E46 320d Touring - life with a high mileage car

[kiwi535 538]

To be honest, I was thinking of between 5 and 6000km between engine oil changes. Mahle, or Mann-Hummel oil filter?

Diesels can run for a long, long time. The swirl flaps on the engine in my car was an Achilles heel, but I don't think mine has them (any more). I also suspect that the flaps were removed but the tracts not blocked... We'll get to that eventually.

Maintenance stuff, like the lower rear bushes on the front wishbones, will be done with a view to longevity, so I'll use polybushes or similar. Stuff like this really is made so much easier by having people like Brent around - I can pick up 'old' arms from him, replace the bushes, and swap the arms on to my car. The rear diff bush is starting to crack, so I'l look at that in due course. Also need to consider the diff itself - it's had a hard life and is making some smooth noise.

There will be changes and updates done as time goes by. The suspension sits a little lower on the drivers side - perhaps as a result of a heavier driver having done a lot of the miles. I've long had a 'thing' for Konis and Eibach springs but as this isn't a serious issue, I'll just keep my eyes and ears open for something suitable.

Wheels are the same. I've sorted a temporary solution in the form of a second set of Style 45s but with much better tyres. They'll do for now. You'll have gathered that maintaining comfort is a key consideration, but handling can be improved by uprating the sway bars. Brent and I talked briefly about this today.

Basically though, just a rolling program of keeping things 'good'. If nothing too serious has happened under the 'standard' maintenance regime, this one could run and run. The accumulation of mileage will drop off sometime next year as we plan to move a bit further south. Find a nice piece of land, a nice house, and a big garage barn.

The only real problem at the moment is legroom. For me, in the front. I'm not especially tall at 6'1", but I cannot get the seat back far enough to be properly comfortable. Anyone else found this?

Incidentally, Mrs M took rather a shine to a white E24 down at Brent's today. I used to have a gumetal M635CSi highline - cracking car. I now know a bit more about looking after them than I did then, so maybe...

thats strane...i am 6.3 i can move the seat so far back i cant push the clutch in properly.

[Phil-540i 166]

thats strane...i am 6.3 i can move the seat so far back i cant push the clutch in properly.

You've got the NZ new edition tho ae............. Not the 'ex the mother-land' UK edition............

[gjm 3258]

No clutch to worry about, of course, but my left leg is uncomfortably bent when the sole of my foot is on the foot rest.
I can almost get comfortable by messing with the seat height and rake, but maybe I just have long legs?

It was enough to turn my head at mention of a 530d Touring M-Sport...

[lord_jagganath 421]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/530d/auction-666825923.htm keep the e46 for the missus and get this.... when you can, the price has dropped 4k in the past 6 months

[gjm 3258]

Mrs M does like our 320d, and would happily take it over. Unfortunately a 530d (and I mentioned this to Brent the other day) while aspirational will have to remain that for now - it's out of our price range. Ultimately, a 530d M-Sport Touring would be lovely.

<sigh>

[gjm 3258]

860 miles, 87 litres. Call it 16km per litre, or disappointingly 6.25 litres per 100km.

Oh well. I suppose I've not made any real effort to drive economically.

[gjm 3258]

Took a trip to Okoroire this weekend - lovely place, by the way. The first golf course I have found where they give you a chilly bin (with trolley) to carry your beer around the course. I couldn't play golf before, and I'm not sure beer helps.

Car performed well, but the spectre of a turbo rebuild is looming. Or at least, reseal, or hose work. Under hard acceleration there is a noise very similar to a 'short away' whistle (in border collie herding parlance - see here for sound bites) which is a repeated short whistle with a rising tone. Only happens under hard acceleration, which is when I anticipate I am looking for more boost.

I'm also finding that the turbo seems a little sluggish to kick in. Give it some beans and the sensation of boost is apparent, but sometimes it seems to take a lot more effort to get it spooling than at others - sometimes it feels eager, but increasingly often it feels much the same as I did on Sunday morning. Could this be s simple case of not using the turbo enough? Cruising at around 2000rpm is hardly going to challenge it.

[lord_jagganath 421]

^^ ... I got a 9.0l/100kms with my 525iT.... so I think you got a good result.

^ a turbo rebuild does wonders! (at least for my old Subie.) get those bearings looked at if you feel difficulty spoolinh.

[gjm 3258]

Had a chat with the ever-so-helpful Mr Murch earlier - he's not keen on the GT1749V! Oh well... We'll work with what we have as replacing it with something better is a much more involved job. He recommends the 'buy another one and fix that' approach too, so I shall be contacting some folk back in the UK. Regardless, and given the description I gave him, he's confident that some work is relevant, if not essential.

In the meantime I'm looking at the EGR valve and planning either a clean, bypass or delete. Claims of fuel economy improvement of well over 10% on cars that have covered less than half the distance mine has are reason enough to spend a few hours quality time under the bonnet. (No idea if the EGR on my car has been looked after, but I doubt it.)

[gjm 3258]

OK - the EGR valve. It will be removed. I've done lots of research (I really am careful about what I do!) and removal seems the best way forward.

For anyone considering the same, it appears simpler on the EU3-spec cars than on the EU4 ones; simply removing the EGR valve on an EU4 spec car will probably result in the check engine light coming on. Permanently. There are ways to get around this (properly) - I'll post more details once I get things sorted.

[HaNs 226]

Talk to turbo dynamics about doing your turbo, only around 800 pounds to re build.

You can map out the EGR fault code and functions

[gjm 3258]

Talk to turbo dynamics about doing your turbo, only around 800 pounds to re build.

You can map out the EGR fault code and functions

£800? That's about 1/3rd the purchase price of the car! I am exploring options. TD are good, but the price is likely to be prohibitive as not only is there the getting a turbo to them issue (I'm in NZ, they're in the UK) but when it is returned to me the postage is likely to be another £80+, and I'll be paying import duties and so on. Those come to nearly £200.

Steve at Motorsport Engineering can do the rebuild here, if necessary.

I can delete the EGR for about the same cost as reprogramming, and I'm going to have to get in there to clean it out anyway. On my car (EU3) there shouldn't be any 'extra' issues as a result of the removal.

[HaNs 226]

Maybe just do a CHRA swap? Not hard to do

[gjm 3258]

Unfortunately, until I pull the turbo from the car I'll not know the extent of any work that will be required... And then the car will be off the road, something I can't afford to have happen at the moment.

The best option does seem to be the one that has been discussed - get another unit, check it over and repair as necessary, before replacing the one in the car.

[gjm 3258]

In the background, with everything else that I'm considering and planning, the question of wheels rolls on. I'm pretty much settled on 17s.

(I have an immediate solution, so there's no rush.)

However... Style 22s? Y'know, the E36 Motorsport ones. Sunflowers. Whatever. I've not seen a pic of a E46 Touring actually wearing them, but they are a good-looking rim. There is this pic with style 22s resting against the fitted wheels:

Or... 17" 20-spoke Alpinas?

OK, these are (probably) 18s, but you get the idea.

Opinions invited!

Fuel economy isn't really changing. 10 miles per litre, 16km per litre, or a little over 6 litres per 100km.

Had a quote for a hybrid turbo, but at over $2300 that will have to wait. Fingers crossed the fitted turbo isn't in too bad a condition!

[lord_jagganath 421]

those are 20's on the alpina. but me thinks 17" alpina's will do.

[Phil-540i 166]

Hmm, IMO, given the kms you do, ya want something stylish, different, 17", & something that's easy to keep clean..............I pick within 2 weeks you'd be cursing those Alpina's, even though they look great. They'll just be a pain in the a$$ to ya everytime ya go to clean them up.............my style 42's are bad enough in that regard to me........

[Ahmedsinc 414]

Have seen both style 22 & 24 on E46s before and to be honest they looked pretty average IMO. Those Alpinas on the other hand look better on the newer body. Bet they'll be a major PITA to clean but!

The E46 CSL wheels are the frickin business! Good luck finding replicas though Bang for your buck I'd say go for the E46 motorsport (style 68 i think?), reasonably easy to get here plus decently priced with the assurance of OEM quality

All just my opinion though

[kiwi535 538]

the only time i see really low number consistently is when i am in 5th or 6th at 100-110-120 on a flat road As soon as the gradient changes (or the wind blows) its into the 5s and 6 s

re the wheels,gotta be the alpinas

when did the diesels change from eu 3 to eu 4?

[gjm 3258]

those are 20's on the alpina. but me thinks 17" alpina's will do.

If I was driving on a billiards table, 20s might be lovely. As it is, 17s are more about looks than anything else. Filling the arches a little better, that sort of thing. Aesthetics.

Hmm, IMO, given the kms you do, ya want something stylish, different, 17", & something that's easy to keep clean..............I pick within 2 weeks you'd be cursing those Alpina's, even though they look great. They'll just be a pain in the a$$ to ya everytime ya go to clean them up.............my style 42's are bad enough in that regard to me........

Cleaning 20 spokes 4 times over isn't going to be the most fun I could have... Clean them once, wax them, and it should be possible to just hose them clean for a while after that.

I'll find something, somewhere, sometime...

Have seen both style 22 & 24 on E46s before and to be honest they looked pretty average IMO. Those Alpinas on the other hand look better on the newer body. Bet they'll be a major PITA to clean but!

The E46 CSL wheels are the frickin business! Good luck finding replicas though Bang for your buck I'd say go for the E46 motorsport (style 68 i think?), reasonably easy to get here plus decently priced with the assurance of OEM quality

All just my opinion though

Like this...?

Only 16 spokes so they'd be much easier to clean than the Alpinas...

Style 127. And only available (originally) in 19s; I guess replicas may be available in other sizes.

the only time i see really low number consistently is when i am in 5th or 6th at 100-110-120 on a flat road As soon as the gradient changes (or the wind blows) its into the 5s and 6 s

re the wheels,gotta be the alpinas

when did the diesels change from eu 3 to eu 4?

I'd obviously like to be using less fuel, but what I'm getting isn't unreasonable. If the EGR valve hasn't been cleaned, it's generally regarded as being a major contributor to reducing economy. Perhaps it'll stop raining this weekend long enough for me to have a look.

One thing of minor concern is that ever since I had the gearbox fluid changed, there has been a smell of old engine oil coming through the vent in the centre of the dash, but normally only when I stop: it doesn't seem to be there while actually moving, and it is only that vent, too. At first I thought it was just some oil had got dropped on the exhaust, but 2.5 weeks later and it is still doing it. I've not been under the car to have a look for any leaks but there is no sign of anything being dropped on the ground when I've parked overnight.

[lord_jagganath 421]

^ clean your micro filter. that would be fun job. ( i got the entire centre console out. its an 8 hour job if you don't know what you are doing)

[gjm 3258]

when did the diesels change from eu 3 to eu 4?

The EU4 engine was built from September 2003.

I've seen suggestions that the EGR valve can be cleaned and disabled on the EU3 engine, but if going to the trouble to remove it for cleaning, surely simply not putting it back (and using a suitable pipe to replace it) is a better idea? I'm not sure what error codes this might raise, or if some sort of 'disable' configuration would still be required.

The EU4 engine had much more stringent emissions controls and the EGR valve is different; it has some sort of electronic interface. It can still be deleted/removed, but obviously there is a little more to consider before starting that process.

There's an option for each here.

A cheaper option is to remove the vacuum pipe and stick a golf tee in it. If the engine is an EU3 it's kind of job done; if its EU4 what ever you do will raise the EML, but that can be mapped out. For me though, I'd prefer to do the job properly.

Incidentally, the EU3 and EU4 injectors for the M47TUD20 are different and have to be coded; the EU3 injectors use a 6-digit code, the EU4s have a 7-digit code.

[gjm 3258]

^ clean your micro filter. that would be fun job. ( i got the entire centre console out. its an 8 hour job if you don't know what you are doing)

Micro filter... Which one is that?

[lord_jagganath 421]

My bad, it isn't in your cabin for the e46 .

http://www.e46fanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=677630

[gjm 3258]

My bad, it isn't in your cabin for the e46 .

http://www.e46fanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=677630

You need an E46!

I thought I had replaced this already, and was sure it wasn't especially tricky.