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televiper posted:xi's are more complicated than the rest, and early e46s had issues with rear subframe tearing, but other than that, rock out with your card out. Speaking of subframe tearing, was the E46 subframe tearing issue ever fixed* or does it affect the entire product run? Are there models that are more susceptible than others? * from the factory, not including the weld-in reinforcement kits
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May 29, 2013 04:50
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An e46 xi is going to be a totally different car than an e30, more than you'd expect. I'm saying that because if you're looking at e30s for the same reason most people get e30s for, you probably wouldn't be interested in an e46. If it's just a price thing then it's just apples / oranges stuff, they're both good pretty good cars. That said i looked at a ton of cheap e46s because beat up e46s were what every dealership was trying to sell me when I checked them for e30s. Don't get your hopes up until you check it out in person. There are a lot of expensive pitfalls with that car and there's a lot of sadly neglected e46s out there. Even if it looks really nice don't buy that car without a PPI because rear subframe tearing is an issue that you don't want to mess around with. It's worth the 100 bux to have someone lift it up and take a look at the underside of the rear subframe. Above poster: I'm pretty sure its all e46s,especially higher power rwd models and wagons, also z3 and z3ms, early models were more heavily affected and failure rates are more like 1 to 2 percent in later models. Also happens in the e36 compact I've heard. Also I can give you a much better rundown of things to look for on an e46 later if you want, I just ran out of time to post. Drunken Lullabies fucked around with this message at 05:19 on May 29, 2013 |
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May 29, 2013 05:12
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Yeah, I'd appreciate it too. Is there any routine maintenance that can be done to prevent this or is an eventuality on these cars?
ehnus fucked around with this message at 06:18 on May 29, 2013 |
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May 29, 2013 06:03
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ehnus posted:Yeah, I'd appreciate it too. Is there any routine maintenance that can be done to prevent this or is an eventuality on these cars? It either happens or it doesn't. There are a few reinforcement or brace kits out there from Turner and Mason. My local BMW dealership did the inspection on my 65,000 mile 2004 M3 for free in 2010 when I mentioned the TSB, but I don't know if they still do. No problems were found on mine. I think the issue was exaggerated on the various forums, but it is a real issue on the e46 and e36 from what I've seen.
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May 29, 2013 08:10
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ehnus posted:Speaking of subframe tearing, was the E46 subframe tearing issue ever fixed* or does it affect the entire product run? Are there models that are more susceptible than others? Supposedly it was mostly fixed in the factory when the e46 series changed from 323/328 to 325/330
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May 29, 2013 13:07
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Captain Postal posted:Supposedly it was mostly fixed in the factory when the e46 series changed from 323/328 to 325/330 This is my understanding as well, when I asked about it while having the free dealer check done after the class action and the service guy said the majority of the ones he's seen were '99-01, so the partial fix seems to have come with the facelift. The reports I've seen on various forums of it happening on later models are generally limited to those that are tracked and/or have significant power upgrades (i.e. forced induction, not just an intake/exhaust or tune).
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May 29, 2013 16:58
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The biggest factor is how it was driven of course, but a lightly driven early e46 could have an untorn but defective rear subframe waiting to tear from age wear. This explains why enthusiasts see higher failure rates.
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May 29, 2013 19:02
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televiper posted:xi's are more complicated than the rest, and early e46s had issues with rear subframe tearing, but other than that, rock out with your card out. I'll let you (all) know how it goes. I don't lose anything by looking - it's about 3 miles away.
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May 30, 2013 03:52
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So the passenger side xenon headlight on my 07 E87 1 series is acting a bit odd - when I turn on the headlights, they come on ok, then after around 10 seconds the left headlight blinks three times, then stays on ok. The car reports a "passenger side dipped beam failure" on the i-drive. If I turn off the car and then on again the code is cleared until the next time I switch the lights on. What do you guys think; is this likely to be a bulb failure or ballast? (I'm hoping not the ballast!)
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May 30, 2013 07:09
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plecostomus posted:So the passenger side xenon headlight on my 07 E87 1 series is acting a bit odd - when I turn on the headlights, they come on ok, then after around 10 seconds the left headlight blinks three times, then stays on ok. The car reports a "passenger side dipped beam failure" on the i-drive. Probably an issue with the auto-leveling feature. Park somewhere that you could easily see the power-on leveling check and see if that one moves up and down like the other.
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May 30, 2013 14:52
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So this weekend, I'm planning on replacing my final stage unit, my upper and lower intake boots and cleaning my ICV on my E46. How bad will I hate myself after this?
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May 31, 2013 00:09
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I had 2 cylinders misfire last night (1 and 5)on my 2004 325xi. I got the codes from my Torque app, and actually ended up clearing them through it, and the SES has not returned so that part at least was a one time event. What its exactly doing: Starts and idles perfectly and normally. When I pull away and slowly give it gas, it starts sputtering-like it's losing power, up until ~2k RPM's, then it smooths out and drives like normal. It has actually done this for a long time, but it's always been incredibly quick and only would do it occasionally and when the car is cold. I've chalked it up to needing a new VANOS (which I'd replace the plugs and wires getting to it as well), and have been putting it off. But last night, it kept doing it, and got a lot worse. When I was at a stop light, when the misfires happened, the car shuddered and just had no power. Turning it off, then on again made everything happy, and it returned to normal. Then after a few minutes of driving, it slowly starts losing power again, shudders to the point where I just can no longer accelerate. Turning the engine off and on again immediately fixes it. I even just did it N (turn the key off, then back on) while in traffic so I could avoid the cars behind me freaking out. This all happened directly after using my air conditioning. I used it for the first time the prior day without incident. When I left work the next day, I let the car warm up like normal, popped the AC on (it was 92F or something out) and started to pull away and it did the massive stuttering. I turned the AC off, and drove home like normal without incident. A couple hours later when I picked a couple friends up, who demanded the AC be put on, all the problems surfaced, and it was a stupid night. So far, the next day, everything seems OK. It stuttered a little tiny bit, but I drove around for 25 minutes, and nothing bad at all happened. I made an appointment with my BMW dealer, but my appointment isn't for 20 days. Which cannot be a good sign for a BMW dealership! So, I'm going to hope I can get through these next few weeks, and that's why I'm posting pretty much. I'm going to buy new plugs and plug wires, and change them. I went through all the receipts I have, and it appears they have never been replaced in the 83k miles the car has, so it sounds like a good place to start. If anyone has any suggestions for anything else I should check, or possibly replace that's not overly complex I'm all ears. I'm going to purchase these from ECS Tuning, if anyone thinks differently too NGK plugs.
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Jun 1, 2013 15:01
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Your car doesn't really have plug wires it has coil boots. Chances are your misfire is bad coil packs. Remove all six and check them with a multimeter. Replace the bad ones.
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Jun 1, 2013 15:15
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e46 chat e46 AWD or e90 AWD? I am seriously looking at a 3 series, time to replace my 2003 mazda 6 four banger. Needs to be manual and awd. I am scared of runflats, should I be? It looks like they are around $400 per tire so $1600 to replace. e46 seem pretty decent, just bad water pumps and windows motors. Subframe stuff looks to be sorted on the later models. e46 AWD seem simple and reliable. Finding a clean 2005 awd 6 speed 330 seems hard, but not imposible. I am not sure about the e90. I have been reading for 2 days or so about e46 / e90s but I am sure I don't know everything. e90s have runflats, no oil stick, some clutch valve that make shifting feel strange, awd(?) and ??? I'm an old man (34) have 3 kids and also have a Mazda 5 van for family stuff. I need a sedan with a manual transmission, fwd or awd are a must. I would love a wagon, but finding a awd wagon with a manual is pretty much impossible (this is awesome http://tinyurl.com/m333ak3) It's ok if it is not fast I have two motorcycles to scratch that itch, but needs to be fun. I have wanted a 3 series for 10 years or so, now I can afford one but I am still a little scared of the maintenance. I know of two independent BMW shops around that seem to be decent, have tools and willing to do my own work to a degree. I guess this is a bit of a what should I buy post.... am I crazy for looking to replace a 10 year old car with a 8 year old car that cost 4x as much? Should I just up my budget and get a e90 330xi? I think I can find them from 15k t0 20k. Forget it and get an Audi? VW tdi jetta wagon? e34 m5  ? I've spent to much time thinking about this the last week and now I am even less clear on what to do.EDIT: I don't drive much, 6 miles a day or so and maybe once a month a long trip on the weekends (200 - 300 miles) Mostly I take the van everywhere so I won't be putting many miles on whatever I get. This is what scared me away from the TDIs, even thought I quite like them. Short 2 - 3 mile trips twice a day sound really bad for the diesel engine in the long run. spandexcajun fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Jun 1, 2013 |
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Jun 1, 2013 20:09
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Well, E90 AWD system > E46 AWD system. The e46 "Xi" system is just an open center differential with a fixed 38F/62R torque split. The only thing that controls power to the wheels is the stability control which brakes a spinning wheel. It's nice in that it's dead simple, but don't expect it to be anywhere near as good as a subaru or audi. And if you turn the stability control off you have no wheel slip control - one wheel on ice would mean no wheels (front or rear) will provide any torque. The e90 uses the same style of center diff and adds an electronically controlled clutchpack. The torque can be varied from a 50/50 split to full RWD. Stability control is still used to transfer between left/right on the same axle. The e46 AWD models are also not great handlers. Higher ride height and worse front shock travel spoils the handling on them. You can lower them to about the stock ride height of a sport pkg e46 but be ready to buy CV axles. Do you really need AWD? A RWD BMW with stability/traction control will get you through some pretty nasty conditions with GOOD winter tires. I've been winter driving my 328is for 3 years and it sees lots of snow.
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Jun 1, 2013 20:34
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Crustashio posted:
I could, I guess. I took over the Mazda 6 from my wife 2 - 3 years ago and it is the first fwd car I have had. Everything else was rwd or a 4x4 truck / suv. I live in Denver, so I only need the awd like 5 - 10 days a year in town, but when you need it you need it. But I like snowboarding / other wintersports and need to drive up I-70 every few weeks. That just sucks with rwd when it's snowy / ice out. I think I am over the whole second set of wheels / tires / putting on chains. All though I guess there is no reason I could not take the van, it is fwd... it's tempting even though I know better.
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Jun 1, 2013 21:01
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Yeah without trying to run you off or crush your dreams, having a RWD well-handling machine is kind of the whole motivation to buy a BMW sedan. Mandating a roundel and AWD seems kind of at cross purposes. What's the backstory on that? E: Hah, timing. To be honest I would take an e46 and an e90, both RWD, out on a rainy day, and see how you feel about them.
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Jun 1, 2013 21:03
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 BORING BACKSTORY 3 years ago my wife was pregent with out second child. My son was 7 - 8 at the time and we were going to have a baby to go with him. I was driving a 92 Nissan Pathfinder that I had owned for 10+ years. It was awesome, almost had 200,000 miles on it and I loved it. But it was also a pice of poo poo and not a great family car. My wife had the Mazda 6, good appliance car, cheap, reliable, good on gas. The plan was for me to get a new car, probably a wagon of some sort, newer, safer, ready for a baby and all that. The we found out we were having twins. All the sudden we needed a bigger car that could hold 2 car seat, 8 years and me and wife. Third row was a must. All vehicle meeting that criteria sucked (lovely SUVs) or were to expensive (35k for a Honda Oddesy? gently caress right of) Thus the Mazda 5 was chosen, my wife got it and I took her boring appliance car. Now, it’s old and I am sick of it. Time to go. I still like the three series, because all “Roundel” history, racing heritage, ultimate driving machine stuff aside, they are basicly just really nice sedans (fancy Accords / Camerys. or maybe fancy Civic / trecels) And that is what I need, regardless of my wants. A appliance sedan. But why not get a nice one if I can afford it? Somewhat less performance due to AWD is ok with me, I’m not taking it to the track / autocrossing it. I’m driving to work or the grocery store. Any time I can find for “spirited” driving around the mountains is pretty well taken by my motorcycles. But you guys do have good points, I know the “right” thing to do is just get a 3 - 5 year old Mazda 3 and be happy with it, "but, but a BMW only cost a little more!” poo poo, you guys are too rational for me right now, off to the Audi thread! Or off to test drive a e90. Something like that 
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Jun 1, 2013 21:45
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I'm 600 miles from home with SES lights on and a motor pic with a slash thru it. It is amber and the manual says I can keep driving, just at reduced speed. Pulled P3090 and P124E along with cyl 2 and 5 misfire. I feel sure the HPFP is going to die, but I'm in BFE, no rental cars till tomorrow at ten, and I'd be leaving the 2007 335i here till next weekend. Do I risk the drive? There are some really remote areas between here and there. Day two with this car, gently caress me.
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Jun 1, 2013 23:50
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THE BLACK NINJA posted:I'm 600 miles from home with SES lights on and a motor pic with a slash thru it. It is amber and the manual says I can keep driving, just at reduced speed. Pulled P3090 and P124E along with cyl 2 and 5 misfire. I feel sure the HPFP is going to die, but I'm in BFE, no rental cars till tomorrow at ten, and I'd be leaving the 2007 335i here till next weekend. It took a couple months of attempted fixes before they finally gave up and just replaced all the coilpacks and injectors with the newer revisions. The HPFP wasn't at fault. My gas mileage was worse than usual, but it never left me stranded in that time period, so you're probably in OK shape if it's the same thing.
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Jun 2, 2013 01:06
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I'm just completely floored at how good the E9X M3 is to live with day to day. Without a doubt this will be the finest vehicle I will ever own.
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Jun 2, 2013 02:56
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I was going down a road and hit a rather rough, nearly invisible speed bump and the fan of my AC immediately died. Good thing this happened on the first day of June when I definitely don't need AC. Now to find out how much that cost later this week.
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Jun 2, 2013 04:52
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Fits like a glove.
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Jun 2, 2013 05:33
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Just did the clutch job on the e39 540i. Pretty happy with how it all went. Little bit of problems getting the pilot bearing out, but renting a tool from O'reilly took care of that. Top of the bellhousing is a total bitch to get to, but that's to be expected, and none of the E-torx bolts stripped! Only thing I didn't replace was the output shaft seal, because it looked hard to remove the output flange. Also I removed the driveshaft instead of just moving it, which lead to me discovering there's a CV joint at the end, with a torn seal, that I didn't have..... I repacked the grease, but I'll need to deal with it soon, it's only going to get worse now that it's been apart. Pedal feels much better, can't wait till it's broken it. It's weird deliberately slipping it when I'm starting though...
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Jun 2, 2013 09:31
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krysmopompas posted:2008 535xi here and had the same happen to me recently too. I had a rough idle and inconsistent idle speed in addition to those codes - the SES corrected itself after a few days of driving too. Well I cleared to codes and drove it. About SN hour from my house, the half slashed amber motor symbol popped up again. According to the display I'm also overdue for an oil change and about to need spark plugs. I guess it could be plugs? Will pull more codes today but then I'm letting family use the car for a fe days (they know whats up though). I was about to buy an HPFP and some tools and install it, glad I just drove. Are bimmer mechanics to be trusted? Can they accurately diagnose stuff? At Subaru they are 99% worthless monkeys
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Jun 2, 2013 16:10
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MrChips posted:So this weekend, I'm planning on replacing my final stage unit, my upper and lower intake boots and cleaning my ICV on my E46. How bad will I hate myself after this? I did my final stage a while back. It wasn't too bad to replace. The upper boot= easy. The lower boot, because of the orientation of the existing hose clamps, pain in the rear end. Might as well clean out your throttle body while you're down there too.
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Jun 2, 2013 16:23
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Crustashio posted:Fits like a glove. Where do you get nice, purpose-built tire covers like that?
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Jun 3, 2013 01:03
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^^^You can get them (or something like them) through Tire Rack. http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/detail.jsp?ID=62&category=Tire+Storage Frank Dux posted:I did my final stage a while back. It wasn't too bad to replace. The upper boot= easy. The lower boot, because of the orientation of the existing hose clamps, pain in the rear end. Might as well clean out your throttle body while you're down there too. The final stage was tricky because I have big hands; nothing a bit of patience and swearing couldn't fix. The upper boot was fine (no surprise there), but after fighting with the clamps on the lower boot for an hour or so, I decided to hell with it and just cut the clamps off - took 30 seconds. I also made sure I put the new clamps on in such a way that it won't be as much of a hassle next time. I also did the German Auto Solutions DISA valve repair - worked perfectly (thanks for pointing it out Guinness), so no I have no more rattle and no more whistle under the hood! 
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Jun 3, 2013 01:56
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 Laser alignment to set the wheels straight. The car only had one owner before me who drove it 120,000 miles, so he probably didn't feel it go all out of whack over time. After the alignment the car feels 700lbs lighter as the wheels are now all pointing the same way instead of pulling in four different directions! Also, gently caress runflats.
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Jun 3, 2013 20:44
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Well the dealership replaced my HPFP and claims the car is running like it should be. Guess we'll find out when I pick it up!
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Jun 3, 2013 22:42
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Crustashio posted:The e46 AWD models are also not great handlers. Higher ride height and worse front shock travel spoils the handling on them. You can lower them to about the stock ride height of a sport pkg e46 but be ready to buy CV axles. How very odd. Koirhor posted:I'm just completely floored at how good the E9X M3 is to live with day to day. Without a doubt this will be the finest vehicle I will ever own. Yes, except the 15mpg-ish mileage over ownership. 
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Jun 4, 2013 01:07
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BlackMK4 posted:
well yes there is that but a tank of gas lasts my wife in her car for 2 months so it evens out
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Jun 4, 2013 01:13
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15-18mpg day-to-day is easier to live with when you've reduced the size of your fleet so that there is less insurance/registration/inspection/maintenance to pay. Besides, I have a 60mpg vehicle to take to work during spring/summer/fall months, so it evens out somewhat. And, because M3.
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Jun 4, 2013 12:00
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If you spend 60-80k on a vehicle then kvetch about MPG you're doing something very wrong.
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Jun 4, 2013 19:15
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Das Volk posted:If you spend 60-80k on a vehicle then kvetch about MPG you're doing something very wrong. I mean, yeah good MPG is nice, but seriously, your buying the closest you will ever get to a race car with out it actually being a race car. I didn't buy my 550i with good gas millage in mind. I intended on buying a rocket ship that is comfortable on a long drive. Good MPG is derived from driving it sanely.
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Jun 4, 2013 19:19
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Das Volk posted:If you spend 60-80k on a vehicle then kvetch about MPG you're doing something very wrong. How about 120k http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/volkswagen-xl1-concept-first-drive-review
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Jun 4, 2013 19:39
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Crustashio posted:Fits like a glove. Das Volk posted:Where do you get nice, purpose-built tire covers like that? Those covers are adjustable for a wide range of tire sizes - they're a long strip of fabric with lots of velcro that you can easily tighten onto your tire. The way the handle is positioned relative to the velcro means it actually seems to tighten when you pick up your tire. I like them very much. Like I said, mine came from Canadian Tire but with the Goodyear brand I'm sure you can find them lots of places. Last night's autocross included a warning from a couple of people that my 328is is making some rather alarming clunking around some corners. I was too busy making terrible, time-wasting mistakes dodging cones to more than simply notice the sounds, but one of the marshals told me it was specific to when my suspension is unloading from driver's side to passenger side; that is, when I come out of a hard right turn (lean to the left) and start into a hard left turn (lean to the right). Just as I pass level, *CLUNK*. There are other clunks coming from (I think) the trunk (I always forget to remove the spare tire for Auto-X runs - it's held down by that little bolt in the middle, but I think it can slide about 1/4 inch) and the differential (especially when putting it in first when at a dead stop, e.g. at a red light that turns green). But this extra-loud one is probably the rear suspension. New shocks & springs?
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Jun 5, 2013 19:01
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ExecuDork posted:*CLUNK* Did you already check your swaybar end links? They clunk on weight transfer if they're failing or are loose.
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Jun 5, 2013 19:10
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Jonny 290 posted:Yeah without trying to run you off or crush your dreams, having a RWD well-handling machine is kind of the whole motivation to buy a BMW sedan. Mandating a roundel and AWD seems kind of at cross purposes. What's the backstory on that? I can't speak for the old ix/xi/whatevers, but the F30 335i xDrive with the ZDH handling package is shitloads of fun in Sport+ mode. I test drove a RWD M Sport first and didn't feel like I lost much if anything going to AWD. You do have to get the 335i to have a manual option with AWD though. My last car was a 350Z so it's not like I hate RWD or anything.
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Jun 5, 2013 20:48
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televiper posted:Did you already check your swaybar end links? They clunk on weight transfer if they're failing or are loose.
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Jun 6, 2013 01:19
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