330D Questions

[XMAX]

Hi all,

So ive found a decent 330D Auto and am seriously looking at taking it.


2003, 330D Exclusive Steptronic,

140 000 km
PDC
Rear Blind
Front Loader + Shuttle
Full Exclusive Pack
Sunroof
FSH

The guy is willing to fair swap for my 325i SMG. So no extra Pay in,


Ive confirmed with BMW, who say that this is a 150kw version, However they were not able to tell me which Gearbox this car had (GM or ZF).

Does anyone know which gearbox this car might have. BMW checked on their system and could only pick up a Gearbox Code 205 for this Car.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

 

[P1000]

It is a GM 5l40e, there were no other boxes fitted to the E39 and E46 6cyl diesels...

 

[zaleonardz]

GM most likely.

They only used the ZF box on the 7 series I think ?

---

snap

 

[XMAX]

ALrighty,

Ive just read that that gearbox is rated for 340nm Torque.... But the 330d is rated at 409Nm... Not cool. But ill risk it.


How economical is this car.... The 150kw 330D, Auto. Considering I will be doing traffic most of the time.

 

[P1000]

ALrighty,

Ive just read that that gearbox is rated for 340nm Torque.... But the 330d is rated at 409Nm... Not cool. But ill risk it.


How economical is this car.... The 150kw 330D, Auto. Considering I will be doing traffic most of the time.

I think the later GB (A5S390) is rated 360Nm for petrol, 390Nm for diesel... But on overboost, some of those 530d/330d's have been shown to produce up to 580Nm...

 

[XMAX]

Hey that number looks familiar.

When i looked up on RealOEM using the Vin Number, I saw that Same number next to the Gearbox.

If it that gearbox, then ill be happier.

My mistake: It says A5s360 / A5s390 ..... Seriously.

Do i just guess which one it is.

Either Way, Looks like im taking the car.

Where can i get it de-swirled.

 

[P1000]

Where can i get it de-swirled.

Afaik, in our country this will be a DIY. Maybe Gizmo can help you out. Speak to Technician about the blanks...

 

[XMAX]

Thanks P1000.

 

[netercol]

How economical is this car.... The 150kw 330D, Auto. Considering I will be doing traffic most of the time

how light is your foot? seriously, it seems very much to depend on how enthusiastic you drive with these.. normal driving should see about 7-8 l/100km around town, highway can go as low as 5 l/100km

for example, i drove back from selby in jo-burg to pretoria today, and was feeling very relaxed.. so i turned up the tunes, got into the slow lane (truck lane), put the cruise control on 80km/h , reset the obc.. and when i hit pta obc said 3.4l/100km used.. an extreme example, but you get the idea..

 

[XMAX]

@Netercol - I agree. I guess the best way to find out is to actually put the car on the road.

 

[P1000]

With my 5 I get ~9l/100km with mixed driving. If I only do trips <7km, 12l/100km, open road is 6.1-6.7l/100km, the weight of my foot does not seem to have much of an effect. But then your car has the newer engine, so it should be lower.

 

[Bossman]

I just had my 530d A E39 gearbox repaired, cost around 15000, the gearbox will start to slip at about 230000km, maybe sooner.
So budget for that.
The engineering workshop showed me the problem, there are two big flat oil pressure pistons inside that get old and crack , causing oil to leak back, thus causing slippage, this will happen eventually.
They installed new parts and seals as well as replace the oil.
Replace your gearbox oil if you can as soon as possible.
Other than that it is a great car.

 

[Kinnear]

Don't think i will go for the Auto Box the shifts on the Box is too slow compared to a Manuel unless yuo got the new e90 170kw upwards version go test it and feel the age long shift time..

 

[P1000]

I just had my 530d A E39 gearbox repaired, cost around 15000, the gearbox will start to slip at about 230000km, maybe sooner.
So budget for that.
The engineering workshop showed me the problem, there are two big flat oil pressure pistons inside that get old and crack , causing oil to leak back, thus causing slippage, this will happen eventually.
They installed new parts and seals as well as replace the oil.
Replace your gearbox oil if you can as soon as possible.
Other than that it is a great car.

Again? Didn't you get a recon box from BMW 2 years ago? Where did you get it done?

 

[Pr0PheT]

My brother has a 2003 e46 330d steptronic, the consumption for very short distance (stretches of 15km or less) city driving is around 11l/100km and if you drive slow or have a lead foot doesnt change the consumption more than 0.3l/100km. On the open road at 120km/h with cruise control you can get about 7l/100km.

 

[XMAX]

@Kinnear - I appreciate the non punctuated reply (just messing with you, dont get angry), but the ive driven this 330D already, and I quite like the shifts. Theyre alot smoother than the SMG im driving now.

@Prophet - 11l / 100km is mighty bad comsumption. Ive spoken to a few other 330d auto drivers. they usually get around 9/10 l / 100km. If your bro is getting that kind of mileage you might want to suggest looking into it. Not saying that theres something wrong, but that kind of mileage is about the same as my 325i.

 

[P1000]

If you are going short stretches, it will use more diesel until it is warmed up. If I only drive to work and back = 1.6km one way, I get around 17l/100km. In town trips <6km gives me 12l/100km. Mixed highway town 50/50 gives about 7.8l/100km...

 

[XMAX]

@P1000 - That makes sense. I wonder... If the car is parked in the garage vs parked outside.... Would this affect this cold diesel issue. And if yes, How much so.

Would a 2 - 5 minute idle on start up help this issue.



I have a garage, but 80% of the time im too lazy to park the car in it. Though if it will help the car, then i definitely will.

 

[nawtiboy]

here's some inlight to the consumption bit

my 05 330d A/t is used ferrry the kids to school and to the local malls

they are short trips and the speed rarely goes over 60 -this is at 30 -min 45 min jolts in a start and stop situation

it reads 12.9 -sometimes up to 13.2l/100km -

this is normally what she gets and doesn't matter how heavy the foot is

but then once it reaches a steady pace it normally drops -seen it once under 9l/100km

i aint complaining -afterall it still is a 3L 6 cyl

hope this helps:thumbsup:

 

[P1000]

@P1000 - That makes sense. I wonder... If the car is parked in the garage vs parked outside.... Would this affect this cold diesel issue. And if yes, How much so.

Would a 2 - 5 minute idle on start up help this issue.



I have a garage, but 80% of the time im too lazy to park the car in it. Though if it will help the car, then i definitely will.

It would only depend on how long it takes the engine to get to operating temp... (not the fuel)

Idling a car before you drive it is idiotic and does more harm than good - the most prominent reason is that fuel ratios are far from optimum at idle, in order to get smooth idle etc, so you contaminate the oil much quicker etc. Best is just to take it easy for the first couple of km. There is nothing you can do to this problem, apart from heating the engine by an external source(which would be impractical, unless your car has a webasto heater like the 5's, and you have the optional timer and remote to start it 15min before you start the car. Off course, this also uses fuel so it kind of negates the effect, but at least engine wear is less and the car is nice and warm when you climb in.) Oh, and all cars diesel/petrol have this same problem, you have to enrich the fuel mix if the temperature is lower, which is why the newer engines run at 108degC when cruising on low throttle openings, like on the highway.