Is it easy to clean the spring pads without taking the springs off?
Unfortunately it is down to the primer so it will need smart repairing.
Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...
- Thread starter mrk
- Start date
Is it easy to clean the spring pads without taking the springs off?
Unfortunately it is down to the primer so it will need smart repairing.
Associate
- Joined
- 30 Jun 2011
- Posts
- 380
- Location
- Yorkshire, England
Very interesting about the springs snapping, I wondered why that happened. I'll have to see if I can clean mine this coming summer.
Bit of an update (since this thread is quite E46 M3 specific).
Good news and bad news..
[Good News]
I fitted the Smarttop module today, easy peasy, took around 30 minutes and all plug and play. I got the unit new from a shop selling via ebay for £192 which is a little saving over the normal £250
You can code some features, such as holding the lock/unlock on the key fob to open/close the roof and you can say if you want the windows up when you put the roof up.. but that's about it.. you still have to hold the key fob buttons, and you have to hold the interior buttons as well..
The Smarttop allows:
- One touch open/close roof from keyfob (3 presses of the buttons)
- One touch operation of the roof from inside the car
- One touch all windows up/down from the keyfob (2 presses of the buttons)
- Won't interrupt roof operation if ignition changes state
- Can open/close roof at a programmable max speed (up to 28mph)
- It can also add auto-tilting mirror in reverse if you don't already have it coded, although you can program the exact angle easily
- A few other small features like home lights and auto locks etc (most of this can be coded anyway)
It all worked really well, loving the one touch open/close from the remote, so much handier and reliable than holding the remote button, and since the ignition doesn't interrupt it just works how you expect.. no euro nannying getting in the way!
So that was good.. now the not so good..
[Bad News]
I was pulling out on a roundabout, medium accelerating in 1st, then something happened and initially I couldn't get it out of first. I suspected the clutch had gone, so rev-matched and pulled it out of gear with a lot of effort, however I noticed that it wasn't so much the clutch, that seemed OK, It just takes incredible effort to get it in/out of all gears.. like the linkage has almost seized..
I limped home, and with it sat on the drive, I can select all gears, but as mentioned it takes a hell of a lot of effort to get it in/out of each gear, its the same with engine on of off. The clutch seems fine in that I can select 1st/reverse and it takes up drive as I expect, it's not dragging when 1st is engaged or anything like that, and there are no noises from anywhere when clutch is up/down or in any gear..
I'm not mechanically that great so I've asked over on cutters and will phone the indy tomorrow..
Shame really because this morning after fitting the smarttop, it was such a pleasure to drive with the roof down, the kids love it as well!
I'm just researching possible options, clutches look straight forward, and I notice SMG boxes are rife on ebay, and looking at various conversion threads it might be that the main part of the SMG box will just bolt on to my bellhousing, as that seems to be where all the SMG stuff was anyway.. there are boxes with <50K miles for £500 so if I am correct, it doesn't seem like the end of the world if it's a gearbox, or I may be lucky and it be something trivial!
Good news and bad news..
[Good News]
I fitted the Smarttop module today, easy peasy, took around 30 minutes and all plug and play. I got the unit new from a shop selling via ebay for £192 which is a little saving over the normal £250
You can code some features, such as holding the lock/unlock on the key fob to open/close the roof and you can say if you want the windows up when you put the roof up.. but that's about it.. you still have to hold the key fob buttons, and you have to hold the interior buttons as well..
The Smarttop allows:
- One touch open/close roof from keyfob (3 presses of the buttons)
- One touch operation of the roof from inside the car
- One touch all windows up/down from the keyfob (2 presses of the buttons)
- Won't interrupt roof operation if ignition changes state
- Can open/close roof at a programmable max speed (up to 28mph)
- It can also add auto-tilting mirror in reverse if you don't already have it coded, although you can program the exact angle easily
- A few other small features like home lights and auto locks etc (most of this can be coded anyway)
It all worked really well, loving the one touch open/close from the remote, so much handier and reliable than holding the remote button, and since the ignition doesn't interrupt it just works how you expect.. no euro nannying getting in the way!
So that was good.. now the not so good..
[Bad News]
I was pulling out on a roundabout, medium accelerating in 1st, then something happened and initially I couldn't get it out of first. I suspected the clutch had gone, so rev-matched and pulled it out of gear with a lot of effort, however I noticed that it wasn't so much the clutch, that seemed OK, It just takes incredible effort to get it in/out of all gears.. like the linkage has almost seized..
I limped home, and with it sat on the drive, I can select all gears, but as mentioned it takes a hell of a lot of effort to get it in/out of each gear, its the same with engine on of off. The clutch seems fine in that I can select 1st/reverse and it takes up drive as I expect, it's not dragging when 1st is engaged or anything like that, and there are no noises from anywhere when clutch is up/down or in any gear..
I'm not mechanically that great so I've asked over on cutters and will phone the indy tomorrow..
Shame really because this morning after fitting the smarttop, it was such a pleasure to drive with the roof down, the kids love it as well!
I'm just researching possible options, clutches look straight forward, and I notice SMG boxes are rife on ebay, and looking at various conversion threads it might be that the main part of the SMG box will just bolt on to my bellhousing, as that seems to be where all the SMG stuff was anyway.. there are boxes with <50K miles for £500 so if I am correct, it doesn't seem like the end of the world if it's a gearbox, or I may be lucky and it be something trivial!
Last edited:
I looked into the smart top but I do 90% of the functions through Carly anyway and the only extra I'd get is the one touch button on the dash to open and close the roof. I didn't think that alone was worth the £200 for me really!
Sounds like your smg pump might be on the way, I hope you have £2500 spare for one!
Driving around Limehouse link sections tonight exploring the Eventuri echoes and totally loving the rawness it brings over stock induction, especially that big underground roundabout
Sounds like your smg pump might be on the way, I hope you have £2500 spare for one!
Driving around Limehouse link sections tonight exploring the Eventuri echoes and totally loving the rawness it brings over stock induction, especially that big underground roundabout
Demon
If it goes into gear and out without crunching but is just difficult I think your box and clutch is probably fine.
Get it to a garage you trust but I suspect its the linkage, get them to re-grease it all as a test and if things improve then you found the issue, if not then well make sure its a garage with half a clue.
If it goes into gear and out without crunching but is just difficult I think your box and clutch is probably fine.
Get it to a garage you trust but I suspect its the linkage, get them to re-grease it all as a test and if things improve then you found the issue, if not then well make sure its a garage with half a clue.
Demon
If it goes into gear and out without crunching but is just difficult I think your box and clutch is probably fine.
Get it to a garage you trust but I suspect its the linkage, get them to re-grease it all as a test and if things improve then you found the issue, if not then well make sure its a garage with half a clue.
Thanks, and the indy's echo'd those comments, they've never experience a gearbox failure like that, but obviously will take a look for me, it's booked in for wednesday. Worse cases are all OK with me, clutch or gearbox aren't end of the world.
Soldato
- Joined
- 5 Jul 2007
- Posts
- 5,505
- Location
- London
Mrk, how's your andrive HU now?
My intravee is playing up and not giving any audio, replaced the iPod cable so far but no luck. Making me consider Dynavin or an Alpine ilx 700 with CarPlay. Although I hear they're a pain to install if you had factory nav. How's yours been, and how was it to install?
My intravee is playing up and not giving any audio, replaced the iPod cable so far but no luck. Making me consider Dynavin or an Alpine ilx 700 with CarPlay. Although I hear they're a pain to install if you had factory nav. How's yours been, and how was it to install?
If that don't ease it, I'd be thinking main clutch release bearing is dragging, in which case just buy a new clutch kit, but make sure you buy sachs or LUK, about £150 from euro car parts and fit that, might as well if your going that far, also whilst in there change the other bits and bobs such as clutch fork etc. Probably about £250-£300 in parts total but will be like new and good for another 50k or so miles.
If the worse and it needs a gear box, just buy a known good one, looking at £300-£750 for a used good box.
Beauty of M3 even though they aint the cheapest to run, there is so much kit readily available and so many being broken into parts that parts are actually pretty damn cheap.
I think the mention of SMG in Demon's post probably confused poor mrk
Oops yes, reading the forums late at night after 500~ miles of motorway driving isn't good
I don't us an Andrive unit, I ordered one when they were up for sale but they went bust and I got my money back. Ended up with a Parrot Asteroid Smart instead. It's good, but running old Android so not really "modern" - Although it kind of fits in with the age of the car I guess?
It does what I want at the moment though, internet, Waze, bluetooth music and calendar integration for notifications/quick event address navigation etc.I am looking to change it to Parrot's shallow depth Android Auto unit if they ever sort themselves out and release it.
If you have factory nav then you just need the extra 'fakra cable' cable to trail into the boot that connects it all up. If you got a Dynavin then things are a bit easier since it's just straight plug and play (in addition to the extra cable). Everything else needs some DIY work such as non shallow depth double DIN units needing the rear AC vent modding, or shallow depth units like the Parrot needing a fascia trim modification to hold the unit in place flush with the fascia.
Last edited:
Parrot quietly dropped the RNB6 last year
it looked awesome as well!I've been looking at replacing the factory nav unit, it's a bit feature less and with Analog TV now defunct, plus the bluetooth is too old for modern phones, it's almost a hindrance.. even the HK audio just sounds passable and not that 'premium'..
Being the sucker I am for things like the Smarttop, it's probably no surprise I like the look (but not the price) of the Dynavin N6, which seems the most integrated and seems to have a reasonable DAC for reasonable audio (Although it does fully support the HK amp), but pricey (£550 including extension cables) and not android auto or car play compatible etc..
If I had apple products, I do like the look of the Alpine, seems reasonably priced.. I also like the new Pioneer Android Auto units, but pricey and I think wouldn't fit as they are deep due to CD players build in..but then the parrot asteroid you have seems pretty decent over the stock nav unit!
Last edited:
Yeah it certainly does the main things most folks would want from a multimedia headunit. The sound quality is excellent and the E46 stock speakers are really good, just let down by a poor quality head unit (with or without HK).
In my video you can get an idea of what the sound is like, and that's through a phone video!
Bluetooth Internet sharing by default which is an all in one solution as it's paired for phone and music anyway. For when I want to stream youtube etc I will enable the WiFi hotspot on the phone so the connection is much faster as bluetooth is something like 2Mbit max iirc,which is fine for nav and browsing.
In my video you can get an idea of what the sound is like, and that's through a phone video!
Bluetooth Internet sharing by default which is an all in one solution as it's paired for phone and music anyway. For when I want to stream youtube etc I will enable the WiFi hotspot on the phone so the connection is much faster as bluetooth is something like 2Mbit max iirc,which is fine for nav and browsing.
Bit of an odd one, I thought a wheel weight had fallen off and thus causing a high frequency vibration through the cabin (mostly felt from the rear passenger end but not through the steering wheel) at 40MPH+, at 40 it's faint but at 50 it's more obvious, at 60 it's very obvious.
I had the wheels (all 4) re-balanced (no cost) and they said the rear passenger wheel was slightly off balance so a weight may well have fallen off. Garage checked the suspension too and said the springs/shocks all looked fine.
Drove yesterday when I picked it up and the vibration was still there from 40MPH onwards.
So it's booked in for an Inspection 1 on the 3rd of May anyway, I figured I'd let the specialist know and they can diagnose it. I should add that I'd driven nearly 1000 miles since getting the CSC6 tyres fitted and it's been perfectly smooth at all speeds. So whatever happened has happened in the last 48 hours. Sunday I drove the car to Froyle, was fine. Sunday night I drove the car and noticed the vibration.
I'm thinking it's RTABs/wishbone bushings. I was planning on replacing all bushes this year anyway as I have no records of them being done in previous ownerships and I've done some 20k miles already.
Also, I got an SJ4000 action camera for a week long North Coast road trip in a few months, but also for other footage not car related. For the £60 price it seems to be really good and I’m a fan of the Winding Road style POV driving videos. Audio will be via binaural mics on my ears so the 3D feel will be great. Will use this for a drift day one day soon I guess
I had the wheels (all 4) re-balanced (no cost) and they said the rear passenger wheel was slightly off balance so a weight may well have fallen off. Garage checked the suspension too and said the springs/shocks all looked fine.
Drove yesterday when I picked it up and the vibration was still there from 40MPH onwards.
So it's booked in for an Inspection 1 on the 3rd of May anyway, I figured I'd let the specialist know and they can diagnose it. I should add that I'd driven nearly 1000 miles since getting the CSC6 tyres fitted and it's been perfectly smooth at all speeds. So whatever happened has happened in the last 48 hours. Sunday I drove the car to Froyle, was fine. Sunday night I drove the car and noticed the vibration.
I'm thinking it's RTABs/wishbone bushings. I was planning on replacing all bushes this year anyway as I have no records of them being done in previous ownerships and I've done some 20k miles already.
Also, I got an SJ4000 action camera for a week long North Coast road trip in a few months, but also for other footage not car related. For the £60 price it seems to be really good and I’m a fan of the Winding Road style POV driving videos. Audio will be via binaural mics on my ears so the 3D feel will be great. Will use this for a drift day one day soon I guess
I've heard a lot of those POV cameras are used for non car related footage
Is that an invitation??
I did ask in the other thread, but where did you get your headlight lenses from? I see some on eBay, but they all say Convertible up to 2003, however they look the same shape (e.g. where the headlamp washer flat part is)...
My car is still in the garage, hopefully a new gearbox is arriving tomorrow that has only done 58K Miles , so about as fresh as I can expect, and will get new clutch / flywheel. might also do the linkage bushes whilst it's easy to get at.
I've sourced a few more bits
- Eibach Pro-kit springs - £60 for ones only a few months old (owner went to coilovers), was going to go OEM, but for £60, its worth trying those first!
- New number plates - £20 for some 'clean' looking pressed aluminium.
- New Rear LED lamps (Passenger side had a few LED's out) - £100 for the pair
- CPV Vitron seal just incase that every starts weeping
- Stainless repair clamps for the backbox, they are exceedingly corroded at the moment - £16
My car is still in the garage, hopefully a new gearbox is arriving tomorrow that has only done 58K Miles , so about as fresh as I can expect, and will get new clutch / flywheel. might also do the linkage bushes whilst it's easy to get at.
I've sourced a few more bits
- Eibach Pro-kit springs - £60 for ones only a few months old (owner went to coilovers), was going to go OEM, but for £60, its worth trying those first!
- New number plates - £20 for some 'clean' looking pressed aluminium.
- New Rear LED lamps (Passenger side had a few LED's out) - £100 for the pair
- CPV Vitron seal just incase that every starts weeping
- Stainless repair clamps for the backbox, they are exceedingly corroded at the moment - £16
Last edited: