dwnz

Thanks heaps for the offers everyone, really appreciate it! My spanner arrived today, was simple enough to bang the nut loose with a hammer (phew). It's looking like my lower radiator hose is knackered, collapses in on itself when car cools down and has a leak... Fingers crossed that's all it is

@allan Fingers crossed... So far I've learnt that nothing quite goes to plan when fixing the BMW Process doesn't seem too dissimilar to my old Hilux's fan clutch though @mspec Purchased a "32mm clutch fan tool" last night - just waiting for it to ship/arrive. Will see how I go without the holding tool... But might need to hunt one down - assuming this won't be the only time I have to take the fan off...

@FIAT 131R Oh true, that's pretty close by! Would it be at all possible to borrow it for a day or two 'till mine arrives? Hopefully get in quicker and order whatever needs replacing. More than happy to pickup/dropoff

@allan Cheers for that - was under the impression that you needed the correct tool to hold it. @FIAT 131R have just ordered a spanner, will hunt down a mallet. Whole cooling system was replaced ~30,000kms ago, so hopefully it's not too stuck together. Up in Broadmeadows

Hey, Have a feeling my E46 325i has a slightly leaky water pump... Have a tiny amount of coolant "spray" off the belts/fan and the pump pulley itself is stained with coolant... Sigh. Wondering if anyone has any tips to getting the fan clutch out with a standard spanner? Or if anyone in Wellington has removal tools I could borrow for a box of beers? Cheers, Dan

Will defo do the smoke test still - keen to see how you built yours! Hopefully get it running right once and for all (well, for a while at least). Have checked the intake elbow area - but will go over the rest on the weekend and see how everything else looks as the idle, whilst better now, still isn't quite 100%. Thanks again

Spent the morning playing with various parts of the intake - checked the little rubber things on the back of the inlet manifold, they're all good. Buut @zero, I think you were onto it with the DISA there - rebuilt the gasket (the electronics in the old one don't work) - and my idle is back to buttery smooth, even when in drive and my foot is on the brake when it normally shuddered a bit. Will see how it goes over the next few days... But... THANK YOU SO MUCH! Should also add that it appears there's way less... Air... rushing... When you undo the oil cap when car is running now too

Just pulled the DISA in the car out - might be at least part of my problem - looks like it's missing heaps of the seal compared to the spare one I have, it also doesn't snap back as quick as the spare one. Might plug it in, give it a test and see if it works. *fingers crossed* Dan

@allan - will check those out tomorrow and report back, cheers! @Olaf - have INPA up and running + have used my mates auto sparky tools. Appear to get misfires across random cylinders, only one at a time, moves about depending on day. Have moved coils around to no avail. INPA is also reporting pre cat O2 sensor heating element failures which sometimes throws an engine light. Will plug into car tomorrow and see if what's stored thanks heapsfor your help so far everyone, really appreciate it!

@zeroI like the idea of using incense - might give that a shot seeming as I am yet to do a smoke test (and was put off by using cigarettes as the internet suggested). Have a few bank 2 pre-cat O2 sensor errors, so thought I'd start there and swap that one out and if it fixes it, do the others. Car real beautifully smooth right up till the MAF went, so hoping it didn't take anything major out with it. Took the intake boots, DISA, throttle body and ICV out and cleaned them all up, didn't make much difference. I have a spare (well, old) DISA in a box of stuff the guy gave me... Wonder if it's worth trying it Cheers, Dan

@zero - I've always been a big fan of wagons, was pretty stoked to get a straight 6 RWD one after a few Legacy's and stuff. The BMW just doesn't compare to the others though - always blows me away with how it drives. Had/still having rough idle issues. MAF died a few days after I got the car which caused havoc. Done plugs, filters, PCV and a few other bits and bobs already too. Am about to do some O2 sensors and see if that helps my slightly rough idle. @Olaf - Cheers! Was having a nosey through there last night, will have another one this evening, see where the roadtrip is heading! Keen to meet up with some other beemer fans in Wellington at some point @Kepes - Cheers! Bought the car off a guy from Kilbirnie, so might not be parked there so often anymore, though I do visit those areas frequently. The wheels (and low kms) were what sold it for me, haha, big fan of them

Hey - signed up a few months ago and have been stalking since - thought it was time to introduce myself! Picked up my first BMW, a 2000 E46 325i touring a couple of months ago. Got off to a rough start (literally, though still haven't 100% solved it) but have completely fallen in love with it. Cheers, Dan