-
Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
Riaad's 330i
- Thread starter Riaad
- Start date
Riaad
Events Organiser
And I'm back...with another 330i update:smilebounce:...https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=83144&page=3 I should probably update this thread some time as well:tiptoe:
Service time was around the corner...
So contacted the now famous Deago at ABM for a quote on a service kit ...oil, air and pollen filters as well as 'some' BMW oil...At these prices, it is a no brainer to source parts all the way from JHB:thumbs:
The old airfilter was rather clean and did not need replacing...but I changed it anyway, infact, the drained oil was also looking good...which is always good to see:thumbs:
Finally managed to find a decent chrome window surround:hammerhead:
Grabbed a few gutter clips from Supertech for a whopping R12.50 each and fitted it on:thumbs:
That brings us to the BMWFanatics Ice Cream Run ...great turn out! Official Pics
E46s Unite:cartel:
After the event, whilst heading home, a fellow member and I decided to take a detour through Mexico:fencelook: At such time, I heard a faint squeak noise which disappeared in a few seconds...assumed it was wind noise and carried on ...once back on the usual route...decided to make use of the cruise control and all was fine...Until I slowed down to take my offramp at which point the squeak returned and shortly disappeared ...a few meters later
Luckily I was near my home...so I stared at the heat gauge till I reached...as soon as I turned into my driveway...the expansion tank popped
...seconds later, she was in the garage, switched off, bonnet up and coolant pouring out:beaten:
The next morning, Turned into a KZNfanatics maintenance day (well only for my cars ):tiptoe: @Kyle rocked up in the early mornings to work on a project (details to follow shortly) @KPM_330 decided that a supervisor was required :biglol:
and my dad and I decided to investigate what had happen to the expansion tank since it was relatively new.
The tank decided it wanted to lean on the pulley (insert the squeak noise) whilst the v-belt ate away at the tank ...till finally a pin hole was created :skit:
Upon further investigation...the radiator jumped a mounting clip... so the tank (which is mounted on bracket attached to the radiator for those who aren't familiar with the m54 engine bay) was able to lean more than it should have...This probably happen whilst going over a bump or something ..#StiffSuspension :fencelook:
Digging even deeper, my dad discovered that the bracket which the expansion tank attaches to was broken ...a clip that keeps the bottle parallel to the radiator had broken off some how.
Luckily I had a spare(used) expansion tank in the garage (came with the car which was replaced as preventative maintenance) so with some Macgyver techniques applied by the father...and some trusty cable ties...he was able to get another expansion tank to mount on the bracket as a temp fix ...Also secured the radiator in place incase it decided to move again...interestingly, with everything in place, there is just about 5mm clearance between the expansion tank and pulley:skit:
filled around 4l of 50/50 coolant mix ..bleed the system and she was on the road again:smilebounce:
I shall be replacing the expansion bottle and bracket this weekend as preventative maintenance:thumbs:
sneak peek into the next update :smilebounce:
:blowheart:
Service time was around the corner...
So contacted the now famous Deago at ABM for a quote on a service kit ...oil, air and pollen filters as well as 'some' BMW oil...At these prices, it is a no brainer to source parts all the way from JHB:thumbs:
The old airfilter was rather clean and did not need replacing...but I changed it anyway, infact, the drained oil was also looking good...which is always good to see:thumbs:
Riaad said:Next up, was the chrome beading, I was hoping to replace the whole side as there are some scuffs and the rear window piece is abit messed up...but I get the feeling it's going to take me some time to find one that is in good nick at a local scrapyard (I won't be donating R5000 to the stealers for a trim piece...thats for sure!)...but for now, the gap was killing my OCD... (pic credits go to Ettiene)
Stripped the entire beading off, being very cautions to not let it get warped...reset the beading in its correct place (I chose not to use any glue here, as I will definitely be replacing the whole trim and don't want to have issues removing it later on)...
The result...
Everything sitting in place...will do fine for now:=):
Finally managed to find a decent chrome window surround:hammerhead:
Grabbed a few gutter clips from Supertech for a whopping R12.50 each and fitted it on:thumbs:
That brings us to the BMWFanatics Ice Cream Run ...great turn out! Official Pics
E46s Unite:cartel:
After the event, whilst heading home, a fellow member and I decided to take a detour through Mexico:fencelook: At such time, I heard a faint squeak noise which disappeared in a few seconds...assumed it was wind noise and carried on ...once back on the usual route...decided to make use of the cruise control and all was fine...Until I slowed down to take my offramp at which point the squeak returned and shortly disappeared ...a few meters later
Luckily I was near my home...so I stared at the heat gauge till I reached...as soon as I turned into my driveway...the expansion tank popped
...seconds later, she was in the garage, switched off, bonnet up and coolant pouring out:beaten:The next morning, Turned into a KZNfanatics maintenance day (well only for my cars ):tiptoe: @Kyle rocked up in the early mornings to work on a project (details to follow shortly) @KPM_330 decided that a supervisor was required :biglol:
and my dad and I decided to investigate what had happen to the expansion tank since it was relatively new.
The tank decided it wanted to lean on the pulley (insert the squeak noise) whilst the v-belt ate away at the tank ...till finally a pin hole was created :skit:
Upon further investigation...the radiator jumped a mounting clip... so the tank (which is mounted on bracket attached to the radiator for those who aren't familiar with the m54 engine bay) was able to lean more than it should have...This probably happen whilst going over a bump or something ..#StiffSuspension :fencelook:
Digging even deeper, my dad discovered that the bracket which the expansion tank attaches to was broken ...a clip that keeps the bottle parallel to the radiator had broken off some how.
Luckily I had a spare(used) expansion tank in the garage (came with the car which was replaced as preventative maintenance) so with some Macgyver techniques applied by the father...and some trusty cable ties...he was able to get another expansion tank to mount on the bracket as a temp fix ...Also secured the radiator in place incase it decided to move again...interestingly, with everything in place, there is just about 5mm clearance between the expansion tank and pulley:skit:
filled around 4l of 50/50 coolant mix ..bleed the system and she was on the road again:smilebounce:
I shall be replacing the expansion bottle and bracket this weekend as preventative maintenance:thumbs:
sneak peek into the next update :smilebounce:
:blowheart:
Riaad
Events Organiser
And I'm back...with another 330i update:smilebounce:...https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=83144&page=3 I should probably update this thread some time as well:tiptoe:
Service time was around the corner...
So contacted the now famous Deago at ABM for a quote on a service kit ...oil, air and pollen filters as well as 'some' BMW oil...At these prices, it is a no brainer to source parts all the way from JHB:thumbs:
The old airfilter was rather clean and did not need replacing...but I changed it anyway, infact, the drained oil was also looking good...which is always good to see:thumbs:
Finally managed to find a decent chrome window surround:hammerhead:
Grabbed a few gutter clips from Supertech for a whopping R12.50 each and fitted it on:thumbs:
That brings us to the BMWFanatics Ice Cream Run ...great turn out! Official Pics
E46s Unite:cartel:
After the event, whilst heading home, a fellow member and I decided to take a detour through Mexico:fencelook: At such time, I heard a faint squeak noise which disappeared in a few seconds...assumed it was wind noise and carried on ...once back on the usual route...decided to make use of the cruise control and all was fine...Until I slowed down to take my offramp at which point the squeak returned and shortly disappeared ...a few meters later
Luckily I was near my home...so I stared at the heat gauge till I reached...as soon as I turned into my driveway...the expansion tank popped...seconds later, she was in the garage, switched off, bonnet up and coolant pouring out:beaten:
The next morning, Turned into a KZNfanatics maintenance day (well only for my cars ):tiptoe: @Kyle rocked up in the early mornings to work on a project (details to follow shortly) @KPM_330 decided that a supervisor was required :biglol:
and my dad and I decided to investigate what had happen to the expansion tank since it was relatively new.
The tank decided it wanted to lean on the pulley (insert the squeak noise) whilst the v-belt ate away at the tank ...till finally a pin hole was created :skit:
Upon further investigation...the radiator jumped a mounting clip... so the tank (which is mounted on bracket attached to the radiator for those who aren't familiar with the m54 engine bay) was able to lean more than it should have...This probably happen whilst going over a bump or something ..#StiffSuspension :fencelook:
Digging even deeper, my dad discovered that the bracket which the expansion tank attaches to was broken ...a clip that keeps the bottle parallel to the radiator had broken off some how.
Luckily I had a spare(used) expansion tank in the garage (came with the car which was replaced as preventative maintenance) so with some Macgyver techniques applied by the father...and some trusty cable ties...he was able to get another expansion tank to mount on the bracket as a temp fix ...Also secured the radiator in place incase it decided to move again...interestingly, with everything in place, there is just about 5mm clearance between the expansion tank and pulley:skit:
filled around 4l of 50/50 coolant mix ..bleed the system and she was on the road again:smilebounce:
I shall be replacing the expansion bottle and bracket this weekend as preventative maintenance:thumbs:
sneak peek into the next update :smilebounce:
:blowheart:
Service time was around the corner...
So contacted the now famous Deago at ABM for a quote on a service kit ...oil, air and pollen filters as well as 'some' BMW oil...At these prices, it is a no brainer to source parts all the way from JHB:thumbs:
The old airfilter was rather clean and did not need replacing...but I changed it anyway, infact, the drained oil was also looking good...which is always good to see:thumbs:
Riaad said:Next up, was the chrome beading, I was hoping to replace the whole side as there are some scuffs and the rear window piece is abit messed up...but I get the feeling it's going to take me some time to find one that is in good nick at a local scrapyard (I won't be donating R5000 to the stealers for a trim piece...thats for sure!)...but for now, the gap was killing my OCD... (pic credits go to Ettiene)
Stripped the entire beading off, being very cautions to not let it get warped...reset the beading in its correct place (I chose not to use any glue here, as I will definitely be replacing the whole trim and don't want to have issues removing it later on)...
The result...
Everything sitting in place...will do fine for now:=):
Finally managed to find a decent chrome window surround:hammerhead:
Grabbed a few gutter clips from Supertech for a whopping R12.50 each and fitted it on:thumbs:
That brings us to the BMWFanatics Ice Cream Run ...great turn out! Official Pics
E46s Unite:cartel:
After the event, whilst heading home, a fellow member and I decided to take a detour through Mexico:fencelook: At such time, I heard a faint squeak noise which disappeared in a few seconds...assumed it was wind noise and carried on ...once back on the usual route...decided to make use of the cruise control and all was fine...Until I slowed down to take my offramp at which point the squeak returned and shortly disappeared ...a few meters later
Luckily I was near my home...so I stared at the heat gauge till I reached...as soon as I turned into my driveway...the expansion tank popped
...seconds later, she was in the garage, switched off, bonnet up and coolant pouring out:beaten:The next morning, Turned into a KZNfanatics maintenance day (well only for my cars ):tiptoe: @Kyle rocked up in the early mornings to work on a project (details to follow shortly) @KPM_330 decided that a supervisor was required :biglol:
and my dad and I decided to investigate what had happen to the expansion tank since it was relatively new.
The tank decided it wanted to lean on the pulley (insert the squeak noise) whilst the v-belt ate away at the tank ...till finally a pin hole was created :skit:
Upon further investigation...the radiator jumped a mounting clip... so the tank (which is mounted on bracket attached to the radiator for those who aren't familiar with the m54 engine bay) was able to lean more than it should have...This probably happen whilst going over a bump or something ..#StiffSuspension :fencelook:
Digging even deeper, my dad discovered that the bracket which the expansion tank attaches to was broken ...a clip that keeps the bottle parallel to the radiator had broken off some how.
Luckily I had a spare(used) expansion tank in the garage (came with the car which was replaced as preventative maintenance) so with some Macgyver techniques applied by the father...and some trusty cable ties...he was able to get another expansion tank to mount on the bracket as a temp fix ...Also secured the radiator in place incase it decided to move again...interestingly, with everything in place, there is just about 5mm clearance between the expansion tank and pulley:skit:
filled around 4l of 50/50 coolant mix ..bleed the system and she was on the road again:smilebounce:
I shall be replacing the expansion bottle and bracket this weekend as preventative maintenance:thumbs:
sneak peek into the next update :smilebounce:
:blowheart:
that_guy_Ettiene
///Member
Riaad
Events Organiser
that_guy_Ettiene said:
Since she is used more or less daily I will continue with 10k intervals ...so thats a yearly service...already knocked 8k kms in 8 months of ownership :smilebounce:
evnmopwr said:
Definitely...I need to get a few random bits from one of your many e46s :fencelook:
Riaad said:And I'm back...with another 330i update:smilebounce:...
SNIP
That brings us to the BMWFanatics Ice Cream Run ...great turn out! Official Pics
E46s Unite:cartel:
After the event, whilst heading home, a fellow member and I decided to take a detour through Mexico:fencelook:
The next morning, Turned into a KZNfanatics maintenance day (well only for my cars ):tiptoe: @Kyle rocked up in the early mornings to work on a project (details to follow shortly) @KPM_330 decided that a supervisor was required :biglol:
SNIP
@Riaad, you had so much to update, I had to come in with my scissors on overtime.. :tiptoe:
Glad to see the previous owner's approach to servicing is paying dividends and you are continuing to lavish care and funds to keep the car in this condition.
The Ice-Cream run was awesome, nice pic of the Ying-Yang twins.. :roflol: The run through Mexico was fun, should've strapped a Go-Pro to my car, so I can finally upload clips of the exhaust. So many PM's from guys asking for a sound clip or two :fencelook:
Thankfully the expansion tank gave up the ghost in your driveway and you didn't get stranded.. My advice would be to get an OEM replacement, seeing as though it lasts >100k.. Your dad is a legend man, always making a plan and making me laugh with his tunes :biglol:
Oh and enough with making us wait for your next update, the sneak peak is looking sweet.. OEM Sports seats, in the correct interior colour for the win :bravo:
Riaad
Events Organiser
Update time again - MTECH Seats
Knowing well in advance that swapping seats is rather straight forward, cleaning will take up most of my time...so having cleared my schedule this past weekend, I attended to the task at hand...but first...
So I have been searching for e46 Mtech seats for sometime now, initially...I was thinking about changing the interior colour to black, considering how difficult it would be to find a clean set of mtech seats more so in the beige colour as my original seatsmgwaiting: ,my search also included other options such as Z4M coupe seats :in-love: ...basically an OEM bucket seat (lol, reaching for the stars here...these are RARE).
Like most E46 spares, finding bits in Durban is a challenge, @evnmopwr was assisting from the Mother City, but factoring the costs involved (shipping, repairs, and then finding the other bits to convert the interior from beige to black), it was a bit ...much :thumbdo:
Lol...I have to mention one guy from cpt, that decided to strip a perfectly good 325i mtech 2..because he figured he could make more money, iirc...he was asking for R8k for the interior (seats, armrest and door cards) :hammerhead:...I believe these are still for sale:fencelook:
Anyway...I came across a black E46 318i Mtech 2 stripping here in Durban, I took a chance and requested interior pics...Beige :smilebounce: (didn't think I would ever be happy for anything beige before), seats looked dirty and seller was upfront and mentioned that the drivers bolster is wrecked...took a drive and viewed them, the next day I was back to collect:thumbs:
...yeah, in a state, but structurally, they looked good and the seats are quite firm:thumbs:
And the project @Kyle was busy with:chef: ...they cleaned up rather well, next up...I contacted McCarthy AutoTrimmers, at first it was just meant to be a bolster repair...but as usual, I had to be extra...so I ended up repairing the entry bolster on the driver and passenger seat, as well as building up the drivers base. Since the seats had to be completed stripped, I got the guy to swap the passenger and drivers base (since the passenger was "newer")...some progress pics:thumbs:
And the finished product
:joy:
And now, we are ready to install...
Seats out, I was presented with a few stains :thumbdo:...but luckily I had arranged for a carpet cleaner to stop by and extract the carpets.
Some pics (still a bit damp)...rather pleased with the outcome:=):
Whilst the car was drying out..I swapped over the seat belt tensioner and seat occupancy sensor from my old seats to the new (the donor car had all its airbags intact, I did not want to take a chance and trigger the airbag light in my car).
The seats feel great, far superior to the excl seats in terms of support...and when combined with the mtech 2 steering wheel , the car feels a lot different to when I purchased it in the beginning of this year:=):
Just need to sort that armrest now:tiptoe:
So yeah...I have a Mtech 0.75 now...will search for the exterior bits next year:fencelook:
Knowing well in advance that swapping seats is rather straight forward, cleaning will take up most of my time...so having cleared my schedule this past weekend, I attended to the task at hand...but first...
So I have been searching for e46 Mtech seats for sometime now, initially...I was thinking about changing the interior colour to black, considering how difficult it would be to find a clean set of mtech seats more so in the beige colour as my original seats
mgwaiting: ,my search also included other options such as Z4M coupe seats :in-love: ...basically an OEM bucket seat (lol, reaching for the stars here...these are RARE).Like most E46 spares, finding bits in Durban is a challenge, @evnmopwr was assisting from the Mother City, but factoring the costs involved (shipping, repairs, and then finding the other bits to convert the interior from beige to black), it was a bit ...much :thumbdo:
Lol...I have to mention one guy from cpt, that decided to strip a perfectly good 325i mtech 2..because he figured he could make more money, iirc...he was asking for R8k for the interior (seats, armrest and door cards) :hammerhead:...I believe these are still for sale:fencelook:
Anyway...I came across a black E46 318i Mtech 2 stripping here in Durban, I took a chance and requested interior pics...Beige :smilebounce: (didn't think I would ever be happy for anything beige before), seats looked dirty and seller was upfront and mentioned that the drivers bolster is wrecked...took a drive and viewed them, the next day I was back to collect:thumbs:
...yeah, in a state, but structurally, they looked good and the seats are quite firm:thumbs:
And the project @Kyle was busy with:chef: ...they cleaned up rather well, next up...I contacted McCarthy AutoTrimmers, at first it was just meant to be a bolster repair...but as usual, I had to be extra...so I ended up repairing the entry bolster on the driver and passenger seat, as well as building up the drivers base. Since the seats had to be completed stripped, I got the guy to swap the passenger and drivers base (since the passenger was "newer")...some progress pics:thumbs:
And the finished product
:joy:
And now, we are ready to install...
Seats out, I was presented with a few stains :thumbdo:...but luckily I had arranged for a carpet cleaner to stop by and extract the carpets.
Some pics (still a bit damp)...rather pleased with the outcome:=):
Whilst the car was drying out..I swapped over the seat belt tensioner and seat occupancy sensor from my old seats to the new (the donor car had all its airbags intact, I did not want to take a chance and trigger the airbag light in my car).
The seats feel great, far superior to the excl seats in terms of support...and when combined with the mtech 2 steering wheel , the car feels a lot different to when I purchased it in the beginning of this year:=):
Just need to sort that armrest now:tiptoe:
So yeah...I have a Mtech 0.75 now...will search for the exterior bits next year:fencelook:
michael.joseph
Active member
Excellent outcome with those seats... they look fantastic
:bravo:
:bravo:
Did someone say AndroidRiaad said:
Holy crap those seats came out fantastic
