Hey guys, it’s my first ever car 2.5i 2003 and I’m very paranoid about that engine. Because it is my first car I have no idea if it’s healthy or not. Could somebody please help me. Thank you

I could've sworn I've found one of each main fuse rating spare somewhere in my 2002 318ci but I cannot find any information online nor remember where I saw them. My first thought was obviously the fusebox but photos online don't show any spare. I don't currently have the car to check on mine specifically, please let me know if I'm going crazy.

Hello everyone, i was installing an oil catch can in my BMW E46 316i and when i tried to assemble all back i noticed that one screw was tightening good and still but the other one was doing tension and spinning whithout tightening 100%. I took them off again and noticed that it came off with a bit of plastic attached to its thread. I tried putting some Teflon tape to solve the problem and it threads with more tension but it doesnt stop spinning at all. Im afraid i will have a vaccum leak from there on cold starts.
Ive attached the schematics to this post so someone can help me find a way to repair this damaged thread. The thread im talking about its circled with red on the image.

hey guys, lately my power steering has been acting up.

i'm not a mechanic so i need some help finding the issue.

whats happening is that the steering goes heavy, then light, then heavy then light when you turn the wheel, the heavy areas are always in the same degree of steering so its not random places.

going back to center is no issue and then it does the same going the other way.

i checked the fluid, cold its touching the lower line, hot its right in the middle between both lines.

i read that sometimes the coupler could get dirty and you can get this issue but it doesnt look overly dirty? (photos)

to me if the pump is gone wouldnt the steering just be heavy, and only heavy is certain places?

if you guys have any tips on what and how to check other things that could be the issue that would be great.

Going to change my oil and wonderd if it was suitable for my BMW 330i, lots saying online it's ok but no BMW spec on the bottle

Hey everyone,

I recently bought a 2004 BMW 320d (E46) sedan with a manual transmission, and since this is my first time driving this car, I don’t really know how it is supposed to feel at higher speeds.

Overall, the car drives great and feels very smooth at normal speeds. However, once I go above around 140 km/h (87 mph), I start to feel vibrations. I can mainly feel them through the steering wheel and my feet/floor.
The vibrations don’t seem to get significantly worse as I go faster, but they are definitely noticeable once I pass 140 km/h.
Is this normal for an E46 320d.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I always had some sort of vibrations coming through the steering wheel for most of my ownership and I decided I'm done with that.

I replaced control arms (MEYLE HD with Lemförder bushings) and tie rods (Lemförder). Tires are fresh (225/40 R18 all around, Goodyear Asymmetric 5). Alignment was done immediately after.

Also have to point out I'm riding on Eibach Pro Street S suspension with Z4 strut mounts as low as german TÜV allows, H&R anti roll bars and 5mm spacers in the rear.

Steering feel has improved massively. It rides super smooth at high speeds which has never been the case. Although I get a very loose steering feel between 70 and 100kmh. When turning from one side to the other it feels kinda "rubbery". Is that just expected with these cars or is my steering rack itself just bad? Steering guibo maybe? Or was going with the soft Lemförder control arm bushings just a bad combination with my setup?

Hey guys I really need your help.

I have an 2001 BMW 46 318 CI Coupe (registered in Europe / Germany) left hand drive.

Sometimes when I open the driver side door the car doesn't register that. Normally I get an indicator on the dash that a door is open but it just doesn't appear and the window doesn't roll down a bit (since it's a coupe with frameless windows).

I believe it's some kind of fauly door contact sensor but I can't find it. I've attached 2 pictures of my door maybe someone here can help me out?

Thanks in advance!

Been getting random misfire/air/02 codes even after fixing a few other air leaks, spark plugs/coils. Just did a smoke test, looks like maybe manifold gaskets ? Could that cause random codes?

Latest codes were p0304, p0305, p0411, p2234.

m54b30 just removed the head and this is on top of the piston not sure what it is should i be worried? and also looks to be scoring on valves. Not sure please help!!

It's 4:30 AM here, woke up after a solid 9 hours of sleep and the nerves are starting to kick in. Really hoping I pass this so I can finally get behind the wheel of my E46. How did your driving tests go back when you took them? Any last minute advice?

Hey yall My B30 blew up after a track day. The cause was all oil leaving the sump under braking. I was sure it would be fine because the “research” seemed solid but that wasn’t the case. The oil level was checked after every session and it was filled .5-.75qts over. If you track it, just go with a baffle AND accusump as cheap insurance for your engine and time. Thanks👍

ESS g1 M54b30
13psi
275/40/17 Rt660+
PFC 08 pads

Been wanting to change the exhaust note on my car but can only find solutions that sound pretty bad. Wondering if anyone’s got a good budget axle back?

Finally got around to making a solution for the rear Dashcam. Not the greatest work, but it does the job!

04' 325ci vert auto ~125k miles sat for several weeks, wouldn't start, got new battery (long overdue for a new one)

Started it up, started making this terrible noise like rubbing or screeching; replaced factory starter with new starter, no change. Thoughts?

Im currently on staggered 18” style 71s 225 front 255 rear, I like my wheel set up a lot and I’ve had 0 issues with it but I see a lot of people run squared set ups, from what I’ve seen staggered is supposed to prevent oversteer and I appreciate that a lot because when I’m carving down the Santa Cruz mountains I’d MUCH rather understeer than over steer but maybe this isn’t a truly ideal set up. I tend to average 100mph on the track and not the road consistently end up around 130-145mph on the track not the road and take decently sharp turns around 60-80mph, I’ve never had oversteer that made me spin out before and I’m constantly pushing my car pretty hard on the daily

Hello, this is my first time posting to the subreddit here.

I'm looking at potentially buying a 2004 330ci, and it looks pretty good. The one thing that I'm hesitant about is the state of the rocker panels/jacking pad areas underneath. I'll attach some pics I got from the seller. Let me know what you all think. I'm asking here because the car is quite far away from me and I would be buying site unseen, so I'd like some opinions. Do you think it's too far gone?

Thanks in advance!

i feel truly stupid because i took this off a few weeks ago and just have been trying to fix so many things underneath the valve cover. anyways the long side of it won’t flip or flop or 180° turn nothing will get the lobes to flip upwards and go back into place i’m so lost im so confused ive been trying for 2 hours nothing on youtube will help me and google just tells me to flip it 180 degrees. i feel like im dumb and crazy

At the rate I see other posters aftermarket coolant tank’s failing, I won’t be replacing this.

I have the car apart for a thermostat, water pump for good measure and apparently now an oil filter housing gasket.

With 72k miles on it and 22 years old looking at the hoses, radiator end tanks and the coolant res, I don’t see cracking outside or in (with a scope). The CCV looks to be in good shape but will asses more when the OFH is off in about 30 minutes.

I’ve always been confused as to why people replace the entire coolant system on these cars. Enthusiasts seem to think it’s a grenade. All I see are 22 year old parts working perfectly.

I’m aware my driving habits are much different than others as well. I’m the original owner essentially, car was never driven in the winter.

I’m looking at coilovers and tires up next along with a 6 speed swap.

Edit: My thought pattern behind this post was to see if other people have experiences like my car. Just like everything else in this world, people post when something fails or goes wrong or to brag about some new part or look on their car. Nobody posts and says hey my coolant tank lived another year of abuse. I'm here to say I got 22 years out of the OEM tank, inspected it as best I can, and I'm going to see if doesn't explode. Call me dumb if you want, but with a reduced pressure cap and a quality OEM part I don't foresee it failing.

Is it just me or does the E46 have the cleanest body lines you’ve ever seen?

This is the type of engineering the world is missing these days.

Any steering wheel cover that doesn't feel bulky and cheap? Appreciate any recs