Cheap E46 beater

Ive always liked the E46s but all the horror stories have kept me away. I have been in need of a beater recently. I'm pretty much down to just my old Dodge pickup, which has a ton of miles, and I want to replace it with a GM truck, but its pretty much the only driver I have, and my commute has just become much longer, and it gets terrible fuel economy. So I have been passively looking for a good deal on a beater, and one fell into my lap.

I just picked this 2001 BMW 330i with 180K miles up for 250 dollars.

Body is surprisingly clean with only a couple of door dings, and failing clearcoat on the little piece above the license plate. The car will polish up real nice.

Interior is decent. The material on the headliner and pillars is coming off. The sunroof motor cover is missing (with the switches). The seats are cracking but not torn. A piece of trim is missing on a back door.

The reason it was cheap....It needs a transmission. Really it needs a front pump seal, but Im not going to pull the trans to replace it and put it back together knowing it was driven low on fluid for quite a while. It also leaks oil, coolant, and power steering fluid. It has like 9 codes stored.

The good. New struts and shocks, tires, and brakes. Guy said he had a bunch of parts he never got around to installing and he would bring them to me (I hope so but Im not holding my breath). It has the sport suspension, those are OE M Wheels, and it has the appearance package.

Im going to try and be under 2K all in, and then drive it. Outside of being an auto, and the color, it is probably what Id buy if I was actually hunting for an E46.

I did some basic checking the other day. The major oil leak is the oil filter housing gasket and vanos hose. For codes they are all over the place, but I smoked the intake and there are vacuum leaks everywhere, so Im gonna start with a PCV rebuild, intake boots, spark plugs and valve cover gasket. Coolant leak is upper radiator hose, just ordered a hose for now, gonna delay the full coolant system rebuild until I get all the other stuff done. Power steering leak is the reservoir.

I picked a used trans up for it for 350 dollars. I just ordered a bunch of parts from ebay and FCP Euro. Plan is to get the trans in Saturday, and throw everything else on Sunday and see if it runs good enough to shake it down.

Only have 2 pictures right now, more to come later

Looks pretty well bought from here!  Sorry you don't like the colour.  Personally, I think the dark-blue-over-tan combo is one of the classiest.  Watching with interest.

That is one hell of a deal.

In reply to Stealthtercel :

It's not that I don't like the blue, just if I was out hunting for one, I'd look for red. I think the color will look real nice all cleaned up

Did anyone else go back and reread that to make sure they read the price right?

I strongly suggest that you do the cooling system before you start driving it. The M54 does not tolerate overheating at all well (think boat anchor).

In reply to 02Pilot :

Im waiting because it might already be cooked. Ive got to get it running and driving to shake it down to make sure there isnt major hidden damage/problems. I dont want to throw 600-900 at it for preventative maintenance, then find out later someone has already overheated it and cooked it. For now its just fix problems. Make sure its a good place to start, then catch up on deferred maintenance.

In reply to Opti :

A leakdown test will tell you if the head is warped.

In reply to 02Pilot :

Good point, I should probably do that

I took a couple more pictures to show the condition a little better.

Outside is real nice

Shot of the headliner and pillar problems, and you can see the missing sunroof motor cover.\

Nice score!

I keep thinking about how the e46 must be a very well designed chassis. I was looking at the Ultimate Track Car Challenge last night in GRM and it always amazes me that the e46 is always breathing down the neck of legitimate mega race cars.

I owned a slick top 330i and loved it and a M3 is on the future bucket list. 

.Did the first stage of repairs today.

Old trans out.

"New" trans in. Well new to me, unknown mileage. Also did a rear main seal, cover gasket, giubo

New parts. P/S reservoir and hoses. Plugs. V/C gasket and grommets. Upper radiator hose. Oil filter housing gasket with vanos feed hose. CCV kit with new hoses. Upper and lower intake boots. Oil filter an some rotella T6.

Ready to get started

Dropped some seafoam in it, and ran it for a few minutes to get it up to temp and drained the oil. It was pretty nasty.

Yanked the CCV and hoses off. They came off in pieces.

Pulled apart the CCV to see if it was actually bad. It was quite bad. Alot of residue and the diaphram was torn all the way around.

Got the VC off. Little bit of sludge build up but nothing crazy. Was pretty happy for 180K.

Oil filter housing kit, with sensors and Vanos hose, next to old leaky hose and gasket which was hard as a rock

Pretty much torn apart, ready to go back together

Old plugs. Said BMW on them

All back together. Ran it for a little. There is either a bunch of oil residue or it still leaks oil. Didnt see a coolant leak. Fan clutch is smoked, can grab it while the car is running, but it doesnt seem to overheat. Stays at about 200*. Recheck trans level. Had 9 codes beofre, Cat efficiency, O2, Evap, and misfires, etc. Cleared the codes, and ran it to temp and I got a cam sensor code. I forgot to plug it in. After plugging it in and clearing codes, nothing came back. So lets take it on its maiden voyage.

Runs like a champ. A/c and Heat are currently working. Drives nice. Did a couple key cycles. Didnt get anymore codes. Im sure something will pop back up, but hasnt yet. Next is fixing whatever pops up while shaking it down, detailing it, and replacing the lower control arm bushings. The left control arm bushing has a ton of play when hitting the brakes. The rest of it seems okay. Also need to get a sunroof motor cover with buttons so I can test/repair the sunroof. Overall Im about 900 in it, and my target was under 2000 all done, which I think should be pretty easy to hit

Veeeeery nice

Well bought. 

I drove it around today, probably have 45 miles on it since the repairs. Still no check engine light. I really like the car. Did about 26 MPG over my normal commute. Im hoping when I get some decent (brand) tires on it, fix the suspension and align it, and catch up on deferred maintenance, I can get it a little closer to the 30 MPG highway rating, but even at 26 it is a considerable improvement over my old dodge.

SWMBO drove it an really likes it also. I dont think she will be giving up the Volt anytime soon, but its good to have something else in the fleet that she can and likes to drive.

Im still in the process of shaking it down, and I fully expect at least a couple codes to come back, but with as good as it drives, I feel more comfortable starting to order parts for the next round of repairs. Like trim pieces, lower control arm bushings, and a sunroof motor cover with buttons, so I can test/fix the sunroof.

It was freezing cold outside today so I didnt do much but I atleast wanted to do some cleaning because it was nasty.

It doesnt show too well but there were stains all over the panels 

Pretty much everything in the interior was super dirty and stained. I thought the leather was all torn up on the steering wheel, but it was just grime and build up.

Didnt have a lot of time or even all my detailing supplies. So it just got a quick vacuum, everything got wiped down real well, and the seats got a bunch of leather cleaner (which didnt do too much) and then a couple applications of condidtioner (figured if they couldnt be clean at least they would be soft)

Doors came out pretty good but not perfect

It has the nice weathertech-esque floor mats but they were nasty.

So I pulled them out and scrubbed them and rinsed them off right quick. Made a huge difference and much to my surprise they match the carpet much better than I thought. They were WAYYY darker when I started.

The seats need to be pulled and the carpet needs a good scrubbing and shampooing, it has a bunch of stains. Ill probably do that the next nice weekend we have. Overall it made a huge difference just mildly cleaning everything up, you dont feel disgusting after driving it now. I also need to order some leatherique and save the seats.

Hey Opti, Long time lurker but good to see somebody getting into what are now Cheap BMW's.

I work at BMW myself so PM me if you need any parts diagrams/part numbers or shop instructions from AIR/ISTA.

In reply to Roner :

Thanks man. I might have to hit you up for weird stuff. I have most of the stuff, I work in a shop, but we can be a little lacking on some stuff for Euros.i

Update: After a few days I got a p0171 and P0174 and a P0456. My DISA valve was bad when I pulled it off for the other repairs and didnt think to order the rebuild kit. The Oring was smoked so I did the hack thing and just threw some pookie on it to try and reseal it. Im hoping thats causing the lean codes.The rebuild kit came in today so after work Im going to do the rebuild and probably smoke the EVAP system so I can order more parts. Other than that it has been great, Im really enjoying driving it

Roner said:

Hey Opti, Long time lurker but good to see somebody getting into what are now Cheap BMW's.

I work at BMW myself so PM me if you need any parts diagrams/part numbers or shop instructions from AIR/ISTA.

 

 

Does that offer extend to us E60 drivers?  :-)

I pulled the DISA off after work. You can see my hackery (pookie job)

The flap was completely loose and flopping around. Also the built in seal was smoked and completely flat. Someone else had already pookied it, and I did it again. I ordered a 15 dollar rebuild off ebay. I comes with a new pin, flap, plastic arm (the piece that breaks) and retaining ring. I disassembled the old one, it just takes a few minutes. You can see the broken arm.

I cleaned up as much of the RTV as I could, and scraped the seal out, and put it back together. After assembled, I tested it and it looks like the vacuum diaphragm is still good so hopefully it works.

I put it back on and tested the evap system for the P0456. Looks like the Leak detection pump is bad. Pretty common failure on these. I can get one for about 100 dollars, so I order one. 

I cleared the codes, and on the way home it averaged 29.7 MPG. Im pretty happy with that, but as I pulled up to the house the CEL popped back on. Ill scan it tomorrow. I sure hope its the P0456, but i dont think it would code that quickly without a cold start and only 2 key cycles. I bet its the lean codes again, so I should probably the intake system tomorrow.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Haha you E60 folk are welcome to the offer.

Still my favorite looking interation for the 3 Series.

I had an 03 325 for awhile and it's a great dd with the sports package. 

I do have a fuel filter, pump and relay collecting dust if you are interested. Sick of tripping over it.

I messed with it a little last night. I was still getting the lean codes within 2 key cycles, so I went ahead and smoked the intake again. Couldn't find much, but I did find a little vacuum hose at the fuel filter that was deteriorated and leaking pretty good. It was so small, I can't see it causing the codes but we will see. I put some new hose on it, and so far the lean codes have not come back 

I also put my new fan clutch on, old one would barely move with then engine on, new one is much tighter.

I'm going to do some more work to it tomorrow, it just depends on what parts show up.

The car has been driving pretty good. One of the biggest problems (besides the pesky CEL) is the suspension. When you hit a bump or the brakes the left side makes quite a bit of noise. I suspected the lower control arm bushings, and found that was the case a week or two ago when I checked it. I ordered the Meyle HDs which are supposed to be an upgrade. They are still rubber, but solid. I didnt bother to check them, thats just what I was told.

Old ones off, and you can see the torn drivers side one, which was the worst.

New Meyle HDs installed.

When I checked the trans fluid the other day, I noticed it was quite dark, so I wanted to service it again. I just pulled the drain plug, and then topped it back off. Only get about 3 quarts this way. I should probably actually do a full fush. Fluid looked pretty nasty. Pan gasket and filter were done with trans. After getting it to temp, I drained and filled it again, and then again today. So it has essentially had 3 drain and fills, but that doesnt really get all the fluid out. It wasnt quite as black as this pic makes it look, It was more of a brown with a red tinge.

Also went ahead and changed the rear diff fluid. Fluid didnt look too bad, but I like to change all the fluids on a new to me car.

Then I aligned it. It really wasnt horrible. the camber and toe in the rear was out but the front camber was pretty much were I wanted it. I put the rear camber on the positive side of the spec, for tire life. No caster adjustment but cross caster is ok, so who cares. Pardon the sideways picture

When I was smoking the EVAP system, I inspected the gas cap and the seal didnt look great but it wasnt leaking. I made a mental note to order a gas cap when I order the leak detection pump. Today I found the PO had already purchased a new gas cap and it was in the trunk, so I installed it.

I also installed new visor clips. Mine were completely destroyed and the visors were hanging down. New BMW ones were like 5 dollars. Even though the headliner still looks like hell, this is probably my favorite couple dollars Ive spent on the car.

I also got the lean codes back today. I resmoked the intake and couldnt find any leaks, I also sprayed carb cleaner all around and watched fuel trims but never saw a change. I didnt want to spend a ton of time on it.  I looked at data for a minute and noticed the MAF was pretty lazy. I pulled it and cleaned it, and it seems to be reading normally now. Dont think it was a big enough issue to cause the lean codes, but baby steps make improvements. Also noticed fuel trims move when I use the brakes, not a ton, but they do. I have seen leaking boosters cause lean codes on BMWs before. Need to do a little more investigating.

Car still needs a good detail, but I ran it through a car wash and I must say it cleaned up pretty good.

Ive got some more parts ordered, and she still needs a bunch of work, but after the repairs today I put about 65 miles on her, and the CEL has not come back. Id bet it will, but it is nice to see that it hasnt come back as quickly as it was before, and who knows maybe Ill be pleasantly surprised. With the new control arm bushings and alignment, this thing drives GREAT. I love this little car. It has come and long way, and Im really enjoying it.

The nasty interior has been killing me, so today I decided to pull the seats and see what I could do.

After I got the seats out, it was much nastier than I thought.

other side

First I just threw everything away and did a quick vacuum.

The carpet looks much better in these pictures. Lots of little stains its hard to see in the pics. The dark stains were pretty nasty, and I wasnt sure how much I was going to be able to do. I started with some all purpose cleaner and a little agitating with a brush on a drill. Some stuff came up, but not much. Then I used some full strength simple green and scrubbed it. Helped a little. I went and picked up some carpet cleaner and alternated between simple green and carpet cleaner and lots of scrubbing. The I got my little extractor and rinse and rinsed and rinsed.

This was my first waste water.

I probably dumped like 8 of these, and they didnt get much better. I made a little improvement, but I couldnt get it as clean as I wanted it. I dont think there is much more I could do short of pulling the carpet and pressure washing it (which has worked like a champ on past projects)

I also steamed cleaned the interior and seats. The steaming, got the seats a little cleaner than the leather cleaner, but Im still waiting on my leatherique. The steaming may a big difference on the panels though, they look much better, plus the added benefit of sanitizing this nasty car

Then I turned my attention to the seat backs. They have been hanging off since I bought the vehicle. In this picture, you will see I have already glued the clips back on, and the keen eyed will see I glued them back on upside down.

So this is the problem

When I went to put them back off, I finally looked closely and noticed I glued them upside down, so I popped them off and epoxied them on correctly. They ended up going on okay. I still have some of the material that needs to be reglued to the seat back, and the seat backs were filthy. Neither the cleaner of the steamer would help the seat backs so Ill have to figure something out. For now though, the cleaning has made a pretty big difference, its a much nicer place to spend time.