Issues with my E46 Coupe

[hamant]

Originally Posted by E46Titan

Then you obviously don't maintain your cars properly. If the expansion tank goes, which it will, you will loose most of your coolant in a few seconds. The engine will overheat in another few seconds. Pretty catastrophic to me. These are straight 6's. The will warp extremely quickly. There are many many people out there like you who just wait till things fail and many who have had to replace head gaskets or entire engines. Do a little reading and you will see I'm right.

You've owned the car only since 180 K, maybe the PO changed a few of those things out. I cringe if my car is not running at it's best, maybe cause I'm a true enthusiast and want to keep my car like new.

These are not golfs. They are highly tuned sports sedans and need regular preventative maintenance, more so than others. Infact all cars need these things. There is nothing in there that is not part of regular maintenance. They are just suggested times when those parts begin to fail on E46's. Proven time and time again.

I guess you think that trans fluid and diff fluid is lifetime like BMW suggests . I would put my house up if you can find me any gear oil that will properly protect the internals with 260 K on it. Go ahead prove it to me.

you're right... i don't maintain it properly... it just got to 266 000 by magic...
the engine will overheat in a few seconds? ummmmm.... ok...... I wonder, if i told you my car had 190 000 k would you be like "oh my god you're going to have a catastrophy!!!!" what if i said now its at 200 000.. "oh my god anytime now"... what about 210, 220, 230, 240.. and so on?

WHAT IF it happens and i just go and get it fixed..... imagine that...
my highly tuned sport sedan (cause we all know HOW highly tuning E46's are) won't be able to take it, but then again... these are BMW's.... not the worlds most reliable cars, volkswagen.

I mean a BMW shouldn't be expected to last as long as a volkswagen.. its a highly tuned machine....

you make a lot of assumptions...
this is going to brake, that is going to brake, u don't care of your car, the PO must have fixed things...

If they NEED preventative maintence, then how did mine get to 266 000?
just answer me that?

tell me,
how many kilometers on your car?
have you changed the timing chain?
what about your alternator?
what about your rear bulbs, i mean heaven knows they can only last x amount of kilometers, then they'll fail and you'll have a catastrophy on your hands, so one might ram you from behind.

again, cause you probably missed it... there is preventative to a point... there is nothing wrong with fixing things when they break, you don't have to be all anal about your high tuned E46 monster....

and what do i have to prove to you.. your entire arguement is based on an ASSUMPTION that everything will fall apart if your don't do preventative maintence....

[E46Titan]

Originally Posted by hamant

you're right... i don't maintain it properly... it just got to 266 000 by magic...
the engine will overheat in a few seconds? ummmmm.... ok...... I wonder, if i told you my car had 190 000 k would you be like "oh my god you're going to have a catastrophy!!!!" what if i said now its at 200 000.. "oh my god anytime now"... what about 210, 220, 230, 240.. and so on?

WHAT IF it happens and i just go and get it fixed..... imagine that...
my highly tuned sport sedan (cause we all know HOW highly tuning E46's are) won't be able to take it, but then again... these are BMW's.... not the worlds most reliable cars, volkswagen.

I mean a BMW shouldn't be expected to last as long as a volkswagen.. its a highly tuned machine....

you make a lot of assumptions...
this is going to brake, that is going to brake, u don't care of your car, the PO must have fixed things...

If they NEED preventative maintence, then how did mine get to 266 000?
just answer me that?

tell me,
how many kilometers on your car?
have you changed the timing chain?
what about your alternator?
what about your rear bulbs, i mean heaven knows they can only last x amount of kilometers, then they'll fail and you'll have a catastrophy on your hands, so one might ram you from behind.

again, cause you probably missed it... there is preventative to a point... there is nothing wrong with fixing things when they break, you don't have to be all anal about your high tuned E46 monster....

and what do i have to prove to you.. your entire arguement is based on an ASSUMPTION that everything will fall apart if your don't do preventative maintence....

I did not say these cars were not reliable. Infact they are extremely reliable, with the exception of a few components( cooling, vanos, cabs, etc..) Most manufacturers including Honda recommends water pump replacements at 160K. BMW used to require them until their free maintenance scam.

Do you know what the previous owner did to the car??? Prob not. When most ppl look at buying a used car these things are what they check for, if maintenance has been performed.

If your cooling system has not been rebuilt since new then you have just been lucky. Plain and simple. BMW's have been using low quality plastics in the cooling system since the '80's that have been proven time and time again to start failing as low as 100K and this is a fact. Ask other informed members on the board. My water pump started to leak a 100 K. I could have driven it like that for another year but I chose to replace it. I'd rather not have it go on me on the road and have to get my car towed. Maybe you're one of those ppl that would try to get an overheating BMW to limp home, but I'm not. You let me know what happens to your car when that day comes.

Obviously my initial numbers for suspension are good, because you yourself said your suspension was "shot" and you choose to drive it like that. I don't like to drive broken cars, especially a BMW with a shot suspension as I'm sure any self respecting enthusiast wouldn't either.

I have not asked you to maintain your car this way, it was just general guidelines that tens of 1000's of BMW enthusiasts follow to keep the cars performing like "new". It was for the OP, and if you don't agree that's your problem. I have owned my car almost since it was new, and it still drives and looks brand new. Can you say the same about your car??

No assumptions here. Timing chains don't need replacements, an alternator will not leave me stranded, but a cooling system will The things I replace are proven to fail. I don't let problems compound themselves.

[E46Titan]

Am I making this stuff up or assuming?? Just check a few post on this site. If you go over to E46fanatics or Bimmerfest where there is about 1000 times more members, you will see that countless ppl have had cooling issues.

Maybe your car is a special edition E46 with adamantium cooling components.

http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/show...cooling+system

http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/show...cooling+system

http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/show...cooling+system

http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130101
&highlight=expansion+tank

http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/show...expansion+tank


Heh, looks like you're one of the few ppl that don't agree with prevantative cooling system replacement. It's common sense really, a few hundred dollars now might save you thousands later. Only problem is that common sense isn't very common. Oh well.

[hamant]

Originally Posted by E46Titan

I did not say these cars were not reliable. Infact they are extremely reliable, with the exception of a few components( cooling, vanos, cabs, etc..) Most manufacturers including Honda recommends water pump replacements at 160K. BMW used to require them until their free maintenance scam.

Do you know what the previous owner did to the car??? Prob not. When most ppl look at buying a used car these things are what they check for, if maintenance has been performed.

actually I do as i bought it off my friend... again with the assumptions....

Originally Posted by E46Titan

If your cooling system has not been rebuilt since new then you have just been lucky. Plain and simple. BMW's have been using low quality plastics in the cooling system since the '80's that have been proven time and time again to start failing as low as 100K and this is a fact. Ask other informed members on the board. My water pump started to leak a 100 K. I could have driven it like that for another year but I chose to replace it.

A leaking water pump is different from blown suspension... obviously if its leaking its classified as 'broke' therefore fix it....

Originally Posted by E46Titan

I'd rather not have it go on me on the road and have to get my car towed. Maybe you're one of those ppl that would try to get an overheating BMW to limp home, but I'm not. You let me know what happens to your car when that day comes.

wow... another assumption... are you honestly like 15? I've never known anyone who makes all their counter arguements on assumptions... but i like how you contridict yourself... i thought I would have 2 minutes before my engine explodes...ITS A CATOSTROPHY!!

Originally Posted by E46Titan

Obviously my initial numbers for suspension are good, because you yourself said your suspension was "shot" and you choose to drive it like that. I don't like to drive broken cars, especially a BMW with a shot suspension as I'm sure any self respecting enthusiast wouldn't either.

my car has 266 000 Km... how in the hell do you figure your numbers where good.... at 217 000 km my suspension was still good....

I have not asked you to maintain your car this way, it was just general guidelines that tens of 1000's of BMW enthusiasts follow to keep the cars performing like "new". It was for the OP, and if you don't agree that's your problem. I have owned my car almost since it was new, and it still drives and looks brand new. Can you say the same about your car??

Originally Posted by E46Titan

No assumptions here. Timing chains don't need replacements, an alternator will not leave me stranded, but a cooling system will The things I replace are proven to fail. I don't let problems compound themselves.

right... no asummptions....

so you like to spend money on things thats are "proven" to fail enough though my car "proves" that your "proofs" seem to be pretty weak....

there are items that will tend to go, but that doesn't mean ALL of them will go

an alternator won't leave you stranded... so what happens when the battery is completely drained????
quick go replace your alternator... its preventative maintence

so again...


how many kilometers do you have on your HIGH PERFORMANCE BMW....

[hamant]

Originally Posted by E46Titan

Am I making this stuff up or assuming?? Just check a few post on this site. If you go over to E46fanatics or Bimmerfest where there is about 1000 times more members, you will see that countless ppl have had cooling issues.

Maybe your car is a special edition E46 with adamantium cooling components.

http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/show...cooling+system

http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/show...cooling+system

http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/show...cooling+system

http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130101
&highlight=expansion+tank

http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/show...expansion+tank


Heh, looks like you're one of the few ppl that don't agree with prevantative cooling system replacement. It's common sense really, a few hundred dollars now might save you thousands later. Only problem is that common sense isn't very common. Oh well.

have i said that the cooling system isn't an issue?
you keep acting like if you don't replace it your car is done in 1 minute.....

I'll let you know when that happens...
actually why don't you show me ALL the people who didn't replace their cooling system and it caused a catastrophic failure

again... im still waiting to know how many kilometers you have on YOUR car..... it must be TONS..

[bmwins]

sell your car and buy mine. it would be a huge upgrade and a great base to start from.

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ220739287

[Ahctuning]

Originally Posted by bmwins

sell your car and buy mine. it would be a huge upgrade and a great base to start from.

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ220739287

Giving up on the car or have you fixed it? What was the cause/fix to your car's power loss?

[E46PauL]

hey well back to the original post i had my yellow oil light come on intermittedly. i reset my maintenace light and that problem went away. turn ignition to first setting while holding down trip reset button, wait then press and hold for another 5 secs, then press agian once quick. some images will blink inbetween i cant remember what at the moment...

i replaced 2 control arm bushings for $120 oem and it fixed a knockin sound i had.

i was a japanese fan as well and im enjoying by e46 far more than my s14s or my Z31s, talk about high maintenance those turbo motors were princesses and really tight to work on, not to mention the electrical gremlins. im enjoying by bimmer only after owning it for 5 months, alwasy puts a smile on my face