Project E46 330i Touring

[Tinuva]

What a Project it has been Thus far.
Learnt allot while doing this.

But what Im really proud of is how this Project drew so much Amazing people
The friendship gained from this is million times more valuable than anything else

Hats off to all you Awesome people on BMWFanatics

You know, that starts with you being a great friend in the first place

 

[evnmopwr]

Small Update:

Front Lens Covers installed. they polished up nicely.

Also installed the Crystal taillights and the fitment is PERFECT!!!!



i got rid of the Cheap Chinese front and fender crystal indicators as they stood out like a dirty Zit on a teenagers forehead with the new front lenses and tails

on the hunt for original Cyrstal fender indicators and front indicators ( With the Black backing ) if anyone has leads

My cousin also managed to get me Front splitter extenders for the Mtech 2 bumper. (Shout out Autostyling CPT)
pretty decent quality


Will get these fitted the weekend.
I also need to replace the rear carpets so thats a task for this weekend too

Thanks for looking

 

[///M Individual]

Just gets better and better!

 

[Gordvisr]

looking good

 

[evnmopwr]

Splitters installed.
Leave black? Or color code them?

 

[jayaynikkal]

Colour coded splitters would go so nice with the side skirts

 

[individj]

it was me you saw on Skelmbos yesterday y the way....was day dreaming and that rear wheel caught my attention....cars is looking lovely...have new fone and dont have your digits anymore so couldn't even drop a message....i would code it ut looks cool at the moment

 

[GoCart]

They'll look sweeter with a splash of colour.

Also, you need a set of spacers on the front wheel I think, for some pop, too much contrast between the front and rears in terms of offset, as the rear is quite aggressive, if you don't mind me saying.

 

[evnmopwr]

it was me you saw on Skelmbos yesterday y the way....was day dreaming and that rear wheel caught my attention....cars is looking lovely...have new fone and dont have your digits anymore so couldn't even drop a message....i would code it ut looks cool at the moment

Lol. shot bru. Yup i knew it was you.

im thinking colour code too. but will wait for the weather to get better. too cold to do anything

 

[evnmopwr]

They'll look sweeter with a splash of colour.

Also, you need a set of spacers on the front wheel I think, for some pop, too much contrast between the front and rears in terms of offset, as the rear is quite aggressive, if you don't mind me saying.

I have to agree with you on that one. she looks abit odd.
i havnt done it yet as im busy working a deal on something very very very important and Life changing for this car.

dont want to jinx it but soon soon will post updates if all goes well

 

[osiris]

Those splitters are looking so good! I do agree with others that they should be colour coded for sure. Lovely clean example of a E46 wagon!

 

[rodga]

Febi Water bottle bought at GW Feb 2019 decided to Die.
View attachment 5673

It was affordable at R850 back then compared to the R2000 BMW wanted for a genuine one.
Also, its the first time I Ever experienced an issue with the Febi expansion Tanks.

Called GW and the price on their Febi was now R1070. i was not prepared to Pay 1k for an aftermarket part so i opted to call BMW to see if they had stock. Was preparing myself to pay the R2000 but for piece of mind.

Auric Auto in Claremont had 3 and BMW in Cape Town City Centre had 1.
I went to Auric and to my surprise, they had it on special!!!!!!!
Paid R1200 for the Expansion tank (Vat Included)

So I walked away with 2. LMAO! Would have been 3 if they 3rd one was not broken.
@M54 guys, Take advantage of this

View attachment 5674

This special is still running. Paid R1280 for e46 330d tank and about R800 for e39 525i tank.
Thanks for the heads up.

 

[evnmopwr]

Small update !!

First steps taken to Doing the O2 pilot mod.
Purchased at Mercedes-Benz

Part Number: 117 078 0681

This part is the perfect bend to go under the Intake on 1 of those Vacuum ports.



now to just get some Vac Lines to run it
O2Pilot mod will be done at next service.

Getting all the parts together for now

 

[Jive_E46]

Small update !!

First steps taken to Doing the O2 pilot mod.
Purchased at Mercedes-Benz

Part Number: 117 078 0681

This part is the perfect bend to go under the Intake on 1 of those Vacuum ports.

View attachment 8141

now to just get some Vac Lines to run it
O2Pilot mod will be done at next service.

Getting all the parts together for now

Thanks for posting this! I had no idea about this mod.

Will be doing this along with an oil catch can to try and solve a persistent leak.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[evnmopwr]

ok so the CCV refresh is officially a go!

Acquired most of the parts from Goldwagen.
only 2 items which were dealer bought, was the Top Return Pipe and the CCV

I also bought a "motoEuro" CCV from GW as it was on Special R305 just to compare it to the original bmw one which im still waiting to it to arrive at the dealer.



Also spoilt myself to a special Piece of gold







this weekend will be when i tackle the CCV refresh.
As previously mentioned, the O2Pilot mode will be done with this Refresh too

At that point, i will be monitoring Oil consumption and Smoke out the exhaust

 

[individj]

mmmmmmmmmm nice

 

[evnmopwr]

Been quiet for a while now. Just enjoying the car since.
happy to report that the new CCV install and o2pilot mod Resolved my Blue smoke issues.
Previously used 1l every 1700km ( thats when the Yellow oil light comes on )
since doing the repair, and doing oil reading on dipstick, i covered triple the above kms and barely noticed a level drop on the dipstick

Im told it will eventually stop using oil all together. But im so happy with the above already.

After trouble free driving since then, there was a rather annoying rattle i could hear coming from the front of the car when decelerating.
You could only hear it when decelerating and as soon as you clutch in or put in neutral and there is no load on the engine, Its gone.

tried few things like checking exhaust is mounted right, Heatshields, checked for blocked cats etc i could not find it

Then today while standing outside, wife came home from fetching my son from school, I had he rev the engine and i Heard this strange rattle noise.

placed my ear on the front of the engine and definitly sounds like Vanos ...

since no one has the rebuild kit locally anymore, I went onto X8r website and placed an order for these

Dual Vanos Piston Seal Repair Kit With Inner Gaskets, Piston Plugs, Piston Bolts, Needle Bearings & Anti Rattle Rings for BMW

.

x8r.co.uk

Also ordered 2 new timing chain tensioners ( primary one and Secondary one ) from the dealer as i will be changing those too.

As soon as they arrive, Will tackle them all at once.

 

[evnmopwr]

So first parts Received last week and replaced before i went on holiday.



Removed the Tensioner and Compared the Springs and 1 coil shorter than the new one



replaced the Cylinder while i was at it (OldvsNEW):



I was so happy when i went for test drive and Ticking noise was GONE when decelerating.
Monday 13th i left on holiday and No Issues.

Thursday the 16th, started the car and went to get Breakfast, Ticking noise is back when Decelerating. :|
Checked tensioner again and Not loose.
Checked the Metal Shields on Manifolds and bent them up alittle thinking it could be that

Jacked the car up and Made sure all those Dust shields are ok.
remove wheels 1 by 1 to check Brake Dust shields are not in the way of anything, Checked brake rattle clips
Spun each wheel individually to see if its something on the hub maybe but nothing

Friday 17th i left to come home and the noise is no longer there. LMAO!!!!!
All a while, my oil level is PERFECT, on its full mark, and not low.

so my next question, how is it that this noise comes and goes when it wants to?
Saturday i bought 2 new Flange gaskets as i know there is a leak on the exhaust there and i was thinking that could be the reason.
My suspicion was its doing it when its cold but when its hot, not so much

I still need to install the flange gaskets but since this morning when i dropped son at school, the noise was there again. Lol
Never got to operating temp to test the Cold vs Hot theory but its starting to annoy the crap out of me.

I doubt its the Vanos or is the intermitant sound an early failure sign for the vanos?

 

[evnmopwr]

Link to Recording i made of this noise.
Sounds like Exhaust but why only on deceleration??

 

[evnmopwr]

X8r Kit arrived
Now to find the time to do all these Fixes.