The "WTF is wrong with my E46 now?" thread.

Coog

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GTI
I have a black strip. Sounds handy though if that's all needs removed.
 

Antoin

RMS Regular
OP
Antoin
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7,347
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Portstewart
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E60 535d
Anyone elses headlights absolutely dire?
I have osram nightbreakers in and they are still *****.

Any other ways of upgrading them?
HIDs would be great but even second hand it would be about £400-500.

My passenger headlight steams up and both appear to have a bit of hazing on them.
 

Coog

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Anyone elses headlights absolutely dire?
I have osram nightbreakers in and they are still *****.

Any other ways of upgrading them?
HIDs would be great but even second hand it would be about £400-500.

My passenger headlight steams up and both appear to have a bit of hazing on them.

Mine are OK but it's face lift. You could maybe try buffing the lenses up?

16 pages on E46 issues , lol.

To be fair there's a right few owners. Despite my initial reservations I'm actually chuffed to bits with mine. Everything is dead handy worked on and cheap, it's been reliable, it's quicker than most hot hatches (much to my amusement), well equipped, well built, nice handling, RWD, cruises well, slips under the radar and even tows nicely. Plus they're absolute bargains. I couldn't have bought a similar age/mileage Fiesta for what I paid for mine. Literally the only downside is that they're absolutely everywhere and the amount of flipping sensors!
 

Coog

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Oh and in to Bavarian tomorrow for the airbag recall. Hoping they break the vacuum out and give her a once over :innocent:
 

svensktoppen

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32,901
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FK2 CTR
Only two things have ever broken on my Audi, both after 90k+ miles. Going on for 130k now and nothing else, zilch, nada. Everything just works. And I mean everything, down to every single switch and function. Lol :grinning:

BMW - pah :p
 

Coog

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Wish I could say the same for my '07 A3, which on 88k miles is booked in for another bout of very expensive pre-MOT repairs. Last year it was the rear brake calipers, which cost a fortune. The year before it was turbo assy and oil lines, radiator hoses and some intercooler pipes.This year we'll be lucky to get away with an ABS pump. It's cost more on repairs in 3 years than my BMW cost me to buy!

Neither are comparable to the Jap stuff though, which just doesn't seem to need anything short of tyres and brake pads. And occasional welding :p
 

svensktoppen

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32,901
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FK2 CTR
I think the key seems to be to avoid modern diesels like the plague for hassle free motoring (y)

The Honda in the Lotus has been completely unbreakable, and not for lack of trying! Sure it will survive a nuclear blast. The Japs certainly know how to do things properly. The rest of that car was built in Norfolk though, lol :innocent:
 

Coog

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Ok so I checked the sensors and found a dud one. Pulled the rub strip off but they are attached to the bumper behind the rub strip. Is there a trick to remove them or do I have to get in behind the bumper?
 

Deckz

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@Coog I'm near sure in behind the bumper and twist the centre out, outer surround should then push out.
 

Antoin

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OP
Antoin
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Portstewart
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E60 535d
Anyone got a foglight for an msport bumper for sail. Could probably do with both sides but really need the drivers.
 

Antoin

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Antoin
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E60 535d
Anyone breaking an E46 as I need a drivers side front electric window motor?
 

dw300

RMS Member
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11
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E46 330d Sport
I've just discovered this thread, so hope to get a good read through it at some stage, but I just can't right now.

I feel like for the past few years ive been putting front control arm bushes on an annual basis. (2002 - E46 - BMW 330d Sport). It's actually the whole arm as they seem to prefer to replace that than fiddle with pulling and pressing bushes in and out, which I suppose is understandable.

Im fed up with it though, and it seems like a poly bush conversion will last longer and be cheaper in the long run. Is this the case?

Im aware the ride may be harsher, but im willing to bet its not that much worse than driving on knackered bushes anyway.

I've asked around and it seems hard to find anyone that has done or will do the insertion of poly bushes. Has anyone has it done? Is it worth it? And who did it for you?

Many thanks.
 

Phil_EK9

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3,146
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Dungannon
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FN2 CTR/E36
I've just discovered this thread, so hope to get a good read through it at some stage, but I just can't right now.

I feel like for the past few years ive been putting front control arm bushes on an annual basis. (2002 - E46 - BMW 330d Sport). It's actually the whole arm as they seem to prefer to replace that than fiddle with pulling and pressing bushes in and out, which I suppose is understandable.

Im fed up with it though, and it seems like a poly bush conversion will last longer and be cheaper in the long run. Is this the case?

Im aware the ride may be harsher, but im willing to bet its not that much worse than driving on knackered bushes anyway.

I've asked around and it seems hard to find anyone that has done or will do the insertion of poly bushes. Has anyone has it done? Is it worth it? And who did it for you?

Many thanks.

Polybushes are great, you won't notice any difference in ride, that's a common misconception. They will affect NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) but if you use 'road' spec polybushes there is very little difference in reality. They can squeak but you likely won't notice this within the car and it's usually caused by a lack of lubrication.

I did mine myself on my e36, the only difficulty was removing the old bush on the front arms. They are a pig to remove. Just ensure they are suitably lubricated and they should last for years. You can actually install them by hand, without a press. Just make sure you buy the correct bushes as the front arm bushes changed on the E46 during production.

In the future just get the outer balljoint replaced, they're a balljoint encased within a bush which fail regularly. The inner balljoint typically lasts longer.
 

j44nty

RMS Regular
Polybushes are great, you won't notice any difference in ride, that's a common misconception. They will affect NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) but if you use 'road' spec polybushes there is very little difference in reality. They can squeak but you likely won't notice this within the car and it's usually caused by a lack of lubrication.

I did mine myself on my e36, the only difficulty was removing the old bush on the front arms. They are a pig to remove. Just ensure they are suitably lubricated and they should last for years. You can actually install them by hand, without a press. Just make sure you buy the correct bushes as the front arm bushes changed on the E46 during production.

In the future just get the outer balljoint replaced, they're a balljoint encased within a bush which fail regularly. The inner balljoint typically lasts longer.

These are the posts I like. no nonsense 'meme like hunting rubbish' just good useful information that answers the question. May change mine when they go to. Did you do yours in a vice or proper press.
Cheers for your info.
 

Phil_EK9

RMS Regular
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3,146
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Dungannon
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FN2 CTR/E36
These are the posts I like. no nonsense 'meme like hunting rubbish' just good useful information that answers the question. May change mine when they go to. Did you do yours in a vice or proper press.
Cheers for your info.

Neither, you can genuinely use your hands/feet to press them in if you're ignorant enough. Because they deflect less under movement they dont need as tight a fit. Though a sensible person would just use a vice or press, whichever is more convenient :party:
 

pablo

RMS Moderator
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67,094
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Glengrimley
Id beg to differ, wasn't a fan of them on my 330Ci so sold the to @Alan B who can maybe advise more.

they are awkward to fit. getting them off the control arm can be a total mare (sometimes they slide off ok, sometimes its a struggle. best to lever them off with a big bar or something or even use a hub puller!!!) and then you need to press the old bush out of the metal ring. you won't do that with your hand (or foot :p). Inserting the polybush is easy enough but they can be tricky to get onto the control arm again especially if working on a driveway. Plenty of lube helps :grinning:
 

pablo

RMS Moderator
Messages
67,094
Location
Glengrimley
My old E36 but you get the idea



These are the E46 poly bushes pushed into a metal housing. you need to remove the old bush and reuse the housing.

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Phil_EK9

RMS Regular
Messages
3,146
Location
Dungannon
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FN2 CTR/E36
Id beg to differ, wasn't a fan of them on my 330Ci so sold the to @Alan B who can maybe advise more.

they are awkward to fit. getting them off the control arm can be a total mare (sometimes they slide off ok, sometimes its a struggle. best to lever them off with a big bar or something or even use a hub puller!!!) and then you need to press the old bush out of the metal ring. you won't do that with your hand (or foot :p). Inserting the polybush is easy enough but they can be tricky to get onto the control arm again especially if working on a driveway. Plenty of lube helps :grinning:

I meant pressing the polybush on with your hand/foot, sorry, should have mentioned that. I had no tools at the time so I used fire and a hammer + big ignorant screwdriver combo to smash the outer ring out of the way. Not an ideal way to do it lol. I had a pit at the time so i had some more room to maneveour, I thought it was pretty handy to slide the polybush on.
 
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