E46 Coupe Incoming

[Vass 830]

Hi there,

New member here, Christchurch based, first ever BMW and a realization of a dream of sorts. Been on the lookout for a good honest straight-6 3-series for a while and ended up snapping up this tidy 2003 (2002/05 produced) 325ci, full leather M Sport. Have been in love with it since, but definitely needs a decent amount of love to get up to standard. Came with comprehensive service history up to about 4 years ago, but didn't get any records from the previous owner, who'd had it for 3-4 years and having now spent some time under the hood, I see that a lot of preventative maintenance is long overdue, which I will be trying to address in the coming weeks and months.

This is the first car that I've owned that I'm in the position to keep long term, and being an unapologetic perfectionist that I am, I really want to take as good a care of it as possible, with close to no expenses spared. I haven't done any major mechanical work on cars up to this point, but am generally good with tools and with the increasing amount of resources widely available on places such as this board and YouTube, I reckon the E46 is a perfect platform to learn, and I'm really keen to start going deeper down the rabbit hole.

So far I've replaced the valve cover gasket and both front headlights and indicators, with the old ones being absolutely molested in order to facilitate some cheap sh*t LED "angel eyes", which is a whole catastrophic story for another day.

I yesterday received my 3 big packages from FCP Euro with close to $2k worth of maintenance parts and am also waiting on a VANOS rebuild kit to arrive in order to get properly stuck in.

The immediate plan:

• Cooling system refresh (expansion tank, auto trans thermostat, all radiator hoses)
• Oil filter housing gasket
• Replace auxiliary and clutch fan with electric fan (as seen on the manual models)
• Replace all belts, pulleys, tensioners and water pump
• Rebuild VANOS with new seals, bearing washers, gaskets and give it a good clean (was a bit shocked by the state of it whilst changing the valve cover gasket, but didn't want to take it apart without having the necessary parts on hand)

Further down the line:

• Replace CCV/PCV system
• DISA valve
• Whatever other issues will inevitably crop up in the process

Lower priority objectives:

• Get some kind of AUX solution sorted (current CD player is not AUX compatible but don't quite feel like abandoning the original look yet, waiting on a compatible head unit to become available, although patience is wearing thin with the current FM transmitter approach)
• Re-glue the A, C and possibly B pillars
• Doing up the paintwork - see how far a decent cut & polish would get me
• Other aesthetic stuff like getting the banged up front bumper resprayed, black out grilles and replace faded hood emblem
• Get a set of 18" wheels on to fill the fenders a little better, not a huge fan of the current style 68's

That's about it for now. Wasn't sure whether to post it here or in the Projects section, but seeing as I'm mostly going to be addressing maintenance items and not any serious mods or rebuilds, I thought I'd just say hello and have the thread moved later on if need be.

But anyway, happy to be part of the Bimmer fam, looking forward to getting stuck in and learning from folks on here! Will try not to repeat problems addressed in older topics, but would definitely welcome all tips, advice, warnings, cautions and criticisms

Cheers

Edited December 22, 2021 by Vass

[BozzaFC 300]

Brilliant choice of BMW to get into the brand, and a lovely example too! 

Keep the updates coming.

You should replace that nasty (probably faded) m badge on the back with a nice 325ci badge too. 

Edited November 21, 2019 by BozzaFC

[Vass 830]

9 minutes ago, BozzaFC said:

You should replace that nasty (probably faded) m badge on the back with a nice 325ci badge too. 

Thinking of just debadging it altogether. If it ever gets to the point where the whole car goes for a respray, I'd probably get rid of the emblems as well  

[Vass 830]

On 11/23/2019 at 5:47 AM, JonRP said:

Welcome Vass, great to see another novice in this excellent friendly knowledgeable Bimmer group!

Brilliant comprehensive 1st post, please keep them coming.  Recent purchase e46 project Milliy 2 weeks & 1500 ks later I'm still smiling.  It was a hard decision between 330 or smaller brother 325, specifications selected on my example from factory made it easier.

Are you interested in a catch up if we can get a few dedicated local enthusiasts together in Canterbury?  I also joined the BMW Car Club NZ which I've found helpful, it's looking to re-establish in Christchurch after several years of no activity.

Also, do you mind please confirming if the parts purchase off shore is a better decision with wider selection rather than locally in NZ?  I'm not mechanically hands on but happy to pay for mechanical expertise. 

Happy motoring over this glorious summer like weekend.

Regards Jon

Hey,

Yeah, wouldn't mind a catch-up, see what other folks are up to as I've not really got much to show for my efforts at this point.

In regards to parts, I haven't gotten round to installing anything yet, discovered I'm still missing some bits & bobs for the work I'm planning to undertake so have put it off until they get here.

But from what I've gathered, FCP Euro seems to be a solid place to get stuff. The site is laid out really well, they've got pictures and reviews for nearly all items, and even have put together kits for some of the more common jobs, which was awesome when ordering as they include all sorts of smaller gaskets & O-rings that would have been very easy to miss if I'd have had to put the shopping list together myself. Plus what I've found is the shops here mostly carry Genuine BMW parts, which are understandably more expensive. FCP carries both genuine and OEM & OE parts, so you can choose which components you are willing to take a risk on. For example, for radiator hoses I didn't see a reason to go all out genuine, as it's mostly rubber anyway, so I went with all Rein parts, who is a reputable OEM supplier, the particular hoses had great reviews and were roughly a third of the price of genuine, so even with shipping that came out to a massive win. Shipping also only takes a week, at least has done so far. Basically I just roughly compare the prices for each purchase and see which option comes out to be the better deal. If it's genuine parts, then it's sometimes even cheaper from local suppliers, but FCP is a great place to turn to for a wider selection of OEM components.

[Cab 148]

There's a bluetooth kit you can get from the warehouse for about $35 that plugs into your cigarette lighter spot. They're awesome I have one in my M3 and it it means you get to keep your factory head unit.

https://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/tech.inc-bluetooth-fm-transmitter/R2279211.html

 

 

[Vass 830]

15 hours ago, Cab said:

There's a bluetooth kit you can get from the warehouse for about $35 that plugs into your cigarette lighter spot. They're awesome I have one in my M3 and it it means you get to keep your factory head unit.

https://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/tech.inc-bluetooth-fm-transmitter/R2279211.html

 

 

Yeah, I've got something similar, and it's annoying the hell out of me. The sound quality is crap, you get constant humming in the background and for some reason it stays on when I turn off the car. I thought it'd cut the power after a while but I've come back the next morning and the display was still lit up and working, so I started taking it out the cigarette lighter plug every time I park up.

I really like the minimalism of this solution, unfortunately my unit is too old to support AUX input, so I'm just waiting until one becomes available at the wrecker's or something.

 

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

Welcome Vass - lovely E46 and great pics  

Have to disagree re the Style 68s - I really like the design ... what are you thinking of putting on in their place?

As @JonRP says the Chch branch of the BMW Car Club is firing up again with @Paul Bradfield leading the charge. Get involved!

Pete from Welly

[Vass 830]

16 minutes ago, TermiPeteNZ said:

Welcome Vass - lovely E46 and great pics  

Have to disagree re the Style 68s - I really like the design ... what are you thinking of putting on in their place?

As @JonRP says the Chch branch of the BMW Car Club is firing up again with @Paul Bradfield leading the charge. Get involved!

Pete from Welly

Thanks! 

Not sure which specific ones yet, angling for some 18's. Quite like the look of the ZHP's, was keen on ones but turned out to be a shoddy set. Just keeping an eye out really, don't want to spend a stupid amount.

68's will do for now, have plenty of tread left on the tyres so not in much of a hurry. Need to take care of the mechanics of it first anyway. Wondering if it's worth getting spacers for the meantime though, they sit stupidly deep inside the arch, doesn't look right. 20mm rear and 10/12mm front should be optimal from what I've read? 

Edited November 26, 2019 by Vass
Typo

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

8 minutes ago, JonRP said:

Hi all,  has anyone seen my factory spec'd 18" before?

S2BAA

BMW LA Wheel Double Spoke 88

Paul might need to be a member of the car club 1st to take charge lol.  We are catching up this Friday to work out an action plan for the Chch branch.  Wel has certainly set a fine example to follow!

Re the wheels - yours are after market as the Style 88s look like this: http://www.bmwstylewheels.com/bmw/88 

And yes! @Paul Bradfield hope you're making it official and joining soon!

[Karter16 404]

On 11/27/2019 at 12:04 AM, JonRP said:

I wish there was a way to confirm about my wheels as I'm under the impression the factory part code S2BA BMW LA Wheel Double Spoke 88 refer to these genuine wheels as they are the original 18" from new as per Information Sheet supplied with the car and are different from standard style 88 I thought

I don't think that "S2BA BMW LA Wheel Double Spoke 88" refers to something different to the "standard" style 88's. If you have a look at the below that's the exact description applied to the style 88. S2BA is just the option code that describes the style 88's. http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E46-Sedan/Europe/318i-M43/sep1998/browse/wheels/bmw_la_wheel_double_spoke_88/

[qube 3570]

Your car, being a facelift non msport E46, would have come on factory 16" wheels Style 88 out of the factory.

The original owner of the car could have requested for the 18's possibly but these do not resemble any of the bmw styles so most likely they are aftermarket.

If it is indeed aftermarket and not one from a reputable brand, I personally wouldnt bother to refurbish them because the costs can be significant and might be better off to go for a higher quality wheel but its obviously your choice. You should know pretty quickly with the stamps (or lack of) on the inside of the wheel when they come off the car.

[qube 3570]

I cant understand the logic to spend $1500 to refurbish wheels which may or may not be brand name.

For this kind of price I would hope they are forged wheels not cast but judging from the photos and the chrome look finish I would say these are most likely cast wheels. It doesnt look like flow forged either because this is a relatively newer tech and these wheels are definitely an older style/design from 10+ years ago.

You can buy very good quality reputable aftermarket wheels for around $1500 these days btw. wheels are not as expensive as they once were back in the days.

 

[qube 3570]

Interesting turn of events! If work japan then worth a pretty penny and worthwhile to refurb. Well done!!

[JonRP 59]

On 11/26/2019 at 11:39 PM, TermiPeteNZ said:

Re the wheels - yours are after market as the Style 88s look like this: http://www.bmwstylewheels.com/bmw/88 

And yes! @Paul Bradfield hope you're making it official and joining soon!

Hi Pete @TermiPeteNZ my apologies as you where 100% correct with my wheels being after market.  

[Olaf 3317]

Don't worry Jon, the Originality Police will be kept busy counting rivets at the Land Rover club for the next six decades ?

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

14 hours ago, JonRP said:

Hi Pete @TermiPeteNZ my apologies as you where 100% correct with my wheels being after market.  

No need to apologise ...just having fun in anorak territory!

[Vass 830]

Heya,

Wee bit of an update in the midst of all this wheel chat

So after the whole weekend of tearing the front end and half the engine apart, spilling fluids all over the place, countless frustrations, glasses of wine and trips back and forth to Supercheap, finally the first new parts have gone back on the car in the form of the CCV system and all the hoses. Still some ways to go but feeling absolutely pumped to have broken the back of it to move onto the reassembly. Just chipping away at it in the evenings after work and will dig in properly over the weekend, hoping (somewhat optimistically) to get her back up and running before Christmas. Still got the VANOS to rebuild, thermostat, water pump, all new belts, pulleys, tensioners, radiator hoses etc to go on along with fresh fluids and spark plugs, with a top of cleaning inbetween it all. Exciting times, hope I haven't made a mess of anything in the process

Will hopefully have more good news just around the corner.

Cheers

[Vass 830]

Suppose I'd better close this chapter before embarking on a new thread.

Long story short, after going on Christmas break, I spent the next 4 days doing 12-hour shifts meticulously cleaning and reassembling everything that I'd taken apart. All the brand new parts went on without issues and, no "spare" bolts left at the end of it all. She fired up first go with the only minor issue being the brand new coolant sensor turning out to be faulty. All that was left was this pile of ancient bits replaced with new ones:

With new VANOS seals, spark plugs and cleaned throttle body, valve and MAF sensor it definitely felt more responsive and nimble, as well as becoming less thirsty by about a liter per 100km. Gave her a good thorough clean inside-out to top it all off.

Straight after it took us on a grand tour around the South Island, all the way down to Milford Sounds, Invercargill and Dunedin before shooting all the way up to Abel Tasman along the West Coast, doing a few Great Walks along the way.

All in all clocked up close to 4,500km along some of the best bits of road I've ever driven, falling in love with the car and the scenery all over again, wee Bambi behaving immaculately throughout, with the only trouble caused by a tired old battery that was promptly replaced.

Sadly, after about a year-and-a-half of ownership and much deliberation, I decided it was time to part ways. I wanted to take the car up to a higher standard, which would involve investing increasingly unreasonable amounts of money into things like suspension and break upgrades, as well as possibly a full or partial respray. In the end I figured if I was going to go down that route, I might as well do it with a car that I was going to be able to justify keeping longer term, and unfortunately, I didn't see that car being a coupe. I was still very keen to stick with the E46 platform, so when a black 325i E46 Touring came up for sale, I went ahead and jumped on it.

That car is a whole new can of worms deserving a whole thread of its own (which I promise to be more consistent with). Coming soon...

As for Bambi, after a longer than hoped for sales process, probably drawn out by my "knowing what I've got", she found a new home with a couple from Wellington back in October, a day short of my 2 years of ownership. Never easy letting go of something you'd put so much effort into, but at the same happy knowing I left her in better shape than I'd gotten her for the new owners to enjoy. Hoping she's well taken care of in her new home.

Give her a wave if you see her roaming around up there.

Onto new ventures and adventures.

Edited December 22, 2021 by Vass

[BozzaFC 300]

I love to see these cars being used properly! 
 

Great stuff mate. Will keep an eye out for it in Welly 😃

[Sammo 2544]

Very jealous of that roadtrip!

Love driving in the South Island but only ever done it in rental Toyotas