gjm 3258 Report post Posted June 27, 2018 Sorry - no pics at present. The drive and aim recently has been to prepare and sell some cars - we have too many. Even I have to admit that, especially given our circumstances. And so, I was overjoyed when the 318ti sold very recently. One down... Hopefully I can build some momentum and sell another car. Or two. Or... Well, I was asked if I would be interested in a 318Ci. Hmm... N42 engine woes. But the offer was there, not voiced in a "how much can I get for this' kind of way, but as a 'I need to get this out of the garage because we're refurbishing the house and need somewhere to put kitchen units and appliances while the builders work' way. So I ran some details and found that this car has a M43TU engine. It has been messed with, it does need work. It has been standing for a while, the tyres were soft (but not flat) and I don't much like the wheels. The exhaust isn't stock, and part of it has fallen off. It has a bodykit which hasn't been fitted particularly well, or perhaps it's coming adrift. We'll see. Glass sunroof, leather interior (with some mildew), electric seats, multifunction steering wheel. Stuff and things. I'm really not sure this was a good idea. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Young Thrash Driver 1020 Report post Posted June 27, 2018 You're a braver man than me, Graham! I guess if it was cheap enough though... what could possibly go wrong? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allan 295 Report post Posted June 27, 2018 It's a bloody BMW every thing HaHA. Was told BMW stood for Bring Money With. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted June 27, 2018 Thought it stood for Bye My Woman 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Statek 87 Report post Posted June 27, 2018 Big Money Woes? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted June 27, 2018 14 hours ago, Young Thrash Driver said: what could possibly go wrong? 12 hours ago, allan said: It's a bloody BMW every thing HaHA. Was told BMW stood for Bring Money With. 2 hours ago, qube said: Thought it stood for Bye My Woman 1 hour ago, Statek said: Big Money Woes? You're not helping... ? 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted June 29, 2018 Quick update having done some research... The car is a Singapore import. Not sure if it was originally sold through Opera Autotechnik, but they fitted a rebranded Kerscher exhaust, lowered the suspension, fitted a decent quality bodykit (although the sills require some attention), and 18" rims - 225/40-18 on the front, 235-40/18 at the rear. Only fault showing was 115, the coolant temperature sensor. This has been replaced. It has a BMS46 Hybrid ECU, from a BMW / Siemens joint development. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted June 29, 2018 Coolant flush completed. Engine hot, heater controls on hot, pop the expansion tank cap, release the bleed screw (next to the expansion tank cap. Now, where's the rad drain plug...? Actually - that's a great question. Where is it??? I know where it should be but there's nothing there. (Not easy to find any =way because of the position of the oil cooler, but all the same.) OK - pop the hoses off the engine, stick a hose pipe (gently) into the expansion tank, and wait until water coming out of the engine runs clear. Of course, this means the engine is now full of water, so reconnect the bottom hose, and slowly pour coolant into the expansion tank. Once it runs green from the engine, replace last hose and check everything over. Start car, wait, and... Heater blows hot air. Seems unlikely to be an airlock. ? Result. Unfortunately, the previous owner had a boyfriend who was a 'mechanic'. He's removed the cabin filter housing (and the rubbers, the plastic engine trim, and carefully put it all in a box in the boot. Such a shame he didn't think to include the special torx-head screws that are used when fitting... ? Plan for tomorrow is to pull the wheels, see what they actually are, check the suspension... Oh - paint is Graugruen metallic. Some small dents, some scratches (especially on the boot where something has been slid across it). Nice colour. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted June 29, 2018 hahaha graham, where did you find this nice project! at the perfect time too! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted June 29, 2018 24 minutes ago, qube said: hahaha graham, where did you find this nice project! at the perfect time too! Complete fluke. When I was working in Manukau/Papatoetoe, one of the car firms opened a yard opposite our office. I'd been over and spoken to Mike, the manager - just kicking tyres, talking about BMWs and Mercedes. No interest in buying. That was months ago. The quite literally the afternoon we sold the 318ti, he called asking if I knew anyone who would be interested in a 2-door BMW he had in his garage. It had been his daughter's car, but she'd been on OE (5 times, from what I gather!) and having come back to NZ, got a job with a company car. He wanted the space in the garage for a kitchen refurb, somewhere to put stuff. So we pottered up to have a look, liked it enough to make an offer, and came away with it. He said he'd posted it on Facebook but just got a lot of random mess-around people calling and PM'ing, so he gave up on that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted June 29, 2018 A quick (it's cold!) and not-very-good pic to show what I'm working with. The driver side wiper arm is bent - looks like someone had the bonnet up, pulled the arm back from the windscreen (perhaps to change the blade) and the bonnet closed on it. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted June 30, 2018 Beautiful colour! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted June 30, 2018 Yep, that looks good. ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3317 Report post Posted July 2, 2018 Well, that FB 'randomness' has worked as vendor conditioning, to your advantage. Perfect timing for all concerned, enjoy, mate! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted July 2, 2018 It was perfect timing. Well, sort of... The whole point of selling the 318Ti (and others) was to reduce the number of cars we have, not get some money together to buy another one! I do like the E46 Ci. Great shape, nice car. And this one is pretty close to what I was looking for - a very late M43-engine production (this one is within the last 2 months of production), in an unusual colour and with good spec. I'd have been happy without the bodykit, the 18" rims and the sunroof, but I am looking for something of a unicorn! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted July 3, 2018 Rear rims are 2-piece Mille Miglia (Mille 1000) Revenge IIs, 18x8.5. No idea of offset, but they fit. I'll check the fronts but looking at tyre fitment, I suspect they are the same size. Shocks are BMW (Sachs) all round, and springs are from Eibach. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted July 6, 2018 Another coolant flush today. I did expect to need to, so no great surprise to find more brown gunk coming out. I think I've got (if not all) most of it now. The car does seem to be running better since I've done this, but I suspect that's psychosomatic. Picked up (very nearly) new tyres from Paul - @Smackiee - the rears look HUGE! ? They're a correct fit for the rims. .But 255s on a 318Ci? LOL Still - this is a 'dress up' car. Very common in Singapore where travelling any distance or at any speed is uncommon; many people will buy a high-spec but smaller-engined car and upgrade it. Removed both bodykit sills. They don't look bad but are woefully impractical as they sit so close to the road. Any speed bump and you can hear them fouling. They were fitted with 3 screws front and rear, and generous daubing of black mastik (or similar) so there';s a bit of cleaning and tidying to do. I'll do a review of RealOEM (or similar) and see what engine plastic I'm missing. The 'mechanic' neglected to keep all the bits he removed in one place, and seems to have discarded all fastenings he may have found. ? I was in Hamilton yesterday and visited Kerry at Mosen, picking up screws to secure the cabin filter tray, the cover for that tray, and a couple of other small bits. More will be needed. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted July 7, 2018 Fixed the battery clamp (in the boot). Battery fitted when we got the car was too tall so the plastic tray cover wouldn't fit. The clamp wasn't fitted... Pulled the battery, found a DIN55 spec (to suit the 318Ci), fitted that, found the clamp (where are the passivated bolts??? Found some in the garage) and tried to fit it. The horizontal tang was bent out of shape, the two small vertical tongues were spread, and the adjusting screw felt like it was seized - it'd turn about 1/8th of a turn and that was it. I don't know how you overtighten one of these, but that's what had happened, stretching/stripping the thread of the adjusting bolt about halfway down. Getting it undone removed the captive thread from the underside of the clamp. Fettled the securing bar to get it back into shape. Looks like someone had dropped it across the battery at some point. Re-purposed the clamp plate and used a nut, bolt and washer to hold it securely in place on top of the battery. What an unnecessary waste of time. ? Still, sorted now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted July 8, 2018 (edited) Taking advantage of a battery not being fitted to the car, today I'm working on getting the passenger side door handle working from the outside again. (It works from inside the car.) Several reasons why this fails, including a cable becoming unclipped (and can be fixed with a cable tie! @aja540i ) to, and in my case, the cable becoming completely detached from the handle mechanism. I should have expected it, but was still disappointed to find 'someone' had already removed a couple of screws from the door panel and not put them anywhere sensible. Got the 'Airbag' plaque out of the door panel (and the screw behind it), got the the little plastic cap out of the handle recess (and the screw behind that), carefully removed the whole door panel. Peel the moisture barrier back, remove the rubber cap around the top corner of the door body. Cannot see where the cable is supposed to go. I suspect the handle is going to have to come off to sort this, so some investigation into where the locking slide plate is will be necessary. (Getting to the securing torx-head screw is easy once the rubber cap is out of the way. I found a pic of the back side of the mechanism: The cable in the pic is the one which has become completely detached at the handle end... I have absolutely no idea how to put it back together without removing the mechanism from the door (I can't see where the cable has to go), and that looks very tricky while the window regulator is in place. I've released the mechanism from the door, but there doesn't appear to be a way to get it out of the door shell! Edited July 8, 2018 by gjm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aja540i 1906 Report post Posted July 8, 2018 if its anything like the e36 coupe it is a real ballache to get out, i had to unbolt the window glass from the mechanism to get enough room to wiggle the handle mechanism out, getting it back in is no easier! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted July 8, 2018 8 minutes ago, aja540i said: if its anything like the e36 coupe it is a real ballache to get out, i had to unbolt the window glass from the mechanism to get enough room to wiggle the handle mechanism out, getting it back in is no easier! I came to that conclusion... I've packed up for the night but will try fiddling the cable into position tomorrow. If I'm almost upside down, I can look up into the door shell and see where it needs to go. Absolutely no chance of getting a hand there to line it up, so there's likely to be a lot of trial and error, and swearing, tomorrow. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted July 8, 2018 4 hours ago, gjm said: ....Absolutely no chance of getting a hand there... But you have children, that's exactly what they're for right? Little hands. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted July 9, 2018 09/07/2018 - Rain stopped play. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allan 295 Report post Posted July 9, 2018 (edited) Their are two cables going to the door lock one from the handle mechanism you have shown the other goes to the interior handle to open the door. On the lock I have their is a white plastic piece that has a slot and hole for the end of the cable to slid into. Think when I changed the compact one I had to mess around with the window channel to give one a little more room it was a pain. Have a look here any help best of luck. https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiql6DM5pHcAhWBNJQKHRv6BUwQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D3laNmsAbKrM&psig=AOvVaw3jjcK9xm4jwfp-LGu4fUXo&ust=1531218221190235 Edited July 9, 2018 by allan 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted July 9, 2018 Thanks for the vid! Not seen that one. I've taken a still from the vid and circled the area I have issues with - the cable has become completely detached form the channeled pulley-type piece. I need to somehow persuade the nipple-end of the cable back into position, and replace the clip which has become undone - this clip is to the right of the bellows on the cable, which is to the right of the blue circled area. What often happens is that the clip becomes detached. If this can be replaced, a cable tie can be used to secure it, fixing the problem. I have one more, very fiddly, step to achieve before I can do that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
