technical Advice needed: E46 320d at mechanics.

[herco]

Howsit gents,

I recently took over my Dad's '05 E46 320D, at around 250k km. About a 2 weeks ago I got a water leak, and has been standing since.

There is a hole in a welsh plug right behind the block. No way to get in there with a hammer. So the mech is removing the radiator etc, and brining the motor and gearbox forward to moer in a new plug. He is quoting me 5hours labour. Which seems fair considering the effort involved.

The car has had a diesel leak for a few months(constant diesel smell) somewhere, that they will be looking at. The car also has a small gearbox/motor leak which they can hopefully find.

Anything else I should be attending to at this time, since the work area is being stripped anyway? I want to make sure the car is reliable as I will be using her as a daily.

 

[Jive_E46]

Howsit gents,

I recently took over my Dad's '05 E46 320D, at around 250k km. About a 2 weeks ago I got a water leak, and has been standing since.

There is a hole in a welsh plug right behind the block. No way to get in there with a hammer. So the mech is removing the radiator etc, and brining the motor and gearbox forward to moer in a new plug. He is quoting me 5hours labour. Which seems fair considering the effort involved.

The car has had a diesel leak for a few months(constant diesel smell) somewhere, that they will be looking at. The car also has a small gearbox/motor leak which they can hopefully find.

Anything else I should be attending to at this time, since the work area is being stripped anyway? I want to make sure the car is reliable as I will be using her as a daily.

Lower Control arm bushing
Prop shaft guibo
Diff mounting bushing
Expansion tank
Power steering pump

I can’t give you much advice on the motor but check these things to ensure long term reliability


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[Solo Man]

Diesel smell could be an injector leaking. Have a look at the injectors and see if there is a black gunk around the injector which is indicative of a leak. The other cause of the smell could be cracked exhaust manifold. Not sure if the 2ld also used a steel manifold or cast iron. If steel they are double skinned and crack randomly. Best option then is to get a cast iron exhaust manifold from scrapyard. I once imported an aftermarket cast iron manifold for my 2005 E53 X5 which had cracks in the steel manifold for a decent price. Google it.

 

[herco]

Diesel smell could be an injector leaking. Have a look at the injectors and see if there is a black gunk around the injector which is indicative of a leak. The other cause of the smell could be cracked exhaust manifold. Not sure if the 2ld also used a steel manifold or cast iron. If steel they are double skinned and crack randomly. Best option then is to get a cast iron exhaust manifold from scrapyard. I once imported an aftermarket cast iron manifold for my 2005 E53 X5 which had cracks in the steel manifold for a decent price. Google it.

Thank you! I will have a look.

 

[Blue Shirt]

Also replace gearbox mountings. I have seen them go bad on a 320d and they are really cheap and easy to replace.

 

[herco]

So the car came back yesterday, driving well and pulling strong. Happy overall.

The workshop did nothing about my oil leaks though, so I'll be getting in under the car myself tomorrow and see if I can sort it out or at least identify the sources of the leaks.

I have a fresh oil leak front left, a nasty black oil leak front right (turbo?), AND a leak on the gearbox it seems. Going to be fun.