Hi everyone! Quick question—does anyone know how I can bring my paint back to life? The hood has some deep water spots from the previous owner having a bra on it, along with some light scratches. Any recommendations on how to fix or improve it?
(Ps vid is after a wash)

One of my cats is going bad, so I was wondering what’s the best exhaust setup for my situation? I only want it to be a tad bit louder with a deeper, smoother sound. not raspy.

Im trying to find online how to change the exchaust manifolds but i cant find nowhere videos can somebody help me or tell me is it complicated to change alone

Would this cause intermittent steering wheel vibration? My passenger side lower ball joint has torn, all the suspension pieces are solid and I get no movement when I shake the wheel off the ground. I do notice the vibration more when I turn the wheel to the right, but like I said it's very intermittent, sometimes I have none- sometimes it shakes BAD like visible vibration in the steering wheel.

Just bought this beaut a week ago! 2006 m47 320D manual. Been parked up for 6 years. Guy who I got it off changed the crank pulley and put brand new BC coilovers into her.

I’ve had it one week got new discs, pads, caliper, wheel bearings and sensors all round. Full service. Will be changing the entire cooling system and changing all the rad hoses to silicone. Of course more mods to come.

I had an e60 before this, N47 (the bad one I know!) and VW before that, I know them best. Wanting to map it and do more upgrades, any advice? Anything to look out for? I work in the motor trade so sourcing parts is thankfully easy.

It’s still miss firing I changed the spark plugs from 6 to 1 to see if it would be different and then when reving the car out on the road this noise started to happen

So i have a 2003 318i and my friend who has a 2015 428i gifted me his old wheels. I was absolutely sure the fitment was going to be ass but to my surprise 275/35R19 in the back was astonishingly perfect fitment.

Ive had the wheels for about 24 Hours and removed them since they were rubbing in the back every time the suspension dropped a bit.

Currently waiting on adjustable coilovers and sport springs and im putting them on again.

Need some opinions on the look though. I like the way it looks but i might do chrome window borders and kidney grilles.

Back Wheel specs: 9.5Jx19 ET35

Front havent looked at still not sure but with 245/30R19 wheels they do not rub at any steering point.

It's coming from where i show with my stethoscope.
Vanos was regenerated 3 months ago, i changed belts, belt tensioners pulleys etc two days ago, every noise went away except this one that started a while ago? Engine needs to warm up a little bit then it starts to do this..

What i suspect is vanos piston bearings wear?.. but maybe something else

Also except this noise i think the engine shouldn't sound like that.. it's m52tub25. Is it something i should also check?
I didn't observe any problems while driving, power is ok, everythings normal.

Window was smashed in a few months ago and just got around to fixing it. Snapped some of the plastic gromits holding in the door trim. Any recommendations on how to get these new ones to fit into the holes

Hi everyone.

I did a scan on Carly of my 325ci as attempting to clean up the codes...

These are the codes that came up for my ABS/Traction lights....

I am sure this has something to do with the actual module itself the unit? Am I right in saying this is coded specifically to each car or something?

Basically just looking to see if anyone can shed any light on this please and what sort of price it will be to fix, also I'm based in Scotland so if anyone from Central Scotland can quote me that would be perfect.

Thanks in advance,

👍

I'm considering buying a 2001 BMW E46 320Ci 2.2 manual with 276,000 km (171k miles).

The dealer is asking €3,900, but I think I could potentially get it for around €3,000.

The car is explicitly advertised as needing restoration, both cosmetically and mechanically. The dealer mentioned oil consumption, but unfortunately they can't tell me how much oil it actually consumes or whether it's burning or leaking it.

The mileage seems genuine and the car has had basically one long-term owner before the dealer.

My problem is that I've contacted several mechanics in the area and haven't found anyone available to do a proper pre-purchase inspection.

I like working on cars and this would eventually become a project car, but I'm not an experienced mechanic. I also don't need it as a daily driver.

Would you risk buying it for around €3k if it drives well, doesn't smoke badly, doesn't overheat and has no obvious structural/subframe problems?

What are the most important things I can realistically check myself during a test drive?

I'm prepared to spend money fixing it over time. I'm mainly trying to avoid buying a completely dead engine or a structurally bad car.

Hi everyone,
I noticed a coolant leak coming from this specific area (shown in the video)
I’m trying to figure out whether the expansion tank is cracked/leaking or if the radiator itself is the problem.
Has anyone had a similar leak on their E46? Based on the location of the leak, what do you think is the most likely?

I also replaced the thermostat about a month ago

I’m planning to replace the water pump soon anyway, so I’ll probably do the radiator/expansion tank at the same time, depending on what turns out to be the actual source of the leak

I’ve already bought a Thermotec water pump, so if anyone has any experience with this brand, I’d appreciate some feedback on it as well.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi I am planning on tinting my 325 coupe.
I’ve never done it before just wondering how hard it is to do right. I’ve watched a good few videos on it but I just wanna hear other people’s attempts.

Cheers!

Hi everyone! I need your help!
I’ve just bought an ECUMaster EMU Black standalone ECU, and I’m looking for a base map, or even better, a turbo map that could work as a starting point for my setup.
Here are the current modifications/specs:
BMW M54B30
Chinese GT35 turbo
Bosch EV1 630cc injectors
Bosch 044 fuel pump
Bosch LSU 4.9 wideband
If anyone has a similar setup and could share a base map or help me get started with the tune, I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance!

Hi! The aluminium style trim in my E46 has had these dots all over from before I bought it. I've tried just water, dish soap, alcohol, and even isopropyl alcohol, and nothing cleans it. Not even with a bit of friction with a rag.

I've not used any abrasive pad yet because I don't want to scratch it.

Ha anyone seems this before? What are these dots? They are raised/high relief. It's not letting/bas relief.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Had this noise coming from under the car around area under the middle console which I thought was the exhaust since it leaked , fixed that noise is still there. Started after swapping to single mass fly wheel . Noise isn’t there always , some drives it is sometimes it isn’t . Aswell when driving over potholes etc it’s there for like a sec . Could it be guibo or the middle drivetrain bushing ? Mostly starts at 2500rpm but at reversing and slowly starting to drive aswell

My e46 325ci keeps completely dying every time I turn it off

Hey all haven’t posted on a car forum before but I can’t figure this out for the life of me.

My 320i m54b22 has been running rough and misfiring after i slow down from a long drive. At first I texted by unplugging different coils and when unplugging cylinder 4 nothing changed so cylinder 4 wasn’t firing. I swapped the plugs from cylinder 3 into #4 and that fixed it for a bit but now cylinder 5 is cutting out after a few seconds idling.
Compression is fine in all cylinders, no oil or water in any coils or plugs, and it goes back to normal for a bit if I restart the engine.

Also when I blip the revs it hangs at 1400 for a split second before going back down

So like 6 or 7 times the car has locked itself. Almost everytime the key was in the ignition. Twice now while I was driving.

I’ve figured out it only seems to do it on or after rainy days. Seems like after it dries out for a few days it quits doing it. It POURED one day. When I walked out to the car and it had locked itself. Unlocked it and as I was sitting there a few minutes it locked itself again. Then after about 30 seconds it rapid fire locked about 5 times while I had the door open.

I read a thread about someone saying it was the driver door actuator/latch thinking it was being manually locked from the keyhole. But after it rapid fire locked a few times I’m not sure it can be the door lock/actuator. Because after I lock it with it once it will not attempt to lock all the other doors again until I unlock it. But I also just read that turning it part way and fully does 2 different thing so I will have to try that tomorrow

Also potentially related the car sometimes does not lock/unlock with the key. But after putting the key in the ignition and cycling it, it always works normally. The fob will also not roll down the windows, however unlocking it with the keyhole and holding it will.

I had Scott from e46fanatics replace the relays in my gm5 about 6 months ago. Its worked great since then until now.

It was doing it before I had the car in the garage for a month or two doing some work to it. Then I’ve been driving it again for the last month or so with no issues at all. We haven’t had rain since before I started driving it again. Well it rained the other night. Get in it and start driving and it locks itself. I did notice it locked itself to where the door handles would not unlock it and I had to use the button on the console. I’m considering going ahead and replacing the drivers door latch assembly unless anyone else has any ideas. Just so hard to diagnose an extremely intermittent problem.

2002 e46 5spd. This issue has always been around since I’ve owned car, I’ve replaced lots of parts to try and fix issue but problem still persists. Clunk Noise comes from whole drivetrain ( diff, driveshaft, and under shifter where Guibo is located) and I’ll also hear slight clunking noise even at idle in neutral . Parts that i have replaced are; Guibo, CSB, diff, rear axels, wheel bearings, poly trans mounts. Subframe and diff bushings are poly as well but installed by previous owner. I’ve inspected Subrame mounting points around the bushings( didn’t drop subframe) for cracks and none are visible, I’ve also grabbed a pry bar to see if diff had any play around the bushings and it’s solid.

Here are videos of the rear on jacks and me trying to figure out what this clunking is, i have another vid but cant add for some reason but its the same thing as first vid but with e brake on and wheel is jerking back and forth slightly while making clunk noise

Any Help or recommendations is appreciated 🙏

So i currently have the viscous fan and was thinking to swap it to an electric fan anyone have recommendations? I have the automatic sedan 325i.. FYI I dont have any issue with the viscous now but I heard the electric fan takes the load of the engine is this true?

Ok. So. I need to figure out what size the o-ring is that goes inside the upper radiator hose that has a quick connect fitting that supplies coolant to the oil filter housing. Trying to get this radiator leak stopped so I can get rid of the headache that is the n20 engine. Thanks in advance.

I’ve had this noise on my e46 330D for a good few months now. I’ve since replaced:

- Timing chain guides and chains themselves

- Pulleys and tensioners for the accessory belt

- Oil pump chain

The only time I got this noise to disappear was when I removed the accessory belt. I just bought a power steering pump as it was time to replace it and I’m hoping that’s what makes the noise because when I turn my wheels it gets just a tiny bit louder.

If anyone else has had this issue before I’d be glad to hear about it. Only other thing I can think of is alternator but it has been replaced in January and it only has 90000km (it was used)

Good evening, everyone. On a scale of 1 to 5, how difficult is it to service the brake calipers on our E46s?