thomas_lad
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You certainly look to have a lot of patience dude! and a lot of spare time lol
2003 BMW 330 CI E46 Imola Red
- Thread starter michelinman
- Start date
michelinman
RMS Regular
OP
- Thread Starter
- #28
lol lol lol, well it took me almost a year from when I pulled it off the road to I got it back on the road! The headlights took weeks to get sorted, but I just kept thinking of the money I wasn’t spending
A set of custom rear sun blinds would look well in that
Great work, and entertaining read!
Hahahaha, now I wonder where I would find a set of those for sale
Cheers Paul, I’ve to sort out the rest of the photos for the next part of the story and I’ll get it up toute de suite!
michelinman
RMS Regular
OP
- Thread Starter
- #29
Finally now that I had the headlights sorted, I could get another one of my trailer queens loaded onto to the back of our only road legal car (again 
) and head over to get it tested.
As I mentioned in my Honda thread, in Germany, you can choose between the government test centres known as TÃœV, or a government TÃœV approved garage. The approved garages tend to be more "friendly" and allow you to come in and watch and that was how I got my Honda tested. TÃœV centres are known to be much stricter with the test and don't allow you to come in and watch.
Unfortunately because my BMW was a foreign to German registration (despite obviously being manufactured in Germany), I had to take it directly to TÃœV, because only they were set up to interpret the UK elements of the chassis number (tax class, emissions etc). But in order to do that, first I needed to get the Certificate of Conformity for my specific car (which all German delivered cars are supplied with).
BMW keep all of these CoCs on record and they took enormous pleasure in swapping some of my otherwise allocated Europops for a copy of the one for my 330
Armed with my 330 and its CoC, off I drove to TÃœV and nervously waited for my invasive inspection and wondered what they would also do to my 330
I was told with almost trouser wetting insistence, that I was not to take any photographs inside the testing hall. As you may have seen from my Honda thread, I was able to take as many photos as I wanted. But I was feeling the continued addiction to disobey all law and order and I sneaked this one in, much to the apparent displeasure of one of the testers
He was already pi$$ed off with me because he kept getting into the passenger side to move the 330 to the next station and forgetting it was right hand drive
I was hoping to show the difference between TÃœV and an approved garage, but I literally managed to photograph the floor, the exhaust gas duct and the test computer Basically, these TÃœV centres are set up very similar to those in N.I., with lanes and test stations set up for different parts of the test.
However, I wasn't in a great mood at this point anyway. Yes, you guessed it - my 2nd attempt to get a car through German TÃœV ended in a FAIL I was now getting used to this feeling but I still didn't like it
So here's what it failed on:
Yep - my German language skills still needed development, so this was all double dutch to me
But at least the headlights passed
I got a brief overview from the test inspector and the obvious points were easy enough to understand. But confusingly he wasn't happy with one of my alloys. From the outside, they all looked exactly the same and appeared to be OEM. But he had his boxers in a complete twist over the front left alloy wheel. Long story short, he insisted it was a copy and was not original and therefore would not be allowed on the German roads...
1. Difference between left and right wheel handbrake force too much --- Repair Difficulty Rating
2. Right foglight aimed too high --- Repair Difficulty Rating
3. Left front wheel not admissible for road use --- Repair Difficulty Rating
4. Left front tyre has wear marks and dimensions unreadable --- Repair Difficulty Rating
5. Left foglight aimed too low --- Repair Difficulty Rating
6. Engine is damp --- Repair Difficulty Rating
Sooo, off I popped back home with my trailer queen (AGAIN!) and deciphered what the frack TÃœV wanted me to fix.
First I thought I would make life easy on myself and take on the foglight adjustment. The approved garages adjust them for you in-test, but TÃœV send you off with your tail between your legs
About 2 minutes with an allen key fixed that massive issue
Got the car onto axle stands and took all the wheels off so I could inspect them and figure out what was going on with front lefty and adjusted the handbrake shoes at the same time (but its impossible for me to make handbrake adjustment interesting with photographs)
Then I compared the two front alloys
I could see a subtle difference between the left and the right on the mounting face. Mmmm, maybe its a chinese copy because the alloy looked to be made from a different mould.
But looking closer, it had a BMW part number and a BMW logo in the casting...
Three out of the four wheels had the same internal design but this one on the front left was different. Part numbers were identical, so I did some web research.
Another long boring story short, it looked like one of the wheels had got replaced at some point in its previous life and seemingly BMW changed their tooling of the MV2 alloy wheel (in Germany they are called Style M135). But try explaining that to Herr Flick of the TÜV... so I started online surfing to see if I could find a single alloy with the old tooling to match the three others
In the meantime, I discovered a problem that TÜV had missed
When I refitted the headlights, I appear to have forgotten to attached the small spring clips which hold the headlight washer hose onto the headlight bracket. By complete accident I knocked the washers when getting in and out of the car and washer fluid pished all over the garage floor and en route, this fluid also managed to get onto the engine block Had I discovered the possible cause of why my engine was declared wet by TÃœV??
At least I also figured out how to remove the headlights without taking the bumper off I managed to remove the trim piece under the headlight to try and reconnect the washer hose clips. This proved to be impossible and I was going to have to take the dam headlights out again
But now I could just about access the area where the lower mounts screwed in which is circled in red below
Lo and behold, e46 headlights can be removed without taking out the bumper and I could add another experience point to my list of "what the fook have I gotten into now" facts
So I pulled out both headlights again and realised where the spring clip was supposed to be fitted to the washer hose - yes, where there was clearly water leaking and where there was clearly a slot for the cotton pickin' spring clip
Now that I had fixed another one of my many boo boos, I refitted the headlights and checked whether I had fixed something else that I didn't know needed fixed and something that wasn't originally on the TÃœV fail list
Washer jets functional and engine no longer wet! I think the engine had been aroused by the tester and now that I had put it off any notion of excitement, it was all dry again
Now I could start ticking off my TÃœV list!
1. Difference between left and right wheel handbrake force too much
2. Right foglight aimed too high
3. Left front wheel not admissible for road use
4. Left front tyre has wear marks and dimensions unreadable
5. Left foglight aimed too low
6. Engine is damp
During my online impossible search for a single new tool MV2 Style M135 Wh3r3 th3 f4ck 4m 1 go1ng t0 f1nd 1
Didn't I pay for something else I didn't need at that point???
Of course I did
Now began the agonising debate of finding a single unicorn alloy or just buy myself a whole new set Man maths, here we cometh!!!
) and head over to get it tested.As I mentioned in my Honda thread, in Germany, you can choose between the government test centres known as TÃœV, or a government TÃœV approved garage. The approved garages tend to be more "friendly" and allow you to come in and watch and that was how I got my Honda tested. TÃœV centres are known to be much stricter with the test and don't allow you to come in and watch.
Unfortunately because my BMW was a foreign to German registration (despite obviously being manufactured in Germany), I had to take it directly to TÃœV, because only they were set up to interpret the UK elements of the chassis number (tax class, emissions etc). But in order to do that, first I needed to get the Certificate of Conformity for my specific car (which all German delivered cars are supplied with).
BMW keep all of these CoCs on record and they took enormous pleasure in swapping some of my otherwise allocated Europops for a copy of the one for my 330
Armed with my 330 and its CoC, off I drove to TÃœV and nervously waited for my invasive inspection and wondered what they would also do to my 330
I was told with almost trouser wetting insistence, that I was not to take any photographs inside the testing hall. As you may have seen from my Honda thread, I was able to take as many photos as I wanted. But I was feeling the continued addiction to disobey all law and order and I sneaked this one in, much to the apparent displeasure of one of the testers
He was already pi$$ed off with me because he kept getting into the passenger side to move the 330 to the next station and forgetting it was right hand drive
I was hoping to show the difference between TÃœV and an approved garage, but I literally managed to photograph the floor, the exhaust gas duct and the test computer
Basically, these TÃœV centres are set up very similar to those in N.I., with lanes and test stations set up for different parts of the test.However, I wasn't in a great mood at this point anyway. Yes, you guessed it - my 2nd attempt to get a car through German TÃœV ended in a FAIL
I was now getting used to this feeling but I still didn't like it So here's what it failed on:
Yep - my German language skills still needed development, so this was all double dutch to me
But at least the headlights passed
I got a brief overview from the test inspector and the obvious points were easy enough to understand. But confusingly he wasn't happy with one of my alloys. From the outside, they all looked exactly the same and appeared to be OEM. But he had his boxers in a complete twist over the front left alloy wheel. Long story short, he insisted it was a copy and was not original and therefore would not be allowed on the German roads...
1. Difference between left and right wheel handbrake force too much --- Repair Difficulty Rating
2. Right foglight aimed too high --- Repair Difficulty Rating
3. Left front wheel not admissible for road use --- Repair Difficulty Rating
4. Left front tyre has wear marks and dimensions unreadable --- Repair Difficulty Rating
5. Left foglight aimed too low --- Repair Difficulty Rating
6. Engine is damp --- Repair Difficulty Rating
Sooo, off I popped back home with my trailer queen (AGAIN!) and deciphered what the frack TÃœV wanted me to fix.
First I thought I would make life easy on myself and take on the foglight adjustment. The approved garages adjust them for you in-test, but TÃœV send you off with your tail between your legs
About 2 minutes with an allen key fixed that massive issue
Got the car onto axle stands and took all the wheels off so I could inspect them and figure out what was going on with front lefty and adjusted the handbrake shoes at the same time (but its impossible for me to make handbrake adjustment interesting with photographs
)Then I compared the two front alloys
I could see a subtle difference between the left and the right on the mounting face. Mmmm, maybe its a chinese copy because the alloy looked to be made from a different mould.
But looking closer, it had a BMW part number and a BMW logo in the casting...
Three out of the four wheels had the same internal design but this one on the front left was different. Part numbers were identical, so I did some web research.
Another long boring story short, it looked like one of the wheels had got replaced at some point in its previous life and seemingly BMW changed their tooling of the MV2 alloy wheel (in Germany they are called Style M135). But try explaining that to Herr Flick of the TÃœV... so I started online surfing to see if I could find a single alloy with the old tooling to match the three others
In the meantime, I discovered a problem that TÃœV had missed
When I refitted the headlights, I appear to have forgotten to attached the small spring clips which hold the headlight washer hose onto the headlight bracket. By complete accident I knocked the washers when getting in and out of the car and washer fluid pished all over the garage floor and en route, this fluid also managed to get onto the engine block
Had I discovered the possible cause of why my engine was declared wet by TÃœV??At least I also figured out how to remove the headlights without taking the bumper off
I managed to remove the trim piece under the headlight to try and reconnect the washer hose clips. This proved to be impossible and I was going to have to take the dam headlights out again But now I could just about access the area where the lower mounts screwed in which is circled in red below
Lo and behold, e46 headlights can be removed without taking out the bumper and I could add another experience point to my list of "what the fook have I gotten into now" facts
So I pulled out both headlights again and realised where the spring clip was supposed to be fitted to the washer hose - yes, where there was clearly water leaking and where there was clearly a slot for the cotton pickin' spring clip
Now that I had fixed another one of my many boo boos, I refitted the headlights and checked whether I had fixed something else that I didn't know needed fixed and something that wasn't originally on the TÃœV fail list
Washer jets functional and engine no longer wet! I think the engine had been aroused by the tester and now that I had put it off any notion of excitement, it was all dry again
Now I could start ticking off my TÃœV list!
1. Difference between left and right wheel handbrake force too much
2. Right foglight aimed too high
3. Left front wheel not admissible for road use
4. Left front tyre has wear marks and dimensions unreadable
5. Left foglight aimed too low
6. Engine is damp
During my online impossible search for a single new tool MV2 Style M135 Wh3r3 th3 f4ck 4m 1 go1ng t0 f1nd 1
Didn't I pay for something else I didn't need at that point???
Of course I did
Now began the agonising debate of finding a single unicorn alloy or just buy myself a whole new set
Man maths, here we cometh!!!michelinman
RMS Regular
OP
- Thread Starter
- #30
Well as I couldn't find any single MV2s for sale, especially as they are staggered on the 330 meaning fronts wouldn't fit rears - I had searched for what felt like a decade and kept coming up with whole sets of MV2s. None for sale were in great condition though and I also needed to ensure that if I did buy a whole set, they needed to match - plus every set always had at least two wheels which needed repair.
So when a full set of matching newly refurbished MV2s came up, I took a Sunday afternoon to gather up all my pennies and I just went for them. They were not cheap, but still cheaper than BMW wanted (you can still buy them new in Germany) and they were also painted in a BMW Anthracite grey colour. I could "modify" the 330 very slightly, but without fear of TÃœV and keep the car original and get it back on the road!
So began the agonising wait for delivery, panicking about whether they would arrive undamaged or arrive at all, because they had to be paid up front in full but the seller didn't accept PayPal Then I ended up in hospital with kidney stones and I don't know which was more painful
My Mrs reported all was well when my new wheels were delivered safely and thankfully the seller used DHL whom I have never had a problem with My kidney stones also cleared up in a few days, but it was still painful to do anything physical, so it was a few more days before I could swap my tyres over.
Unboxing new wheels is a rare but very enjoyable process They were all in perfect condition and just freshly out of the wheel doctors oven
Swapping the tyres over using the machine at work
Then back onto the car and the car back onto the trailer and me driving back over to TÃœV
And?
2nd time round?
Did the fog lights pass?
Did the handbrake pass?
Did the engine stay dry?
Did the new wheels and tyres match TÃœV requirements?
Did I finally stop typing "Did"?
Short answer...
YES, a most resounding, absoforkinglutely YES
The 330 had finally got permission to be back on the road after almost 1 year to the date (minus about 4 or 5 days)
Now I could register it, insure it and fit my new plates
Just like that, it was now Germanised
About two months after I registered the 330, the local Registration office wrote to tell me that I needed to take it to BMW for an airbag recall. I had obviously registered the car with my chassis VIN, so it must have come up on their records as a BMW that was listed needing the recall. Luckily with BMW being a "local" firm, it was very straightforward for me to get my car's details picked up, but I was still really impressed!
Got an appointment within two days, took less than an hour to get it installed and the dealer even faxed the Registration office to tell them that the work was completed and my car was safe to use. A 17 year old foreign registered car and they insisted that it was covered by the recall. All it cost me was a few ml of petrol to take it there and I even got a coffee and a look round the showroom lol
Not much to show for their recall work but my steering wheel centre is a little less shinier than before
Before
After
Then I drove the car right through winter and I forgot how much I love this thing!
Didn't have any issues with the car except occasionally it would idle terribly on cold mornings. After a bit of diagnosis, I put it down to the DISA flap starting to give bother and so my next post will show what I did next! Just need to gather up my photos and then the story can continue right up to the present moment, where being on a furlough off work, meant that a simple job started last week, has turned into a "two week off the road special" and my 330 is currently in bit again
So when a full set of matching newly refurbished MV2s came up, I took a Sunday afternoon to gather up all my pennies and I just went for them. They were not cheap, but still cheaper than BMW wanted (you can still buy them new in Germany) and they were also painted in a BMW Anthracite grey colour. I could "modify" the 330 very slightly, but without fear of TÃœV and keep the car original and get it back on the road!
So began the agonising wait for delivery, panicking about whether they would arrive undamaged or arrive at all, because they had to be paid up front in full but the seller didn't accept PayPal
Then I ended up in hospital with kidney stones and I don't know which was more painful My Mrs reported all was well when my new wheels were delivered safely and thankfully the seller used DHL whom I have never had a problem with
My kidney stones also cleared up in a few days, but it was still painful to do anything physical, so it was a few more days before I could swap my tyres over.Unboxing new wheels is a rare but very enjoyable process
They were all in perfect condition and just freshly out of the wheel doctors oven Swapping the tyres over using the machine at work
Then back onto the car and the car back onto the trailer and me driving back over to TÃœV
And?
2nd time round?
Did the fog lights pass?
Did the handbrake pass?
Did the engine stay dry?
Did the new wheels and tyres match TÃœV requirements?
Did I finally stop typing "Did"?
Short answer...
YES, a most resounding, absoforkinglutely YES
The 330 had finally got permission to be back on the road after almost 1 year to the date (minus about 4 or 5 days
)Now I could register it, insure it and fit my new plates
Just like that, it was now Germanised
About two months after I registered the 330, the local Registration office wrote to tell me that I needed to take it to BMW for an airbag recall. I had obviously registered the car with my chassis VIN, so it must have come up on their records as a BMW that was listed needing the recall. Luckily with BMW being a "local" firm, it was very straightforward for me to get my car's details picked up, but I was still really impressed!
Got an appointment within two days, took less than an hour to get it installed and the dealer even faxed the Registration office to tell them that the work was completed and my car was safe to use. A 17 year old foreign registered car and they insisted that it was covered by the recall. All it cost me was a few ml of petrol to take it there and I even got a coffee and a look round the showroom lol
Not much to show for their recall work but my steering wheel centre is a little less shinier than before
Before
After
Then I drove the car right through winter and I forgot how much I love this thing!
Didn't have any issues with the car except occasionally it would idle terribly on cold mornings. After a bit of diagnosis, I put it down to the DISA flap starting to give bother and so my next post will show what I did next! Just need to gather up my photos and then the story can continue right up to the present moment, where being on a furlough off work, meant that a simple job started last week, has turned into a "two week off the road special" and my 330 is currently in bit again
Lostinspace
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Any update on this thread?
pablo
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michelinman
RMS Regular · From Belfast(ish)Joined 2 Apr 2006
Last seen 28 Aug 2020
He must have got tyred of the forum
Laundrymike
RMS Regular
Shame...enjoyed reading his updates