Project e46

rodenal said:
Matt how's the M3 now?
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Sublime.

90% of the mechanical bits are done and it is an absolute hoot to drive. Ive taken it to work everyday for the last two weeks (and this will sound sad) but il cannot wait to get out the door in the morning and i arrive at work beaming.

Recently changed the brake/clutch fluid, which resulted in two new front brake calipers. The brakes dont deteriorate when used hard now and the clutch feels much better. Now that it is on Koni dampers and not dead oe stuff, you can take massive liberties with the car (and hence brakes needing sorting and also mpg is tumbling again)

Another little fix has been the seal on a thing called the "constant pressure valve" which has fixed an oil leak.

Still lots to do, what do you expect from a car that has been utterly ruined.

The car turns heads wherever it goes, you get knowing looks/nods. I turned up at a bar the other week and a guy who was stepping outside for a cig walked up to the car to say how he hadnt seen one in ages. Turns out he was the bodyshop manager at my local BMW dealer, we ended up chatting till it closed... respray could be taking place at BMW now.

There is something that is more satisfying about a car that youve done so much work on, not in a "built not bought" way, but in a rescue and personalisation way, so yuoll love yours when youre done.

Next steps for me are the cosmetics. trims, lights, grills and rip out and sound deaden the whole interior
 
Had some time tonight so had a look at potential culprits for the slight hesitation.

One M54

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sans....

ICV - bit dirty, cleaned now but not the problem anyway

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MAF, cleaned but doubtful it's the problem

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DISA - Absolutely gubbed, the shaft that rotates the flap is doing nothing so the flap is just sitting doing its own thing. Had a look and the inner plastic pin is just so worn it's not able to do anything.

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I'm not convinced it's causing the low rpm issue but it needs replaced anyway so need to get a price tomorrow.

One of the F connector vac hoses (tiny section -connects more rigid hose to the F) at the MAF boot was also in such a bad state it disintegrated in my hand, I reckon that will have been having an impact so should help when it's replaced.
 
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I need to do some measuring on it really tbh, pretty impossible to tell it's at fault without it. At least then I'll know none of the components immediately after it are causing an issue. Will sort the obvious problem first then put it all back together tomorrow and see what's what after that.
 
How bad is the hesitation? Is it 100% air tight between maf and throttle? ive had pcv leaks (unmetered air) cause horrible hesitations before too
 
The dodgy hose at the F connector (small one, runs to the fuel pump I believe) was obviously worn as it just came away when I pulled to disconnect it. It wasn't cracked or split but could have been collapsing given how weak it was. All the major boots are good and the smallish hose coming off the idle control valve was good too.

Hesitation is noticeable, specifically at low revs. I didn't think the DISA would affect the car at lower RPM but I suppose if it was literally just flopping around it could have an impact of some sort. Hopefully the dealer will have one I can pick up tomorrow so I can put it all back together and test
 
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The DISA valve will need changing at some point, it won't cause massive hesitation. It should channel air into all cylinders higher up in the rev range iirc (might be the other way round). Prepare to cry when BMW give you a price for a new one.
I'd certainly have a look at replacing the VANOS seals as they will be past it and causing low RPM hesitation. There'll be a noticeable surge in power past 2000-2500 rpm. Easy enough to fix, just fiddly. I've got a brand new set of teflon seals that I bought for my old M54 engine that I don't need anymore.

I'd also replace the rubber boots if there's any sign of cracks or deterioration, it'll cause all sorts of problems when they do go properly - multi-cylinder misfires is the most common.

Above all, get it to someone who can properly use BMW diagnostics. The live running info often tells more than some error codes that have been saved.
 
You can repair the DISA valve. There is a free DIY version involving glue and plumbers tape or a kit you can get online which is a lot cheaper than a new valve.
 
commited said:
You can repair the DISA valve. There is a free DIY version involving glue and plumbers tape or a kit you can get online which is a lot cheaper than a new valve.
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I am going to repair it I think - BMW now seem to want £200+ for one and can't get it before tomorrow when it was only circa £130 last year. Repair kit is more like £60 and fixes the problem that the new valve would eventually have anyway (in a number of years).

Atari said:
I'd certainly have a look at replacing the VANOS seals as they will be past it and causing low RPM hesitation. There'll be a noticeable surge in power past 2000-2500 rpm. Easy enough to fix, just fiddly. I've got a brand new set of teflon seals that I bought for my old M54 engine that I don't need anymore.

I'd also replace the rubber boots if there's any sign of cracks or deterioration, it'll cause all sorts of problems when they do go properly - multi-cylinder misfires is the most common.

Above all, get it to someone who can properly use BMW diagnostics. The live running info often tells more than some error codes that have been saved.
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I'll be replacing the seals but doing all the intake side work first then Stat & waterpump after which i'll do the seals. I'd be interested in the spare kit if you've still got it handy.

I've got INPA etc and had it up and working on an e39 previously, just need to get it properly working on windows 7 now.
 
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Picked up the disa kit today, excellent quality and simple to do. Have now put the intake side back together and there's a bit of a difference in low to mid range (nothing major, as expected)

Freed off the exhaust butterfly too. Someone has obviously golf tee'd it at some point and let all the crud build up at the butterfly, then decided to unblock the hose. I would have left it as it was but without the valve it drones a bit.

Also refreshed the drivers door cube trim - looks reasonable so far (it's not shiny shiny, just the flash in the below) but we will see how it looks compared to the rest of the trim when I put it back in the car tomorrow. If it's a decent match i'll do the passengers side at some point this weekend too.

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My thermostat / water pump purchases have failed miserably this week, moving house has meant i've got a billing / delivery address mismatch - pain in the ass, will probably be a task for next weekend now.

Oh I also noticed (somehow for the first time) today that there's a mic installed up near the bmw mic point, thought it's obviously from an aftermarket kit. I'll need to investigate what it's routed back to.
 
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Done the other armrest at the weekend, ended up looking great and I fully fixed the exhaust butterfly, the pipe had a bit of abuse in the past and wasn't creating enough vacuum.

Also took the glove box out tonight to investigate the mystery microphone to find out it's a proper old school nokia wired hands free kit that's been in there. It's been a complete cowboy installation too - electrical tape everywhere.

Not sure what to do with it really (other than the obvious bin), the mic could be useful I guess given it's already run up through the pillar / headlining.
 
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Looks good - how did you touch up the armrests out of interest? My silver carbon cube cs ones look a bit worse for wear and could do with replacing but BMW charge silly money for them :(
 
Just gave them a key with some very fine wet and dry then fired 2 light coats of satin black + 1 lacquer on.

They don't need much to look very good again and its an excellent match to the rest of the trim. With silver you'd have to be really careful with the colour you picked or do the whole lot I'd think
 
Thank you for letting me know about the golf tee mod, very tempted to give it a go and see what difference it makes :D

(I'm actually more surprised that a car I have has the correct parts like this flap, none of my cars are ever correct fully)
 
It will drone quite a bit at motorway speed so it depends on where you drive and what you're willing to tolerate tbh.

It just annoyed me really - if you want a quick check of how bad it is or isn't just pull the pipe off and go for a drive
 
I prefer the facelift myself.. in estoril blue! Although red does look good.

Alloys definitely need changing.
Upgrade your speakers too!
 
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