Mike's Old Man Car - BMW E46 320d

[Aadz17]

A great read, I'm currently seeking to replace my daily driver with a another BMW. The Honda just bores me to death even though it does what it needs to do. Need to be driving a BMW on the daily again.

Work and attention put into the car to get it up to date has been great to read man, so well done.

 

[MiniMike20]

Quick update on the 320d, it’s been a fairly busy time and I have not had time to action anything on it.

Issue 1:
Vibration, since I got it under load and at idle it has had a very rough vibration. This started getting quite a bit worse recently.

Issue 2:
Flashing battery light – Particularly on cold starts until she got to temp, I would get a flashing battery light if I loaded the motor (torque wise). I noticed on a recent trip that when there was extended periods of load (like 6th up a hill) the light would also flash. Bar the flashing light there was no other issues.

Issue 3:
The aircon was making darth vader noises – And on the long road it was irritating the shit out of me. The AC was functioning 100% but the broken walkie talkie noises were irritating me immensely.

Issue 4:
I am a child.

Issue 5:
The car said baaayyyeee Felicia to me.

So lets start with Issue 1. I had suspected the Harmonic Balancer may we stuffed (as it’s the only thing I didn’t change on the front of the motor) but after doing a few video’s of balancer I noticed the passenger side of the motor was lifting about 3-5cm if you rode the clutch in 1st with the brakes on.

Popped in at Powerflow Salt River (my mechanic works there now):

Cover plates off…. Sooo shiny still?? Tell me they still make em like this hey?

I grabbed a set of Left and Right Mounts for the engine and two new mounts for the gearbox from Goldwagen – R1500 which is very reasonable.

Here you can see the Passenger side had collapsed, hydraulic fluid everywhere, a leaky boy.

And removed…. Uhhhhh yup – farking mint.

The gearbox mounts were pretty good still but for the price they cost a no brainer to just replace them too.

New mounts in, everything settled and while its still a 18 year agricultural machine it’s a very smooth and sexy tractor. Wayyyy happy. DONE!

So issue 2 – I had suspected maybe a toasted voltage regulator or something but since the mounts have been done its stopped flashing. Going back to some video’s of the motor movement I realized that the motor has been lifting so heavily it must have been pulling on the earth and alternator straps in that area causing the battery to pick up a voltage issue.

So, Issue 2 is fixed thanks to Issue 1 being fixed. Not had a battery light since – But I think I should pop in at an Auto Elec and just get those cables checked in case I did some damage to them.

Issue 3:

This is quite straight forward, just regas the aircon. I have used a company called A1 Aircons in Goodwood for years, they charge R250 and its in an out.

Note that the left gauge should be at 100 and the right where his finger is… She was a bit low on refrigerant.

DONE!

Issue 4:

The car had a decat when I bought it. I then furthered that by replacing the mid section (and taking the box out) as the pipe had cracked where it squeezes through the supports and body. I had my X1 straight piped and loved it….. So child mode, activated!

Before:

During:

And DONE!

Those with the keen eyes will notice I have an E90 Exhaust down-turn tip. I got the car like that and I quite like it, so I kept it.

Lets talk about straight piping your diesel saloon car – Would recommend 10/10.

The car dumps like an absolute beast, to such an extent I am quite certain it may even have a map on it. It spools beautifully, its honest quitter everywhere except wide open throttle and even that is a superb noice for a 4 cylinder dinosaur.

Videos:

Best money spent! Add in the mounts also being done at the same time and I am blown away by the difference. The exhaust was very chunky and rough with the OEM box on still, straight pipe its like honey. I had already booked a spot to bring it back for a box the next day but it does not drone at all.

One of my favourite things is that when you start it you get a few seconds before the turbo spools – Its like starting up a Boeing 747, its perfect.

DONE!

Issue 5:

So this was a bit of a fuckup and entirely because I knew it was going to happen, I had done the research and needed to just action it and did not get to it.

I got the car with one key. Red Flag 1.
They key did not operate the central locking. Red Flag 2.
The key locked and unlocked the car only via the door barrel. Red Flag 3.

Aware you could get uncut keys that just needed coding for like R400 it was never a thought that the door barrel would break. Until it did, with no warning what so ever.

With no way to access the vehicle I had to find a way without breaking a window. Using the key I opened the boot manually, removed the carpet covering the panel between the boot and back seats revealing the ski hatch. BMW has a retrofit for this which allows you to fit a ski back in that space….. So of we go, kick that bitch out.

We then (and by we I mean my mate Luc), I was no use at all, I just laughed the whole way through. We then tried to open the doors from the inside but found they were dead locked. Using a rake to reach the unlock button was equally futile, it did nothing.

Alright, so locked out, doors don’t open, buttons don’t respond and neither of us could fit through the ski hatch….. The solution? Borrow a little person.

Called up a client of mine in Clifton and asked if I could borrow her 8 years old daughter (wont be posting a video of her 007 espionage efforts getting in mostly because its hilariouis and not appropriate) to pop the ignition and unlock the car. She was rewarded with the biggest slab of chocolate I could find.

Ski hatch looking like a hooker on Claremont Main Road…

The next morning I popped in at Bruce Craig Spares and dealt with Nate, who was absolutely brilliant who then proceeded to repair my broken door barrel in all of 6 minutes and then cut my key open, soldered in a new battery and repaired my central locking – I think you can hear my excitement and happiness. Massive shout out to Nate, he was excellent.

Central Locking

youtube.com

So, overall a very productive pampering session for the old gal. Very happy with it still. 

 

[AlexYannoulatos]

Excellent Mike, great updates and thread as usual! Car sounds amazing.

 

[///M Individual]

Brilliant updates!

 

[wades]

Great stuff...i get happy when i see the updates on "the öld man car"

 

[FILV]

Man what an awesome thread!
The E46 loving its new pampered life lol

 

[MiniMike20]

Thank you for the awesome feedback guys. Very happy with my trokkie - Doing another Pezula Trip on Monday.

 

[gordanfreeman509]

What an awesome thread! Makes me wish I could locate my dad's E46 320d and buy it, but who knows how many owners it's had now. Car was amazing back in the early 2000's when it was new, but somehow the E46 is still perfect! The power increase from the pre lci to this felt like a rocket ship when I was a laaitie.

 

[MiniMike20]

Alrighty - its been a while and to be fair I have had absolutely zero time for Thomas, the tank engine 320d.

I have not even washed it personally for at least 4 months. So recap on where its at and whats going on - Bought it in April, its done 14 000km since and its worked its arse off, its towed, its traveled, its been drifted on a wet day, its been making choo choo noises its been superb.

About two months ago I noted a little creek from the front suspension, a quick message to a friend and E46 aficionado confirmed this was the start of the "100 000km" suspension rebuild era of my ownership, which I knew was going to be my issue when I bought it. What I had not expected was just how damn fast the components would fail one after the other.

The creek was a dead drop link, by two weeks later it was a leaking front shock, by two weeks after the ball-joints started knocking..... Bellissimo!

I put together a parts list for the car as along with the suspension the Rear Main Diff Bush has also crapped its pants.

1x Rear Main Bush
4x Bilstein Shocks
4x Febi Top Mounts
2x Front Drop Links
2x Rear Drop Links
2x Front Stabiliser Bar Bushes
2x Rear Stabiliser Bar Bushes
2x Front Control Arms Complete
2x Front Control Arm Bushes

Total for parts is +- R9k.

Nobody wants to touch the rear diff bush as its a nightmare job apparently - A part of me wants to start swapping stuff out but I know that it should all be done together so my goal this week is to start fetching the parts and getting everything together so I can lose the car for a day (or two) to have everything fitted and alignment done.

She is due a service in +- 1300km as well so will do oil, oil filter, air filter and I still need to get the Diesel Filter done, the part has been in the boot for the last few months. I am STILL waiting for my takata recall driver airbag, my passenger side is already done.

And then before any of the suspension can be done I need to resolve a small power steering leak on the return line from the cooler which just means having a new hose made up and has been leaking on the ARB bush so now that clucks as well - If I can ever find the time to drop the car off and let the service provider actually do it.

Overall, consumption is at 5l/100km and worst case about 5.5L/100km when I drive like a fool or when it sees no highways. Do I wish it was a E60 530d, yes I do, the E46 is a bit spartan, but it does everything I throw at it, it towed granite slabs a few weeks ago, its carted bikes around and besides being a bit sooty (maybe a small boost leak or dirty sensor) its absolutely perfect - Still straight piped, still turns heads and its cost me very little to run.

There should be some updates soon - I say thing knowing full well I have been telling my mates I am going to get the parts together for the last 2 months already.

 

[MiniMike20]

Current mileage, as it should be mentioned for reference to my comment about the suspension is 208 000km.

 

[gordanfreeman509]

So awesome to see an e46 diesel receiving attention and being used. Great fuel economy as well! This thread makes me go and browse all the classifieds for an e46 each time

 

[MiniMike20]

A few photo's I have shared on social media of her:

Great looking car.

 

[FILV]

Awesome updates. That consumption is amazing!

 

[MiniMike20]

Alright, I have still not ordered the parts..... Useless defined.

But I did finally grab a set of Foglight Bulbs, so fitted those. And then I got some fresh plates on it so its no longer from Paarl - This was heavily delayed thanks to plans to move to JHB, me wanting my private plate back and then signing a new lease and my general laziness as it had to go through roadworthy and given the current suspension situation that took some convincing!

So, I had a little project I needed to deal with - I spotted that the car had started smoking a bit more than it should...... No loss of power but it was running a bit rough. Idle seemed laboured, it would labour in low gears that it felt as though an engine mount had gone again and consumption was slightly up. It also started shuddering unless you gave it gas off the line which had me worried. So while under the car checking out the fogs and in the engine bay I was reminded that the vacuum hoses were originally a concern when I bought it.

So I started looking and found a hose had come off entirely and from there it spiralled.

So the condition of the vacuum hoses on the Turbo Side, chaffed and hard:

So replaced those:

Then I realised there is no way I was going to get to the other hoses without removing the intake manifold so off it came:

Before...... 3x Hoses split entirely.

And After!

Effectively at this point it was evident that BMW had completely over-engineered this system. The turbo uses its own pressure converter and canister. The EGR and Radiator Flaps run their own electronic switch and then the swirl flaps all run on another pressure converter. Chuck in a clearly over-specced vacuum pump and despite the nicks and splits somehow everything was still working.

I cleaned up the seals which I will replace and also scooped a ton of shit out of the intake and flaps and lubed up the seals with some vaseline as well. Cleaned up the mating surfaces and fingered the intake holes until I changed race entirely and still somehow my fingers still look like I just got over a high school goth phase.

And with that all said and a lot of sweat later..... DONE!

So I can confirm its now slower which I guess is normal as its no longer sucking in un-metered air. Although I say slower, its simply more linear. The idle is now silky smooth again, it no longer stutters, it is feeling properly refined again and the grumble under low rpm (torque) load is gone. Overall, well worth the effort. It still smoke like crazy though, but consumption seems a bit better not that I care.

My fiance has no idea that Goldwagen is gonna dump a ton of parts at his showroom tomorrow - Delivery and product codes already sent. :lol:

Mike

 

[MiniMike20]

Well, its Christmas in November, someone wake up Mariah Carey cos she needs to sing for this - I finally went and got the parts.

From left to to right:

Front shock mounts
Front anti roll bar bushes
Front control arms complete
Front drop links
Front shocks
Front shock protective kit

Engine oil and oil filter

Rear shocks
Rear top mounts

Air filter, Rear Drop Links, Rear anti Roll Bar Bushes and Rear Protection Kit arrived this morning, must just go fetch it later.

In the words of Anna Delvey - "Why do you look Pooor".

Now to find time to fit it myself (bar the front shocks) or just pay someone to fit it all.

Mike

 

[MiniMike20]

Oh, and the total for all of the above including the goodies delivered this morning as well as the Oil, Oil Filter and Air Filter for the service was R10 890.00 which quite frankly is astonishingly cheap considering I did not buy the cheapest options available, I went with decent brand names - On the Drop Links and Mounts I could have saved around R650 by going to Teknosa for example.

So no means a poverty menu of the nastiest aftermarket shit available by any means, even the shocks I could have easily halved the cost on the fronts by buying a no name brand.

 

[Benji]

Good write up and entertaining reading That definitely is a good price on all those items, makes you wonder why more people dont carry out proper maintenance on these cars...I got a quote for E39 suspension rebuild...that was on the ugly side of 50k...

 

[MiniMike20]

Alright Update 1: Suspension Refresh
21 November 2022

I decided up front I had no interest in skipping any steps here – Many had spoken of the competency of the suspension on the E46 and frankly I did not believe a word. My car was floaty, it was willowy, it jerked and felt horribly unbalanced in cornering, it was difficult trusting the nose into corners as there was a horrific lurching feeling especially notable when making quick direction changes.

Now I must add a disclaimer here – This is a stock E46. Not an M Sport not an M. Its as vanilla as it comes and I had considered various options and spent hours reading reviews of different springs, shocks and coilover kits.

The end decision was that it is in fact a vanilla E46. Any refreshing would absolutely make a world of difference regardless of if I went for direct replacements or for sportier setups. I planned to keep the 16s which limit the vehicle regardless and as my main concern as a daily was compliance with a bit of sportiness I opted for the following:

Bilstein Front & Rear Shocks
Febi Front & Rear Anti Roll Bar Bushes
Febi Drop Links Front and Rear
Topran Top Mounts Front & Rear
Febi or Topran Control Arms for the Front (Cant remember the brand now)

She was also due a service so I opted for a Mann Filter and Shell Helix Ultra 15W40.

Lets get started on what was an entire day job:

Being a bit of a James May and a touch OCD I made sure to line everything up on the ground:

Once the vehicle was secured we got cracking – Now I use a lovely young mechanic in Hout Bay so when I say we I mean him and me getting in the way, asking questions, basically being a pain.

So to start with, drop links where stuffed, passenger side more so than the driver:

Control Arms were stuffed, ball joints (again more so Passenger) were beyond stuffed:

Rear Anti Roll Bar Bushes were pretty solid still, changed them regardless, the fronts were nasty, the passenger side in particular again. This was caused mostly by a power steering leak though – More on that later.

New Shocks vs Old shocks:

Now at this point it dawned on me that this vehicle only had two owners and looking at the service history etc, both owners sold the car BEFORE major work was due. There is a lovely saying that every 100k a BMW explodes and for the suspension in particular I think this is very true. The problem became fairly apparent as we progressed.

EVERY SINGLE PART on this 2004, BMW E46 320d with 212 000km on the clock was OEM ORIGINAL.

Not just replaced original, oh no…. The ORIGINAL parts it left the factory with:

The shocks, control arms, anything that had a manufacture date on it was 2003 and as this car was a December 2003 Production model the date stamps correlate 100%. I was driving an 18 year old car with original parts from the factory in it still.

This was made worse as we found the shocks had ZERO compression and 3 hours after being compressed had not returned at all. You could operate the shock by literally pressing two fingers on it – In effect, my BMW was driving on springs alone on ancient mounts, rubbers, links and more.

Boot stripped to get to the shocks:

Rear Drop Links being swapped out:

Rear Shocks and Mounts ready to go:

And in closing, a picture of the car the day after once everything had more or less settled:

So in closing…… The following 48 hours were minutes of sheer joy. I had not realised how stiff stock functioning e46 suspension was. I had to relearn the car from scratch – The rear end became delightfully playful and the front end found a wonder precision to how it changed direction. The steering feel became confident and throwing the car around Kloof and over through Clifton became something exciting.

The total bill for this entire suspension rebuild totalled with labour +- R12k. I know that this is an old girl but ladies and gents this car is so cheap to run that anyone driving in one who has not taken a minute to call Goldwagen (masterparts are even cheaper) and price up some recon would be silly because honestly, this car is as competent on the road as any 2022 model if you just take a day to give it what it needs.

 

[MiniMike20]

Onto Update 2: Oil Service and Power Steering Leak and Redoing Vacuum Hoses
21 November 2022

Entirely aware that the suspension was going to be refreshed on Thomas, the tank engine, I knew I needed to deal with a tiny power steering leak.

Originally I thought meh leave it cos it was tiny, but the idea of fitting new rubber components and knowing I could ruin them made me inspect. I was thankful to find that the leak was at the hose, which is originally clamped by a factory clip:

You can clearly see the hose had compressed and as the factory clip was not adjustable was letting tiny amounts of fluid to sweat and drip.

The solution was pretty simple – BMW left plenty of wiggle room on the hose so, got my fiancé to sit with a syringe and drain the reservoir:

And then simply cut the hose 20mm shorter, re-attached it and used a new hose clamp.

Topped the reservoir back up and called it a day – Has not leaked since.

Swapped out the old Liqui Moly Oil (15 000km old) with Shell Helix Ultra 15W40 and chucked a new air filter in while I had it in a hundred pieces.

Then….. much to my annoyance the previous vacuum hose job I had done was uhmmm rubbish. The hose could not take the heat, it was sucking closed and it was not allowing the car to boost and in some places melted – Stupid of me to not consider this but we learn…

Went to a Rubber Place in Montague Gardens who gave me some very stout high temp hosing that matched the inner diameter of the BMW hose (I kept a sample so I guess I kinda knew I was catching on shit).

And Done:

No further vacuum hose issues to note!

 

[MiniMike20]

Another Update, number 3: Getting it LEVEL

The suspension was still pissing me off. I gave it time, drove it hard, drove it on multiple roads and surfaces and the nose decided it liked its height and the arse decided it was an 80 year old woman with no bra on.

Another BMW aficionado (hey Walt) suggested that the Rear Springs had either collapsed due it being driven and towing with no functional shocks or that the rear Spring Pads needed a refresher.

Climbed under the car and inspected and true as Bob, they were stuffed. We (again guided here by Walt) decided to stick to the OEM 5mm Pad for the E46 for the bottom of the spring. Knowing I do tow sometimes and knowing I really wanted it level we opted for an E30 Spring pad that is 7.5mm thick vs the E46 top pad which is also 5mm.

So, ordered from BMW for quite the price, R800 for 4 pieces of rubber even with my fiances staff discount…

I really did not feel like getting my hands dirty and as the mech I use is sorta mobile and I wanted to have dinner at a friend I took advantage and got the mech to work on the car at my friends house while we ate….

Old Pad one – Note the deformation and compression in the rubber!

Old Pad two – Again, same thing – So because the rubber had compressed the car had literally lost about 2cm of ride height at the rear.

And after!

Do keep in mind this was about 3 days after the suspension was completely redone – The front shocks took AGES to settle. So the ride height here is grossly overstated. She has settled beautifully but more importantly, she is level.

Again, the car returned the love by completely changing its handling behaviour. The rear end is loosey goosey as hell and equally so, controllable. Its gone from a row boat to a sport boat and its sublime to drive.