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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
advice
- Thread starter ANDREW M3
- Start date
Crash_Nemesis
///Member
Congrats. What an amazing car, I have had mine for 9 years now and still drive it with a smile as if it were my first time.
Upload some pics and tell us a bit more about the car and what you wish to know.
With these cars reaching almost 20 years old now, there are a few issues that have been around for some time that affects all e46 M3's. Those being the rod bearings, the vanos and vanos pump disk, the rear subframe and bootfloor failure and smg failures (If you bought a manual then you can ignore the last.)
Off the bat, I would find out if the car has had all the BMW recall services done. Those being the bearing recall (If pre 2003 model) and the air bag recall. You just need to call a local BMW and give them your vin number for them to check and see if the car is on the service recall list and if so, whether they have been done or not, and again if so, at what mileage.
Once you have those details and at what mileage the bearings where replaced, you can make a decision on whether you wish to do the bearings again, as they are a maintenance item on these cars and will need to be replaced every 60-100 000km depending. Doesn't matter what year model your car is, you need to replace the bearings.
Let us know what you wish to know about.
Wishing you many happy miles with the car and welcome to the BMW Fanatics.
:cartel:
Upload some pics and tell us a bit more about the car and what you wish to know.
With these cars reaching almost 20 years old now, there are a few issues that have been around for some time that affects all e46 M3's. Those being the rod bearings, the vanos and vanos pump disk, the rear subframe and bootfloor failure and smg failures (If you bought a manual then you can ignore the last.)
Off the bat, I would find out if the car has had all the BMW recall services done. Those being the bearing recall (If pre 2003 model) and the air bag recall. You just need to call a local BMW and give them your vin number for them to check and see if the car is on the service recall list and if so, whether they have been done or not, and again if so, at what mileage.
Once you have those details and at what mileage the bearings where replaced, you can make a decision on whether you wish to do the bearings again, as they are a maintenance item on these cars and will need to be replaced every 60-100 000km depending. Doesn't matter what year model your car is, you need to replace the bearings.
Let us know what you wish to know about.
Wishing you many happy miles with the car and welcome to the BMW Fanatics.
:cartel:
PLV
Well-known member
Congrats!
You must read this thread posted by @Adis ...
https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=80657
You must read this thread posted by @Adis ...
https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=80657
I thought these pics looked familiar.. https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=91024
Congrats on the car, hope you enjoy!
Congrats on the car, hope you enjoy!
///Avi
///Member
Welcome and congrats bud!
I think BMW would've worked on this car a while back. Rather go through the previous owners service and preventative maintenance history. This is a pre-facelift car so the rear subframe is also something to inspect, as well as bearings being done.
The link to the thread above has valuable information on problem areas on these cars.
I think BMW would've worked on this car a while back. Rather go through the previous owners service and preventative maintenance history. This is a pre-facelift car so the rear subframe is also something to inspect, as well as bearings being done.
The link to the thread above has valuable information on problem areas on these cars.
UpNcOmiNg!
Events Organiser
:chef:
Congrats on a beautiful car bud!
Love that beast.
Congrats on a beautiful car bud!
Love that beast.
Crash_Nemesis
///Member
When were the bearings changed? As I stated before, these are a maintenance item and will need to be changed again.
EDIT
ok, Just saw the post where you mentioned they were done at 74,000km. You are currently at 137,000km. That puts 63 000km on the bearings. There are cases of bearings failing anywhere between 60 000 - 100 000 km.
May I suggest for peace of mind as this is a new car for you and thus you have no idea how the previous owner treated it on cold startup, that when you do the oil change at BMW, ask to keep the old filter. Make sure it is yours and not a random one they have lying around. Once you have the filter back home, cut it open and search for any metal flakes or material. You should also send the oil out to be tested for contaminates so as to see how much copper & lead is in the oil. This will reveal if the bearings are on their way out and if you need to change them sooner or later.
Below is an example of an oil analysis where a car needed bearings to be replaced due to higher lead and copper being found in the oil sample.
And below is a video of another M3 that does see a lot of track use having the same oil analysis done as the car above, but in this particular case, the oil analysis came back clean and the bearings are not showing any significant wear. Hopefully between these two oil analysis examples, you can get a good idea of what needs to be done.
[align=center][video=youtube]
EDIT
ok, Just saw the post where you mentioned they were done at 74,000km. You are currently at 137,000km. That puts 63 000km on the bearings. There are cases of bearings failing anywhere between 60 000 - 100 000 km.
May I suggest for peace of mind as this is a new car for you and thus you have no idea how the previous owner treated it on cold startup, that when you do the oil change at BMW, ask to keep the old filter. Make sure it is yours and not a random one they have lying around. Once you have the filter back home, cut it open and search for any metal flakes or material. You should also send the oil out to be tested for contaminates so as to see how much copper & lead is in the oil. This will reveal if the bearings are on their way out and if you need to change them sooner or later.
Below is an example of an oil analysis where a car needed bearings to be replaced due to higher lead and copper being found in the oil sample.
And below is a video of another M3 that does see a lot of track use having the same oil analysis done as the car above, but in this particular case, the oil analysis came back clean and the bearings are not showing any significant wear. Hopefully between these two oil analysis examples, you can get a good idea of what needs to be done.
[align=center][video=youtube]
