"Haunted" BMW E46 Shenanigans

[richardthestag]

Background

 

Mate thestag's son has an E46 318i Touring that he has run for the last 20 months. he crashed it into the back of another motorist who, by his own admission was driving erratically. Damage is minimal but the two outer edges of the bonnet do not line up with the wings and the kidney grill bits is loose. The car has all the toys and they all work except the starter which "sounds odd" it stopped working last week.

 

Laddo meboy found himself a Scab 9-3 vertible which he secured for a sum that would have embarrassed me (like I would have felt like a thief) buying it.

 

Mate thestag was going to offfload the hapless bimmer to cartakeback for a ton. Was delighted that I showed interest. 

 

 

 

[mk2_craig]

I hate E46s, my wife is on her second convertible and I'm perpetually working through all the standard niggles these things develop after a dozen years of age. I'm convinced that 95% of Beemers are afflicted with neglectful third owners that buy them when they are two thirds of the way down their depreciation curve then don't service them for the next four years because German innit.

[richardthestag]

Bough a recon starter on ebay with 30 day guaranteeeeeee 

 

so start with where is the starter motor!

 

You might laugh but the web is rife with this question. Clue it is under the inlet manifold !

 

 

Redneck Youtube vids suggested 3h stripdown, took my 1 h 25m maybe NOT voting for Trump helped? go figure

 

 

 

 

Getting this far I find the starter as if by surprise. Only it dont look proper fitted

 

Removing it found that it is different from the 2001 unit bort arghhhhh

 

Tested old starter and solenoid on the bench and found to be fine. drilled out the dowel hole on the top and refitted

 

 

All went well but does he start? does he fuck! no click, no whir, no anything except light on the dash. next stop is the starter switch. No starter motor relay on these and no startey threads and questions are like a rash on da t'intaweb, Maybe lack of relay fucks the starter switch. 

 

Ran out of time so rolled it to one side and revisit next week with multimeter and new second hand starter switch

[richardthestag]

I hate E46s, my wife is on her second convertible and I'm perpetually working through all the standard niggles these things develop after a dozen years of age. I'm convinced that 95% of Beemers are afflicted with neglectful third owners that buy them when they are two thirds 16/16th of the way down their depreciation curve then don't service them for the next four years because German worthless shite innit.

 

FTFY

[richardthestag]

but just look at it!

 

£100 and 3h work to deduce that the ignition switch is fubar* probably* I hope else I am out fo options

 

 

 

[Lord Sterling]

Looking good man, an estate in all! Could've done with one of those a few times recently. My BMW is going in for discs and pads, as well investigation of rumbling noise comjng from the front.

 

Question; How exactly do you drive "erratically" in a 4-pot 318i? Mine isn't exactly a power house working the same or similar engine.

[matty879]

there is a second fusebox behind the glovebox hidden away,that contains 2 fuses related to the starter circuit,have you tried just dropping a live to the solenoid just to check it turns over on the car?also check the oil level switch on the sump,if thats faulty it wont turn over,you can simply unplug it then try to start.if it turns the switch is borked 

Edited March 17, 2017 by matty879

[michael1703]

Could be worse, I had to do a crank position sensor on an e46 Tuesday, which lived behind the starter motor, the bolts were stupidly tight and E18 headed, I had to drop the gearbox a couple of inches and use about 4ft of extensions to get enough torque on the bolts to shift them

[Station]

I found these pleasant to work on, but I have to do glow plug relay which is on the gearbox. It's meant to be a bugger. I'm completely happy with my e46, they're really good.

[SiC]

I'm getting a pandering for the coupe e46 atm - 330ci flavour of course. I think these are pretty much at the bottom of their curve. Another 5 to 10yrs and they'll be on the up for sure.

[richardthestag]

Looking good man, an estate in all! Could've done with one of those a few times recently. My BMW is going in for discs and pads, as well investigation of rumbling noise comjng from the front.

 

Question; How exactly do you drive "erratically" in a 4-pot 318i? Mine isn't exactly a power house working the same or similar engine.

 

The motor in front of him was driving erratically, young lad decided to tailgate her to encourage her not to drive erratically. then the inevitable facepalm event occured  

 

Basically kissed the arse of the other car with the bit in the middle of the grill kidneys. 

[richardthestag]

there is a second fusebox behind the glovebox hidden away,that contains 2 fuses related to the starter circuit,have you tried just dropping a live to the solenoid just to check it turns over on the car?also check the oil level switch on the sump,if thats faulty it wont turn over,you can simply unplug it then try to start.if it turns the switch is borked 

 

Now that sounds promising. Loads of nice sensors all over the place when removing it.

 

I figure that I can get access to the starter terminals by removing the alternator. Long screwdriver wrapped in ductape and jump lead from the +ive terminal up by the brake master should see that discounted very quickly.

 

The car will sometimes start which might suggest an intermittent fault with switch or sensor. Oh the joy

[DVee8]

I like BMW's

 

It's out there now,I have said so.

 

A 330i coupe would be nice.

[richardthestag]

I like Bimmers also, especially now that the official cunt of the road is more likely to be driving an Aldi

 

working on that 16 year old motor yesterday was quite pleasant, no seized fixings, everything came apart, even when I found the loom was in the way a tiny bit of lateral though found a way to disconnect that pat of the loom nd continue.

 

No nasty paper gaskits to contend with.

 

Nice

[dome]

I love my 330d to drive but hate it to work on. For that reason it'll be going up for sale soon. Prob. Not on here though, it'll be a bit salty compared to what you lot buy them for!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Every time I work on an E46, I hate them just that little bit more.

 

To me, they're an E36 redesigned by Renault and built by Rover. Some of the utter stupidity and lack of common sense in the design is breathtaking.

[twosmoke300]

Have you done the crankcase breather in a 325ti yet ? 😀

[Tamworthbay]

I love my E46, some minor issues arise due to modern production techniques (despite some luddites wishing otherwise we can't live in the 70s) but there is nothing that defies logic to anyone with half a brain. A modern car will almost always be harder to work on than our beloved classics but that doesn't make them a bad car. Compare the E46 to many contemporaries and it's a doddle to work on. EVERY car has a couple of jobs that are notoriously bad to do and the armchair experts will always list these when stating why X car is terrible.

[dome]

Mine spent the last 8 years living by the sea. Every bolt underneath it has fought me.

 

I'm looking at E91s as a replacement, is that just a stupid idea?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Mine spent the last 8 years living by the sea. Every bolt underneath it has fought me.

 

I'm looking at E91s as a replacement, is that just a stupid idea?

 

 

Yes and no. Rust protection is vastly improved but mechanically they're often not as good. Avoid 318i/320i like the plague, they're garbage. Engine problems, diffs - a new DMF (normally fucked by 100k) are £650 from Euros. Six pot petrols better but still some nasties - ABS control unit £2000 new, no aftermarket stuff, recons rarely work for long and used ones rare and £400. But it's not that common an issue. Any engine trouble will cost a bastard fortune. Absolutely avoid anything post 2007/57 with direct injection. They can be really bad news and £350 for a NoX sensor isn't funny.

Radiators last a lot longer and don't have that stupid expansion tank that likes to explode.

 

Best bet - low mileage 2006/7 M47N 320d manual. Good engine, tough 6 speed box, diffs rarely fail. They suffer some of the faults with the the E46 such as seizing/snapping hinges for the tailgate glass (WD40 and exercise once in a while) plus some new ones - the electronic steering lock will almost certainly require resetting to zero and they like a door lock mech as well. Both easy enough.

 

As a car, the E9* isn't as rust prone and needy as the E46. Just buy the right one.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Have you done the crankcase breather in a 325ti yet ?

 

A case in point. What was a simple job (that rarely needed doing) on the single Vanos engine becomes a £100 three hour manifold-off fuckfest.

 

You try doing exhaust manifold gaskets. Jesus Christ.   

[0ldCh0d]

Mine spent the last 8 years living by the sea. Every bolt underneath it has fought me.

 

I'm looking at E91s as a replacement, is that just a stupid idea?

 

Personally, I Would not touch an E91....Especially the 2.0 diesels, they like to eat their timing chain....This happened to someone i know just before christmas there, 2007, 57 plate, 320d Estate, Travelling on the M8, Steady 75mph & it decided to lunch it's chain........Fucked the engine.

He still does not have it fixed as the quotes for another engine supplied & fitted etc are more than the car is worth.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Personally, I Would not touch an E91....Especially the 2.0 diesels, they like to eat their timing chain....This happened to someone i know just before christmas there, 2007, 57 plate, 320d Estate, Travelling on the M8, Steady 75mph & it decided to lunch it's chain........Fucked the engine.

He still does not have it fixed as the quotes for another engine supplied & fitted etc are more than the car is worth.

 

 

That's the N47 introduced mid 2007. Absolutely avoid like the fucking plague, The previous M47 started off in the E46 in 1999 and was developed from the old 1.7 318tds unit. They're good for 200'000.

 

The trouble with the E90 range - particularly 4 pot stuff - is that it's so bloody dull. For all its many faults, the E46 is a far 'nicer' car if you know what I mean. You can get a much nicer/newer Mondeo/Insignia/Accord etc for the same money although E90 saloons are crashing down in value. I just about managed to get £2000 for my 57 plater, 99'000, FSH etc. Folk are waking up to the fact that four pot petrol E90's can be a disaster. 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Here we go, the Reverends Ready Reckoner.

 

 

[0ldCh0d]

Here we go, the Reverends Ready Reckoner.

 

Can we have a Rover 75 Cdti engine pic aswell?......lol.

[twosmoke300]

A case in point. What was a simple job (that rarely needed doing) on the single Vanos engine becomes a £100 three hour manifold-off fuckfest.

 

You try doing exhaust manifold gaskets. Jesus Christ.

To be fair I let my apprentice do most of it and just helped with the tricky bits and we didn't take a fannymould off either . But three hours is about right

[dome]

Good info guys. I'd be looking for a up to 2007 330D MSport with the M57 engine so pre face-lift. The M57 is the best bit of my car so would be nice to have that in a newer, non rusty car. I'll be having a good prod underneath. Shame they're so expensive.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

You can do it with the 'fold fitted, but I just take it off - I can do them quicker that way. To each his own though.

 

Good call on getting someone else to do it!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The M57 is the best bit of my car so would be nice to have that in a newer, non rusty car. 

 

 

They're similar - the M57N came out late 2003 and was fitted to the late E46 330d and the E60. Timing chain was improved on this model - they went from a chain driving both cams (don't break, ever) to driving one cam that drives the other one via a gear - can break. It's the same arrangement as the 2001 onwards M47N.

 

They do 150'000+ though. Oil changes critical - none of this extended oil change bollocks. 10'000 miles or every year.

[dome]

Yep, it's an M57n in mine. Previous owner changed the oil on 8-10k and it had the uprated vortex ccv from new so the engines healthy.