The Mean Greenie - 330d

[osiris]

Have you managed to go past a dealership and have them look at the car and give you a diagnosis on whats making the noise yet?

 

[Blueskys]

Have you managed to go past a dealership and have them look at the car and give you a diagnosis on whats making the noise yet?

Aren't they going to charge for that?

 

[Luigi_S]

Nope not as yet, not sure about going to a main dealer as most of the guys there are clueless from my previous experiences. Will try and take it past a really top VAG mechanic I know out in Benoni side this Saturday.

 

[Luigi_S]

Anybody got any ideas on the idle knock / rattle? I've been told it definitely isn't the damper pulley as the noise generally remains regardless of revs, but could be the chain tensioner as it disappears as soon as I touch the throttle. Also been told to look at the alternator. This sounds plausible as the sounds seems to be coming from that general area.

The sound only happens at idle and when there is a load like the aircon clutch activating or when I pull off and the revs temporarily drop. Other than that no noise.

 

[osiris]

not a bearing knock perhaps? I would strongly suggest taking it to BMW to get it checked.

 

[Luigi_S]

Nope, definitely not a bearing knock and pretty sure it's not the chain tensioner as there is no noise with all the belts removed. It's got to be on the alternator / power steering pump side. It's only once I put the belt on.

Just to add insult to injury, the coolant reservoir has a pinhole in it where coolant is being sprayed out when the car is hot. Oh, that and power steering reservoir also leaking.

 

[osiris]

OMG. Problem after problem man. :/ you can get coolant bottle from gold wagon. the power steering reservoir can probably also be purchased from them too.

 

[Luigi_S]

Yep, picking a coolant reservoir up tomorrow. Think I will remove the whole power steering pump and everything and strip it down to make sure all is well. Just put another 5 litres of coolant and distilled water mix in last week when I changed the thermostat, this after replacing all the coolant the week before.

I wonder if I shouldn't just go ahead and change the water pump same time even though it seems to be functioning fine. Just getting pricey now changing all these items, haven't even got to the big ticket jobs yet......

 

[Luigi_S]

Got a lot done today before the Grand Prix. Stripped all the gubbins off to get to the starter motor, while I was at it, also took out the alternator and power steering pump which has been leaking.

Has anyone here re-built one of these pumps?

Does anyone know if there is a rebuild kit at all?

Unfortunately, while I was trying to pull it apart so that I could get the reservoir off, all the inners fell out so not sure how they go back together. Think I may have sussed it, but time will tell. Seems like the biggest leak was from where the reservoir attaches to the actual pump. There is a little o-ring there.

Can't seem to take the rest of the pump apart and don't want to break anything either so have left it at that. Will see if I can find some o-rings tomorrow if there is no kit available. The front bearing also feels a little rough but have no idea how to change it.

Starter will go in Tuesday along with the alternator for a refurb. The front bearing on the alternator feels a little rough and noisy so will get that replaced.

 

[osiris]

Sho you are brave lol.

"Ill just take this apart and see what it does :rollsmile::roflol: Oh shit how the hell does this thing go back together :roflol::rollsmile:"

Thank goodness you have another car to drive :rollsmile:

 

[Luigi_S]

Somebody's got to do it, lol. Hey if it doesn't work, I have to get a new PS pump, which I will probably have to anyways.

 

[tyu333]

I've rebuilt the ps pump on my Z3 M Coupe. Bought the kit from BMW. Check on realoem if they have a kit for it.


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[Luigi_S]

Thanks, can't seem to find much info on these pumps, doesn't seem to be a kit available so just got me a O ring from BMG an hopefully all sorted.

 

[tyu333]

If I remember correctly the kit I got was basically o-rings and washers.


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[Luigi_S]

All the seats are out, been cleaning them more. Also have ripped all the lower plastics out and the rear carpet in preparation for the black carpets and lower plastics. Hopefully pick them up this weekend.

Will need to remove the dash to remove the front carpet, but that can wait till next weekend.

Drivers seat will be going in to MC Auto trimmers next week Monday for him to replace the two panels which are damaged. Once I get that back, probably next Friday, then I will try and get the same guy that Ratslaaf used to clean the seats and do some dying on some of the scratched areas.

 

[Nobz330i]

Oh man I can't wait to see how it looks... all the best :clapper:

 

[Waseem 333i]

Lets try the damper pulley i've got to see if the noise goes away. Regarding the handling have a look at the tie rod and rack ends. Have someone wiggle the steering wheel alot while you look at how the wheels are turning. My one has some hesitation even after replacing tie rods and rack ends. In my case steering rack needs to re replaced. Before the car handled well and now tram lines crazy.

 

[Luigi_S]

Thanks for the offer, really appreciate it. Let's see if the noise is still there after the alternator has been rebuilt. Pretty sure I can rule the power steering out of the noise equation as everything is still A-OK with that. Ran the engine with just the aircon belt on and no noise, ran it with only the serpentine belt on and no noise. I think your gut feel on the damper pulley could be on the money even though it seems to be solid.

I went back to TWT as the steering was at an angle, turns out the wheel alignment was way off, so the first guy obviously didn't know what he was doing. Haven't driven the car on the motorway since then, so will only find out if it's any better once all the bits and pieces are back on, probably in a couple of weeks time.

 

[Nobz330i]

Lets try the damper pulley i've got to see if the noise goes away. Regarding the handling have a look at the tie rod and rack ends. Have someone wiggle the steering wheel alot while you look at how the wheels are turning. My one has some hesitation even after replacing tie rods and rack ends. In my case steering rack needs to re replaced. Before the car handled well and now tram lines crazy.

I also had the same prob with the noise and after they changed the pulleys no more noise from start to idle and normal driving.

 

[Luigi_S]

Well, that's done me in. The bendix on the starter is fubared and the guy trying to fix it is struggling. It's a Valeo starter and apparently you cannot buy the bendix for them. My only options are to buy a new starter, a used one, or give the guy more time to sort it. A new starter is around the 3k mark so that will be a last resort.

So, effectively I will lose a week waiting for the starter, and as it's a right pain to remove and install, I don't want to take a chance on putting something substandard in there and then it failing.

Will be picking up the black carpets, etc. tomorrow so will at least get the interior sorted expecting for the drivers seat which will hopefully be repaired next week.