E90 320d going out of motorplan (revisited)

[killua]

Disclaimer: I did use the search. I did go through the last 20 pages of threads in this sub forum.

My 320D (E90 LCI Manual) is going out of motorplan and its such a nice car, I think I am keeping it! This is the list of things it seems I need to attend to after the motor plan expires. I will not be chip tuning the engine, I want my motor to be reliable.

1) I read that I have to delete the swirl flaps. Some say the e90 does not have swirl flaps. I believe the later to be true,
2) Decat. DO I do the decat only after the cat fails? Or should I do it ASAP? I feel absolutely stupid regarding this, as far as I know, you replace the Cat with a DP. Is this always the case?
3) It seems I should now start servicing my car every 10,000km. Oil and Filters.
4) Turbo breather filter every 2nd oil change. I haven't googled what that actually entails. Again, some sources say it is I wont have problems on my model.

With that, it does seem like a reliable car, and not much I can do in terms of preventative maintenance.

Does this sound about right? Anything I am missing? Anything I can ask the BMW dealer to do when I send it in for the last service?

 

[DieselFan]

1)they have them, they are not prone to failing, waste of money blanking them

2) it's better for your turbo to remove it. It's your decision at the end of the day. It's not detrimental having it in.

3)correct

4) if you're talking about the oil breather. Then no. The e90 has the newer vortex type which has no filter and does not need servicing.

There's quite a bit you can do as preventative maintenance. Gearbox oil change. Injector cleaner here and there. I use liquimoly additives on every fill up. Diff oil change. And letting the car warm up properly before driving hard. And taking the last 5 mins of driving easy.

Google "n47 timing chain". Besides that pretty reliable cars.

 

[killua]

Thanks a million!

So, all I have to do now in terms of maintenance is Decat (I want what is better for my turbo). I heard that when the cat starts dying, the turbo has to work much harder. Are there any negatives to removing it?

And then later, I can go through your list, probably when I do my first out-of-motorplan service.

Also, just out of interest sake, how does chip tuning really affect reliability on the diesel motors? I am only speculating that it is really bad for the engine/turbo.

 

[DieselFan]

The only negative effects of removing the dpf is that the car may expel more smoke out the exhaust.

Tuning all depends on how and who tunes the car. My 320d has been mapped for 40 000kms now. Tuning is fine as long as it's done within the cars limits.

Another thing that goes is the crankshaft pulley which is quite expensive.

 

[CNBM]

The only negative effects of removing the dpf is that the car may expel more smoke out the exhaust.

Tuning all depends on how and who tunes the car. My 320d has been mapped for 40 000kms now. Tuning is fine as long as it's done within the cars limits.

Another thing that goes is the crankshaft pulley which is quite expensive.

Had 3 90 320d's that drove collectively about 400 000km's...they were out of motorplan after 100k km's and no issues...the pulley does go at about 150k km...and cost about R4000...an easy fix though and will probably last another 150k km...do regular oil changes with good oil and you will have a trouble free experience

 

[DieselFan]

The only negative effects of removing the dpf is that the car may expel more smoke out the exhaust.

Tuning all depends on how and who tunes the car. My 320d has been mapped for 40 000kms now. Tuning is fine as long as it's done within the cars limits.

Another thing that goes is the crankshaft pulley which is quite expensive.

Had 3 90 320d's that drove collectively about 400 000km's...they were out of motorplan after 100k km's and no issues...the pulley does go at about 150k km...and cost about R4000...an easy fix though and will probably last another 150k km...do regular oil changes with good oil and you will have a trouble free experience

Mine went at 110 000kms. The pulley is closer to 5k I paid R4200 excluding vat which had 30 percent disc. Still an expensive item.

 

[CNBM]

The only negative effects of removing the dpf is that the car may expel more smoke out the exhaust.

Tuning all depends on how and who tunes the car. My 320d has been mapped for 40 000kms now. Tuning is fine as long as it's done within the cars limits.

Another thing that goes is the crankshaft pulley which is quite expensive.

Had 3 90 320d's that drove collectively about 400 000km's...they were out of motorplan after 100k km's and no issues...the pulley does go at about 150k km...and cost about R4000...an easy fix though and will probably last another 150k km...do regular oil changes with good oil and you will have a trouble free experience

Mine went at 110 000kms. The pulley is closer to 5k I paid R4200 excluding vat which had 30 percent disc. Still an expensive item.

I received a discount too via a staff member and was about R4k inclusive of belts....this was in July 2014...and agree it is an expensive item, but I heard of guys buying the pirate part for about R2k and having it break shortly afterwards

 

[DieselFan]

So basically unless you have a contact at bmw you're going to pay closer to 5k for the pulley not 4k.

 

[m0lt3n]

how do you know if your crankshaft pulley went? I took my 320d to 200k km trouble free. But did hear a knocking sound on the engine was, conclusion to that was vacuum pump issues which rectified itself and the knocking went away

 

[Andy1GP]

Don't worry about the breather. It has the vortex type and is essentially a non service item.

Keep the car, they are frugal and efficient and great to own and drive.

 

[DieselFan]

how do you know if your crankshaft pulley went? I took my 320d to 200k km trouble free. But did hear a knocking sound on the engine was, conclusion to that was vacuum pump issues which rectified itself and the knocking went away

You will get a slight vibration. And if you look at the pulley while the cars running it may be shaking a bit. Mine was running fine until one day I started it and bang flew off into the engine bay, I knew it was going though because of the above. I'm just glad it didn't happen while driving.