Eagle 1662 Report post Posted July 28, 2022 3 hours ago, adro said: @Eagle had already done the hard work and found where to find these unusually hard to find part numbers and posted them in his thread. It's a little confusing as my headers are quite different to the diagram and the DIY tutorials all over the internet. Will have to thank @Palazzo then because i had never heard of Spareto until 4 mths ago. Certainly used them a number of times since as they have good pricing on what they do have, and luckily they listed them\ cross reference them to the BMW part numbers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Palazzo 477 Report post Posted July 28, 2022 19 minutes ago, Eagle said: Will have to thank @Palazzo then because i had never heard of Spareto until 4 mths ago. Certainly used them a number of times since as they have good pricing on what they do have, and luckily they listed them\ cross reference them to the BMW part numbers. To be fair, I’d never heard of them until about 8 months ago when someone here (Mean?) suggested them. I used them last week, 4 days from order to delivery and only 39% of the cost of local including delivery. I should have ordered more parts, the delivery was more than the parts. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted July 29, 2022 (edited) Fell victim to a puncture yesterday. Pretty annoyed as these tyres are pretty new and of course it found the wider (more expensive) rear. shop reckoned it wasn’t repairable so got a new one overnight. Very happy with Tyre Clinics service. Not so happy with PCB builders who have been working down the road where I picked it up. Edited July 29, 2022 by adro 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted July 30, 2022 Little follow up. - Wheel is back on with new tyre. Randomly the price was $346….my number plate is DQZ346! - Bank 2 o2 sensor is in, what a PITA. Glad that’s a 160,000km service interval item! - installed new white LED fog bulbs. Before: After: 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 831 Report post Posted July 30, 2022 Good stuff! Where'd you source those for lights? Looking awesome. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted August 21, 2022 (edited) 225,000km Oil service. Figured Id try some engine flush, but when I dropped the oil it wasn’t missing any so maybe it’s not burning like it was before…either way, no harm done. i picked up 2 cans of Castrol Edge 5W-30 from repco @$54 for 5L. Chucked some Ceratec in too. Got the Liqui Moly stuff from Harrys Euro. Was cheaper than buying it local despite the shipping. My Aliexpress fog lights lasted a week before one side stopped working so put the originals back in. Pay for what you get eh. I had a weird thumping noise when going over bumps coming from below the handbrake/rear console. Figured it was Guibo or CSB so loaded up the FCP cart in preparation for a refresh but after getting under the car I found one of the exhaust hanger brackets was missing a bolt and the other was only just threaded in. tightened up the exisiting bolt and will order another 2 as the other bracket is also missing one. Sounds gone today so will be ‘saving those items for later’ on the fcp cart. Was kinda looking forward to doing some wrenching but time wise it was going to be a bit annoying as I’m halfway through making the garage space nicer. Edited August 21, 2022 by adro 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted August 21, 2022 Those bolts are pretty common. Sure ive got plenty around if you can find anything local. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 831 Report post Posted August 21, 2022 Yeah I should have a few spares as well, or just scavenge Pick-A-Part. Not much point buying new. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted August 21, 2022 Thanks @Eagle and @Vass I'll see what I can chase down locally. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted November 2, 2022 (edited) 227,000km WOF time. Failed on a leaking front left shock. This was pretty annoying as they are only 14k old but it seems the dust boot has shredded and maybe got sucked into the shock breaking the seal. Looking back through this thread you can see the dust boots the shop put on originally are very baggy…classic scenario of $10 part shags a $300 shock. Anyway, new shock in (another Bilstein B4) with a new (bmw specific this time) dust boot and new ‘updated’ E46 wipers from BMW and the WOF sticker is on! And off to Bunnings for some insulation to make the house healthy homes compliant. Edited November 2, 2022 by adro 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted November 2, 2022 Probably a $10 strut mate dust boot. Last about long as those shitty stretchy rack boots. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted November 2, 2022 1 hour ago, Eagle said: Probably a $10 strut mate dust boot. Last about long as those shitty stretchy rack boots. Yeah, the OEM boot is really short, like 1/3 the length of these things. Real oversight on my behalf. They charged me $50 per bump stop which I’m guessing were bmw from the high price, but chucked on these ghetto dust boots instead of getting bmw ones while they were at it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted November 29, 2022 228,000 km Not quite the same angle but pretty close. 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2425 Report post Posted November 29, 2022 Style 68 are such a simple, classic wheel and an easy visual upgrade from lower spec wheels. Lovely looking car. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted February 2 (edited) 229,xxx km Picked up the car from storage this week (12 months). WOF & Rego and then things went a bit pear shaped. Started with central locking issues, moved into abs, handbrake, battery light trifecta and ended with a dead flat battery in the middle of CBD. New battery, new alternator and I think everything is ok. 2 hours waiting for AA. Old one New one overnight via A1 auto electrical. Looking very clean in a not so clean engine bay. Real sweet DIY replacing one of these...it's been a while since i have done any wrenching but i was quickly reminded how DIY friendly the E46 is. I did locate some GM5 relays from chch via get connected however I think* the battery and alternator have cured the locking issue so have ordered relays from overseas at a lot lower cost and plan to replace those in the future, cause man it's a real pain in the ass when only the drivers door unlocks. Edited February 2 by adro 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted February 2 Wasnt just worn brushes was it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted February 2 2 hours ago, Eagle said: Wasnt just worn brushes was it? Don’t think so, they looked fine When I get some spare time I’ll look to test/rebuild the old unit. Looks like a fun project. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BozzaFC 300 Report post Posted February 2 Nice work @adro! Hope life is going well for you 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted February 2 12 hours ago, adro said: Don’t think so, they looked fine Yeah they dont look that worn. Having 'rebuilt' one of these anything beyond the regulator\brushes and the slip ring replacement is a major ramp up in time\effort (if you can find the parts). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted February 2 1 hour ago, Eagle said: Yeah they dont look that worn. Having 'rebuilt' one of these anything beyond the regulator\brushes and the slip ring replacement is a major ramp up in time\effort (if you can find the parts). Yeah Aaron at A1 quoted me the prices of the regulator and the stator and at they were quite steep! I think this one may have already been rebuilt too as there was lots of paint dots on all the bolts? But maybe that’s also a factory thing. Just back in the country with 1 car I really just need this thing to go. In hindsight my expectations were maybe a bit high storing a 22 year old car and expecting everything to work after 12months. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted February 2 Lots of Bosch ones ive seen are remanufactured, could well be one of them, they probably re-use certain components. What was the battery doing over the 12 mths? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted February 3 7 hours ago, Eagle said: Lots of Bosch ones ive seen are remanufactured, could well be one of them, they probably re-use certain components. What was the battery doing over the 12 mths? Battery was suppose to be trickle charged but when I picked up the car the clock had been reset so I assume it had been left at the back of the facility for a while. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adro 1083 Report post Posted February 6 Car is behaving as it should now. Have done about 100km round town driving and it's good. I have an annoying noise mostly coming from the drivers window/door. The recommended (thanks bimmersport) gummi pflege looks like it has to come from overseas so might be a while before that arrives. I let the tyres down tonight to 36 PSI (I had pumped them up for storage) and that has made a bit of a difference to the comfort but not to the noise. Will get into some maintenance soon but in the mean time it's back to daily duties. Maintenance items on the cards. - New soft brake lines all round - Expansion tank (pretty sure it's still the original) - Trailing arm bushings - Transmission mounts - Diff bushings - Tensioner spring - 02 pilot mod - RTV thermostat housing to see if it stops the small drip, otherwise replace that. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harper 548 Report post Posted February 7 I think white might be the E46's best colour. Looks ace 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted February 7 If you doing trailing arm, diff bushes and hoses its not much more work to drop the whole subframe and makes doing the bushings way easier. Ive got a spare subframe with all new bushings, too bad you are a bit far away and probably expensive shipping otherwise id offer it. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
