You might get fined for wasting police time
Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...
- Thread starter mrk
- Start date
Soldato
Take the £250, don't go back to them!
Its not much help but Ti Motorsport in Stoke know how to do Inspection 2 and valve clearance check, their rates are very reasonable so your £250 might just cover just the valve check.
There is also an M3 specialist in Stockport area.
If your miles from Midlands, then can't help sorry, get on M3Cutters as they will know of plenty specialist around your area.
Thanks gibbo,
I'm located in stoke, a regular overclocker visitor.
- i remember your saleen at the old HQ in the grey and orange building in fenton!I will give them a ring and see whats what
mrk - It was junction17 cars in nottingham. They used a 3rd party garage called geocentre cars to carry out the service. I was assured they knew how to do everything required for inspection 2, even the valve clearances which i specifically asked about due to my research before purchasing. Another case of a garage talking the talk it seems. They must have assumed i'd never know or find out. But like you said, such an important requirement in a service, plus me being meticulous when it comes to servicing work meant i wasnt gonna give it up when i suspected it wasnt done.
Thanks guys
Cookie
Thanks gibbo,
I'm located in stoke, a regular overclocker visitor.
I will give them a ring and see whats what
mrk - It was junction17 cars in nottingham. They used a 3rd party garage called geocentre cars to carry out the service. I was assured they knew how to do everything required for inspection 2, even the valve clearances which i specifically asked about due to my research before purchasing. Another case of a garage talking the talk it seems. They must have assumed i'd never know or find out. But like you said, such an important requirement in a service, plus me being meticulous when it comes to servicing work meant i wasnt gonna give it up when i suspected it wasnt done.
Thanks guys
Cookie
Easy then, Ti Motorsport, ask for Matt, say Gibbo sent you from OcUK. He will look after you! Those guys look after the M3 cup series, so are rebuilding S54 engines regular, head gaskets, rod bearings, inspection services, boot floor repairs and upgrades etc. Probably one of the best E46 M3 and Honda specialist in the UK that just happen to be on our doorstep. They also offer FREE dyno runs too for those having service work done, so you can make sure she is making correct power (330-345HP on a maha) for a stock E46 M3.
Never heard of them but good to know.
To be honest Ti Motorsport are a godsend, anything M3 related I let them do everything as there is nothing they have not done on the M3 several times. They are also now building an E9x M3 race car for a new potential cup series so am sure in another year or two they may start officially offering servicing/repair on those as well.
Never heard of them but good to know.
To be honest Ti Motorsport are a godsend, anything M3 related I let them do everything as there is nothing they have not done on the M3 several times. They are also now building an E9x M3 race car for a new potential cup series so am sure in another year or two they may start officially offering servicing/repair on those as well.
Cheers gibbo,
Booked into Ti Motorsport next week. Matt seems a decent guy and i shamelessly named dropped you too
. Im sure if he does a decent job it will be my go to place for all things M3 
Caporegime
What are peoples thoughts on this?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...onesearchad=Used&maximum-mileage=70000&page=1
I know it's Cat D, but generally looks good?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...onesearchad=Used&maximum-mileage=70000&page=1
I know it's Cat D, but generally looks good?
Caporegime
It's for a relative. It comes down to a) location b) colour and c) price (3-4k more for a non-resigistered example).
If this one is good in it's own regard I don't see why it cannot be considered.
I want to know who did that leather re-upholstering. Looks like a top job. Although the steering wheel doesn't appear to have been retrimmed.
No mention of the damage and repair leads me to believe the current owner bought it on record, so probably doesn't have details about that. Which is not a good sign at first thought.
No mention of the damage and repair leads me to believe the current owner bought it on record, so probably doesn't have details about that. Which is not a good sign at first thought.
Hi Guys,
Got my car back from Ti Motorsport yesterday. Gibbo you were right, they were spot on, service and price. So glad i got them checked out. Quite a few needed adjustment and after having the car back it has made a noticeable difference. Especially with noise.
Here is my valve clearance checklist they provided if any of you are interested in the numbers. Next job is to get the bloody money from junction 17 now!!!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0TyoDjNQ05xSWVaT2ljV2g1UGM/view?usp=sharing
Got my car back from Ti Motorsport yesterday. Gibbo you were right, they were spot on, service and price. So glad i got them checked out. Quite a few needed adjustment and after having the car back it has made a noticeable difference. Especially with noise.
Here is my valve clearance checklist they provided if any of you are interested in the numbers. Next job is to get the bloody money from junction 17 now!!!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0TyoDjNQ05xSWVaT2ljV2g1UGM/view?usp=sharing
I didn't zoom in, just saw the diamond stitching which appeared decent. Would never had diamond stitching in an E46, mind.
Soldato
I had a cracked rear spring the other day so I DIY'd it. I've taken suspension apart before on other E46 cars and it's always been quite easy - but on the M3 I found it a lot more difficult than I remembered. Fortunately, after an hour of swearing, I discovered it was all about technique, even when I was doing it alone. However, it would be easier still if there were two of you.
Firstly, the genuine BMW rear springs are ludicrously expensive for what they are - I think they are £150 each and it is recommended that you change them both. The genuine springs don't last much more than about 30k miles before they crack again, and can go a lot sooner. Make no mistake though - they WILL go again. They all break on the last couple of coils because the spring goes noticeably thinner as it reaches the end of coil and goes into the pigtail - this appears to be the weak spot and it sheared presumably due to metal fatigue.
The Sachs ones from ECP/CP4LESS that many people have fitted on M3Cutters are NOT the correct ones and are the equivalent of the pink ones fitted to the convertible. BMW have a service area on their website where you can type in your chassis number and it will tell you which spring you need, as although most coupes will have the green springs, some, by virtue of their options list, will have pink springs, and some will have yellow.
Anyway, mine needed green ones so I had a look around and no one does them! ECS Tuning recommend Suplex springs as an alternative to the Genuine BMW ones and are manufactured in Germany. They appear to be high quality, robust and excellent value for money at £86 for the pair.
The way to do it is below:
- Jack car up, remove wheel.
- Remove 18mm lower shock bolt and remove 13mm bolt on the ARB link.
- Push down hard (you/your friend may need to bounce on it and then you manoeuvre the spring out every time you bounce.
- There should be two spring pads - the one with the pointy bit goes on the bottom, the other goes on the top. Fix them to your new spring (pay attention which way round it goes in - there should be an arrow saying TOP on the spring).
- Now the trick here is to get the top of the spring and the pad seated sort of into position. Again, bounce down on the trailing arm until the top is nearly in place - it'll obviously still be at an angle until you get the bottom pad in place.
- Get a prybar (45cm or longer makes it easier) and wedge it under the bottom of the spring/spring pad which will cause the spring to compress AND the lower arm to push down when you lever the pry bar giving you some room to get it in place. You have to use quite a lot of force to get the bottom of the spring over the bit the spring pad sits on, so don't be gentle. Then just keep trying to slowly manoeuvre it into place and eventually the bottom spring pad will seat correctly onto the upper arm.
- Jack up the upper spring arm until the ARB link comes level again then put the bolt back in an tighten up with two 13mm combi spanners.
- Raise/lower the spring arm until the lower shock hole lines up and put the 18mm bolt back in.
Things to avoid/forget:
1) Don't try and put to the bottom of the spring in first, then lever the top in - it just doesn't work.
2) Forget spring compressors etc. They are unnecessary and they simply will not fit into the spring area - it's tight. However, they can be good to take some of the height out of the spring before you put it in. During my struggle, I tried to use spring compressors before discovering that they wouldn't fit, so took them off. I then noticed that they had shrunk the spring a bit, which was helpful.
3) Using a jack in the wheel well to push down on the lower arm to give you more room - this is just going to lead to you putting a hole in your wing or something and it simply won't work.
So there you have it, all you need really is a decent length pry bar and to wedge it under the lower spring pad.
Firstly, the genuine BMW rear springs are ludicrously expensive for what they are - I think they are £150 each and it is recommended that you change them both. The genuine springs don't last much more than about 30k miles before they crack again, and can go a lot sooner. Make no mistake though - they WILL go again. They all break on the last couple of coils because the spring goes noticeably thinner as it reaches the end of coil and goes into the pigtail - this appears to be the weak spot and it sheared presumably due to metal fatigue.
The Sachs ones from ECP/CP4LESS that many people have fitted on M3Cutters are NOT the correct ones and are the equivalent of the pink ones fitted to the convertible. BMW have a service area on their website where you can type in your chassis number and it will tell you which spring you need, as although most coupes will have the green springs, some, by virtue of their options list, will have pink springs, and some will have yellow.
Anyway, mine needed green ones so I had a look around and no one does them! ECS Tuning recommend Suplex springs as an alternative to the Genuine BMW ones and are manufactured in Germany. They appear to be high quality, robust and excellent value for money at £86 for the pair.
The way to do it is below:
- Jack car up, remove wheel.
- Remove 18mm lower shock bolt and remove 13mm bolt on the ARB link.
- Push down hard (you/your friend may need to bounce on it and then you manoeuvre the spring out every time you bounce.
- There should be two spring pads - the one with the pointy bit goes on the bottom, the other goes on the top. Fix them to your new spring (pay attention which way round it goes in - there should be an arrow saying TOP on the spring).
- Now the trick here is to get the top of the spring and the pad seated sort of into position. Again, bounce down on the trailing arm until the top is nearly in place - it'll obviously still be at an angle until you get the bottom pad in place.
- Get a prybar (45cm or longer makes it easier) and wedge it under the bottom of the spring/spring pad which will cause the spring to compress AND the lower arm to push down when you lever the pry bar giving you some room to get it in place. You have to use quite a lot of force to get the bottom of the spring over the bit the spring pad sits on, so don't be gentle. Then just keep trying to slowly manoeuvre it into place and eventually the bottom spring pad will seat correctly onto the upper arm.
- Jack up the upper spring arm until the ARB link comes level again then put the bolt back in an tighten up with two 13mm combi spanners.
- Raise/lower the spring arm until the lower shock hole lines up and put the 18mm bolt back in.
Things to avoid/forget:
1) Don't try and put to the bottom of the spring in first, then lever the top in - it just doesn't work.
2) Forget spring compressors etc. They are unnecessary and they simply will not fit into the spring area - it's tight. However, they can be good to take some of the height out of the spring before you put it in. During my struggle, I tried to use spring compressors before discovering that they wouldn't fit, so took them off. I then noticed that they had shrunk the spring a bit, which was helpful.
3) Using a jack in the wheel well to push down on the lower arm to give you more room - this is just going to lead to you putting a hole in your wing or something and it simply won't work.
So there you have it, all you need really is a decent length pry bar and to wedge it under the lower spring pad.
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You forgot one crucial step at the very end, to get a new alignment done. Any suspension work should always be followed by a new alignment!
Solid guide though, and thanks for the suplex recommendation. My springs so far are still good, and I'm confident they'll remain so until the next service which is due in 4000 miles. I'll have those changed if they do end up cracking, as well as the post-cat o2 sensors still.
Do you have a link to the place you got them from? Obviously I need the ones for convertible.
If the additional labour for springs isn't too much, then I'll get the garage to do them, otherwise I'm nore than happy to do wheel stuff DIY
Solid guide though, and thanks for the suplex recommendation. My springs so far are still good, and I'm confident they'll remain so until the next service which is due in 4000 miles. I'll have those changed if they do end up cracking, as well as the post-cat o2 sensors still.
Do you have a link to the place you got them from? Obviously I need the ones for convertible.
If the additional labour for springs isn't too much, then I'll get the garage to do them, otherwise I'm nore than happy to do wheel stuff DIY
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Good stuff!
Once I've got my CSL roof fitted, new carbon wings fitted and painted, plus a new set of alcon front disc my car shall be going to them for an inspection 2 service and compression check along with any necessary work required.
Soldato
You forgot one crucial step at the very end, to get a new alignment done. Any suspension work should always be followed by a new alignment!
Solid guide though, and thanks for the suplex recommendation, my springs so far are still good, and I'm confident they'll remain so until the next service which is due in 4000 miles, so I'll have those to be changed (if they do end up cracking), as well as the post-cat o2 sensors still.
Do you have a link to the place you got them from? Obviously I need the ones for convertible.
If the additional labour for springs isn't too much, then I'll get the garage to do them, otherwise I'm nore than happy to do wheel stuff DIY
Happily, no alignment necessary if you are changing the rear springs or shocks. On the rear, the camber is dictated by the eccentric bolt on the lower arm, and the toe setting is dictated by the position of the three bolts on the end of the trailing arm. If you don't touch either of those, the alignment never changes.
Here's the link to the Suplex springs - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332128450544. This is for cars that require the green springs. Suplex do the pink ones (Suplex p/n 6277) and the yellow ones also. You'd almost certainly need the pink ones being a convertible, but you can double check on BMW's website as there is a "Spring Settings" area on their ETK.
Definitely keep an eye on them. Mine had evidently been broken a while as the point where it sheared wasn't bright and shiny metal, it was very rusted. I couldn't feel any difference in the car, it was still stable as you like and they didn't even see it on the MOT!
If you change ride height, it effects ride height, lower in height is more negative camber, higher is less camber. Toe should be relatively unchanged however, but an alignment check is good practice when changing springs.