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Date: 10-15 Dec 2024 Distance: 216,280 kms 1. Remediation day. Front ARB Replacement - installed the ARB from the post above. Bushes were replaced recently. Diff Replacement - including front differential bushes. Fresh Penrite 75W90 Synthetic, new bungs. What Diff'rence Does It Make? PSU Reservoir replacement. Eliminating that annoying leak. New Power Steering Reservoir awaiting install. (Image: Jon Begley) Headlamps: Replaced both main beam bulbs D2S Xenon (headlight out). Left hand had been intermittent - it seemed to dislike the thought of the outside world! Tailgate stops: replaced tailgate stops to remedy leak into cargo area. They're a sh*t to get to! New Tailgate Bump Stop installed (Image: Jon Begley). Guess it's time for a thorough clean around the hatch, then. Cooling System Low: I'd had to put in about half a litre of coolant every 8 weeks or so. Jon noticed evidence of coolant loss. Yechhh - that'll be coolant on the outside, then... (Image: Jon Begley). Traced to both hard lines beneath the intake manifold. We'd replaced them in 2019/2020 with Rein items. Very disappointing that they'd failed already. Sourced new genuine BMW items from Continental Cars BMW Wellington. It was 23 months since last coolant flush, so after pressure testing, new genuine BMW Blue coolant 1:1 per factory recommendation with deionised water. Ready for new coolant pipes Oil Leaks: removed belts, front covers, oil filter housing. One thread had failed last time the job was done; this time the remaining three needed helicoil repair. Helicoil tools of trade Jon shows the battlefield after helicoil action Oil Leaks Continued... New filter housing gasket. On prepping for valve cover gasket set replacement (Elring 318.590 includes the grommets; I also bought new genuine BMW washers), Jon found that my valve cover was cracked. It's becoming a common 'feature' of M54's at this age. I was dispatched to Pick-A-Part to secure a suitable replacement. M54 Valve cover in the wild at Pick-A-Part Having located one, it took me 35 mins to successfully remove - not bad given I'm a geezer and out of practice. 35 mins later... Hairline crack found in two of the apertures - it'll have to do for the next four or five months, guess I'll be sourcing a brand new one. Bugger. Oh well, better than what was on my car... it's a temporary. Reinstallation.... Inlet manifold , covers, (the seals were still excellent, replaced when the starter motor was replaced recently), oil filter housing, alternator, belts, oil filter (Mann) and fresh Penrite HPR-5 5-40 Synthetic; Air Filter (Mann), Cabin Filter (Corteco) fitted. Ran up to temp, checked levels and for leaks. Tested OK. Multi-function Steering Wheel: more detail in a dedicated post below. Next Steps Now I'll prep the battery tray from the parts car, rust convert, etch, prime, and hit it with the gloss black Rustoleum all-in-one-paint. During the xmas break I'll get the old battery tray removed from our wagon, prep, rust-treat, paint, and install the freshly-painted replacement. I also need to treat minor surface rust beneath the car. I'll get it up on the rack, clean, then a couple of coats of Brunox, and then ColorPak Pro Series Rubberised Underseal. Finding a replacement high pressure steering line is on the todo list, as mine is weeping. And I'll work on the stereo prep. Get my 3D printer up and working, print some front speaker adaptor rings. And get some cost-effective faux-Dynamat from Aliexpress, start prepping the load area. Never-ending story, taking care of an older BMW. Still, even with just 190 bhp, the 325i touring is a fun drive. I also need to look into rebuilding Bilstein B8s. More on that soon. My thanks to Jon and Keren at Begley Motor Worx in Marton. Great professional service! Wouldn't be a big update without a punny musical reference, would it?

After a few sunny days and feeling that summer is around the corner I have started to get the vert out of hibernation ready for summer. Battery on charge, a few bits off for panel and paint, some bits to bolt back together. So, it will probably start to rain for the whole summer once it’s all back together and on the road? 🤣

Fig 1: Multifunction Sports Leather Steering Wheel P/N 32 34 2 282 022, before leather restoration Multi-function Steering Wheel: As mentioned above, Jon also installed and retrofitted the Msport multi-function wheel I'd sourced back in 2019. Part Number 32 34 2 282 022. It had sat around in the bubble-wrap awaiting a suitable confirmed post-recall airbag. After getting the parts car, I'd cleaned and dyed the leather, with a Colourlock Leather kit I've had for ages, fed it with Elephant Leather Preservative. I confirmed with BMW via the rego number of the parts car that this was a post Takata recall airbag. So I sourced the BMW multifunction retrofit kit. The option codes (for e46) are: Option S249A Multifunction steering wheel, and option S255A Sports leather steering wheel. This wheel was also optioned in e39, and standard on e46 M3 and e39 M5. Where we started: the original helm (with post-recall airbag) Jon did the retrofit. Now, in addition to the super-comfortable wheel, we have steering wheel controls, and cruise control. Superb. prepping for surgery (Photo: Jon Begley) spread wide - paint by numbers (photo: Jon Begley) let's start reassembly (photo: Jon Begley) For the first time (in my e46) - cruise control! (that bright green indicator, bottom right). Cruise is a real boon coming up to Christmas with a significant increase of visible (and mufti) road policing... Waze on the phone, dial in preferred speed (on the Waze speed indicator), set cruise control, sweat less when the radar detector alerts to the presence of RADAR or LIDAR. Driver's seat view (parked) I dig it. Slightly smaller diameter, much better feel. And of course, buttons! Control the stereo, set the speed etc. It was worth the effort and expense. I particularly like the feel through the wheel turning into a tight corner; significant improvement over the old helm.

Awesome stuff! Love your meticulous approach. With the valve cover, haven't succumb to the impulse of buying one yet but have been contemplating one of these Mitzone aluminium replacement ones for a while. I'm bound to get one eventually, can't remember if eBay or Amazon worked out to be cheaper. Reviews and fitment seems to be decent, just need to make sure to give it a thorough clean before install. Probably cheaper than buying a brand new plastic one and should last a good while longer too. With the PS pressure lines, you're probably better off taking it to a hydraulic shop and having them reseal it. Last I checked a brand new hose through the dealership was $545+GST and you'd be waiting on it a few weeks. Took my old one into Enzed and had it back the next day with brand new rubber installed onto the existing metal fittings. No issues nearly 2 years later.

Pleasant find on my lunchtime stroll.

E46 M3 wheel at Pick-a-part Takanini Style 67 I saw this at pick-a-part Takanini yesterday, thought I'd post it in case anybody wants it. They charge $60 for 'any wheel in the yard'. It's a bit rough but it's a real 'M' BMW wheel 18x9, near as I can tell. I put it in the back of car 307. You're Welcome. 🙂 photo1 photo2 photo3 photo4

If there's a market for it then all power to them I guess. Personally, I find it hard to "support local" knowing that there was zero value added to the original product by the entity taking your money when you can get the exact thing from elsewhere for 1/3 of the price. I'd rather support businesses that, you know, do something.