Good morning guys
Thanks for a wonderful forum, i've been around for a while, thought today would be an appropriate time to introduce myself, i really enjoy the stories, the info the threads, so once again, thank you guys, anyway as the title states my intro, my story ( i will upload pics of my car 2002 bmw 320i ) i will load better pics at a later stage.
So here goes my story -
Cars been off the road for a while as the auto trans started to slip, cars mileage is about 154000km's, after some research i decided to get a mechanic to change the oil and filter, bmw oil, bmw filter, unfortunately for me this did not resolve the problem, tried to drive the car the next day and it wouldnt even move an inch, it would just rev and stay in the same place, by the way it drove on the day the oil was changed but transmission still slipped even after oil and filter change.
I knew i was in for a rebuild, parked the car off for a while , while i decided on a course of action, i phoned many transmission shops and after getting the rebuild price ranges and the warranty period for these rebuilds i decided that the manual route would be the more reliable option, most guys said 6 month warranty and quoted anything from 15k to 25K, To be honest, i enjoyed the auto trans, i did not enjoy the consumption and the trans warning light if battery voltage is low ( this i had to learn ), i also could not take the risk of getting this box rebuilt and then having it fail outside its warranty period, with this in mind it was time for an auto to manual swap.
I spent my days on the forum and the net doing all the necessary research, i got to see Warrens work ( i admire you workmanship sir ). I live in kzn so obviously i needed a reputable workshop that would be able to do the work, code the car etc, after reading all the comments and replies about workshops in Durban i decided to go with a workshop that came highly recommended on this forum, i searched for any bad comments but couldnt find any, what i did find was some of the guys saying that the owners are very knowlegeable but the staff do the work, not the owners, with all this info i decided to go with this reputable German car specialist workshop.
I phoned the owner was quoted 15k and that was without a new clutch, i would have to buy a clutch, i was happy , had the car put on a roll back and delivered, by the way i am 120km away from this workshop as i live on the south coast.
So 3 weeks later still busy, 4 weeks later i phoned, still busy, car has a vibration that they sorting out, no problem i was really eager to get the car back but at the same time i chose to be understanding and patient, after about 4 weeks and a few days i get a call to fetch my car, remember i am 120km's away , so i ask the guy that deals with the customers if the car is fine, are they happy , i got the thumbs up, so off i go, get to the workshop.
Before i forget, my drivers window regulator failed so while the car was at the workshop i asked them to sort the window out, imagine driving my newly converted car down to the south coast with a broken window regulator. lol, anyway i usually put in the window regulators for R550, they hardly ever last, the guy that deals with the customers phones and tells me that both the motor and regulator are stuffed, eish i didnt expect the motor to also fail, said they will put in a reconditioned regulator as it lasts longer, R450 for the motor, R950 for the window regulator labour included, i accepted the quote.
So i am at the workshop with all the money thats due, get handed my keys and its test drive time, i have some pics which i will load but i should have taken a pic on that day which i didnt, car is ready for delivery, open the door, my right doorpad is filthy , full of grease, i look at the shift boot, the most dirtiest thing i have seen, my mats are ruined with grease marks, wow...what a way to see you car, you know my 2002 e46 may be a scrap to some but its till my pride and joy, i actually feel sorry for the car coz its been through so many repairs, my wife feels sorry for me.lol
I start this car, first thing i noticed is warning lights on the dash telling me that i have blown head lamps, outside temp is -40, missing temp sensor, problems my car never had, by the way this is a ready for collection car, start driving this car, LORD have mercy...this car is driving like its a 1300 , heavily under-powered with a beautiful vibration, i go straight back to the owner and report this, my car never ever drove like this before the conversion, Maf gets unpugged and i get told to go around the block again, a bit better but still dead, mind you this car was test driven and the customer contacted to collect, filthy door pad and mats, blown headlamps, missing temp sensor, hectic vibration, totally under powered.
I get back to the workshop, so unhappy, owner puts 2 bulbs, tells me my hella h7's are not originals thats why they blew, fine i keep quiet, i can see this black wire hanging out front under my bumper ( later realised its for the outside missing temp sensor ), owner says he will run a diagnostics on the car, comes back shows me the faults, fuel trim on both banks and vanos end position not reached, Says timing needs to be advanced and breather valve needs to be replaced, breather valve is sucking air hence the lean condition and fuel trims, car was sitting for a while so i didnt argue ( how can i argue i am not even DIY guy, i read alot but cant do the work ) since the car was parked off for a while i assumed that maybe the breather valve did get faulty, Head gasket was replaced years ago and the mech timed this car without tools so i accepted that the timing was not spot on but with all this before the conversion this car went like a bomb, i got another quote for the timing and breather valve, dissappointed i left my car and returned home, (i'm just saying guys, the owner is a seasoned mechanic, when he test drove this car could he not feel the vibration, vould he not feel how bad this car is driving, could he have not run a diagnostics and phoned me to report the faults.)
A few days later i get a call to say the car is sorted, R1600 for the timing and they had a good condition second hand breather valve another R400 for that, Cool, off i go to "Durbans" German specialist workshop.
So i get to the car, its closing time so there is no test driving, guys honestly by now i am just dik with whats been going on, i see the owner, he says car is so much better, no lean condition, says vanos gears show some signs of wear , i can sort out at a later stage, i ask how the car drives, he is happy, i go to the office, pay the 2k, jump in the car and leave, my wifes following me home in the rio ( thank God this bmw is not my daily drive ).
Power is better, propshaft feels like its going to come off, bad bad bad vibration, i stop at a garage, fuel up, short on oil, fill tyre pressure and pray to God that i get home in one piece, its dark, guys ....my car has such a bad vibration, i cannot drive this car like this, i am going to have to get this sorted at an additional cost on the south coast,my car is NEVER going back there, pdc doesnt work any more, i finally get home, while driving i can hear all these noises from the back, check the next pic.
All the covers from under the car in the boot, left for the customer to put back, heres a few more pics.
doorpad was wiped, was worse when initially went for the car.
Guys out of respect for another human being i am not going to name this workshop or the owner or the guy that dealt with me,God bless you guys, from the covers in the boot i can see the car has an oil leak, i will have to get this sorted, i will have to get the vibration sorted, i will have to get the pdc sorted, paid in full and this is how i get my car back.. thanks for reading guys, have a good day.
Thanks for a wonderful forum, i've been around for a while, thought today would be an appropriate time to introduce myself, i really enjoy the stories, the info the threads, so once again, thank you guys, anyway as the title states my intro, my story ( i will upload pics of my car 2002 bmw 320i ) i will load better pics at a later stage.
So here goes my story -
Cars been off the road for a while as the auto trans started to slip, cars mileage is about 154000km's, after some research i decided to get a mechanic to change the oil and filter, bmw oil, bmw filter, unfortunately for me this did not resolve the problem, tried to drive the car the next day and it wouldnt even move an inch, it would just rev and stay in the same place, by the way it drove on the day the oil was changed but transmission still slipped even after oil and filter change.
I knew i was in for a rebuild, parked the car off for a while , while i decided on a course of action, i phoned many transmission shops and after getting the rebuild price ranges and the warranty period for these rebuilds i decided that the manual route would be the more reliable option, most guys said 6 month warranty and quoted anything from 15k to 25K, To be honest, i enjoyed the auto trans, i did not enjoy the consumption and the trans warning light if battery voltage is low ( this i had to learn ), i also could not take the risk of getting this box rebuilt and then having it fail outside its warranty period, with this in mind it was time for an auto to manual swap.
I spent my days on the forum and the net doing all the necessary research, i got to see Warrens work ( i admire you workmanship sir ). I live in kzn so obviously i needed a reputable workshop that would be able to do the work, code the car etc, after reading all the comments and replies about workshops in Durban i decided to go with a workshop that came highly recommended on this forum, i searched for any bad comments but couldnt find any, what i did find was some of the guys saying that the owners are very knowlegeable but the staff do the work, not the owners, with all this info i decided to go with this reputable German car specialist workshop.
I phoned the owner was quoted 15k and that was without a new clutch, i would have to buy a clutch, i was happy , had the car put on a roll back and delivered, by the way i am 120km away from this workshop as i live on the south coast.
So 3 weeks later still busy, 4 weeks later i phoned, still busy, car has a vibration that they sorting out, no problem i was really eager to get the car back but at the same time i chose to be understanding and patient, after about 4 weeks and a few days i get a call to fetch my car, remember i am 120km's away , so i ask the guy that deals with the customers if the car is fine, are they happy , i got the thumbs up, so off i go, get to the workshop.
Before i forget, my drivers window regulator failed so while the car was at the workshop i asked them to sort the window out, imagine driving my newly converted car down to the south coast with a broken window regulator. lol, anyway i usually put in the window regulators for R550, they hardly ever last, the guy that deals with the customers phones and tells me that both the motor and regulator are stuffed, eish i didnt expect the motor to also fail, said they will put in a reconditioned regulator as it lasts longer, R450 for the motor, R950 for the window regulator labour included, i accepted the quote.
So i am at the workshop with all the money thats due, get handed my keys and its test drive time, i have some pics which i will load but i should have taken a pic on that day which i didnt, car is ready for delivery, open the door, my right doorpad is filthy , full of grease, i look at the shift boot, the most dirtiest thing i have seen, my mats are ruined with grease marks, wow...what a way to see you car, you know my 2002 e46 may be a scrap to some but its till my pride and joy, i actually feel sorry for the car coz its been through so many repairs, my wife feels sorry for me.lol
I start this car, first thing i noticed is warning lights on the dash telling me that i have blown head lamps, outside temp is -40, missing temp sensor, problems my car never had, by the way this is a ready for collection car, start driving this car, LORD have mercy...this car is driving like its a 1300 , heavily under-powered with a beautiful vibration, i go straight back to the owner and report this, my car never ever drove like this before the conversion, Maf gets unpugged and i get told to go around the block again, a bit better but still dead, mind you this car was test driven and the customer contacted to collect, filthy door pad and mats, blown headlamps, missing temp sensor, hectic vibration, totally under powered.
I get back to the workshop, so unhappy, owner puts 2 bulbs, tells me my hella h7's are not originals thats why they blew, fine i keep quiet, i can see this black wire hanging out front under my bumper ( later realised its for the outside missing temp sensor ), owner says he will run a diagnostics on the car, comes back shows me the faults, fuel trim on both banks and vanos end position not reached, Says timing needs to be advanced and breather valve needs to be replaced, breather valve is sucking air hence the lean condition and fuel trims, car was sitting for a while so i didnt argue ( how can i argue i am not even DIY guy, i read alot but cant do the work ) since the car was parked off for a while i assumed that maybe the breather valve did get faulty, Head gasket was replaced years ago and the mech timed this car without tools so i accepted that the timing was not spot on but with all this before the conversion this car went like a bomb, i got another quote for the timing and breather valve, dissappointed i left my car and returned home, (i'm just saying guys, the owner is a seasoned mechanic, when he test drove this car could he not feel the vibration, vould he not feel how bad this car is driving, could he have not run a diagnostics and phoned me to report the faults.)
A few days later i get a call to say the car is sorted, R1600 for the timing and they had a good condition second hand breather valve another R400 for that, Cool, off i go to "Durbans" German specialist workshop.
So i get to the car, its closing time so there is no test driving, guys honestly by now i am just dik with whats been going on, i see the owner, he says car is so much better, no lean condition, says vanos gears show some signs of wear , i can sort out at a later stage, i ask how the car drives, he is happy, i go to the office, pay the 2k, jump in the car and leave, my wifes following me home in the rio ( thank God this bmw is not my daily drive ).
Power is better, propshaft feels like its going to come off, bad bad bad vibration, i stop at a garage, fuel up, short on oil, fill tyre pressure and pray to God that i get home in one piece, its dark, guys ....my car has such a bad vibration, i cannot drive this car like this, i am going to have to get this sorted at an additional cost on the south coast,my car is NEVER going back there, pdc doesnt work any more, i finally get home, while driving i can hear all these noises from the back, check the next pic.
All the covers from under the car in the boot, left for the customer to put back, heres a few more pics.
doorpad was wiped, was worse when initially went for the car.
Guys out of respect for another human being i am not going to name this workshop or the owner or the guy that dealt with me,God bless you guys, from the covers in the boot i can see the car has an oil leak, i will have to get this sorted, i will have to get the vibration sorted, i will have to get the pdc sorted, paid in full and this is how i get my car back.. thanks for reading guys, have a good day.
