osiris
///Member
They are very nice and suite the 2 series really well. Send me a DM and I will let you know where I got them from.
@Clint@MMS AUTO We want more updates 🤣
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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
Can a 200,000 km F30 320d Still Be a Good Buy?
- Thread starter Clint@MMS AUTO
- Start date
@Clint@MMS AUTO We want more updates 🤣
Okay cool man, I also enabled Sport Auto Trans when I coded the Start/Stop memory and I agree with you, It makes a massive difference in the shifts. That coupled with the transmission service and EGS Adaptations really transformed the way my car selects and changes gears now. It’s chalk and cheese.
Come lets do it 😁
Thank you kind sir, I look forward to seeing your car soon, once you take delivery, bring it by for a free inspection and Diagnostics 😎
THIS WEEK’S UPDATE - STEERING WHEEL, ANDROID SCREEN & COOLING SYSTEM PREP
First up, the steering wheel. This one was long overdue.
The steering wheel is probably the one part of the car you’re constantly interacting with whenever you drive, so fitting a fresh one always makes the whole driving experience feel that little bit better.
The MQS terminals and wire finally arrived, so I made up the missing paddle signal wire and ran it from the FEM to the steering column.
The old steering wheel was removed and the new M Sport wheel with paddles fitted.
I also added the harness for the M1/M2 buttons, which allows me to cycle through the driving modes from the steering wheel, and connected that into the iDrive controller circuit.
Once everything was wired up, I coded the car to enable the paddle shifters.
Tested everything afterwards and I’m happy to report that it all works exactly as intended.
Paddles are working, the M1/M2 buttons are changing the driving modes, and the new wheel has made the interior feel much fresher.
Next up was something I’ve been waiting a while for.
I recently ordered a full aluminium oil filter housing from the US. I specifically wanted this particular version because it is properly aluminium throughout, rather than some of the versions I’ve seen being sold locally which use an aluminium outer housing but retain a plastic centre thermostat section which I've noticed always fails around the brass thermostat valve when the plastic cracks as shown in the pics below from another N47 we worked on recently.
new one looks like this
While I was ordering, I also added:
Then, while browsing through the cooling-system parts, I made the mistake of seeing a 12.3-inch Android screen for the F30. 😂
It looked really good, so naturally I ordered that too.
What I didn’t consider was that the dashboards on LHD and RHD F30s are different.
The advert didn’t mention anything about LHD or RHD compatibility, and I’m assuming that’s because it was being sold primarily into a left-hand-drive market.
Needless to say, I discovered this the hard way...
At around 21:30… About 50% of the way through the installation. 😂
Since I was already that far into it, there was no chance I was putting everything back together.
So I modified the mounting panel and made it work for now.
It’s not the final solution, though. I’ve already asked a friend to check for the correct RHD version when he goes to China at the end of the month.
If he can’t find one, I’ll order a RHD housing from another version and modify the two pieces to make one that fits and looks the way it’s supposed to. For now, though, I’m just happy to have Waze and my music working nicely on the larger screen. I still need to run and wire the reverse camera, but I’ll get to that soon.
Now onto the next major job…
At this point, pretty much every fluid in the car has been switched over to its Motul equivalent, with the exception of the engine coolant. That’s next.
I now have everything required for a fairly comprehensive cooling-system refresh:
I’m not replacing the water pump because BMW replaced it last year, along with the coolant expansion tank and cap, so there’s no point replacing perfectly good recent parts just for the sake of it.
This cooling-system job looks like it could easily turn into a two-day affair if I want to do everything properly, clean everything up while I’m there and make sure there are no leaks afterwards.
So when I get another decent gap in my schedule, that will be the next big job.
Still making progress whenever I get the chance but looks like there there isn't much else left to do after this besides rack up mileage and enjoy it.
First up, the steering wheel. This one was long overdue.
The steering wheel is probably the one part of the car you’re constantly interacting with whenever you drive, so fitting a fresh one always makes the whole driving experience feel that little bit better.
The MQS terminals and wire finally arrived, so I made up the missing paddle signal wire and ran it from the FEM to the steering column.
The old steering wheel was removed and the new M Sport wheel with paddles fitted.
I also added the harness for the M1/M2 buttons, which allows me to cycle through the driving modes from the steering wheel, and connected that into the iDrive controller circuit.
Once everything was wired up, I coded the car to enable the paddle shifters.
Tested everything afterwards and I’m happy to report that it all works exactly as intended.
Paddles are working, the M1/M2 buttons are changing the driving modes, and the new wheel has made the interior feel much fresher.
Next up was something I’ve been waiting a while for.
I recently ordered a full aluminium oil filter housing from the US. I specifically wanted this particular version because it is properly aluminium throughout, rather than some of the versions I’ve seen being sold locally which use an aluminium outer housing but retain a plastic centre thermostat section which I've noticed always fails around the brass thermostat valve when the plastic cracks as shown in the pics below from another N47 we worked on recently.
new one looks like this
While I was ordering, I also added:
- Aluminium coolant flange
- EGR delete kit
- Swirl flap delete kit
Then, while browsing through the cooling-system parts, I made the mistake of seeing a 12.3-inch Android screen for the F30. 😂
It looked really good, so naturally I ordered that too.
What I didn’t consider was that the dashboards on LHD and RHD F30s are different.
The advert didn’t mention anything about LHD or RHD compatibility, and I’m assuming that’s because it was being sold primarily into a left-hand-drive market.
Needless to say, I discovered this the hard way...
At around 21:30… About 50% of the way through the installation. 😂
Since I was already that far into it, there was no chance I was putting everything back together.
So I modified the mounting panel and made it work for now.
It’s not the final solution, though. I’ve already asked a friend to check for the correct RHD version when he goes to China at the end of the month.
If he can’t find one, I’ll order a RHD housing from another version and modify the two pieces to make one that fits and looks the way it’s supposed to. For now, though, I’m just happy to have Waze and my music working nicely on the larger screen. I still need to run and wire the reverse camera, but I’ll get to that soon.
Now onto the next major job…
At this point, pretty much every fluid in the car has been switched over to its Motul equivalent, with the exception of the engine coolant. That’s next.
I now have everything required for a fairly comprehensive cooling-system refresh:
- Motul coolant
- New thermostat
- New thermostat housing
- Aluminium coolant flange
- Full aluminium oil filter housing with Thermostat assembly, Both oil coolers, New cooler gaskets and seals
I’m not replacing the water pump because BMW replaced it last year, along with the coolant expansion tank and cap, so there’s no point replacing perfectly good recent parts just for the sake of it.
This cooling-system job looks like it could easily turn into a two-day affair if I want to do everything properly, clean everything up while I’m there and make sure there are no leaks afterwards.
So when I get another decent gap in my schedule, that will be the next big job.
Still making progress whenever I get the chance but looks like there there isn't much else left to do after this besides rack up mileage and enjoy it.
THIS WEEK’S UPDATE - COOLING SYSTEM REFRESH, OIL FILTER HOUSING, INTAKE & EGR WORK
We had some time Yesterday so the 320d went back onto the lift for another fairly big round of work.
The Coolant Drained and engine bay was stripped back to get access to all the cooling-system components I had been collecting over the last few weeks.
While everything was opened up, I also took the opportunity to have a look at the turbo. Happy to report that it’s looking good for the mileage. There is very little shaft play and the compressor blades look clean and in good condition.
First up was the thermostat and thermostat housing.
I had suspected there may have been a coolant leak in this area previously because there was quite a bit of dried coolant residue around the housing where the hose connects. Once everything was stripped out, it confirmed that replacing these parts was definitely worthwhile.
A new thermostat and thermostat housing were fitted.
Next was the intake manifold removal as well as the coolant flange and complete oil filter housing assembly. This is where things got interesting.
I’m very glad I decided to replace the oil filter housing Preventatively rather than simply leave the original one in place.
Once removed, we found that part of the original housing had actually failed internally. The small brass valve had broken off and was lying loose inside the coolant channel on the engine block. In the pictures you can clearly see the broken brass piece and where it had separated from the original housing.
Then compare that to the new full-aluminium housing.
The original plastic unit also has quite a few recessed areas and weak points in its construction, while the new aluminium version feels much more substantial and eliminates a lot of the plastic components that tend to become brittle with age and heat cycles.
Once the block mating surfaces were properly cleaned, the new complete aluminium oil filter housing assembly was installed together with the aluminium coolant flange.
Hopefully that’s a few more plastic cooling-system weak points removed from the equation.
Then came the intake manifold. This was probably the biggest surprise of the whole job. The moment the manifold came off, I was expecting to find the usual diesel carbon build-up through the intake system and cylinder-head ports. Instead, there was almost nothing.
The intake runners were incredibly clean, the ports in the cylinder head had virtually no carbon build-up, and you could clearly see down towards the valves.
Honestly, I was expecting something completely different from a 200,000 km N47.
What a car this is turning out to be. Lebofa clearly looked after this engine properly over the years.
Next up was the EGR system.
The EGR cooler was removed and, surprisingly, even the cooler core had very little carbon build-up inside it.
The EGR blanking plates were then fitted while everything was accessible.
Back to the intake manifold…
The original intake gasket plate also houses the swirl flaps, so I initially removed the flaps from the existing plate while waiting for the replacement gasket plate to arrive.
While the manifold was off the car, I also gave the outside of it a proper clean because it had accumulated quite a bit of dirt over the years.
Since we ended up waiting for the manifold gasket plate, we moved onto refill the cooling system.
Before adding coolant, I vacuum-tested the system to make sure it could hold vacuum and that we hadn’t introduced any leaks during the work. Everything checked out, so the system was vacuum-filled with Motul Auto Cool Expert
coolant.
Once the new gasket plate arrived, it was fitted with the swirl-flap arrangement removed, and the intake manifold was then reinstalled onto the engine. New on the bottom. I had used the old as test to remove the flaps.
The battery was reconnected, the engine started, and both the coolant and engine-oil levels were checked.
With everything mechanically back together, Everything looked good. No visible leaks, no coolant loss and everything was operating as expected. By that point it was getting fairly late, so I stopped for the evening and left a large clean sheet of paper underneath the engine overnight.
The following morning, the sheet was still completely clean.
No coolant.
No oil.
No leaks.
Started the car again, no warning lights on the dash, and took it for a short test drive. I’ve only done about 5 km since completing the work, but so far everything is running perfectly. The engine feels very smooth and responsive. Whether that’s actually related to the intake changes or simply everything being freshly reassembled and serviced is difficult to say after such a short drive, but the car definitely feels good.
No engine warning light has appeared so far either, but I’ll continue monitoring everything as I put some more mileage onto it. Overall, I’m very happy with how this round of work went. The biggest surprise was definitely seeing just how clean the intake system, cylinder-head ports and EGR cooler were after more than 200,000 km.
It’s becoming more and more obvious that this Vehicle has had a very good life.
And lastly, an interior picture since I don’t think I’ve posted many of those. The inside of the car is also in really good condition for its age and mileage, especially after the recent detail.
That’s it for now.
We had some time Yesterday so the 320d went back onto the lift for another fairly big round of work.
The Coolant Drained and engine bay was stripped back to get access to all the cooling-system components I had been collecting over the last few weeks.
While everything was opened up, I also took the opportunity to have a look at the turbo. Happy to report that it’s looking good for the mileage. There is very little shaft play and the compressor blades look clean and in good condition.
First up was the thermostat and thermostat housing.
I had suspected there may have been a coolant leak in this area previously because there was quite a bit of dried coolant residue around the housing where the hose connects. Once everything was stripped out, it confirmed that replacing these parts was definitely worthwhile.
A new thermostat and thermostat housing were fitted.
Next was the intake manifold removal as well as the coolant flange and complete oil filter housing assembly. This is where things got interesting.
I’m very glad I decided to replace the oil filter housing Preventatively rather than simply leave the original one in place.
Once removed, we found that part of the original housing had actually failed internally. The small brass valve had broken off and was lying loose inside the coolant channel on the engine block. In the pictures you can clearly see the broken brass piece and where it had separated from the original housing.
Then compare that to the new full-aluminium housing.
The original plastic unit also has quite a few recessed areas and weak points in its construction, while the new aluminium version feels much more substantial and eliminates a lot of the plastic components that tend to become brittle with age and heat cycles.
Once the block mating surfaces were properly cleaned, the new complete aluminium oil filter housing assembly was installed together with the aluminium coolant flange.
Hopefully that’s a few more plastic cooling-system weak points removed from the equation.
Then came the intake manifold. This was probably the biggest surprise of the whole job. The moment the manifold came off, I was expecting to find the usual diesel carbon build-up through the intake system and cylinder-head ports. Instead, there was almost nothing.
The intake runners were incredibly clean, the ports in the cylinder head had virtually no carbon build-up, and you could clearly see down towards the valves.
Honestly, I was expecting something completely different from a 200,000 km N47.
What a car this is turning out to be. Lebofa clearly looked after this engine properly over the years.
Next up was the EGR system.
The EGR cooler was removed and, surprisingly, even the cooler core had very little carbon build-up inside it.
The EGR blanking plates were then fitted while everything was accessible.
Back to the intake manifold…
The original intake gasket plate also houses the swirl flaps, so I initially removed the flaps from the existing plate while waiting for the replacement gasket plate to arrive.
While the manifold was off the car, I also gave the outside of it a proper clean because it had accumulated quite a bit of dirt over the years.
Since we ended up waiting for the manifold gasket plate, we moved onto refill the cooling system.
Before adding coolant, I vacuum-tested the system to make sure it could hold vacuum and that we hadn’t introduced any leaks during the work. Everything checked out, so the system was vacuum-filled with Motul Auto Cool Expert
coolant.
Once the new gasket plate arrived, it was fitted with the swirl-flap arrangement removed, and the intake manifold was then reinstalled onto the engine. New on the bottom. I had used the old as test to remove the flaps.
The battery was reconnected, the engine started, and both the coolant and engine-oil levels were checked.
With everything mechanically back together, Everything looked good. No visible leaks, no coolant loss and everything was operating as expected. By that point it was getting fairly late, so I stopped for the evening and left a large clean sheet of paper underneath the engine overnight.
The following morning, the sheet was still completely clean.
No coolant.
No oil.
No leaks.
Started the car again, no warning lights on the dash, and took it for a short test drive. I’ve only done about 5 km since completing the work, but so far everything is running perfectly. The engine feels very smooth and responsive. Whether that’s actually related to the intake changes or simply everything being freshly reassembled and serviced is difficult to say after such a short drive, but the car definitely feels good.
No engine warning light has appeared so far either, but I’ll continue monitoring everything as I put some more mileage onto it. Overall, I’m very happy with how this round of work went. The biggest surprise was definitely seeing just how clean the intake system, cylinder-head ports and EGR cooler were after more than 200,000 km.
It’s becoming more and more obvious that this Vehicle has had a very good life.
And lastly, an interior picture since I don’t think I’ve posted many of those. The inside of the car is also in really good condition for its age and mileage, especially after the recent detail.
That’s it for now.
Because contrary to what many think, a 200k km 10 year old car is better than a 20k km 10 year old car.
///M Individual
Well-known member
Exactly this!
@lebofa any other tips? Besides regular servicing did you ever chuck any additives or so in?
Silverbird_96kw
///Member
Love coming here to get my daily read.
Keep it up - car is coming along mooi.
Keep it up - car is coming along mooi.
No additives and only used SASOL 10PPM diesel since new. Both my diesels uses only SASOL 10ppm and glad to see long term results
I do the same
I Drive like 9km out of my way just to fill up at Sasol. Glad to know it actually be helping
THIS WEEK’S UPDATE – TUNE SORTED, MPPK ECU PRESERVED & MORE ROAD-TRIP PREP
I ended up doing about 50 km after the recent EGR, DPF and swirl-flap work and, interestingly, no warning lights came on and the car never went into limp mode. The car still drove smoothly and had decent power, but I could definitely feel that the low-down torque had gone a bit flat.
With the DPF, EGR and swirl flaps no longer part of the original setup, the airflow and fuelling were obviously no longer where they were designed to be on the stock calibration, so it was time to get the software properly dialled in.
Since @KPM3_30 was here yesterday doing the front brakes on the 330d, I asked him for Juvan’s number so I could make a booking and get the tuning sorted. I had a chat with Juvan and he said he could assist me this morning at 10:30. I explained that I wanted to remove and preserve the genuine M Performance ECU and reinstall the car’s original ECU with the factory 135 kW map as the ECU to be tuned. That way, if I ever want to return the car to its genuine MPPK setup in future, the M Performance ECU remains completely untouched. That wasn’t a problem.
So this morning I dropped the car off at Xcede in Linbro Park together with the original ECU. Before leaving, I also made it clear that I wasn’t looking for a race map. The car will never be raced or launched, and I’m not interested in chasing a big dyno number. The priorities were reliability, fuel efficiency and smooth, usable power throughout the rev range.
Not long afterwards, Juvan messaged me to say the car was already inside and they had started working on it. The car was put on the dyno and a baseline run was done first with the genuine MPPK ECU still fitted.
Baseline result:
125.6 kW and 382 Nm
I was told that was a decent result and already stronger than what they normally see from a standard 320d in the same conditions, so it was nice confirmation that the genuine 147 kW MPPK setup was definitely adding value.
They then removed the MPPK ECU, fitted the car’s original ECU and loaded the new custom calibration.
Final result:
150 kW and 452 Nm
So compared with the MPPK baseline, the custom tune gained:
+24.4 kW and +70 Nm
That works out to roughly a 19% increase in power and an 18% increase in torque over the MPPK baseline run. More importantly, the graph was smooth and the power delivery looked exactly like what I had asked for.
We went back to collect the car and the difference was immediately noticeable on the drive home. The low-down torque is back, throttle response is much better and the car pulls strongly and smoothly through the rev range. Fuel consumption is also looking sensible again.
I’m really happy that I let @Xcede Performance sort this part of the project out. The car is going really well and Juvan and his team were an absolute pleasure to deal with.
For what I want from the car, 150 kW and 452 Nm is more than enough. Smooth, usable power with reliability and fuel efficiency was always the goal.
In all the rushing around today, I also stopped past Goldwagen to collect my prize. I won the Bilstein Bar fridge competition last month and finally got around to picking it up. Very cool prize and definitely going to come in handy with summer around the corner. 😂
While I was there, I also picked up a new rear propshaft coupling. Once I got back, the 320d went straight onto the lift again. I fitted the upgraded metal handbrake-cable support bracket and replaced the rear propshaft coupling. The old coupling had already started showing some cracking and, with the additional torque the car is now making, there was no point leaving it there and hoping for the best. Rather replace it now before the upcoming trip.
So at this point the plan is simple. Drive the car as much as possible over the next few days, keep an eye on everything and make sure there are no leaks, faults or strange behaviour. If all remains well, then I’m really looking forward to taking it on its first proper road trip soon.
That’s all for now.
I ended up doing about 50 km after the recent EGR, DPF and swirl-flap work and, interestingly, no warning lights came on and the car never went into limp mode. The car still drove smoothly and had decent power, but I could definitely feel that the low-down torque had gone a bit flat.
With the DPF, EGR and swirl flaps no longer part of the original setup, the airflow and fuelling were obviously no longer where they were designed to be on the stock calibration, so it was time to get the software properly dialled in.
Since @KPM3_30 was here yesterday doing the front brakes on the 330d, I asked him for Juvan’s number so I could make a booking and get the tuning sorted. I had a chat with Juvan and he said he could assist me this morning at 10:30. I explained that I wanted to remove and preserve the genuine M Performance ECU and reinstall the car’s original ECU with the factory 135 kW map as the ECU to be tuned. That way, if I ever want to return the car to its genuine MPPK setup in future, the M Performance ECU remains completely untouched. That wasn’t a problem.
So this morning I dropped the car off at Xcede in Linbro Park together with the original ECU. Before leaving, I also made it clear that I wasn’t looking for a race map. The car will never be raced or launched, and I’m not interested in chasing a big dyno number. The priorities were reliability, fuel efficiency and smooth, usable power throughout the rev range.
Not long afterwards, Juvan messaged me to say the car was already inside and they had started working on it. The car was put on the dyno and a baseline run was done first with the genuine MPPK ECU still fitted.
Baseline result:
125.6 kW and 382 Nm
I was told that was a decent result and already stronger than what they normally see from a standard 320d in the same conditions, so it was nice confirmation that the genuine 147 kW MPPK setup was definitely adding value.
They then removed the MPPK ECU, fitted the car’s original ECU and loaded the new custom calibration.
Final result:
150 kW and 452 Nm
So compared with the MPPK baseline, the custom tune gained:
+24.4 kW and +70 Nm
That works out to roughly a 19% increase in power and an 18% increase in torque over the MPPK baseline run. More importantly, the graph was smooth and the power delivery looked exactly like what I had asked for.
We went back to collect the car and the difference was immediately noticeable on the drive home. The low-down torque is back, throttle response is much better and the car pulls strongly and smoothly through the rev range. Fuel consumption is also looking sensible again.
I’m really happy that I let @Xcede Performance sort this part of the project out. The car is going really well and Juvan and his team were an absolute pleasure to deal with.
For what I want from the car, 150 kW and 452 Nm is more than enough. Smooth, usable power with reliability and fuel efficiency was always the goal.
In all the rushing around today, I also stopped past Goldwagen to collect my prize. I won the Bilstein Bar fridge competition last month and finally got around to picking it up. Very cool prize and definitely going to come in handy with summer around the corner. 😂
While I was there, I also picked up a new rear propshaft coupling. Once I got back, the 320d went straight onto the lift again. I fitted the upgraded metal handbrake-cable support bracket and replaced the rear propshaft coupling. The old coupling had already started showing some cracking and, with the additional torque the car is now making, there was no point leaving it there and hoping for the best. Rather replace it now before the upcoming trip.
So at this point the plan is simple. Drive the car as much as possible over the next few days, keep an eye on everything and make sure there are no leaks, faults or strange behaviour. If all remains well, then I’m really looking forward to taking it on its first proper road trip soon.
That’s all for now.
Attachments
Thanks for support Clint. The car is really neat and will serve you well now with those EGR & Swirlflap DTC's off
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
1 Eyed Monkey
Active member
I can imagine how beautiful she's driving now. 
I’ve now driven roughly 1,500 km since the last service, including a proper road trip down to KZN. The fuel consumption was honestly impressive.
I filled the tank before leaving Johannesburg and, by the time we reached Bergview, the car still had just over three-quarters of a tank remaining. Consumption was sitting at around 4.8 L/100 km while cruising at approximately 130 km/h.
For a 200,000+ km 320d making 150 kW and 452 Nm, I really can’t complain about that.
The second half of the trip, however, became a little more interesting.
I started hearing what sounded like an exhaust leak and noticed more smoke than usual whenever I put my foot down. The car was still driving perfectly normally, with no warning lights or other issues, so I avoided pushing it and continued cruising until Durban.
We arrived without any drama and still had just under half a tank left. Johannesburg to Durban on a little over half a tank is seriously impressive, especially considering the exhaust leak developed along the way.
The following morning, once the engine had cooled down completely, I opened the bonnet and found the culprit.
The aluminium EGR blanking plate supplied with the delete kit had distorted. After the sustained heat of the long-distance drive, the plate had bent at its weakest point and allowed exhaust pressure to blow past the gasket.
Not exactly ideal when you’re hundreds of kilometres from home. 😂
With limited tools and parts available, I removed and refitted the plate using exhaust sealer as a temporary measure to get me back to Johannesburg. It helped a little, but definitely wasn’t a permanent solution.
Once we got home, I removed the damaged aluminium plate and fitted two new plates together as a double stack to give the blanking point considerably more rigidity.
I’ll keep an eye on it going forward, but it’s definitely something worth noting with some of these aluminium EGR delete plates.
After sorting that out, the engine bay needed some serious attention. The exhaust leak had made a mess, so everything got a proper clean with degreaser, foam, brushes and the pressure washer.
Once the engine bay was clean again, I checked the engine-oil level on the dipstick.
The level was perfect, but after around 1,500 km the oil was already noticeably dark.
Obviously diesel engine oil darkens fairly quickly because of soot and combustion contaminants, so colour alone doesn’t necessarily mean the oil is finished.
At the same time, that’s also exactly what I want to see from the Motul X-clean during this clean-up phase. A good detergent and dispersant oil is designed to keep soot, deposits and contaminants suspended in the oil so that they can be carried out of the engine when the oil is drained, rather than being left behind to settle and form sludge.
So I’m quite happy to let the Motul do its job, pull whatever contamination it can into suspension, and then get it out of the engine with the oil change.
Considering this engine is still going through my clean-up phase, I figured I might as well do another oil service while I was there.
(RIP to all the diesel guys who want to do 15,000 and 20,000 km service intervals. 😂)
A fresh oil filter + Oil and I got to work.
The oil filter was removed, followed by draining the engine oil.
Once most of the oil was out, I left a small container underneath to catch the final drips while I removed and thoroughly cleaned the undertray.
Afterwards, everything was closed up again, the cleaned undertray was refitted and the engine was filled with fresh oil.
Another engine-oil service done, Engine bay cleaned & Exhaust leak sorted.
And the car is ready to go again.
Despite the little EGR plate issue, I’m extremely happy with how the car performed on its first proper long-distance trip. The power delivery was excellent, it cruised effortlessly and the fuel economy was even better than I expected.
These 2.0d BMWs are seriously underrated for just how much they offer.
I filled the tank before leaving Johannesburg and, by the time we reached Bergview, the car still had just over three-quarters of a tank remaining. Consumption was sitting at around 4.8 L/100 km while cruising at approximately 130 km/h.
For a 200,000+ km 320d making 150 kW and 452 Nm, I really can’t complain about that.
The second half of the trip, however, became a little more interesting.
I started hearing what sounded like an exhaust leak and noticed more smoke than usual whenever I put my foot down. The car was still driving perfectly normally, with no warning lights or other issues, so I avoided pushing it and continued cruising until Durban.
We arrived without any drama and still had just under half a tank left. Johannesburg to Durban on a little over half a tank is seriously impressive, especially considering the exhaust leak developed along the way.
The following morning, once the engine had cooled down completely, I opened the bonnet and found the culprit.
The aluminium EGR blanking plate supplied with the delete kit had distorted. After the sustained heat of the long-distance drive, the plate had bent at its weakest point and allowed exhaust pressure to blow past the gasket.
Not exactly ideal when you’re hundreds of kilometres from home. 😂
With limited tools and parts available, I removed and refitted the plate using exhaust sealer as a temporary measure to get me back to Johannesburg. It helped a little, but definitely wasn’t a permanent solution.
Once we got home, I removed the damaged aluminium plate and fitted two new plates together as a double stack to give the blanking point considerably more rigidity.
I’ll keep an eye on it going forward, but it’s definitely something worth noting with some of these aluminium EGR delete plates.
After sorting that out, the engine bay needed some serious attention. The exhaust leak had made a mess, so everything got a proper clean with degreaser, foam, brushes and the pressure washer.
Once the engine bay was clean again, I checked the engine-oil level on the dipstick.
The level was perfect, but after around 1,500 km the oil was already noticeably dark.
Obviously diesel engine oil darkens fairly quickly because of soot and combustion contaminants, so colour alone doesn’t necessarily mean the oil is finished.
At the same time, that’s also exactly what I want to see from the Motul X-clean during this clean-up phase. A good detergent and dispersant oil is designed to keep soot, deposits and contaminants suspended in the oil so that they can be carried out of the engine when the oil is drained, rather than being left behind to settle and form sludge.
So I’m quite happy to let the Motul do its job, pull whatever contamination it can into suspension, and then get it out of the engine with the oil change.
Considering this engine is still going through my clean-up phase, I figured I might as well do another oil service while I was there.
(RIP to all the diesel guys who want to do 15,000 and 20,000 km service intervals. 😂)
A fresh oil filter + Oil and I got to work.
The oil filter was removed, followed by draining the engine oil.
Once most of the oil was out, I left a small container underneath to catch the final drips while I removed and thoroughly cleaned the undertray.
Afterwards, everything was closed up again, the cleaned undertray was refitted and the engine was filled with fresh oil.
Another engine-oil service done, Engine bay cleaned & Exhaust leak sorted.
And the car is ready to go again.
Despite the little EGR plate issue, I’m extremely happy with how the car performed on its first proper long-distance trip. The power delivery was excellent, it cruised effortlessly and the fuel economy was even better than I expected.
These 2.0d BMWs are seriously underrated for just how much they offer.
