zero

When did bmw start putting aux-in on the e46 radios? I dont really want to pull my radio out just to find out.......

Wow. Just wow.

Oops, maybe I should read up on these things when I'm sober.

That looks cool. Wonder what one would look like completely cleaned, then polished, and then clear coat instead of silver?

I edited my post to add a bit of info on the hk; "The headdecks are ok, but the speakers are rubbish, and the hk amp is pretty bad too. A front speaker component upgrade with a nice amp will beat the hk setup hands down." But if you are happy with the sound then don't sweat it. The M3 on trademe looks pretty sweet. Looking forward to seeing your new beast when you get it.

Hey Amber, How did you get on with the whole insurance thing? I hope it all worked out. My 2cents on your wishlist would be; You could always replace the front seats on a car if it doesn't have leather/electric/heater, so that shouldn't be a deal breaker. Same goes with wheels - if you find your dream car but it has stink wheels, you can always swap them for your dream wheels. The stock stereo setupon the e46 is pants, and the harmon kardon really is not much better. Better to upgrade either stereo if you enjoy your music. The headdecks are ok, but the speakers are rubbish, and the hk amp is pretty bad too. A front speaker component upgrade with a nice amp will beat the hk setup hands down. Good luck - I'm sure you will find the 'one'.

He has committed the cardinal interweb sin of Godwins Law, which can never be recovered from. The internet takes another victim.

Great video.

Awesome work. How does it sound?

Alusil is the protective material coated on the bores. BMW had some problems with it - its worth reading up on. Looking forward to the engine parts pictures.

I'm not familiar with this engine, and had no idea the heads had to be bored out for larger pistons as well as the block. So the piston at tdc sits proud of the block? Keep up the good work.

"Newly bored heads"? Do you mean newly bored block?

There is this on trademe; http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/bmw/engines/auction-902003334.htm Says head has been changed, so maybe worth inquiring if it was recoed. I have no association with the seller.

Are your original door cards damaged?

Where did you get the tinted side indicators from, and how much were they?

I have some very bad cellphone pics of when I painted my interior trim. I had the poo wood too and I sanded it back to bare wood, primed it and painted it. I painted it in the same colour as the car (black sapphire metallic) so it is unique. It looks much better than the pics show

Unfortunate handle........

Get your interior trim vinyl wrapped. Or you can paint it like I have done. Then you can have something unique.

Well, the diy parts cleaner worked brilliantly! The parts came out super clean without even wiping them. The only parts that needed a scrub were the exhaust ports on the head, where the carbon was heavily burned in. The parts cleaner loosened most of it, so I gave the exhaust ports a scrub and put the head back in the parts cleaner for another soak. The cams and valves and the other parts came out spotless. I am halfway through rebuilding the hydraulic lifters. Basically all you are doing is disassembling, thoroughly cleaning them out, reassembling, and pre-priming them. Carbon and sludge gets in them and stops them working properly, and are a very common fault on this and some other bmw engines. Sure, I could buy new ones, but this is free and I'm enjoying learning new stuff. This engine will be built on a budget, but definitely not by cutting corners. I did a lot of reading on rebuilding lifters, and this video was very helpful; https://youtu.be/ySf0r8GGMOY

I recommend taking it to Glenn. He has a very expensive professional scanner that will pick up the codes much more accurately. I had some faults that I scanned at home, but when I took it to him his scanner correctly revealed the fault as a different code. Glenn is a good guy, and will probably save you money by giving a more accurate diagnosis.

So I don't hijack this thread, I've made a new one for my engine build; http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/52977-n42n46-engine-rebuild/

Took the head to Mark Wade of Wade Automotive in Penrose. He has been building engines for the race industry for decades. A bit grumpy, but very knowledgeable and experienced. He checked the head and also resurfaced it. This cost $75 + gst which I thought was reasonable. He checked the valve guides and said they weren't perfect, but not bad enough to need replacing. He checked the valves and seats too, and said they needed a valve grind. This is something I was going to do anyway. He said the hydraulic lifters were ok, but I'm going to rebuild them anyway. It only costs me my time. If its worth doing, its worth overdoing. The head looked good after it was decked, but unfortunately my photo skills were not quite so good; Then it was put in my diy parts cleaner along with the cams and a few other parts. Basically its just a tub from Bunnings filled with simple green - this stuff cleans off carbon and grease very effectively. For less than the $60 + gst cost of getting my head acid dipped at the machine shop, I have the ability to wash as many parts at home as I want, and in my own time. Next job is rebuilding the lifters, cleaning the valves, and a valve grind.

First thing I did after I got it on the engine stand was degrease and water blast the exterior of the engine. Then I took the valve cover off. There was a lot of sludge - not the worst I've seen, but still plenty of sludge. The engine was sold as a runner, albeit a rough one with 155kms on it. The first thing I noticed was the plastic guide rail for the chain was damaged - this is very common on these engines. Then it was time to take the head off and check the bores. There was a lot of carbon on the pistons and valves, but the bores were in perfect shape. Then I took the sump off and had a look. Looked pretty clean and the bearings felt good. Next job is to take the head into a machine shop to get it checked.

Bought my car over a year ago, and have been steadily maintaining it as the previous owners sure didn't. Was a bit smokey due to lack of oil changes, and probably incorrect oil. So far it has had a new oil cooler, ccv valve, oil hoses, drive belt and plugs. I have rebuilt and put new viton seals in the vacuum pump, and I did all new seals on the vanos and cam sensors, and the seal on the dipstick tube. All new seals are viton. I've also done the whole cooling system, with new radiator, water pump, expansion tank and hoses and seals. Glenn from Botany Motor Worx has been extremely helpful with advice and diagnosis. So......now its finally time to do the valve stem seals. This is expensive, and not a diy job, so I hatched a plan. I will rebuild another head or complete engine and then swap them over. I got a complete n42 engine (the one in the car is n46 but they are almost identical.) for just $150. Time to strip it back and inspect it

So, its finally time to do the valve stem seals on this motor. Its not going to be cheap.