 one day that has had it's rear speakers removed - and then what? I'll be ready is what".

* Mostly. Turns out there are TWO boots between the MAF and the throttle body. I replaced the upper boot that was torn. The lower boot is torn as well - just discovered that tonight after the CEL came back on.

VaSteve

01-15-2016, 06:33 AM

Make sure the vapor barrier is well secured. Even put some more glue at the bottom. When it's warm, lay a hose on the roof and check your work to make sure no water is getting inside.

87turbolook911

01-15-2016, 06:58 AM

N0tt0N

01-15-2016, 10:02 AM

Looks like someone couldn't bear to part with their bitchin' set of Kenwoods, so they pulled them :lol:. It certainly explains the lack of bass. Funny when I think of the number of 5 1/4" speakers I've tossed over the years simply due to no space to store them. This is why I tell my wife I need to save shit. "I can't throw away this set of JBL Power Pros from 1991! I might buy a crappy E46 one day that has had it's rear speakers removed - and then what? I'll be ready is what".

:lol::lol::lol: Can't see JazzBass w/o Bass!

And nice work, as usual!

cmartin

01-15-2016, 10:09 AM

good work jazz, looks better than anything at my house

Jazzbass

01-15-2016, 10:30 AM

Make sure the vapor barrier is well secured. Even put some more glue at the bottom. When it's warm, lay a hose on the roof and check your work to make sure no water is getting inside.
That's a very good point - thanks Steve.

Dr K

01-15-2016, 12:57 PM

Nice Jazz. I'm starting to think about an E46 to replace the Prius...

racer

01-15-2016, 03:39 PM

Golf Clap all around!

Jase007

01-17-2016, 09:19 AM

220K on original DMF and clutch?

That's impressive ...

*they are all LUK replacement parts FYI.

Jazzbass

01-18-2016, 02:15 PM

So here's the car as it sits today. Drove it about 30 miles and it was mostly good. Mostly*.

Here's the write up on the reason for the asterisk next to "mostly": http://dorkiphus.net/porsche/showthread.php?t=35743

220K on original DMF and clutch?

No clue as to age or originality. I'm assuming they are, but really have no idea. No service records.

Jazzbass

01-20-2016, 11:47 AM

The main project on round 1 of "upfixen der E46" was the brakes. This here is NOT morning cup of espresso. This is the brake fluid that came out of the E46 when I got it. I'm thinking it might be a little older than 2 years. Because this fluid was so bad I ran two liters of $8 Valvoline synth dot 4 through to flush and then flushed with a liter of ATE200. Did the clutch, too, which was also pretty disgusting.

49829

New pads and rotors were a definite, but on cars older than 15 years, as a rule I like to replace the rubber brake hoses and rebuild the calipers, because old rubber = bad. Stock calipers on my E46 are single piston, floating, cast iron ATE units. All four calipers were reusable, but I did have to source a replacement piston for one of the rears after finding the original too corroded to use:

49821

I'm not going to post a lot about the rebuilds - they're as simple and straight forward as a caliper rebuild can be and there are a lot of DIYs out there. The tl;dr version is this: pop out the piston with compressed air (using a block of wood for it to hit when it pops out very fast), clean clean clean, and reassemble.

Main sealing ring (1) goes into the sealing ring groove (red arrow). Lube lightly with brake fluid or SilGlyde. Dust boot (2) goes into dust boot groove (blue arrow), and then insert piston (3) and USING ONLY HAND PRESSURE (http://dorkiphus.net/porsche/showthread.php?t=16854)push smoothly into the caliper. The piston needs to be almost perfectly straight to slide in correctly.

49822

Getting the dust boot properly installed and seated is probably the biggest PITA in this process. The standard way many people use is to install the boot on the piston first, then install the piston. Push the piston all the way in, then push the edge of the boot into it's groove. I tend to find this a PITA because at the top of the caliper there is precious little room to get in and work the boot into the groove correctly. I like to be sure the boot is seated properly so that it doesn't pop out later and I don't end up corroded pistons like I had above.

So my method is a tad different, in that I install the boots in the caliper first, make sure they're seated correctly, then install the piston. This means I need to dilate the opening of the boot so that I can slide the piston in. For the fronts, the large size of the piston meant there was a lot of working room so I just had my helpers pull the boot open with their fingers goatse style while I put the piston in.

The rear pistons are smaller so not there's not enough working room to manually open the boot up, so I have a little "tool" I made that helps here. It's just a section of scrap exhaust 1 5/8" exhaust pipe that I cut off and polished up so that it didn't cut/scratch anything. 1 5/8" = 41.3mm, so the pipe was just slightly larger than the 40mm piston. To use, insert the "tool" into the dust boot, like so:

49824

You can see the inner diameter of the boot is now spread open and held open allowing you to insert the piston through:

49825

Now, you can install the dust boot in the piston and you can make sure the sealing edge is seated properly in the groove:

49826

Insert the piston through:

49827

And remove the ring and done.

49828

N0tt0N

01-20-2016, 12:03 PM

Homemade dilator.... huh. Great idea and thanks for sharing!

cmartin

01-20-2016, 12:03 PM

kudos to you Jazz for rebuilding the calipers. ~$35 rebuilds are SOP for me anymore. Of course once in a while you get a clunker. I like your seal tool, nice work.

John

01-20-2016, 01:23 PM

goatse style

The detail that goes into describing the task at hand is what makes the posts on this site so helpful and informative. Messrs. Haynes and Chilton could learn a thing or two from our man Jazz here.

Superb work as always.

Jazzbass

02-19-2016, 06:29 PM

So, back to the E46. After I got the E90 out of the garage, I pulled the E46 in and gave it a quick once-over. With both intake boots replaced the SES light was staying off, and since I was running out of time on my 30 day temp tags it was time to take it to get inspected.

Now for those not in MD, our inspection here is a bit different than in VA. MD inspection is a one-time-only thing (which is not a great idea, honestly), but is a LOT more stringent than VA inspection. It usually costs about $100 for the inspection and takes about an hour for the lift part and 30 mins for the road test. None of the "do all of the light sort of work" stuff they do in VA (trust me, I owned many shitty cars when I lived in VA, all with valid inspection, and none should have been on the road).

So, I make an appointment and start heading over to drop the car off. Within a mile the SES light comes on. MFer. Well, that's it for the inspection; the car won't pass with the SES light on. Drive home, pull in the garage and pull over the lift. What's that smell? Is that coolant? Yup, now in addition to the SES light on, the car is now pissing coolant from a pinhole in one of the water hoses. Awesome!

50264

I go do some research and reach the following conclusion - this car is old. Profound, I know. Because it is old, all of the rubber hoses in the intake - CCV, SAP, gas purge valve, etc - are probably all dry-rotted. And it's an E46, so the coolant hoses are pretty suspect too. Hell - one of them is actively broken, so god knows what state the rest of them are in. It's decision time now. Do I really want to sink money & time into replacing all of the air/vacuum/coolant hoses on a car with 220k miles? Well... that depends on the condition of the engine, doesn't it?

So... what IS the condition of the engine? I mean, it drives really, really well. Nice and smooth, plenty of power, etc. But that's anecdotal - time to do some actual health checks on the engine. I pour some distilled water into the expansion tank to replace that what just dumped all over my garage floor and take the car out and get the engine at operating temp. Come home, put it back on the lift and pull engine trim, coil packs and spark plugs. The spark plugs, BTW, are ready to be changed :lol::

50265

First test - compression. With a charger hooked up to the battery and the engine warm, I tested each cylinder with 3 cranks of the engine. The results were very good, and very surprising:

Cyl 1: 190
Cyl 2: 190
Cyl 3: 195
Cyl 4: 195
Cyl 5: 190
Cyl 6: 190

50266

Wow. Really good compression and consistent on all 6 cylinders. Next up, leakdown. I run this test at 100psi because it makes the math easy :cool::

Cyl 1: 99/100 (1%)
Cyl 2: 99/100 (1%)
Cyl 3: 98/100 (2%)
Cyl 4: 98/100 (2%)
Cyl 5: 98/100 (2%)
Cyl 6: 98/100 (2%)

50267

Good, consistent compression and 2%-3% leakdown on all cylinders. :) Well, it seems like the engine is in good shape. All the plastic and rubber surrounding it not so much, but the engine is good. Since this thing comes with no records at all, I'm wondering if there's been a rebuild? I doubt it by the looks of things (you can usually tell when an engine's been out and this car has a lot of bolts that don't look to have been turns since they were in Bavaria in 1999) but who knows? So either I totally f**ked up both the compression and leakdown tests 24 times (I ran each test twice to make sure the results were consistent), or this engine is the tightest 220k mile engine ever.

Well, I guess it's worth fixing...

Jase007

02-20-2016, 09:52 PM

Looks like a keeper with that compression. :)

The vacuum lines, coolant lines, CCV, etc... work is all relatively easy DIY and well documented on Internetz.

VaSteve

02-20-2016, 09:59 PM

I knew of a 530 that had some 400K on the motor. It would still be in service had someone not crashed into it.

HughA44s

02-22-2016, 11:49 AM

By the way, the value cover is the updated version (which is a good thing) and is a little less likely to leak oil on to the headers in tight right hand turns producing large clouds of smoke. Did the same thing (expect without your noted precision and detail), Like yours my plugs were fried (it does have a number of track days on it). By the way I did some research and your numbers are not out of line with want others are seeing. Mine were messed up as the battery was low to begin with and was near dead at the end. Will redo in the future but I got enough to know that the engine was still strong - despite having a Low (read zero) oil pressure event at mid-Ohio for a half a lap.

HughA44s

02-22-2016, 11:56 AM

Now on to the re-occuring P0171 and P0174 CEL codes hunt and fix. Theres one or two parts of the Emissions system I have not changes yet - Will start there. As noted, these cars are noted for having bomb-proof motors but the surrounding stuff is intended to be replaced completely at the 100000 mark. The good news, in general the parts are cheaper than a similar Porsche part.

Dr K

02-22-2016, 11:47 PM

Would it be easier to pull the engine (at 100K miles or so) to replace all the "surrounding" stuff?

Jazzbass

02-23-2016, 09:05 PM

By the way I did some research and your numbers are not out of line with want others are seeing.
That is good to hear. The numbers were so good I was honestly afraid I messed up the test.
Now on to the re-occuring P0171 and P0174 CEL codes hunt and fix.

Yup, that's where I'm at now. With the engine in good shape, I went and ordered replacement parts for anything rubber under the hood. This means:

New power steering lines
All new coolant hoses
New manifold gaskets (throttle body/injectors/etc)
new brake booster line
New CCV (oil seperator and all hoses)
New valve cover/oil filter housing gaskets
New SAP hose
New belts

Most of the stuff I got was Rein/Febi/etc. I.e. Not BMW parts, but supposedly good quality. Stayed away from the URO stuff. Interestingly, the best deal I found on this was from ECS Tuning for a cold weather kit from BMW. It was $100 for all of the parts (oil separator and all hoses).All the aftermarket brands were $200 for their kit.

So, time to begin. Let's get that manifold out. Many of the jobs I'm doing CAN be done without removing the manifold, but I love just taking everything apart, cleaning well, and reassembling. Spending hours trying to fish my hands around shit in a dirty engine is not really my thing.

50306

Done. Kind of a bitch, but I've done worse. Ugh, it's so dirty.

50307

For those wondering, I numbered the major items here:

Oxygen sensor lines running to the exhaust
Coolant hoses going to the heater core. The right one goes to the water control valve; the left goes to the expansion tank. These are being replaced because doing that later will require manifold removal again.
Fuel tank vent. Mostly hard plastic, but there is a rubber end on it (which is cracked and needs to be replaced).
Fuel lines. Still debating on replacing these. They actually look in pretty good shape (no cracks/dry rot)
Coolant Temp Sensor. Replacing because of WYIT - $10 for a new one and NFW do I want to pull the manifold later to do it.
Starter. Not replacing, which means it will definitely crap out on me a day after I get this thing back together.
Intake ports. Funny story - in removing the manifold, I found a little nest and a shitload of acorns on top of it. I guess someone had made themselves a nice little home up there for a while. I fortunately didn't find any critters. I removed the nest and vacuumed as much of the acorns and dirt out as I could. Some still fell into the intake ports when the manifold was removed, but thankfully the ports are prett big and easy to vacuum out (I made sure the intake valves where the nest was were closed for this very reason).
Upper water pipe. Plastic because BMW. Goes from the block to the heater core water valve. It and the rubber hose attached to it are being replaced.
Knock sensors. Like the starter, not being replaced so will probably crap out on me almost immediately after the car is back together.
Lower water pipe. Again, plastic. It and the rubber hose attached to it are being replaced (this rubber hose is the one that has the hole in it)
Valve cover. Gasket to be replaced
Oil hose to VANOS. Leaks everywhere. Being replaced.
Oil filter console. Gasket leaks everywhere. Will be removed and replaced.
Brake booster hose. Not in bad shape actually, but 17 years of rubbing on the bottom of the manifold has started to wear a hole through the hose. So it gets replaced, too.

Jazzbass

02-23-2016, 09:18 PM

Here's the back of the manifold on the bench. Again numbers because here at Dorkiphus, we seek to teach as well as entertain.

50313

Oil separator. This is the central part of the CCV system. Porsches have these, too. They all like go bad and like to pump oil into the intake manifold in addition to throwing lean mixture codes. Note the red arrow - while there was a lot of dry rotted rubber found, this was probably the main culprit for my SES light issues. Big crack in the vacuum line. All to be replaced.
Fuel tank purge valve. The rubber hose will be replaced.
DISA valve hole. My DISA valve looks to be in good shape. It doesn't have a BMW symbol on it, so I assume it's been replaced. There are some tutorials out there that show you how to test it and mine's in pretty good shape.
Idle valve inlet. Gasket here is in good shape, so it'll stay
Throttle body inlet. New gasket here.
More vacuum/emissions crap. All of these hoses were dry rotted and cracked. New hose all around.

Yeah, so you can see in this last pic that the manifold brackets are in pretty rough shape with rust. Yeah, that won't do, now will it? Some good ol' POR-15 on all the brackets. Also hit the injector bodies (which were surface rusty) and the VANOS solenoids (also surface rusty).

50314

Next up - pull the oil filter housing console. Now, I posted a thread not too long ago about doing this same job on my E90 (http://dorkiphus.net/porsche/showthread.php?t=35859). I have to tell you - on the E46 this job is 100x more difficult. The biggest problem on the E90 was paying $41 for a single use tool to get the bolt off. On the E46? Remove half the shit bolted to the engine. Alternator, belts, tensioner, VANOS oil lines, power steering pump. Here it is one the bench - again, filthy. This thing's been leaking probably for the better part of a decade. $4 gasket and a metric ton of PITA and that problem goes away.

50315

Finally, remove all the other hoses/lines, plug up the open holes and clean, clean, clean. I pulled the thermostat and water pump for pre-emptive replacement as well. The thermostat was cracked up on one of the connectors and I'm fairly certain the water pump bearing are on their way out, so I'm happy with that decision.
So clean:

50316

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N0tt0N

02-23-2016, 10:27 PM

Nice job, man

HughA44s

02-23-2016, 11:13 PM

I feel strange in discussing the need to clean parts very well before re-install with you but a quick lesson learned: When you removed the oil filter housing, you exposed the clean side of the oil circuit supply to the VANOS. One piece of crap in the clean side and it may mess up the VANOS. The good news is mine needed replacement anyway - Mine failed very soon after I replaced the seal.

HughA44s

02-23-2016, 11:19 PM

Also, the oil return from the CCV to the crankcase is through the oil dipstick tube. These clog and also have a small o-ring at the bottom. I ran a bunch of rake clean through mine. Also the CCV unit was upgraded to a "cold weather unit" with insulation around it. It is suppose to clog as much. It maybe the only ones now available.

Charlie Stylianos

02-24-2016, 12:20 PM

Clean makes my heart sing. Nicely done in OCD style;)

86911TLCAB

02-24-2016, 01:11 PM

Jazz, on this car does the ICV connect to a hose which goes into #4 on the picture or does one end of the ICV go directly into #4.

Jazzbass

02-24-2016, 01:30 PM

Jazz, on this car does the ICV connect to a hose which goes into #4 on the picture or does one end of the ICV go directly into #4.
Directly.

John Hallen

02-24-2016, 01:40 PM

Excellent write up Jazz. My to do list and shopping list gets longer with each one of your posts. Do you have a local parts supplier other than the dealer? I use Bavarian Autosport, which seems to have pretty good prices and ships timely, but would be good to have someone local too. I don't know if I come close to your obsession for cleanliness, but I can get pretty darn obsessive compulsive myself. In taking apart my 911, spent many hours with my Dremmel with wire brush cleaning all sorts of tiny parts. Then spending hours picking tiny wire splinters shed from said Dremmel out of extremities.

Jazzbass

02-24-2016, 01:50 PM

I use BavAuto too but I get most of my stuff from ECS Tuning in Ohio. Their prices are usually on par with most of the main BMW guys and I like their website much better. On the ECS website, if you look up a part (say a heater hose) they're give you several options and show you the supplier for each. So you can pick from Rein, Febi, Genuine BMW or (ick) Uro. They also show how long it'll be to ship (same day if the parts are in stock, they show stock status and keep a ton of things in stock). Most of the other guys don't tell you who the aftermarket part is from, so you might think you're getting something decent like Rein or INA and end up with MTC or Uro.

Lots of guys love GetBMWParts, which is BMW of Silver Spring. Those guys are great if you need a genuine BMW part and can pick it up in person, but if you're ordering something to be shipped us MD folks usually get beat up pretty bad. Shipping can be expensive AND we have to pay tax since it's a MD sale. Most of my orders from them incur at least $20 penalty by the time it's said and done.

Lupin..the..3rd

02-24-2016, 02:28 PM

A few more bolts and the whole engine comes out. M54B30 is a popular swap. You know, while you're in there. ;)

Trak Ratt

02-24-2016, 02:45 PM

A few more bolts and the whole engine comes out. M54B30 is a popular swap. You know, while you're in there. ;)
True and I even saw a vid on popping a vet motor in a similar slug :D

cmartin

02-24-2016, 02:53 PM

too funny, ls or bust!

great work as usual Jazz, you take it to the next level

Jazzbass

02-24-2016, 03:13 PM

A few more bolts and the whole engine comes out. M54B30 is a popular swap. You know, while you're in there. ;)
Like I need more WYIT ideas :bang:

Parts day! I think I have almost everything now. Just waiting on the VANOS o-rings. I wasn't originally going to change them, but, you know, WYIT... So here's the loot - all new water lines, water pump, thermostat, p/s lines, gaskets, spark plugs, fuel filter, rear subframe bushings, and a headlight lens to top it off. $1300 worth of parts for a $1300 car.

50322

86911TLCAB

02-24-2016, 05:04 PM

looks like you are closing in on the original 3k target...once done you will have a new car...

N0tt0N

02-24-2016, 05:05 PM

If there was a Dorki Theme Song it would be playing right now...

Put thirteen hunderd in my thirteen hunderd,
And after that I sat and wunderd,
That if I had just another thirteen hunderd,
This little bitch would track like a muther'
So I bot some stuff and didn't tell the wife,
Gonna be A real drover just livin' the life!
And for thirteen hunderd more,
I'll show Good Hands the DE door!

Sung naked on a rocker on the porch staring at a rusty hulk with the engine in boxes...

Trak Ratt

02-24-2016, 06:47 PM

... Sung naked on a rocker on the porch staring at a rusty hulk with the engine in boxes... you been at my house again boy-o???

50324

Jazzbass

02-25-2016, 07:20 PM

Behold, the undertray of the E46. This thing was a PITFA to find - seems like a good many of these cars have not made it through their 17 years with these still attached. I got this on in a junkyard for almost nothing, which is good because that's pretty much what it's worth. A new one is $250. This one was $10. Only problem is the giant crack in it (see red arrows). Any suggestions on a fix? My thinking was to sandwich it in between two pieces of sheet aluminum and rivet the shit out of it. Drill out the end of the crack to stop it from spreading. Maybe scuff it up with 60 grit sandpaper and layer it up with some fiberglass before sandwiching? I don't know - open to suggestions.

50329

VaSteve

02-25-2016, 08:11 PM

Mine broke off, I replaced it, then broke it again. I have not had one in years. But for some reason seemed a little smaller, maybe because mine is an XI?

Jazzbass

02-26-2016, 12:48 AM

Mine broke off, I replaced it, then broke it again. I have not had one in years. But for some reason seemed a little smaller, maybe because mine is an XI?
I think because it's newer. They changed the under tray design in 2000-2001 sometime to a two piece design. The front part is a smaller plastic pan and the rear part is a metal plate that bolts in under the oil drain plug and back to the transmission. Mine is the earlier design with no metal plate and a longer plastic pan. BTW, this information is NOT obvious by looking at part catalogs and forum searches. I found pans on early and late cars and bought them both and learned the hard way.

Jazzbass

02-26-2016, 01:55 AM

Not a ton of progress tonight, but I think I'm to the point where I'm done taking shit apart. Last thing remaining from earlier was the valve cover. The gasket was leaking a lot of oil, so that's on the replacement list. So here it is, all stripped down. Things look pretty damn good under there, to be honest. No sludge, cams look great. BMW makes a hell of an engine.

50330

The valve cover gasket was definitely shot - especially the inner grommets and parts around the spark plug holes. Those were hard as rocks and leaking pretty bad. The outer grommets and gaskets were better, but still pretty hard. Apparently if you get a genuine BMW replacement gasket they're Viton now instead of Buna, so they won't harden. Now when I was looking up the DIY for the valve cover gasket (I knew there was RTV used, wasn't sure where) I found DIYs for the VANOS seals. Great - I didn't even know that was a thing. Apparently it is a thing. A thing you should do... everybody together... while you're in there.

Damnit. Fine. I ordered new VANOS seals from Beisan Systems (http://www.beisansystems.com/)and they should be here tomorrow. I pulled the VANOS off using thier DIY guide and started cleaning it up. Got pretty far along before I just couldn't take the fumes any more:

50331

I'll finish the rest tomorrow. After I get back from BMW of Rockville, that is. You see, I have a thing where I simply must forget to order one small yet important thing despite making at least 6 different parts orders in the last week. This time it's a new o-ring for the cam position sensor. The sensor is in the VANOS housing so I pulled it to clean the housing. The o-ring, like all the other seals, is brittle, hard and leaking. I ordered replacements for every other damn o-ring on that engine except that one. C'est la vie. Luckily its a pretty common part so getting one should be a simple matter of paying 2x the MSRP at the dealer tomorrow.

Other fun activity for the night getting the broken sections of water pipe out of the block. There are two hard plastic water pipes that exit the block up by the number 1 cylinder:

50333

Where they exit (red and green arrows) they press fit into the block with two o-rings. I unbolted the old ones, gave them a tug and they popped right off. Wow, that was easy! Well, or not. Turns out the plastic is so old and brittle that most of the end of the pipe just broke off in the block:

50332

Ugh. Extraction was a slow and tedious process as I had to be careful not to drop debris inside the block. The plastic was so brittle that prying on it with a screwdriver just broke it into little pieces. I ended up sitting there with a shopvac pointed at the hole, running and sucking out the bits as I scraped them out with a pick. Fun times. The red arrow water pipe was a lot more stock and more critical to not drop anything into the block, so that was fun. The green arrow pipe leads to the thermostat, which was removed, so any debris that fell backwards as I was scraping just came out of the front of the block.

smdubovsky

02-26-2016, 09:04 AM

Behold, the undertray of the E46. ... open to suggestions.
Can it be melted? Either via heat or solvent? That would allow one of the two types of welding. Failing that, I think your idea of using aluminum and rivets is a sound one. I'd use one sheet on the inside and just use the large flange head rivets designed for thin stuff/plastic.

SRG

02-26-2016, 01:15 PM

An article on repairing plastic underbody panels can be found here:

http://pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/Repair_Under-Panels.html

smdubovsky

02-26-2016, 02:59 PM

If they are heat meltable (like that pedrosgarage link shows), then a FAR better tool than a soldering iron is a hot air gun for plastic welding. Just like metal welding will be as strong/stronger than new. If you have access to a chip desoldering hot air rework tool it works just as well:cool:

Cliff Claven

02-26-2016, 03:52 PM

maybe something similar to this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9R0cIav_fI&ebc=ANyPxKrW8MN7qJ9gowGSCZnTqHG8hnVf87ZJbkznJrcCI7 76nGwh8keiw_9IcrxGCZ5osvXyrlH1xdIV4mdDm9uG4SCV8yAX RA

racer

02-26-2016, 03:54 PM

How's your daughter like driving the new car ;) Wow.. you sir, have much time and resolve to tackle all these challenges. On the plus side, you'll have a really nice car when done up!

Secretly, it makes me wonder what could be going bad on my 10+ year old daily driver.. for me though, ignorance is bliss!

And as said by others, these write ups are great!

Jazzbass

02-26-2016, 11:02 PM

BMW: "Hello BMW Parts..."
Me: "Hello. All the rubber hoses, gaskets, and o-rings under the hood of my E46 are falling apart"
BMW: "Yes, they do that. Which parts would you like to order?"
Me: "All of them"
BMW: "Done"

50337

50341

Jazzbass

02-27-2016, 12:57 AM

For those wondering why all the work replacing stuff - here's a shot of the vacuum hoses going from the manifold to the secondary air pump check valve. This is pretty typical of the condition of all the hoses under the hood:

50338

Redoing the Vanos tonight. Before and after beauty shots. At one point my wife asked what I was working on. "Vanos: The Cams of Fate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manos:_The_Hands_of_Fate)" I said. She just kind of look at me. "I think you need some fresh air." Yeah, I've probably inhaled too many VOCs tonight.

50339
50340

Jase007

02-27-2016, 12:09 PM

Glad you didn't break the left-hand threaded cam bolts. :)

Rajaie at Beisansystems.com makes a great product.

Did mine in February 2008 (thread HERE (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=262793&highlight=)) and haven't had a stumble, cold stall, "hiccup" related to Vanos seals since.

Nice progress.

HughA44s

02-28-2016, 03:16 PM

I most strongly reco that you replace the crankshaft sensor on the driver's side of the engine, under the intake VANOS Solenoid (Gray wire bundle) before re-assembly of the VANOS and the Oil-Filter Housing. These go out and will send you back to "GO" right after assemble.

Is that a metal impeller water pump I see?

Jazzbass

02-28-2016, 10:33 PM

Is that a metal impeller water pump I see?
Its a new BMW pump, so composite impeller.

HughA44s

02-29-2016, 09:13 AM

Lupin..the..3rd

02-29-2016, 10:04 AM

The composite impellers on these water pumps start to die on these cars after awhile and thee pumping efficiency degrades. I put a metal one in mine 6 years ago and have had no issues since - including rock solid temps on hot track days. Just an idea.

I read somewhere that BMW used plastic impellers, that over time would become brittle and crumble apart. They've since switched to some kind of more durable composite, that's superior to the plastic and doesn't suffer from the same problems. I also went with OE composite pump when I did mine a few years ago. Nice thing about E46, is the water pump is very easy to access and swap out.

cmartin

02-29-2016, 10:19 AM

In theory at least a busted plastic impeller isnt as likely to damage the housing or other aluminum bit as a metal one is. Of course could still black a water passage, I think each has its positives.

Jazzbass

02-29-2016, 10:37 AM

I read somewhere that BMW used plastic impellers, that over time would become brittle and crumble apart. They've since switched to some kind of more durable composite, that's superior to the plastic and doesn't suffer from the same problems. I also went with OE composite pump when I did mine a few years ago. Nice thing about E46, is the water pump is very easy to access and swap out.
Bet you $50 I read the same threads as you did :lol:. Went for the composite water pump for the same reason.

86911TLCAB

02-29-2016, 04:36 PM

replaced the oil filter housing gasket in the 94 this weekend also...hardest part was getting the alternator lined up as I chose to not remove the fan...lets see if that stops the oil showing up below the rear main seal...

That is a heck of a lot of parts...car is going to be a happy drover knowing it fell into your hands...well done...would say keep it up...but don't want you to keep forking over the bucks...smile

HughA44s

03-01-2016, 11:30 AM

Hmmm - Looks like I lost the metal impeller water pump argument. lol

Rob in VA

03-01-2016, 03:47 PM

}{arlequin

03-02-2016, 10:50 AM

wait... let me guess, you're building a racecar?

Jazzbass

03-02-2016, 03:44 PM

Jazz, I discovered the same problem w/ the hoses on my soon to be racecar. After removing the majority of unneeded stuff for a race car, I went on a shopping spree to replace all of it.

Some pix here of my SE46 build - https://www.instagram.com/robgagliardo/

PS - I'm always impressed at how you take on projects.
That's cool - first I've hear of Spec E46. How do you like that compared to GTS?

On your race car are you able to eliminate a lot of the emissions stuff like the SAP, CCV, etc? Getting rid of all that seems like it would clean up the engine bay significantly.

Dr K

03-02-2016, 04:53 PM

Looks nice, Rob. Good luck!

arob

03-02-2016, 09:19 PM

Jazzbass

03-03-2016, 02:15 AM

So this past weekend was productive-ish. The goal was to get the manifold back in and the car running, but I didn't quite get there thanks to the wrong size vacuum hose (my fault) and the wrong power steering hose (not my fault). First problem is the vacuum hose. Standard small vacuum hose sold literally everywhere is 5/32", which is actually a nice metric 4mm. But this is BMW, man. Standard 4.0mm vacuum hose? Way too big. 3.5mm hose? Perfect. The amount of time I debated between 4.0mm and 3.5mm hose is the stuff of idiocy and I really don't want to go into it here. Suffice to say, my idiotic concern with things made me go to BMW of Silver Spring and get official BMW 3.5mm vacuum hose for (seriously) $16 for 1 meter. You can buy this stuff all day long on the interwebs for $1 a foot, but I wanted it NOW because I was getting this car back together this weekend. :roll:

So I get to this point - VANOS installed, valve cover back on, new spark plugs installed, new water pipes, hose and water pump in and I'm ready to put the oil filter console back on:

50396

But first - let's get the power steering line from the rack to the cooler on - it'll be easy now. Grab the new line from the pack - WTF? How the hell does this thing fit? It's just not working. Did they send me the wrong line? The part number on the sticker is correct, but compared to the old line - ah crap. They're different:

50397

To their credit, ECS overnighted me a new hose first thing Monday. Here are the two hoses side by side - bottom is the first (wrong) one they sent me, top is the (correct) replacement. Note the ECS stickers - same sticker, same part number. The Rein stickers, however, show different part numbers (interestingly, none of which are the one I ordered, which IS the one on the ECS sticker :?). RealOEM indicates that the incorrect hose is for a 325xi, so it makes sense that it would be different.

After the hose didn't fit, I decided to finish up a few more items and pack it in. I wasn't going to put the manifold back in until the new p/s hose came in so I could get a torque wrench in there from the top - a decision that in retrospect was unnecessary as the torque wrench fit much easier from the bottom. So I finished up the oil filter console, power steering pump and high pressure line, alternator, thermostat, VANOS oil line, and new tensioners and pulleys. I also got a roll of 3M friction tape and taped up all places in the wiring harness where the plastic covers and wire loom had been pulled off by previous ham-fisted mechanics or fell off after 17 years of heat cycles and road vibrations. I do love me some friction tape, I gotta say. Oh, and BTW that alternator looks original. $20 says I'm replacing it within 6 months. Ditto for the starter, which will be infinitely more annoying.

50398

While doing all that work, I took the chance to swap out the high pressure p/s line under the car with a newer one I picked up from a parts car a month or so ago. The donor car was a 99 as well but had had this hose replaced. This is the car I got the rear caliper piston from earlier in this thread, and the guy threw in this line for $5. A new one from BMW is $250 and a quality aftermarket one is $100. Since this is actually a pretty easy line to swap (aside from the mess), I thought I'd see how this one does. Also, unlike the other p/s lines this one doesn't have hose clamped ends that start to leak as the rubber gets brittle. The fun thing about THIS line is this:

50400

There's a rubber isolator (green arrow) that holds the line in place in front of the steering rack. Since this whole thread is about what happens to rubber after 17 years, it should come as no surprise that the green arrow is not actually pointing to a rubber isolator. Instead, it's pointing to the zip tie that the PO replaced it with after the isolator dry-rotted and fell off. After that happened, the line then had more freedom of movement, so it started to rub on the front sway bar, and was doing a pretty good job of wearing through the hose (red arrow). The replacement line I had isn't worn through like that, but you could see where it'd been a little polished by the sway bar (it's isolator was intact but had seen better days). So I replaced the isolator and used some of this big-ass heat shrink tubing made for high voltage wires to give the line a little more protection from the sway bar:

50401

Finally turned my attention to the manifold as started to reassemble that. I changed all the o-rings for the upper plenum, cleaned a lot of the oil out, and installed the new cold weather CCV system. It was pretty easy with the manifold out, but holy shit would that be a nightmare to do in-car. Especially with all the insulation on the CCV tubes and oil separator. Here you can see the manifold, all clean with it's new CCV, freshly PORed brackets, and brand-spankin'-new $5/foot 3.5mm official BMW vacuum hose. Oh, and all new plastic clips. They were $3 for all of them, how can I not replace them?

50399

N0tt0N

03-03-2016, 09:57 AM

So clean! Great job, man!

Roo

03-03-2016, 10:05 AM

Great documentation/write-up Chris.
And bravo for your persistence and patience with parts surprises.:grrr:

Jazzbass

03-03-2016, 01:12 PM

So, a normal person would have finished up with the clean up work Sunday night, closed the hood and relaxed for a couple days until the rest of the parts came in. A OCD nutjob would use those days to tackle other projects on the car. If you've read this far into this thread, you know which category I fall into, so the following shouldn't be a surprise.

There were several cosmetic issues with the car that we're important to getting it back on the road, but just kind of bothered me personally. The first issue was the right headlight. The left headlight in the car has been replaced, but the right one was original. 17 years old, oxidized, scratched, broken trim and filled with moisture. I pulled the light and replaced the lens, the lens seal and the eyebrow trim and I'm pretty happy with the results:

50405

Yeah, they're not angel eyes, but I think few things refresh the look of a car like nice new clean headlight lenses.

Next up was the sunroof. There were two things wrong here - first, the sunshade was completely loose in the roof. This is another one of those very common E46 issues where the clips on the shade break and need to be replaced. The headliner was also pulling off the shade, which is another well known E46 problem.

Here you can see the sunshade removed from the car - the red arrows point to the left side clips, both of which were broken. The right side clips (blue arrow) are a little different from later versions, and here one was broken (and jamming the track) and the other was intact. Inspecting the rest of the roof, I was lucky in that the shade follower that actually opens and closes the shade was in place (green arrow) and the "wiper" part in the rear (purple arrow) was undamaged.

50408

Second issue was the roof didn't open at all. Didn't open, did even make any noise, did nothing. This was a little unusual as E46 sunroof failures are almost always failure of part of the mechanical system - the shade clips break and get jammed, the cassette breaks, etc. In these cases the motor will still make some noise and click until the motor protection circuit shuts it off. In this case though, there was nothing. So, the first obvious thing to check here was the fuse, which was fine. Second option was to check the motor and see if it had burned out. I pull the motor cover off the headliner and my finely tuned EE troubleshooting skills were able to figure out the problem:

50407

In this picture you can see the blue arrow points to the motor electrical connection and the red arrow is pointing to the sunroof track worm gears that are moved by the motor. What's missing is the actual motor itself, which I quickly determined to be part of the problem. Again, I did go to engineering school so conclusions like this come naturally to me.

Well, ok then. Let's see how much a new motor costs. Answer: $480. :shock: Yeah, so f**k that. The real answer to this problem was to hit Crazy Ray's auto salvage in Mount Airy. They have a 1999 323i that looks exactly like my car - white on beige interior. I headed up there Tuesday, taking advantage of the 65 degree weather and looted the 323i. I got lucky in that that car had a fully intact sunshade with good clips and a non-drooping headliner AND a good working sunroof motor. Replacement cost to me for these parts was $24, and that included the rest of the headliner which I also took because it was in good shape.

With the new shade installed and the motor replaced, it was time to replace the glass. There are six screws (thee per side) that hold the roof in, and these screws have a significant amount of play in them to allow for fine adjustment of the roof height (spec is flush to 1mm proud). On my first attempt I inserted the roof, screwed it in on the driver's side, adjusted it correctly, and then did the same on the passenger's side. Happy with the adjustment, I pushed "up" on the roof switch and held for 20s to reset the roof. It reset correctly and popped up. Sweet! That was easy! Let's slide it back and bask in the open air glory.

So I hit the back switch, the glass pops down, moves about 2mm and **CRUNCH**. Oh, shit. Key off, shut down, WTF? I hit "close" and the glass moved up to the close position, but looking at the roof, it's now crooked and passenger side is 10mm lower than the driver's side. Goddamnit. Looking at it, the rails are now misaligned - the right side is lower than the left. Fortunately each side is independent and by pulling the motor out I was able to get the tracks back in sync. Thinking about it, I think it was my sunroof insertion process that messed things up. I put the glass in, tightened the bolts on one side, then rotated the other side up and tightened those. This put some misaligned stress on the tracks and led to the crunch. So I need to get the glass into position and aligned on both sides and THEN insert the bolts. I thought about shimming it up from the inside, but was easier was to use some cheap Harbor Freight glass holders and some bars to hold the roof in position:

50409

The beauty of this is that the curved part of the handles of the suction cups meant that I could move the crossbars right or left within the handle and make very minor adjustments in height. This took no more than 10 mins to set up and align the roof. Tightened the bolts down, reset the roof, crossed fingers and hit "back". The roof slide back nice and smooth. Cross another item off the "broken" list.

The final issue was the stereo. It had two problems - first was the head unit, which worked fine but it was a cassette (1999, remember?). Second, the woofer in the driver's door was not working at all. I pulled the driver's door panel off and removed the speaker. Once again I used my highly developed engineering skills to determine the problem:

50410

Once again, my trip to Crazy Ray's helped fix this. The 323i that donated the sunroof parts had a door panel sitting in the trunk with a good speaker in it. $7 and it was mine:

50411

Now, this speaker is in decent shape, but notice how the foam baffle is not perfectly round (green arrow). This appears to be a manufacturing defect. This led to a tear in the foam due to the way the foam was pinched. There was also another tear in the foam (red arrow) that may or may not have been caused by me dropping it while carrying it on top of the headliner :oops:. A quick google search revealed that this is a cheap and easily solvable problem. Some cotton cloth and Aleen's Tacky Glue (highly recommended on the audiophile boards) it all it needed:

50412

Hooked it up and it sounded great. Crazy Ray's also had a 2003 325xi that was just brought in and hadn't been stripped yet, so I was able to replace this:

50413

with this:

50414

for $34. This is a late model E46 CD head unit with the much-sought-after "MODE" button. The presence of the mode button means that this head unit supports an aux in port, which will be appreciated by it's teenage driver who owns no CDs or tapes. All in all less than $70 at the junkyard and I now have a working sunroof and a modern, aux-in CD player with fully working speakers.

VaSteve

03-03-2016, 01:22 PM

Where'd you buy the new headlight lens?

Jazzbass

03-03-2016, 02:01 PM

Where'd you buy the new headlight lens?
Original Bosch - $40 from ECS. I might have gotten the last one, as they are now showing up as NLA.

Rob in VA

03-03-2016, 02:08 PM

That's cool - first I've hear of Spec E46. How do you like that compared to GTS?

On your race car are you able to eliminate a lot of the emissions stuff like the SAP, CCV, etc? Getting rid of all that seems like it would clean up the engine bay significantly.

I never raced in GTS, no real interest there for me. I like the spec classes over the open classes.

Yes. Kept the CCV and replaced it with a new unit, everything else is gone. The engine bay is a lot more simpler - a few engine bay shots are on the IG page.

Lupin..the..3rd

03-03-2016, 03:38 PM

for $34. This is a late model E46 CD head unit with the much-sought-after "MODE" button. The presence of the mode button means that this head unit supports an aux in port, which will be appreciated by it's teenage driver who owns no CDs or tapes. All in all less than $70 at the junkyard and I now have a working sunroof and a modern, aux-in CD player with fully working speakers.
Nice, that's a worthwhile upgrade.

If, while you're waiting for parts, you find yourself looking for another WYIT project, consider adding the Homelink module. They're available for ~$30 on ebay, even less at Crazy Ray's, and they're plug-n-play. Car should be pre-wired for it:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=396312

Edit: oops nevermind, you already did this on page 5. :lol:

Jazzbass

03-05-2016, 12:04 AM

You know those days when everything seems to go together just right? You've done all the dirty disassembly work and can now just relax and put together nice clean parts without issue? I having whatever the opposite of that day is. :grrr:

Reinstalling this manifold is a motherf**ker. 75% of my problems are self inflicted to be sure. The rest if just BMW "hahaha screw you" type stuff.

Rob in VA

03-05-2016, 01:57 PM

The intake manifold is tricky!

Dr K

03-05-2016, 11:41 PM

BlackTalon

03-06-2016, 09:16 AM

Not sure jazz's daughter is interested in the whole track thing.

Rob in VA

03-07-2016, 12:51 PM

Hey, isn't it past time for this thread to have a "Hall of Fame" designation?? Who do we have to talk to so that can be arranged?

Great thread. Would like to see this car on the track, so I can see if it could do dual duty or is one needs the headaches of an "M"

Pick up a 330cI as a dd and track car. Slowly start to turn it into a Spec E46. Cars are plenty fast, 2:08s are possible at VIR (in full race trim).

Dr K

03-07-2016, 01:26 PM

Are there significant advantages to the coupe over the 4-door? I'm still hoping to use this as a daily driver, although I can't see tracking in Red without at least a roll bar which would eliminate the rear seat...

Rob in VA

03-07-2016, 03:04 PM

Coupes looks cooler and it is better for taller drivers, duh. Head over to the facebook page, Spec E46 Racing (https://www.facebook.com/groups/spece46/) and scroll and scroll for all of your questions to be answered. :cool:

And, NO Peter, I won't call you and I don't like staying on the phone late talking to dudes, ya weirdo!

Would love to talk with you about this for 15 minutes. You interested? Do you stay up late (I'll be driving home from ski patrol starting around 10:30 tonight...).

BlackTalon

03-07-2016, 04:04 PM

:lol: Robin, we've missed you

Jazzbass

04-07-2016, 03:44 PM

So project E46 went on a little hiatus (much to the displeasure of my daughter) whilst I got the lift installed, then the garage rejiggered, and then her brother's Maxima spent a week on the lift getting repaired. All of those things sorted out and we're back to this:

50960

So, what treasures are lurking underneath the E46? Well, the first thing that caught my eye was the ghetto fab fix for the bad dif bushings. Yup, those are coolant hoses (from a Ford, for those who care) stuffed up behind the dif and zip tied to the subframe. :lol: Also, I strongly suspect there is more oil in the dirt caked on the side of the dif that there is inside the dif itself.

50961

One of the subframe bushings. Looks nice. All of them are pretty much in the same condition.

50962

Motor mounts aren't looking too hot either:

50963

Nor are the vacuum and fuel lines around the fuel filter/pressure regulator:

50964

Pretty much what I expected. As I've said 1000x in this thread, BMWs are 80% rubber and all that rubber goes bad after 17 years. Replace it all. The big project here is to get those rear suspension bushings replaced. There are 17 in all (seriously: 4 upper control arm, 4 lower control arm, 2 trailing arm, 4 subframe, and 4 differential), and all need to be replaced. Since they've been bad for so long, I also want to inspect the body for cracking/damage and install reinforcement plates. Which means the subrame need to come out. Hey - no problem, right? This is why I bought the lift. Let's start with the exhaust. Man this thing is rusty. Like real rusty.

50965

Shit. Snapped one of the four studs off unfortunately, due to what can only be stupid impatience on my part. I was heating these with a MAPP/O2 torch and just didn't put enough heat into that bolt. The others came off fine after I got serious about heating those little f**kers up. This was the hard part, right? Nope. Those flanges were not coming apart for anything. I tried more heat, BFH, chisels, more heat, more BFH, and nothing. It didn't budge. Finally I decided to take an air chisel to it - I ground down a bit to a much sharper angle, fired it up and went at it. Destroyed the shit out of the gasket but the flanges look pretty OK afterwards. With the (surprisingly heavy) exhaust out of the way, now I can get to the drive shaft.

50966

Disconnect the rear carrier, the center bearing, unbolt from the giubo and the rear dif flange, and 10 mins later the driveshaft is out:

50967

Time to tackle the rear subframe. It's surprisingly self contained. To get it out in one piece, unbolt the rear shocks, the trailing arms at the RTAB, unbolt the brake lines and the e-brake cables, and you're ready for this:

50968

Apologies for the potato quality of that picture. This was taken about 30 min after the driveshaft was dropped. This is the whole rear subframe atop of my (super awesome thanks 100% to Vicegrip) transmission jack. Unbolt four bolts, press the release pedal, and viola:

50969

Once down I used my welding table and roll-around tool box to hold the right and left sides of the assembly while I took them apart. In hindsight I probably should have removed this whole thing in stages while on the car - pull the left side first, then the right, then the dif, then the subframe. Truth is I was just too excited about using my awesome transmission jack and just wanted to pull the whole thing down in one piece.

With the right tools (2 post lift, transmission jack, air tools) this was a 3 hour job start to finish. If you like to work on cars and don't have a lift, go buy one. Can't fit one in your house, sell your house and buy a new one. Seriously, this would have been a weekend project before and at the end of the weekend my 41 yr old body would have been looking for vicodin. Instead, this was a 3 hour start-to-finish job and the next day I feel fine.

So far things actually look pretty good - no obvious body cracking. Next steps are to pull the fuel tank to prep the subframe are for reinforcement plates and pull the transmission to replace the shift pins.

Dr K

04-07-2016, 05:03 PM

Great write-up and photos! Feel I could actually do this (on somebody else's lift). Jazz, how about finally putting this thread in the "Hall of Fame?" Great entire thread.

Jazzbass

04-07-2016, 05:15 PM

Jazz, how about finally putting this thread in the "Hall of Fame?" Great entire thread.

This is what I feel like when I HoF one of my own threads:

50973

BlackTalon

04-07-2016, 05:20 PM

I was thinking more like this:

50974

Dr K

04-07-2016, 10:33 PM

This is what I feel like when I HoF one of my own threads:

50973
That's why I'm suggesting it! Come on you other guys (and gals), vote with your posts!

John Hallen

04-08-2016, 08:42 AM

GREAT THREAD. As a newbie to BMW"s, I've printed out and kept numerous pages of your posts Jazz, as a great reference material, and supplement to the Bentley Manual. FWIW, my vote for HoF.

Jazzbass

04-14-2016, 12:26 AM

Making some progress. I got the subframe completely disassembled:

https://i.imgur.com/f1NqSiL.jpg

After a degreasing and a power washer session (on Sunday when it actually got above 70), it was time to start pulling the bushings. I mentioned in the tool thread that my original, I've-put-almost-no-thought-into-this plan was to use my hydraulic press to press the old bushings out. I mean, threaded pullers are for suckers that don't have a lift and didn't disassemble everything, right? Turns out threaded pullers are also for people that aren't idiots and don't spend 1/2 hour trying to wrestle a subframe into just the right position to push out the bearings on a press, only to have it slip as soon as pressure is put on it and for all to fall to shit.

So... I hit Harbor Freight today and bought their "front bearing removal kit". It's an oddly specific name for what are really just a bunch of different size plates, receivers, and a threaded rod. Not just a bearing kit, but a FRONT bearing kit. How does it know? At any rate, not only did I use it on the rear of the car and not the front, I used it on bushings not bearings. I know, I know... rebel. F*ck the man, I always say. Or at least I used to, before I got old and kind of became "the man". Whatever, I digress.

So of the seven bushings on the subframe, the main rear differential bushing is the biggest pain. This is the only one of the seven that has a metal casing on the outside; all the others have rubber casings. Turns out, a metal casing + metal subframe + 17 yrs = rust. Lots of it in fact. And while the HF bearing kits is nice, one minor flaw is that the smaller receivers - the size I need to use for this bushing - is a tad thin. It MIGHT have worked, but I wasn't taking any chances. It was going to take some pressure to get that bearing out, so I wanted to get a receiver that could handle it. The electrical section had the perfect thing - a 2.5" conduit coupler ($10). You can see the coupler (red arrow) acting as the receiver for the main dif bushing with the HF plates on either end and a length of 1/2" all thread in between:

https://i.imgur.com/mWBXIT3.jpg

The bolt that comes with the HF kit is 16mm thick, so it was too thick to use with some of the bushings. In this picture you can also see the receiver from the HF kit being used on one of the rear subframe bushings (blue arrow). I hit the bushing holder with a propane torch for about a minute or two until I heard the rubber sizzling. Then I just started tightening. After the intial break through on the rust, the bushing came right out:

https://i.imgur.com/qxHxgQT.jpg

In this picture you can also see the HF puller on the left rear subframe bushing (the subframe is upside down in these pictures). I wasn't quite sure how the bushing was made, so I used a smaller puller on it. The bushing itself is about 70mm wide, and I used a 55mm puller plate. Hit the bushing holder with the torch, and crank. Turns out the rear bushings have an outer metal casing right under the rubber, and the smaller puller pulled the center out and left the casing. Hit the casing with a torch, use a 70mm puller plate and it came out like butter. In this pic L-R you see the old bushing outer casing, the old bushing inner bit, and the new replacement bushing for reference.

https://i.imgur.com/lTLjk0A.jpg

Since I now knew about the outer casing, on the right rear bushing I skipped pulling the inner bit and pulled the whole thing at once. This HF bearing puller tool is awesome, BTW.

https://i.imgur.com/HuP9DRp.jpg

The front bushings were a little weird because the inner bit sits way lower than the outer ring. So I thought I'd do what I did on the left rear and pull the inner bit first, then the outer casing. Turns out they came out in one piece, so there was no need. Hit it with the torch, pull, and voila:

https://i.imgur.com/MtKTSpo.jpg

Now the front dif bushings are too small (about 50mm) to use the HF bearing puller kit on, so I had to use a homebrew puller I made for something - 911 trailing arm bushings I think. It's just a small section of 2" galvanized pipe with a cap on the end and a 1/2" hole drilled into the cap. For the puller plates I just used a couple of sockets that were the right size. Again, a little heat on the bushing surround and they popped out like buttah:

https://i.imgur.com/YtzSRQc.jpg

And done! Here's a family photo of all of them:

https://i.imgur.com/HF12HBn.jpg

Visual inspection, both rear subframe bushings were starting to separate from their inner metal core. The main rear dif bushing was totally shot, cracked around 270 degrees of the inner section. One of the front dif bushings was cracked, and the other looked OK. Finally, need to do something about that subframe. A little wire wheel, some brake clean to degrease and some POR-15 and it's looking a lot better:

https://i.imgur.com/LvHHi6Q.jpg

That's it for now. Reinforcement plates should be here tomorrow, so that's the next project.

Lupin..the..3rd

04-14-2016, 09:54 AM

Great photos, seeing it all laid out step by step will definitely come in handy for future reference. All you need now is some Spec E46 logos and numbers for the doors! ;)

smdubovsky

04-14-2016, 09:58 AM

FWIW, You need a 'fork' to press the bushings out w/ a press. You have to be able to get in and support the frame between the two ear/cutouts in the bushing. I'll take a pic of the one I made. But having an extra person to help position it and support it are almost a must w/ a press. IIRC, the E30 subframe needs the fork tool no matter which way to do it. The lip you have to press on is completely covered by the bushing flange except at those two notches.

N0tt0N

04-14-2016, 10:21 AM

This is what I feel like when I HoF one of my own threads:

50973

Sometimes a Benevolent Dictator is a good thing for the people. Congratulations from your fawning courtiers. :)

Jazzbass

04-14-2016, 11:34 AM

Yesterday was delivery day for most of the parts. More evidence that these cars are 80% rubber - all of this is "replace old rubber parts", no performance upgrades at all. Here's what we're looking at for the rest of the project:

51112

1. Tie rods (both boots torn) and tie rod boots (one torn)
2. Motor and transmission mounts (all cracked and broken)
3. Front drop links (right side broken)
4. Front control arm bushings (worn out and cracked)
5. Shifter rebuild kit, new shift pins, and clutch hose
6. Driveshaft rubber - giubo, center carrier bushing, centering bushing
7. Differential seals and CV boots (all are leaking and/or starting to crack)
8. Rear suspension bushings/ball joints (10 total)
9. New fuel filter (not shown: new fuel hose)
10. Differential bushings (3 total)
11. Subframe bushings (4 total)

86911TLCAB

04-14-2016, 03:20 PM

Well done Chris...good source of info when I try this on my back in my liftless garage...smile.

Handlebar

04-14-2016, 07:27 PM

Yesterday was delivery day for most of the parts. More evidence that these cars are 80% rubber - all of this is "replace old rubber parts", no performance upgrades at all. Here's what we're looking at for the rest of the project:

51112

Is this doable without a lift?

Without a lift, what is a possible guesstimate for the time to replace the rubber bits?

I am impressed (intimidated?) by the quality of work. Looks great!

Jazzbass

04-14-2016, 09:19 PM

Is this doable without a lift?

Absolutely, you'd just need some decent jackstands. Worst part would be pulling the exhaust.

Without a lift, what is a possible guesstimate for the time to replace the rubber bits?

Depends on how experienced the person is doing it and how OCD they are. I'm pretty experienced but also very OCD, so I take the same amount of time as a n00b who is not OCD. To do everything, realistically probably 2-3 weekends and some days in between.

I am impressed (intimidated?) by the quality of work. Looks great!

Thank you.

cmartin

04-14-2016, 11:07 PM

Dont let his modesty fool you, Jazz has raised his already high bar on this one. Not many folks take the time to clean and paint a subframe on a e46 just to mention one example. Well done Chris. Most dont replace every bushing, only the worst in such a job.

Rob in VA

04-19-2016, 05:09 PM

...All you need now is some Spec E46 logos and numbers for the doors! ;)

Jazz is doing this under the guise of his daughter. Yeah, we don't believe that for a second.

BlackTalon

04-19-2016, 05:21 PM

He's secretly installing a bunch of movement sensors and a wireless communication system. So if the BMW comes close to starting a rockin', the next sound heard will be Jazz's shotgun a cockin'

HughA44s

04-19-2016, 08:02 PM

Can't tell if there are wheel bearings in that pile but these seen to start losing pre-load on the bearings at 100k miles or so. The tell tail sign is that the inner circumference of the outer surface of the brake disk starts to wear alot - digging a wide groove. I have seen this teching BMWs alot. This is not something that can be found by our usual wheel wiggle test. I did these when I did the RTABs and it is a quick and easy progress. Just a suggestion to spend some more of your time and money.

Rob in VA

04-20-2016, 09:53 AM

He's secretly installing a bunch of movement sensors and a wireless communication system. So if the BMW comes close to starting a rockin', the next sound heard will be Jazz's shotgun a cockin'

:lol::lol::lol:

Jazzbass

04-26-2016, 01:21 AM

No updates in a while because I've been busy working on the car. Some progress - last post I pulled the rear subframe out, disassembled it, pulled all the bushings and repainted it. Easy-peasy.

Well, time to tackle the real meat of the job - checking out the sheet metal and looking for the dreaded "E46 subframe cracks". For the non BMW guys out there, the subframe I posted pictures of in my last post is not what actually cracks - it's the sheet metal of the unibody where the subframe bolts up. Story is that the bushings wear out, the twisting of the drivetrain under acceleration deflects the differential clockwise, which deflects the subframe, which stresses the mounting points in the unibody. Early cars (1999-2000) like mine apparently weren't reinforced very well so they tend to crack. M3s do as well thanks to more power. Lots of internet arguments about whether BMW ever really fixed this problem, especially on the M3. Some say pre-2003 M3s are the only ones affected, others say that's crap and that all E46 M3s are susceptible. Whatever the case, being an early production car, I know that my car IS in the danger zone (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ec/69/9c/ec699c7ecf558a6cb9f5e6ef2f3ba3b2.jpg).

So, start with removing more stuff. First the fuel tank:

51233

Then all the evap stuff in the right rear - expansion tank, charcoal canister, and lots of old rubber hoses that are dry rotted and brackets that are rusted away.

51234

Ugh - not as dirty as the subframe and differential, but still nasty. Man, doesn't anyone clean the underside of their $1300 car on a regular basis anymore?

51235

Man, if only I had a lift and a pressure washer... hey, wait a sec...

51236

Yes, clean all the things. Look at that little sway bar. It's adorable. 13mm. I can actually bend it by hand.

51237

Ah... that's better. Not I can work in here without getting filthy. I can also see what problems are lurking under the crud.

51238

The first thing that jumped out at me is the brake line - see the red arrow above. Here's a closer look:

51239

Yeah, that simply won't do. Another thing to replace. Anyway, inspection of the subframe mounting points:

1. Right front: Good, no cracks
2. Left front: good, no cracks
3. Right rear: good, no cracks
4. Left rear: Uh oh:

51240

Here you can see that most of the crack is right under the bushing area, with some hints of the cracking outside of the bushing under the undercoating. Well, a little wire wheel action will clean off the undercoating and we can see just how bad the crack is:

51241

So - all in all, not great, but not as bad as many of the E46 horror stories I've seen. The red arrows in this last picture show the extent of the spidering of the crack. For of the spot welds in this area are affected as well. One of four mounting points cracked, but no tear outs. Could be worse I guess.

BTW, for anyone in the E46 market, doing the research on this stuff I found out a little trick. Cracks like the one I have are pretty hard to see - it's not an obvious floor-falling-out crack like you see on the internet and if you looked at the car on a lift there's a good chance you'd miss the cracks as it's almost completely obscured by the subframe. However, there is evidence of cracking that is easier to see. When the unibody starts to flex, it's the left rear subframe that seems to fail first (according to the internet and my own sample size of one). This will lead to cracking at the subframe mounting AND a failure of the spot welds at the seam behind the rear left shock absorber. When these spot welds fail the floor panel will flex away from the side enough to crack the seam sealer, like so:

51243

Were I to go look at another E46, this would be one of the first things I'd check for.

Jazzbass

04-26-2016, 03:34 AM

OK, so there are some cracks. Well, many years ago I bought a MIG welder just for things like this, and since then have literally welded hundreds of things so this should be a cinch. Well, OK maybe 10s of things. OK, so I've welded about 10 things before. Yeah, I'm a little nervous. But I went to the Choas Off Road welding course, so I should be good, right?

Actually, the course did help a lot. It was worth it to spend time with a pro and getting some tips. And I have been welding some in the past couple months, but (a) never on thin material and (b) never upside down. One of the things they stressed in the Chaos course was practice, practice, practice - a lot - before doing something for real. Good advice. So step one was to order the E46 chassis reinforcement kit from Turner Motorsport:

51252

This is made out of 14ga mild steel and is a great deal if you consider paying $130 + shipping a good deal for $20 worth of steel that fits mostly but not exactly so you need to spend time doing additional fitment. If I were to do this on another car, I'd just make my own - the Turner kit is OK but I like the ones from Europe a lot better, like this kit from Redish Motorsport in the UK:

51253

BTW, the Redish guys both (a) know their shit when it comes to E46s and this problem in particular and (b) have very good taste in music. This video proves both, and was a great source of info when I was inspecting my car: https://youtu.be/ubP7ustvRXs

So I'm going to be welding 14ga plates to 20ga body steel. After a quick trip to Lowes to get some 22ga and 16ga welding sheet (what was available and a decent approximation), out comes the plasma and I make up many, many batches of these:

51244

22ga on the bottom, 16ga on the top. Now I need to weld upside down, so I clamp these things to my lift arms, like so:

51245

My first attempt went.. well... not well, as alluded to in this thread (http://dorkiphus.net/porsche/showthread.php?t=36155). Vicegrip nailed my first problem - too much heat. At first I was just welding on one plate at a time and overheating the crap out of it. Next day I made up more test pieces but this time clamped three up at once and alternated between them - two welds on one, switch, two more welds, etc. I also grabbed my IR thermometer to monitor temps and took breaks when things started getting too hot. This helped a lot. Finally after three straight days of practice and a LOT of welding (and about 40 cu ft of C25) I was starting to get it. Here is my test piece progression over the three days - left is the first day overheated piece, second is day two with better heat management but still haven't found a good machine setting or rhythm, and the right was one of the last pieces from day three when things finally started falling into place.

51246

So, time to prep the car and weld. The three good mounts just got a wire wheel and sanding disk cleaning down to bare metal. Here you can see me prepping the right rear plate - the mount has been cleaned and the plate outlined on the metal. What I did on all the mounts was tape around the weld lines shown here and then hit everything else with weld-though primer. This was done to cover as much bare metal as possible.

51248

The left rear mount also got cleaned, but I also stop drilled the cracks and used a spot weld cutter to cut out the four broken spot welds.

51247

Here you can see me fitting the left rear plate after it had been modified with extra holes for the spot welds. My plan here was to weld up all four broken spot welds to the new plate. The cracks on the body and stop drill holes were welded up before this. In this picture you can also see weld-through primer and the tape around the periphery of the plate.

51249

Once all the plates were fitted (which took a little pounding and additional cutting), it was time to weld. All in all, they came out OK:

51250

Not the greatest welds ever, but functional I think. What's funny is that my biggest worry was overhead welding, but in the end that turned out to be not so bad. The 14ga plates really helped make this easy - for whatever reason I had a lot of trouble getting an arc started on the body of the car itself. So things like the crack welding under the left rear plate were a big PITA. I didn't have any problems welding on the 22ga practice steel, so I thought the 20ga of the body would be a piece of cake. Not so. I'd either get burn back on the wire or blow holes in the metal. But when welding on the plates themselves, I could get an arc started on the edge of the 14ga pretty easy. I could them move the puddle down into the sheet metal of the body and got pretty good welds that way.

What WAS a bigger problem for me was basic out-of-position welding. This is typical n00b welder stuff, but I really, really like to weld one specific way - torch in right hand, supported in my left, face ahead of torch pushing the puddle, welding counterclockwise. As long as I could do that things were hunky-dory. However, there were some places (like the back side of the right rear plate) where I couldn't get into my preferred position due to obstacles. My welds there looked like crap - shaky, too fast, and about 50% of the time I missed drawing the puddle into the body and hit just the 14 ga plate. If you look at the welds you'll see many places I went back and tied the plates into the body with a second (or even third) pass.

Once done I ground the welds down in places where the subframe bushings would sit, primed, painted, undercoated, and top coated.

51251

And done.

roundel

04-26-2016, 07:20 AM

Outstanding!

Trak Ratt

04-26-2016, 07:53 AM

Nice Jazz, great write up too! Makes me want to get some steel and start practicing!

N0tt0N

04-26-2016, 08:05 AM

Big Bawls Well Handled! Good job dude!

Hrmmm..... That's going to raise the car 1/16". Now you will HAVE to go with the lowering springs and coil-overs. Too bad....

HughA44s

04-26-2016, 09:21 AM

Again Outstanding. I had heard the the cracking started at the spot welds - this appears to be clear evidence of that. Also, seeing the gas tank out of the car makes it obvious why these cars (non-Ms) have fuel starvation issues in hard right hand turns (especially with sticky tires). Again, Outstanding work.

BMAN

04-26-2016, 09:23 AM

Show off!!

Lupin..the..3rd

04-26-2016, 10:15 AM

All these close-up shots of nude and exposed BMW underside. This is downright porny!

Vicegrip

04-26-2016, 10:43 AM

I don't tend to stop in on the BMW threads but glad I did today. Good to see it came out well and proves that proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance.

Dr K

04-26-2016, 10:49 AM

Extremely nicely done, Jazz.

Mackpipes

04-26-2016, 11:39 AM

I don't tend to stop in on the BMW threads but glad I did today. Good to see it came out well and proves that proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance.

Ah yes, the seven P's!

Jazzbass

04-26-2016, 06:33 PM

Also, seeing the gas tank out of the car makes it obvious why these cars (non-Ms) have fuel starvation issues in hard right hand turns (especially with sticky tires).

How so? I would have assumed the M tank had the same as the rest of the E46s, so if this was an issue the Ms would have it too.

roundel

04-26-2016, 07:35 PM

BMW handles the problem with a pump that sends the gas to the side with the main gas pump. At least in E36s, the pump was good until the OBDII cars when the "upgraded" to a crappier design. The fix was to install a 95 pump. I am not aware of the tanks being a ///M specific part.

HughA44s

04-26-2016, 09:19 PM

The e46 M3 have a second pick-up going directly to the pump (as I understand it). It can be retro fitted to non-Ms but you lose the fuel gauge in the process (or have to cluge it up - again as I understand it). I understand that Ms have the same tank but the pick-up / fuel management is different. My started at starving at 1/4 tank as and I got faster, with track tires, I now do not let it get below 1/2 while driving at the track. Turn 2 Summit Point, Turn in for 7 are the most common places.

Roundel - You maybe be right but all I know for sure is that it is a big issue with non-M e46s and not so much with Ms. They may do it also but at a much lower fuel level.

Now if I am wrong (and actually hope I am) and it is a simple part fix I would love to know.

HughA44s

04-26-2016, 09:24 PM

https://store.vacmotorsports.com/vac-fuel-starvation-kit-e46-p739.aspx

Here is some info.

N0tt0N

04-27-2016, 12:56 AM

My started at starving at 1/4 tank as and I got faster, with track tires, I now do not let it get below 1/2 while driving at the track.

Bob drives so fast he starves with a FULL tank

Trak Ratt

04-27-2016, 10:20 AM

https://store.vacmotorsports.com/vac-fuel-starvation-kit-e46-p739.aspx

Here is some info.$500 and it may not work properly with stock fuel gauges and wiring harnesses. I'd like to here from the BMW racers on if they are using this or another alternative.

HughA44s

04-27-2016, 11:15 AM

So would I. The e46 SPECs drovers must have a solution.

arob

04-27-2016, 11:36 AM

My Spec3 (E36 325is) starves at 1/4 tank.

Just this year, the Spec rules allowed for dual fuel pumps. As stated before, you lose the fuel gauge, of which I'm not a fan. I like to know exactly how much gas is in the tank, as I know exactly how much gas I need for both a 25 minute and 40 minute race.

Funny enough, I spoke to the shop that built my car this morning about adding a second pump, and expressed my concerns about having to know exactly how much fuel was in my car, at all times. For me, I'd rather put some fuel in my car until the needle reaches the desired level, run the race, and forget about it. Before the next session / race, check where the needle is, and refill as necessary. Much easier for this lazy guy. I don't want to have to calculate numbers of gallons that "should/might" be in the car, how long the session was, factor in if there were any double yellows...."

I'd rather pull more weight out of the car in order to ensure I still make weight at impound with a working fuel gague, than play the guessing game all weekend.

Lupin..the..3rd

04-27-2016, 11:45 AM

So would I. The e46 SPECs drovers must have a solution.
I know nothing about the rules of the series, but wouldn't the easiest solution be to ditch the factory gas tank and install a racing fuel cell in the trunk? I've seen ones that are shaped to fit the spare tire well, making for a very clean looking installation.

HughA44s

04-27-2016, 12:06 PM

Well lets see – I use the same approach in that I fill the stupid thing up after 2 runs (DE) and don’t worry about it. Works for me as I usually need some water or food at that point anyway. The bigger issue is not the potential issue with the engine, but the embarrassment. I have had instructors chew me out (and a few smack me upside the head) for lifting at certain points and parts of the tracks we frequent not realizing the thing was starving. I was finally informed of the issue by a BMW CCA instructor with a lot of experience with these cars. He taught me to recognize it, figure out how to lift right before it happens – he then congratulated me for learning how to get a race car to finish line while its was running out of fuel. I initially was thinking it was the DSC kicking in so I just turn the stupid thing off now. I have also had it happen going over sharp hills. It does not happen very much (it at all) if I am above half a tank.

HughA44s

04-27-2016, 12:10 PM

A racing fuel cell may well be the solution but I still DD mine so I use the approach as above when DEing.

smdubovsky

04-27-2016, 01:32 PM

There is a way to keep the gauge. You have to mix parts from the gauge side insert w/ the fuel pump side insert together. It's been done befo' (don't ask me I can't remember.)

Rob in VA

04-27-2016, 02:56 PM

Dual fuel pump + M3 baffle is the track fix. The pump is one from an E36. The resistance changes, so you can't expect the stock gauge to read accurately. I have an ICM sensor calibrated to my MoTeC dash, so I know exactly how much fuel is in the tank.

Nice work Chris!

Dr K

04-27-2016, 04:05 PM

Another option if no fuel gauge Rob, is to do what the Miata racers do. We install a fitting on the gas line and drain all the fuel before a race, then add back exactly what we'll need plus one gallon (less for qualifying). For example, for a 20 lap race at Summit Point figure 22 x 2 = 44 miles (we have 2 gridding laps because field is so large). At 10 MPG that's 4.4 gallons, so put in 5-5.5 gallons (probably put in 5 because will get >10 MPG for those slower gridding laps). Of course, with 102 HP a couple of pounds of saved weight means more than with your car, but at least we know we have enough gas to make it through the race.

Trak Ratt

04-27-2016, 04:42 PM

^ I'd rather just look at a gauge

N0tt0N

04-27-2016, 04:56 PM

I heard on Miatas that the gas tank is so small you can see the bottom of the tank through the gas hole with just a match

roundel

04-27-2016, 05:58 PM

Dr K is pulling your leg. In a Miata, you need to give the gerbil 3 thimbles of bird feed per lap. Cheaters remove the bearing from the water bottle tube.

Vicegrip

04-27-2016, 07:45 PM

Jazzbass

04-27-2016, 07:50 PM

Jebezus that sounds like work and lots of gas fumes.
It does explain a lot about Miata racers though, doesn't it?

"Hmmm... those guys seem a little... off"
"Yup... gas fumes..."

arob

04-28-2016, 09:41 AM

^ I'd rather just look at a gauge

Same here. I'm too lazy for all that. :oops:

N0tt0N

04-28-2016, 09:55 AM

01-02-2016, 06:59 PM
My daughter got her driver's license last week, so I picked up this 99 328i 5 speed yesterday:

Parenting strategy makes ever more sense each day....

Daughter: "Dad! I need a car! You said you'd buy me a car! Son got baller Maxima! All my friends have cars! I want to drive to the beach with my boyfriend. You're ruining my liiiiiiiiffffffffffffe! :grrr::grrr::grrr:"

Dad: "Um, Bbboyfriend? I did buy you a car. Its right there in the garage. As soon as it is road worthy it is all yours. I don't want you driving around in an unsafe car. Should be ready any day now. The Scandinavian Mink blinker fluid is on backorder. Also, Bimmer, Baby. Totally worth the wait."

Daughter: "I wanted a Jeep. Also, I'm pregnant."

Dr K

04-28-2016, 12:18 PM

Jebezus that sounds like work and lots of gas fumes.

Actually easy. Snap the female fitting/hose onto the gas line fitting, turn on the fuel pump (jumper for that), and run until empty. You're putting the gas right into a gas jug. Don't forget to turn off the fuel pump... Fill the jug up to how many gallons you want and pour it into the gas tank.

I do have a fuel gauge too, but it's below empty for about the last 4 laps.

Rob in VA

04-28-2016, 01:41 PM

Dr K is pulling your leg. In a Miata, you need to give the gerbil 3 thimbles of bird feed per lap. Cheaters remove the bearing from the water bottle tube.

:lol::lol::lol:

Rob in VA

04-28-2016, 01:42 PM

Lupin..the..3rd

04-28-2016, 03:11 PM

That's a lot of work to not win. I'm surprised you do that.
You're forgetting, the Dr is no stranger to poking around the backside and handling smelly fluids.

Dr K

04-28-2016, 03:22 PM

That's a lot of work to not win. I'm surprised you do that.

You probably remember Skanky Frank. He had a need to win, and it drove him from racing. I don't have that need (thank God, given my level of natural ability). I'm in a class with 46-50 cars per race, and whether you're racing for the podium or for 20th, it's very competitive and there are multiple cars vying for that position. So if I'm improving I'm happy. First race of the season I was very lucky with qualifying (it was very cold and wet) and was gridded 10th (out of 46). I was racing with people I'd only seen on the track when they were lapping me last season, but I was able to keep up with them and ran my best lap in the Miata ever (finished 12th). That great lap time was NOT a consistent lap time, and the front-runners are still a full second faster with their more consistent times, but it was a full second (actually 1.2 seconds) faster than my previous Miata PB. And only 3 seconds slower than my Porsche PB (the 911 has more than double the horsepower and is only 480 lbs heavier).

So it's a little work for perhaps limited benefit, but when you have 100 HP, you do what you have to do.

Sorry for taking the thread off-topic.

VaSteve

12-08-2018, 11:30 AM

Chris...this thread seems to have died without resolution. Did you finish the car? Still on the road? Did you ever do the front suspension?

Jazzbass

12-10-2018, 10:51 AM

Chris...this thread seems to have died without resolution. Did you finish the car? Still on the road? Did you ever do the front suspension?
Yeah, I got arm deep in getting the damn thing back on the road and updates went out the window. Let's see - last update on this thread was the reinforcement plates being welded in. Let me see what I can dig up after that...

N0tt0N

12-10-2018, 11:16 AM

I think he outsourced the work to BT

Jazzbass

12-10-2018, 12:21 PM

Since this thread is a couple years old, a quick recap:

In Jan 2016 my daughter got her license and needed a car to drive to school. My requirements for this car were (1) manual transmission and (2) I liked working on it. That led me to picking up this 1999 328i off Craigslist for $1300:

https://i.imgur.com/u4STzwu.jpg

To be completely honest, I was really pretty naive when I got this. Known issues were: tires, brakes, windshield, rear dif bushing, and SES light cause (I presumed) by a broken MAF-to-throttle body boot. So maybe another $1500 in parts and for < $3k she'd have a solid, manual transmission car to drive. So I jumped in with both feet and ordered a lot of parts:

https://i.imgur.com/qu8QgOP.jpg

Rebuilt brakes:

https://i.imgur.com/XuM0Lop.jpg

Fixed cosmetic issues:

https://i.imgur.com/mItUvuy.jpg

and test drove. Still had the SES light even after replacing the intake boots, and I knew the dif bushing was an issue. Looks like my inital cost estimates were off and the car was going to need more time and money. I was weary of diving in on this project with a car that had 220k on the clock, so I did a leakdown and compression test and the numbers were unbelievable:

https://i.imgur.com/fPRr9wk.jpg

Jazzbass

12-10-2018, 02:23 PM

Since the engine was strong, I figured the car was worth fixing (this point can be debated later). To address the SES light, I decided to replace all the rubber under the hood. I bought lots of things:

https://i.imgur.com/065QVyE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GuByzdd.jpg

took everything apart:

https://i.imgur.com/hE3Mab0.jpg

and replace anything rubber under the hood:

- Rebuild the VANOS
- Replace cooling system: pump, thermostat, hardlines, rubber lines
- Replace CCV, injector seals, intake/valve cover gaskets
- Replace all rubber fuel lines and fuel pump
- Replace power steering lines
- Replace all vacuum lines and SAP hoses

With that done I decided to tackle the rear suspension bushings. You see in the first picks my car is parked on ramps over a low rise lift. Well, I'm over 40 so a low rise lift isn't cutting it for doing the rear end work, so I had a two post lift installed:

https://i.imgur.com/whp0YwZ.jpg

Pulled the rear suspension:

https://i.imgur.com/AeSy4Z8.jpg

Replaced all the bushings:

https://i.imgur.com/HF12HBn.jpg

Found some dreaded subframe cracking:

https://i.imgur.com/yJL15hdh.jpg

And welded in reinforcement:

https://i.imgur.com/GjasDQJ.jpg

So that's where this thread left off. Next up: final drive and rear suspension.

Dr K

12-10-2018, 07:35 PM

Thanks, Jazz. As always, a fine write-up!

Noah

12-25-2018, 01:30 AM

Damn Chris. You hate free time. Nice going.

86911TLCAB

12-25-2018, 01:04 PM

Great work. Never know what a project is going to cost. I always figure on 150 percent of my initial thoughts and then hope for the best.