M3AN

Got the rear suspension bits sorted for the 328: And replaced the tank vent valve on the M3:

A fine gentleman here (thanks Mark!) donated his old stock M3 suspension to my 328 adventure so I'm in the process of building up the bit I need. I'll be doing the rear first, then front then sway bars. Sure, ideal to do it all at once but time and budgets don't allow that. I'll only get the alignment done once I've done the front end. The new and/or refurbed bits... I couldn't be bothered getting the shocks, springs and dust covers out for the photo...

I had a secondary code that was annoying me - a sporadic Tank Vent Valve error. I found a Youtube tip to measure the impedance across the pins to determine if it's faulty... as it turns out both the 328 and the M3 read outside of the suggested range so I wasn't sure the info was accurate. It turns out it was. 29 or lower Ohms for a good one, anything above 29 and it's bad. So I replaced that and code gone. Bad Good

What was 25.5 standard on? I'll have one spare out of a '97 328is but that won't be for a number of weeks.

Having just been through this process, unless you need one tomorrow, it's best to import an OEM Behr one from FCP Euro.

I've got pretty good at guessing where the "Unread content" link is. I'm glad the "Technical Admin types" are on the case but when can we expect the results of their work to materialise? Obviously changing a theme is more difficult than actually updating the forum software. Or are the non-Technical Admin types so butthurt that we're not appreciative of their incomplete and disruptive work that they've decided we can suffer a bit longer? I've offered in the past to donate to support this forum but I wasn't even dignified with a reply so I'm quite happy to ask... wtf is up?

I actually agree with Olaf - if you're attacking any part of a BMW cooling system it probably pays to do the whole lot whilst you're in there. I don't know if the N52B25 water pump is reliable or not but the older mechanical ones BMW used are guaranteed to fail at some point. An intermittently failing water pump could cause the same symptoms. But that pump is expensive and if it's failing it should be throwing codes. From BMW:

I agree with the above, it's a difficult proposition if you really need to store the car outside and can't keep it cleaned regularly. I had a "good" cover from SCA, it's not on the page you link to as I got it a few years ago but it was the best they had at the time. In the end I used the car too regularly to make the cover practical but I did notice a few things: You need a "breathable" cover, they still retain moisture but not as much as others They do scratch the paint You still need to remove it for a few hours every week to let the whole car air out Ideally you want to keep the cover off the paintwork to a] allow it to breathe properly and b] to keep scratching to a minimum. I had some success cutting up some polystyrene blocks, wrapping them in microfibre cloth (gluing the cloth to the blocks) and then gluing the covered blocks to various places under the cover. About 10 blocks was enough to keep most of the cover off the car most of the time. But it also made the cover a bit more difficult to get on and off. I don't think there's a perfect solution, it's probably a matter of the least of two evils. If you can keep the car out of the sun and wash it once a week I'd do away with the cover idea.

That's engine temp sensor (as opposed to radiator) so yeah, I think it's a stuck thermostat. What appears to be happening: Thermostat closed (resting position) Engine coolant temps rise Thermostat doesn't open at ~90*c (or ~98*c) Engine coolant temps continue to rise (no coolant going to rad) Thermostat unsticks or "pops" at >110*c Coolant flows through rad, rapidly decreases in temp New, cooler coolant flows past engine temp sensor Engine temp sensor drops rapidly reflecting lower coolant temps And yes, a sticky thermostat will most likely exhibit the same symptoms time and time again from a cold start. Once it's open it may also stay open whilst hot which is why the problem may not reoccur on a drive. I'd start there unless there are codes that tell you to do otherwise.

What type of temp gauge and more importantly, where are you measuring the 118 - 89 degree drop? Sounds like a sticky thermostat to me but depends where you're taking the measurements

Must have been one of the first e46's off the line that. I thought they'd dumped that steering wheel years beforehand. Doesn't make it worth any more of course.

Drove the 328 to the liquor store which is of course closed today, on the way home the go pedal stopped working. Had a side-of-the-road look at the throttle cable had detached entirely from the pedal, the little rubber grommet as deteriorated, not sure yet if I can get a replacement grommet alone. I swear this car has spent some time at the bottom of a lake. But hey, it's a $2k beater and I love it.

Well, I'll ask the obvious question, don't they just press out?

That's quite a good question, there must be an exception of some description, perhaps if they're connected directly to the chassis? Not that that would help peds at all...

Protrusions wider than the car and/or forward of the front bumper I think. I'm not complaining but it may pay to check if you're going to keep them on in case some 'too cool for school' cop tries to rip them off on the side of the road.

No the canards...

Are those ankle slicers legal on the road?

Well, if you get a WoF then you've "got away" with it for at least 6 months. Can't hurt to try. It's not like you're going to get pulled over by a cop or anything.

Agreed. I think new Top Gear is > old Top Gear and The Grand Tour is dead. BBC should be quite happy with the outcome really. Amazon, not so much.

Possibly. Don't start a job that you don't have time to finish springs to mind.

Cleaned and polished (!) a whole bunch of suspension bits (nut, bolts, spacers, caps, top mounts etc.) whilst waiting for the required new parts to arrive. Will save over $300 by reusing serviceable parts (top mounts are most of this). Donanted M3 suspension will be going into the 328, I'll be starting at the rear (parts ordered) before I tackle the front (much bigger job).

+1 Seems like somebody upgraded the software then forgot to open a browser and check to see if the upgrade had actually worked properly.

None sorry. Give them a call in Aus and ask, maybe they'll know? http://www.loctite.com.au/2956_AUS_HTML.htm

Update on the radiator... I took the alu one out of the 328 and replaced that with the OEM one, all good. Cleaned and flushed the alu one and even spent 30 mins straightening out all the bent fins; put it in the garage. Got the old rad out of the M3 a few days later which was easy as I have no fan or cowls, three hoses, two clips and uncoupling the oil cooler. Lost only a few mils when draining so I could reuse the (expensive) BMW coolant (it's only a year old). Dropped in the alu rad and got it settled into place no problem. Got underneath to hook up the oil cooler and... no go. The brackets are there on the radiator but the actual radiator design makes it impossible to fit the cooler, there's simply not enough room - it's a lazy design oversight. No amount of fettling, hammering or even pounding was going to create room for it to fit. Do NOT buy a Redline Performance alu radiator for an e36 M3!! Fit's fine in the 328 (no oil cooler) and should fit in the M3 but it's miles off. Avoid. So I had a beer to consider my options. I'm glad the cricket was on the radio. Didn't take long for me to work out my only practical option. Drained the 328 and hauled the OEM radiator back out, slotted that into the M3 and hooked up the oil cooler no problem (of course). Filled it (NB: make sure drain plug is in rad before filling!) and made sure everything was tight. Self bleeding cooling systems are the biz. Put the alu radiator back into the 328 and faffed around with refilling and bleeding that again... 😕 So, I could have: 1. Taken OEM radiator from box and put it in the M3: 90 mins max. What I did was: 1. Drain and remove perfectly good alu radiator from 328 and replaced it with an OEM one: 3 hours 2. Drain and remove old radiator from M3: 30 mins 3. Fit alu radiator to M3 and wank around trying to get it to fit: 60 mins 4. Have beer and decide what to do: 10 mins 5. Drain and remove OEM radiator from 328: 60 mins 6. Install OEM rad in M3: 30 mins 7. Reinstall alu rad in 328: 60 mins How to turn a 90 mins job into a 6+ hour job. Nice. Anyway... one change I made on the M3 was to install a lower aux fan temp switch (from the E30 I think) into the M3. This one operates at 80/88*C (low/high fan speed) as opposed to the standard 91/99*C. I've kept my 80*C thermostat. The reason I did this was because I'm not using a clutch fan at all and wanted to provide some extra cooling as soon as the thermostat opens. The front (aux) pusher fan is really powerful and should be enough (unless you blow a fuse, ask me how I know). My oil temps (measured using the dash gauge) have dropped 8-10*C (!!!) as a result of this change so I'm quite happy. Aux fan comes on far more frequently of course but that's not an issue at all.

Don't worry about being trated differently about the scan results, I've spent thousands at BMW and have never been 'entitled' to any scans. That contributes to why I've not taken my cars to BMW for over a decade. I'm glad it worked out for you in the end even despite the sting in the tail, I expected that. Next time get it towed home (insurance will cover it from there) or to one of the places recommended here, we've got south, east, central, north and even further north covered.