Gavsadler's 2011 E90 M3 Sedan M-DCT

[gavsadler]

S65 Throttle Actuator service / gear replacement:

So, one Saturday whilst on Daddy Day Care duty, with all the kids in order and behaving nicely, we decided to tackle the throttle actuator job, and replace the internals with the kits which I got from the States.

The M was still in the service bay, so we set about getting things ready and the job commenced.

First up was removal of the airbox:

Looking closer, we noticed that the coil pack cover is missing on the LHS (sigh):

Here's the one from the RHS:

Next up, the intake plenum needs to come off. This is done by loosening the hoses underneath which attach to the throttle bodies, and unpluging a few hoses. Top tip, the 2 shiny nuts on the top of the plenum don't hold it down at all, rather it seems to hold the top and bottom halves of the plenum together.

Looking a little closer, you will notice how the back 4 throttles of the motor have a little more gunk buildup, this is probably due to the breather pipes entering at the back side of the plenum. We cleaned these up a little bit after taking the plenum off. Thereafter I blocked off all throttles and breather pipes with pieces of cloth.

Next step is to unplug a number of plugs, and loosen the wiring harness that runs just above the motor in the V. With all the plugs loose, the harness can be lifted just enough to make room to remove the throttle actuators. I used a rod as a spacer:

Here's a close up under the harness, where you can see the 2 throttle actuators nestled in nicely:

The actuator rods clip off, and then each actuator is secured to the motor with 3 bolts. We carefully removed these, making use of a magnet to ensure that we don't drop a bolt anywhere. Without too much stress or fuss, the actuators came out:

And a pic of the empty void where the actuators chill out:

In the next update, I'll document the service / repair process. Time is short now as parental obligations are calling....

 

[///Avi]

Great work!

 

[boost3d]

Loving the look of the 359M's, iv been searching for a pair of oem wides, but havent had any luck! Will you please drop me a pm if you dont mind disclosing how much you paid for shipping/customs etc etc

 

[FiRi@Rennzport]

Damn the silver 359s looks so tit. Great work brother

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[gavsadler]

Moving on to the throttle body service...

Here are some pics of the replacement gear sets I brought in from the States. This particular kit has the brass gears, and also comes mounted on a new shaft, making the repair a fairly simple swap over (other kits require the original gear to be broken off the shaft, and then fitment of the new gear onto the old shaft).

We started by stripping Bank 2 (LHS). 5 screws, and then the pc board can be carefully removed from the rest of the unit:

From what I've read, if the car starts throwing codes, then there is a good chance that components on this board are fried = new complete throttle body actuator units.

Here's a pic of the main unit, showing the 2 gears (left and centre) which will be replaced:

The centre gear pulls out, inspection of this didn't reveal any significant, noticeable wear. However underneath was a different story. Where the centre gear mates with the LHS gear, there is some quite significant wear on the gear teeth. In the pic below, we are pointing to the worn areas with a screwdriver (by comparison, look at the ends of the same gear where the teeth are new):

Shaking the actuator to let any loose debris fall out onto the cloth:

After cleaning out the housing with a soft brush, things were looking better:

Installing the new gear + replacement shaft:

And the replacement centre gear installed:

After this, we closed up the unit by refitting the pc board. Job done for this unit. Time to move on to Bank 1 (RHS).


Following exactly the same process as outlined above, here's a view of the insides after opening up the unit:

At least as much, if not more wear on the gears. Also a lot more debris (worn gear bits and dried up old grease) which came out:

After cleaning up:

After this, we closed up this unit as well. Then as per my previous post, the reverse process was followed to reinstall the units into the car.

I would be lying if i wasn't a little nervous whether the car would start without hassles. Thankfully it started 1st time, although it was idling and hunting all over the place for what I assume is to reset / adjust adaptation settings etc. After a short while it did settle into a smooth idle. And no faults or warnings on display. Job done.

I ended off the day giving the car a quick wash before we headed out for a test drive. Took some pics in the late afternoon sun:

 

[VinceM]

You have just increased the value of this car in the short while you owned it.

raise:

 

[UpNcOmiNg!]

raise:

Well damn done. The things you are willing to undertake on this car, although not THAT intricate would make many a man quake in fear. Me included! haha.

Great work man! :thumbs:

 

[danieltau]

:bravo:raise:

 

[BeemerFanatic]

Great work man

 

[sash]

Great work Gavin. The car is taking shape nicely, attention to detail is amazing.

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[Gokugt86]

This thing looks insane. Love the look of the rims in silver. Well done Sir :bravo:

 

[gavsadler]

Just a quick little update here.

While the forum was down I've done a couple of other minor things.

The bonnet shocks were a little bit tired, so even though the bonnet is aluminium, it wasn't fond of staying open. I had to lift it all the way up by hand, and then the shocks would barely be able to cope, I was worried that any bump or gust of wind would send it crashing back down, which could spell disaster for my head (or someone else's), nevermind if there are any tools lying about which could damage the bonnet.

So I had plans to replace these. New OEM shocks were around R1600 after ABM discounts, so I decided against that idea. The next plan would be to take mine as a sample and get some new aftermarket ones made up. When I arrived at my supplier, they actually tested my old shocks and didn't find any leaks, and then said that they could re-gas them for me.

I walked out the shop with 2 refurbished shocks, and spent less than R150. So that was a huge win for me. I reinstalled on the car and they are as good as new, even 1 shock is enough to hold up the bonnet.

Other than that, no major news. I got a keyring to help me with my first world problems of not being able to distinguish between the 130i and M3 key fobs:

Then there are 2 niggles which I need to investigate further:

1) LHS headlight gets moisture inside after a car wash, so it seems like maybe there is a leak on the lens seal somewhere.

2) Left rear tyre has a slow leak. I'm hoping it's maybe the valve, otherwise possibly a puncture of some sort.

Other than that I'm using the car about once a week for now, doing a school run / swimming lessons.

That's all for now.

 

[Twinz]

This car is getting so much love & care.
Well done Gav :bravo:

 

[TS_]

What a mint example. You've definitely changed my perspective on how one of these should look. BMW really did a great job of putting this car together, all the added extras aren't necessary. Kudos on a great job

 

[Phat01]

Well done Gav.

This car just gets better & better as the days go! :bravo:

 

[gavsadler]

Update Nov-2019:

Something that was bugging me immensely was the luv gap between the boot and the lip spoiler. Every single time I walked past the car, I would cringe a little, and if i was close enough, grip the ends of the spoiler and restrain myself from just ripping the damn thing off. Some will find it odd how the wrong use of adhesive tape can result in a tacky outcome.

Anyways, rant over. I was also in 2 minds about the black spoiler. I'm sure it would have looked better if it was fitted flush with the boot, but I didn't go down that route. Instead, my boring, incognito, undercover persona took over, and I set about searching for a replacement.

As luck would have it, I found one Stateside for a decent price, and decided to pull the trigger. A few weeks later it arrived:

1x OEM E90 spoiler, painted in Alpine White III, with only an ever so slight mark on one spot. All the old tape underneath would also need to come off...

The next day I free'd up some time, and set to work. Here's some pics of the offending gap:

And a final farewell to the black spoiler:

I used some very thin coated wire to do the removal. I suppose thankfully in my favour this tape was cheap stuff, so it was literally like cutting through 3mm polystyrene...

After cleaning up the boot area, I took a few more pics of the car sans spoiler, a nod to the E36 M3 sedan if you will...

I then set about cleaning all the old tape off the white spoiler, and after a good couple of hours (and sore fingernails) later, it was ready for the new, thinner tape:

I did some careful measuring and marked out more or less the position it needs to line up using blue painters tape. The reality is that there really is only 1 shot at this, so I said a prayer and put the spoiler in place:

And importantly, no more gap!

I'm very happy with the outcome, and don't find myself picking at the spoiler anymore. Job done.

In other news, I contributed quite substantially to Diego and JP achieving their sales targets this month, so there will be major updates next month if all goes well.

Oh and a parcel arrived today from the UK, my LHS spark plug cover is finally here. Will install that in due course...

Oh and to end off on another good note, I'm in the 10s :smilebounce:

That's all for now...

 

[that_guy_Ettiene]

The new wing is soooooo much better looking than the old one. That gap would drive me insane.


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[Moha_ZA]

Superb !!!

 

[Gokugt86]

This car has me drooling. A job well done Sir. This rims on this car looks PERFECT raise:. oh the things I would sell just to drive this car

 

[KGN330]

Gav! Did not know you pulled the trigger on this beast - wow! Congrats and many happy miles. The way you are maintaining this - I hope you keep it forever and prove these engines can do high miles.

Certainly wish I get to see this and get in a ride in it soon

All the best