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Went to finally replace my intake camshaft position sensor to fix the intermittent P0344 I've had for a while now, unfortunately not only did I not have the proper tools to finish the job I also broke something else. The plastic hose with tape on it is the broken item in question. It was fairly brittle and simply cracked when I attempted to remove it. 1. What is that? 2. Is a heavy wrapping with tape a sufficient fix? (I have redone it more cleanly since the pic, it's Gorilla Tape) 3. How much of a bitch is it to replace the part? I haven't a clue where the other end is. Also, can someone tell me the proper size wrench for the VANOS part I have to remove to get at that sensor? All I know is it's larger than anything I have.
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Jun 15, 2009 00:19
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peterjmatt posted:2. No, it should be replaced. An air leak at your valve cover will cause mixture issues. Crap. That's what I was fearing. It's only a $25 part online from what I've found, but it does seem to be a bitch. The car ran fine with no additional codes aside from the P0344 I was attempting to fix today when I took it back to the garage, but since I don't know what the behind-the-scenes effects are, what should I do until I can replace the hose? Is this a "don't drive long trips, but the short round trip to work is ok" thing or more of a "prepare to owe friends gas money until the part arrives" thing? Fortunately my roommate works at the same place and we have company cars I can probably borrow, but I'd rather drive a BMW in a limited manner versus a company Kia if possible.
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Jun 15, 2009 03:28
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When looking at E36 sedans, would there be any reason I might desire a OBD2 model for a weekend/track toy? At the moment, I'm looking exclusively at pre-OBD2 models so I can have more flexibility with engine management and still be able to get it past emissions. Also, is there a reference page for E36s which would be comparable to Bimmerfest's E46 wiki page? I'm kinda spoiled by that and have found it much harder to locate information on the E36.
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Jul 11, 2009 02:49
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I guess I should have specified that the mid-to-long term plans for this car would include an engine swap (50/50 on if it'll even be a BMW engine) and preferably a Megasquirt setup, thus the bit about flexibility with engine management. Having an OBD2 car in an E-Check county in Ohio means it has to be able to pass the plug test. Megasquirt and many other aftermarket ECUs can't do this, meaning I'd be limited to what could be done with the OEM ECU.
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Jul 11, 2009 05:39
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peterjmatt posted:Ah, if you're yanking the motor then it makes quite a bit more sense. Just out of curiosity, what would you drop in? At the moment that's still very up in the air. Both the S50 and S54 have crossed my mind, as well as the idea of putting a LS1 in there, and even some more absurd ideas like a rotary. Right now the LS1 is leading for simply having the best power bang-for-the-buck, but having never driven an E36 I don't want to lock in my decision until I do, the feel of the car might push me in one way or another. The goal is a track toy that I could still daily drive for short times (if I need to take my E46 off the road for a short time for example).
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Jul 11, 2009 15:35
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Are there any known electronic failure points in the E46 that can lead to a nasty parasitic draw? I've had my (15 month old) battery too flat to start the car twice and barely able to do it once within the last week. I've unplugged my radar detector and HD DICE at night the last few nights to take the aftermarket stuff out of the equation, but yet again this morning I woke up to a car that wouldn't start. Either the battery's hosed or I have something leaking current, but I haven't a clue where to start.
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Jul 24, 2009 14:54
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pkx posted:My 330i ZHP: I was wondering if you posted here...
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Jul 29, 2009 04:03
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OrangeFurious posted:The "Service Engine Soon" light on my e38 came on today. First time since I bought the car, runs fine, etc. Manual says it's emissions related. When a BMW throws the service light, how much does it actually mean it? Mine was on and off for about a year until I got the intermittently failing sensor replaced earlier this week. It seemed to be pretty accurate, rarely did it come on or switch off without a corresponding change in how much the car felt like idling properly. That was for a hosed intake camshaft position sensor, so YMMV. If it's emissions related and you don't have inspections in your state, it's probably not too important, but I'm sure if you post the code here someone will tell you for sure.
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Aug 1, 2009 21:03
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Forgot to post this last week, but my car hit another milestone on Thursday. I decided it had been long enough that I've been putting off replacing the camshaft sensor, so that and the busted PCV hose are both now fixed. Two problems I've put off for longer than I should have. Of course as it goes with fun cars, you fix one thing and something else breaks. My passenger side real taillight is acting up, so I get the fun of testing and tracing the connections on the LED circuit board. e: OrangeFurious posted:Can you, or anyone really, recommend a good OBDII scanner? I've been meaning to pick one up but don't know the brands well. The only thing I want to stress is make sure whatever device you get supports the protocol used by your cars and/or the cars you want to support. It's easiest to just get a universal adapter, but if you want to save a few bucks you can get one that only supports your protocol. Fords from the mid-90s on up until the mid-00s use J1850 PWM, GMs in the same time period used J1850 VPW, Chryslers and imports tended to use ISO 1941-2. These of course can vary as a result of platform sharing. Over the last few years most manufacturers standardized on ISO 15764 CAN-bus and everything sold in the US from the 2008 model year up is required to support it. For purposes of this thread, 1996 through early '00s (varies by platform) US spec BMWs use ISO 1941-2, newer models use CAN. Some models for other markets may not have any OBD2 functionality. If you only want it to look up codes, clear MILs, and show the emissions test status, they're all the same. If you want a universal cable that will give you full standard OBD2 functionality with PC software, you want something with an ELM327 in it. There are also make-specific cables which can be paired with special software to enable modifications to be made to the car's various ECUs. BMWs and Mercedes (including the Dodge and Freightliner badged Sprinters) are supported by CarSoft, where a large chunk of VAG's vehicle selection is supported by VAG-COM. A basic ELM327 cable can be built by anyone with soldering skills for $40 or so or bought for around $60-100 depending on serial or USB interface (Bluetooth also available from some sellers), a CarSoft or VAG-COM setup is a few hundred dollars. I personally have an ElmScan5 (commercially packaged ELM327 with a serial interface) and a CarSoft cable (with the wrong end, only works with '01 and previous E46s). The ElmScan is nice because it's cheap, works with almost every piece of OBD software out there, and it's compatible with every OBD2 vehicle in existence. I've plugged it in to everything from a 1995 Thunderbird (partial OBD2) to a CAN-bus only 2009 GTI without issues. wolrah fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Aug 3, 2009 |
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Aug 3, 2009 21:04
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Left rear window regulator gave out yesterday and I'm going on a trip tomorrow, so $150 stealership price ($85-100 online if only I could have waited) later I had a new one. For anyone needing to do this or expecting to need to in the future, let me say it's one of the easiest things I've fixed on this car. Using this guide I did it in about an hour, and now having done it once I figure I could probably do it again in under 15 minutes providing the drat weather seal cooperates.
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Aug 7, 2009 04:26
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CornHolio posted:Must be nice not having to drill out any rivets Hah I had to do that when I replaced the glass on my Crown Vic. Not fun.
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Aug 7, 2009 04:49
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peterjmatt posted:Any tears in the foam or voids in the butyl tape may cause leak issues down the line. Crap, I did tear the foam a bit at the bottom. Guess I'm going to be popping the plastic back off and adding some foam tape or something similar tonight. General question on the regulators, is it worth taking apart the other three doors and regreasing the sliding bit, or is the failure more of an age thing rather than the stress of a sticky slide?
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Aug 7, 2009 18:08
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Thirding the DICE if you want iPod control, otherwise just grab a standard aux in plug. I have the DICE HD in my E46 and love it. iPod control (fails somewhat with iPhones, but still usable), separate auxiliary input, and HD Radio all in one box stashed nicely behind my glove compartment. Installation took about an hour, during which it was the first time I'd ever pulled apart the trunk or back seat to run that cable. I'd recommend doing the direct cable connection to the head unit rather than the trunk plug though. My trunk plug gets loose every now and then, causing a bit of ignition feedback until I pop the carpet on that side and reseat it. wolrah fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Aug 11, 2009 |
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Aug 11, 2009 19:56
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VibrioCholera posted:The car isn't going to hurt itself if you bounce it off the rev limiter on accident, no? For some reason I was in manual mode on the SMG when I thought it was auto and next thing I know I'm bouncing the needle off the limiter. Probably is totally fine - just paranoid is all. Limiter is there for a reason. I already have one car burning oil because of jacked up valves and rings I don't need another. The point of the limiter is to prevent bad things from happening, so just don't hold it on the limiter for long periods of time and you're fine there. Stock it's often set conservatively anyways, and a modified tune will often raise it a few hundred RPM. Other than people intentionally putting a brick on the gas pedal to kill the car I've never heard of engine death resulting from revving up to the limiter. Accidentally downshifting too far and forcing the engine to rev far over the limiter (a.k.a. the money shift) is the far more common method of RPM-related engine death, and since you have a SMG that should be impossible as the computer is not supposed to let it happen (though I wouldn't be the one to run up to 6000 in third and try to click down to second to see what happens).
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Aug 23, 2009 17:23
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UncleMeat! posted:I'm looking to buy a 2002 330i, but it looks like the airbag light is lit up on it. Doing some looking online, it seems that I can get this reset at the dealership. There seems to be nothing wrong with the car other than that, and the airbag apparently hasn't been deployed. Is this simply a glitch? or something more serious. My understanding is that if you turn the ignition to the "On" position in the E46 while any parts of the airbag system are disconnected it will set a code that has to be cleared by a dealer. This is often mentioned in speaker upgrade threads, due to the door airbag. I'd still have someone scan the code and see exactly what the problem is before buying though, as I'm sure airbag system parts aren't cheap.
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Sep 11, 2009 20:42
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wwb posted:Apparently BMW keys use superior german radio waves too. Somehow, last night, as I hung out in my house with my keys in my pocket, my car, ~15 feet away from my living room but through a motherfucking solid brick wall, got the key command to "roll down all the motherfucking windows and sunroof". Which sucks bad beacuse it was raining all night. Anyhow, interior soaked and off at a detail shop to get ripped out, dried, cleaned and replaced. Which is costing me $800. In an effort to prevent this from happening, I was wondering if there was a way to disable that function on e39 keys? I also saw something where there is a function that locks it 2 minutes after it is unlocked if no door opened, which I'd like to enable. Finally, if anyone can tell me how to reset the airbag sensor without taking it to a shop it'd be awesome. Any adjustments to the lock and auto-window behavior could be made by anyone with a Carsoft setup. As for the airbag, everything I've read says that's a dealer-only reset.
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Oct 17, 2009 18:11
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:In the US you have pretty much one option, the M21 It's the diesel version of the M20 and came to the US with a turbo strapped to it. I have seen one or two with full engines kicking around in my local pull-a-part. Ha...I now am on a hunt for a diesel Mark VII. I was looking for a Mark VIII when I ended up impulse buying my E46, so getting my hands on a Mark VII with a BMW engine stuck in it from the factory just seems right, no matter how slow it would be.
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Oct 23, 2009 02:10
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Any suggestions for floor mats for an E46 sedan? The velcro things ripped out of both of my front mats and I prefer a thicker rubber mat anyways (especially as an Ohio winter approaches), so I'm in the market.
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Oct 24, 2009 00:18
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I think once next payday comes around it's time to swap out the RE-01Rs for something a bit more appropriate for November in Ohio. For the last two winters I ran Blizzaks of some kind and had a great experience with them, so at the moment I'm fairly well set on the Blizzak WS-60s. Any thoughts? I can't afford money-is-no-object, but I am the type who will eat ramen for a week or two to get something better than I normally would. The Blizzaks are looking to be around $125 a piece on average depending on where I get them from, I'd be willing to go as high as $150 a piece if the gains are worth it.
wolrah fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Nov 3, 2009 |
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Nov 3, 2009 18:59
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Keyser S0ze posted:An E39 is only an inch or two more roomy inside than an E46 Really? I was thinking my next step up would be an E39, either a M5 if I can afford it or a 530i if I can't, post-facelift. Obviously the M5 would be a notable difference from my 325i, but would the lower model? Also, from the teaser Top Gear just posted:  That's right, the big 7 takes on the test track against it's Mercedes competition. wolrah fucked around with this message at 13:44 on Nov 13, 2009 |
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Nov 13, 2009 04:45
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Swapped out the RE01Rs for a set of Blizzak WS60s on steel wheels for the winter. I'm quite happy with how black steel wheels look on it, I wasn't sure if it would be too much black.
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Nov 20, 2009 20:00
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I adjusted my previously all but nonfunctional parking brake last weekend, but this week I've discovered that it seems to only work one way. I can park the car nose down a 15% grade with the lever three clicks up, but if I park it on flat land I can pull the lever as far up as I want and I can still push it backwards. Somehow I have managed to make my parking brake only stop the car from moving forwards. For now that's not an issue, I've been just backing in whenever I need to park in a spot that faces up hill, but as winter approaches I'd prefer to have the rear wheels downhill from the rest of the car so they get more weight and assumedly traction. What did I gently caress up? How can brakes somehow only work one way?
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Dec 4, 2009 20:49
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Jerk McJerkface posted:Can someone point me to where I can buy a tire/rim set? I really like the BMW made wheels, so if I can find those cheap, that'd be great. I can do around a thousand or so for the set. With that budget you'll have to look at the used market for the wheels, at least for OEM most of the desirable ones will put you over budget on wheels alone if you go new ($300-400 each). For reference I just paid around $850 for four Blizzaks and four 16" steel wheels. e: Jerk McJerkface posted:My wife will only drive manuals You lucky bastard. wolrah fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Dec 7, 2009 |
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Dec 7, 2009 22:15
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No specific recommendations unfortunately, I've been drooling over some replicas of the E46 M3 CSL wheel (since the real ones are both expensive and staggered), but even as replicas they're close to $1000 alone. What I'd recommend is hitting Tire Rack's web site to get an idea of a general retail price range for tires and third-party wheels, then if you want to continue looking for OEM wheels head to the various forums and look for someone who just replaced a set of whatever style you like with aftermarket, that should be your cheapest source for good condition OEMs. While Bimmerfest is my favorite of the BMW forums over all, one of the more "show oriented" forums like E46fanatics might be a better source for lightly used OEM parts with all the idiots who think a 3 looks good on 20+" wheels.
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Dec 7, 2009 22:42
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Jerk McJerkface posted:EDIT: Also, I've been looking at an e46 wheels. Dang, I wonder if they'll fit my E90. The bolt pattern is the same, dunno about the offset though, especially when looking at a staggered setup. e: EAS lists the following for E9x staggered configurations with the CSL replicas: 18x8.5" +35mm Front 18x9.5" +33mm Rear e2: found some numbers for OEM "Style 162" wheels F: 18x8 +34 R: 18x8.5 +37 The general consensus from what I've found is that the E46 non-M OEM offset is about 10mm greater than the E9x and that using E46 wheels will require spacers (which make me cringe to even think about), but take it with a grain of salt since I'm just googling while bored. wolrah fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Dec 8, 2009 |
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Dec 8, 2009 23:08
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I have the same issue with it being hard to get in to first, especially when cold. I think your transmission should be the same as mine (E46 2.5L). From what I've found so far it seems to be related to a lack of transmission oil changes thanks to BMW's silliness, and that once it gets bad enough to notice you can't really fix it short of a rebuild but changing the fluid might help a bit. I haven't yet changed my fluid, but it's on the list for Spring. e: don't know how I missed this earlier... Keyser S0ze posted:I'll add that the CSL reps look drat good on the E46 and even the E90-E92's. I recently put on the gunmetal grey ones, they are pretty reasonably priced at under $200 each. wolrah fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Dec 9, 2009 |
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Dec 9, 2009 23:15
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Is it a Subaru in the snow? No, of course not, but you won't die just because it's RWD and sporty. This year I put my RE01Rs on a few weeks too early and ended up caught in a snowstorm with them. Over a seven mile stretch of I-71 there were over 20 cars including a number of 4x4s and a semi in the ditch on each side, but I made it out and back on tires that were pretty much frozen solid and useless for traction. With the Blizzaks on it, I've done some pretty dumb things and had the combination of tires and ESP save my rear end, but never has it stepped out unexpectedly or became hard to control. I learned how to drive on a 2WD 5 speed Ranger in an Ohio winter though and had never driven a FWD in snow until two years ago, so I'm a bit off the norm with winter driving.
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Dec 18, 2009 08:24
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tesko.pk posted:Apart from having a hard-on for the looks of the E34, im also craving a bit more space and power compared to my '04 320i. The deciding factor will be in the test drive, the only other reason would be in clearing my debt on the E46 while I go back to school for a few months to continue my apprenticeship. I don't know how much this will be relevant when E34s are involved, but going from an E46 to an E39 has been brought up by myself and others a few times in this thread and the general response as far as I've seen has been the size difference isn't really noticeable. Power might be, as long as the extra 30 HP (minus whatever's been lost to wear) makes up for the extra 400 lbs. If your 3 is also automatic I'd guess you will notice the extra power, if it's a manual the combination of weight and slushbox will probably cancel it out.
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Dec 31, 2009 19:21
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The Jizzer posted:What's your guys consensus on the styling of the new F10? I think it looks great personally (like a smaller 7) , but apparently that is the same reason so many people on the BMW boards hate it. I think the E60 looks dated in comparison. Not that the E60 is a bad looking car, though. I don't mind the E60, but the F10 is a notable improvement IMO. I can't explain really why, but it just seems more like what a BMW should be.
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Jan 5, 2010 21:31
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How dead are the brake pads when the pad wear idiot light comes on? I've known since putting on my winter tires that the brakes would be in need of work soon, but I'm hoping I can put it off until spring when working in an apartment parking lot is a bit more appealing. Along the same lines, any recommendations for what pads to get? I don't think I'll need new rotors, but I'm not against replacing them if there's a tangible performance increase. My driving is mixed city/highway with random hooning about mixed in, so no special high-wear performance parts, but if there's something better than stock but cheaper/same price I'd like to know about it.
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Jan 14, 2010 01:18
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How challenging is the final stage on an E46? Mine has acted up a few times in the past and finally gave out Monday (just when I was leaving to drive to Chicago to enjoy Snowpocalypse 2.0 hitting there). I managed to get it to start the fan back up at full power and have had to leave it there since then, but as annoying as that is I think I might wait for warmer weather unless it's a very easy job to fix/replace the broken bit. Working in an apartment parking lot in 20 degree weather when the heat is the part I'm trying to fix just does not seem appealing.
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Feb 11, 2010 02:18
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:How big are your hands? Pretty big. I'm one of those rare few who find the original Xbox controller to be the most comfortable. If it's an hour job I think it's going to have to wait until it's warmer unless I can find a heated garage to work in.
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Feb 11, 2010 03:20
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I'm pretty good at getting the glove box off (CB is bolted to the bottom of it and my DICE HD is behind it, so it comes off a lot when working on either). I guess as soon as the outside temperature goes above freezing I can give it a shot. I love to play in the cold, but hate to work in it if I don't have to, so having the blower stuck on 100% is preferable to freezing my rear end off.
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Feb 11, 2010 21:31
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Brock Landers posted:Find a factory stereo (MID) and put it back in the car. Seriously. The radios in the E38 and E39 (and E53) are pretty much part of the car and removing them is just asking for trouble. How so? As far as I was aware they're generally comparable to equivalent models in the E46, and I have never seen anyone raise an issue when researching my CarPC project. A few other stock bits like the CD changer and the Nav screen require regular heartbeats on the I-Bus, but those are both easy to emulate and not necessary unless you want to retain those stock parts which most don't. As far as I've found, the trickiest part of replacing the OEM stereo is finding a bracket that doesn't look like poo poo when it fills all the empty space.
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Feb 16, 2010 16:58
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Brock Landers posted:You're right, as long as you're prepared to bypass all the stock parts, run all new wires to all new speakers, and not mind it looking like total rear end, you can put whatever stereo you want in your E39, E38, or E53. I didn't gather the OP wanted to go through all that hassle, so putting the factory MID back in place is the easiest/cheapest way to get things working again. I still can not find anything that says putting an aftermarket head unit in an E39 is any different than any other car. Why would you ever waste time cutting/splicing the factory harness as you say in your next post? For years any even remotely common car has had harness adapters available through most any car stereo shop. This one for example. With that cable, an antenna adapter, and a mounting bracket to place a DIN head unit in the oversized opening, most standard car stereos would appear to be as close to plug-and-play as any other install.
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Feb 17, 2010 06:29
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Brock Landers posted:Did you read the part of that page where it says "This item does NOT fit"? As the former owner of an E39 BMW, trust me when I say that a stereo replacement in that car is non-trivial and not the same as other cars. The "radio" faceplate houses just the display, buttons, and either a single disc CD player or cassette player in a narrow, shallow bay. The radio tuner (and therefore antenna connection) and the pre-amp are located some place else in the car (the back I think) and the amp sits in the trunk under the CD changer. Again, I'm not saying you CAN'T do it. Read my original post, I just said it wasn't EASY or the best idea if you don't want a lot of hassle. Nope.  Also tried changing the search and came up with this cable for cars without Nav. I'm not going to go through and search every possible variant of the E39 platform, but at least when looking at '03 model sedans, no matter what the factory installed unit is, it seems to be a plug-and-play install. I'm not doubting that some OEM systems can be hard to replace. Just saying that with the information available to me the E39 still looks like a simple job. I know the amp is a separate unit. It takes speaker-level inputs from the factory head unit, so it'll take speaker-level inputs from any other head unit just as well.
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Feb 18, 2010 00:17
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If it's like the E46 the OEM bluetooth module will be godawful expensive, and probably even worse since the E9x cars got the fiber optic MOST bus replacing the simple I-bus. e: here you go. BMW official retrofit guides for both prewired and non-prewired cars. e2: Anyone here have or previously own an E39 M5? I've been eyeing E39s every now and then pretty much since I bought my E46 as my next step up if I can't justify leasing an E90 or F10 (I do a lot of driving, so mileage charges could add up), and now the M5s have come down to a price range where I could afford to purchase one. The question is whether I can afford to own and run one. I've read everything from "similar to an E46 M3" up to "Ferrari-like" when looking for info on maintenance and consumable costs. wolrah fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Feb 22, 2010 |
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Feb 22, 2010 20:06
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allonblack posted:I searched around for info on the European Delivery program and didn't have much luck. I know there's been at least one thread in the past where someone has done this - anyone have a link to that? Better yet, anyone else done this? What are your thoughts? I'm thinking of leasing (yes, I know, money, throw away, blah blah blah) a 335i and we've been looking for an excuse to go to Europe so this seems to all fit together. Bimmerfest has a pretty decent subforum devoted to European Delivery here. There's also a wiki with most of the important information.
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Mar 19, 2010 18:59
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UPS showed up while I was out and brought what my car's been waiting for  
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Apr 1, 2010 22:28
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evobatman posted:This is pretty neat. So far I have used it to reset error codes and airbag lights on my own E36, an E34 M5 and a Z3 2,8 Coupe. The included software is totally Did that one come with the OBD-II end? I bought one off eBay about a year ago that looked like the same interface box but it only came with the big round connector that is completely useless to me.
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Apr 5, 2010 16:59
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, but it works.