Hi, soon to be an M3 owner from Wellington.. I hope.

[amdaman 5]

Hey chaps,

Went to see a very tidy blue E46 M3 from Trademe today and put a deposit down. Got it for a good price with a service at Jeff Gray thrown in. It's had the smg pump reconditioned 10kms ago and it's pretty much unmarked. I'm getting BMW to look over the sub frame too when it's in. Is there anything else I should be getting done or looked at while it's there?

Cheers

[Tristan 338]

Good stuff, they're great cars. Is that the one in Masterton?

[amdaman 5]

Yeah that's the one. The bloke has over 10 cars so is letting a few of them go!

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

have heard they get Vanos problems? probably like any BMW though

In anycase, hope to see you at our meet/run next weekend

[Tristan 338]

I think that the VANOS problem is rather isolated, unlike subframe. With the VANOS you only hear about the ones that go bad, rather than the thousands that don't. If you do want it checked, it's this:

[yt]

[/yt]

[amdaman 5]

Hi, Yeah I think they can get a few problems that are expensive to fix but I'll have a fund for those if they go wrong. It will just be a weekend car too so we'll see how it goes. Looking forward to the meets and will get involved if it's all ready by then.

[Tristan 338]

With the VANOS bolts, if they go wrong it can be a very expensive fix. Like, new engine.
Here's a few recent examples:

http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=20031

http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=88186

The other thing I had done was with the PFL cars, they had a different rear diff bolt to the FL cars.

The old one had the thread going all the way up to the head of the bolt, because of this, they could back out over time. The updated bolt stopped the thread circa 1" from the head, this made it more difficult for the bolt to back out.

New bolt part #: - revised bolts (2) part number 23 00 1 222 891

They're like $5 each. When I ordered there weren't many in NZ so they may have to come over from Germany.

There is a DIY here:
http://m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=345096


In any case, it's the minority that have issues so enjoy the car!

[amdaman 5]

Good info Tristan, thanks.

I will order that bolt tonight.

Do you recommend the preventative maintenance for the vanos bolts? From what I can see it's pretty labour intensive?

[Tristan 338]

Don't forget 2 bolts

If you're worrying about the bolts, I'd go ahead and do it. I only had my E46 for 3 months so didn't get around to it. If I had kept it I probably would've had them looked at just for piece of mind.

[amdaman 5]

Haha yep will do.

From what I've just briefly read it looks very labour intensive, how much are we talking for them to strip it down upwards of 3k? Could be a job for the local resident forum mechanic.. Is that you ?

[Tristan 338]

Haha me. Definitely not, my mechanical knowledge is uhh... very limited. I just do a lot of research.

From what I've heard, it is labour intensive. Upwards of $3K to get to there? No way... (?)
If I recall correctly, when I asked Team McMillan BMW how long it would take they said about 3 hours but that was around May so chances are that number could be +/- an hour or two. I'm sure Ray (HellBM) can answer more accurately.

[kiwi535 538]

Haha yep will do.

From what I've just briefly read it looks very labour intensive, how much are we talking for them to strip it down upwards of 3k? Could be a job for the local resident forum mechanic.. Is that you ?

go and see page european home st city

[amdaman 5]

That's cool.. I'll ask Jeff Gray when I go and pick it up.. I'm also not sure it has an alarm, apparently they are set up ready for them though.

I think I called Page European up a while back to ask them about servicing and they didn't know that an m3 needed valve adjustments as they thought it was hydraulic..

[Tristan 338]

That's cool.. I'll ask Jeff Gray when I go and pick it up.. I'm also not sure it has an alarm, apparently they are set up ready for them though.

I think I called Page European up a while back to ask them about servicing and they didn't know that an m3 needed valve adjustments as they thought it was hydraulic..

I'd be inclined to take it to BMW for anything like that, valve adjustment, Insp. I/II, etc.

[amdaman 5]

Yeah I'll definitely take it to BMW for the inspections for the stamps if nothing else. I wouldn't mind taking it to a good independent though for part fitting i.e getting worn parts fitted.

Tristan, is the preventative fix for the vanos just the bolts or are their other causes too?

[Tristan 338]

Yeah I'll definitely take it to BMW for the inspections for the stamps if nothing else. I wouldn't mind taking it to a good independent though for part fitting i.e getting worn parts fitted.

Tristan, is the preventative fix for the vanos just the bolts or are their other causes too?

I'm not sure. I MAY have read somewhere that the bolts changed in the face-lifted cars but I can't be sure.

[Haitoman 110]

Don't get too paranoid about things going wrong on the M3 or you will never enjoy the car. As an M3 owner myself I can say I find it ultra reliable but it is a high performance car and I know one day it will cost me. I'm prepared to take that risk on a car like this.

[amdaman 5]

Yeah I shouldn't let it bother me should I! I will be saving the whole time it's not broken anyway. So in a couple of months will have enough for the biggest issues it could spit out. A warranty would be nice though haha.

[central3 31]

Agree with "don't get too paraniod" comments but when you are due for a valve clearance adjustment go the extra mile and have the exhaust tab's checked and the cam bolts as well. Below is a thread that I did when I carried out this work. Ended up importing the 2 cam timing tools so if you are mechanically minded I have these available. Intimidating job but if you have the gear (and after the first time) no problem.

Does add that piece of mind as you hit the 8,000 rpm redline

http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/42061-m3-work-log/

[amdaman 5]

Not sure what service it is going in for as the owner is doing it but it's on 160k.

I might ring ahead and find out. Are the cam bolts related to the vanos?

From what I've quickly read about the vanos the seals, bolts and the filter can be an issue but other than the filter I can't see how much work is involved in sorting it.

All my tools are in the UK, I'd only have basic tools here unfortunately. Have you considered taking on some extra paid work??