BMW and M Power Owners

£200 for a Lucas OEM alternator brand new. Guess where from :p

Edit*
Pretty much you will find any common replacement part via ECP and they do stock the OEM brands too. Hell even my replacement kidney grille that got stone chipped was the exact same one BMW stock but much cheaper than from the dealer!
 
Last edited:
sigma said:
Yeah, got labour covered. That's good to know. One box ticked ;)

I guess things like alternators are lolprice. Will have a look on the usual sites, although I'm not sure if I'd consider a reconditioned item.
Click to expand...

If you've got labour covered, you're absolutely fine.

One of the biggest costs on these cars, are subframe/boot floor replacement, SMG pump and headgasket.

Everything else is stuff that wears out over time and is replaceable for not much money or able to have a second hand part from a car being broken.

If you buy all your parts from the dealer, you will find your pockets becoming lighter quicker than you imagined possible, but if you're smart about it, you can run the car much more cost effectively.

Vita said:
E46 330i -

Blower stopped working for the heater. New hedgehog resistor needed.

DSC/red handbrake light and brake lights have come on and stayed on. Speedo has stopped working. This has occurred after towing a works van out. If I turn the car off and then on lights stay on but the handbrake light turns Amber. They went off after a while then came on again as I went over a speed bump.

Loose connection or duff sensor? Where should I start?
Click to expand...

Rear passenger side sensor provides the speedo with readings IIRC. It is likely to be duff, but definitely worth spraying it with cleaner or wiggling it around to see if it comes back to life. If you do need a new one, make sure you get the right one as there are several different part numbers as there are 3 different sensors depending on what date your car was built.
 
Is there anything in particular that causes the headgasket - is it due to a weakness/stress? Or as with most cars at this age, down to poor maintenance?

Are they prone to sensors failing?


Basically. I just don't want to be stranded at the side of the road or wondering if that trip to the airport will actually be completed. That's the main thing really. I'm happy to perform preventative maintenance to try to negate this as much as poss, within reason.
 
sigma said:
Is there anything in particular that causes the headgasket - is it due to a weakness/stress? Or as with most cars at this age, down to poor maintenance?
Click to expand...

Nope, it just slowly starts failing, causing mild symptoms at first, which can then progress to severe symptoms if not addressed. It must be remembered though, this is not a massively common issue, when based on the context of how many E46 M3's are out and about.

sigma said:
Are they prone to sensors failing?
Click to expand...

Nothing major at all. ABS wheel speed sensors can fail, but not often.

sigma said:
Basically. I just don't want to be stranded at the side of the road or wondering if that trip to the airport will actually be completed. That's the main thing really. I'm happy to perform preventative maintenance to try to negate this as much as poss, within reason.
Click to expand...

My main bit of advice is to stay away from SMG then. I have the same reliance on my car, so I was in a similar situation. SMG is a headache that will strike at some point. You might get lucky and your car just decide not to start one morning, or refuse to go into gear, or pop out of gear or have annoying clutch slur, or blow salmon relay fuses moderately frequently. Or you could be unlucky and have to replace an SMG pump (around £2000 for the part IIRC), which to add insult to injury, also means getting it transported to a garage that can do the work as well, because the car will not start if the pump has failed.

Everything about SMG just seems to be fragile, and when you are looking at cars this age, it really isn't worth it. If SMG was the gearbox that all other gearboxes wanted to be, then there would be an argument for getting one, but since it's a clunky gearbox, which can have very expensive and disruptive hissy fits at the drop of a hat, you have to ask yourself "why bother?"
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info. Well you guys are certainly selling the M3 idea to me :D looking forward to my drive on Sunday, it's a friend of a friend so no limit on time or pushy salesman!

Think I'd do a compression test on any potential purchase :)
 
Good luck! No doubt you'll enjoy owning one of the last of the greats in terms of NA ///M power and exhaust note :cool:
 
[TW]Fox;27764915 said:
What was up with it? How did you narrow it down to the wheel bearing?
Click to expand...

Turning right and putting weight on the front left corner (the one that had the impact) caused vibrations that could easily be felt through steering and also a horrible noise, turning left didn't do the same. Did the usual wheel bearing checks (manhandle the wheel with it still attached and see if there's any movement, there was) and took off wheel/caliper/disc and gave the bearing a spin, sure enough it produced a horrible sound.

Having now replaced it, there are no noises/vibrations coming from the car that should be, unless you include the standard amount of rattles for an E92 cabin :p
 
I've put an offer in for an E46 I've found, but I have a feeling that someone else is going to snap it up. Keeping my fingers crossed and waiting for the guy to get back to me.
 
Gaygle said:
Rear passenger side sensor provides the speedo with readings IIRC. It is likely to be duff, but definitely worth spraying it with cleaner or wiggling it around to see if it comes back to life. If you do need a new one, make sure you get the right one as there are several different part numbers as there are 3 different sensors depending on what date your car was built.
Click to expand...

Well I drove the car today, after setting off it turned off. Until I went up a hill, traction control came on, then handbrake/abs light. Decided to turn the car off, and turn it back on, it did not help.

I read online about tyre pressures sometimes causing this, sorted them out (they were on book figures), decided to decrease by 2psi to see if it helps. I did that, and again the lights went off, until I went up a hill....seems hill's can cause this fault.

Funny thing is, I pulled works van up a hill probably about 10 yards. Could this have caused this issue?

Now these are the things which do not work:

Speedo,
Mpg economy dial
Mileage/trip computer
Fuel gauge is erratic.
ABS light (amber)
Handbrake light (red), Initially when the fault started, If I put the handbrake down it would go amber, then when engaged red. Now when it faults, it stays a constant red, even if the handbrake is down.
DSC light (amber)

I'm going to get it booked in for a diag to pull the codes. I hope it's not a dsc/abs module failing.
 
Guys, how much should I be paying for a 4 wheel alignment on my 330d. The camber and toe are out and the steering wheel is slightly off centre. Got quoted £110 by some tyre fitting centre using a Hunter machine. I dont trust their technicians as they barely knew how to set the machine up so can't bear parting with that sort of cash to people who have no idea what they're doing.
 
Quick question... On the idrive for navigation, in the bottom left of the map, I have a little "i" which I can tick or not. What does this actually do?!
 
Could the sensor being faulty cause the abs to try engaging even when driving at let's say 5mph without pressing the brake? This is occurring now and if I press the brake I get the abs activating feel through the brake pedal. IF I put my foot down a little it'l cause the lights to come up and everything deactivating.

I obviously won't know until I get it on the diag machine, just a little worried it might be a faulty abs module.

Cruise control still works which Is weird.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom