2002 330xi Alpine White Purchase

[johnnyrad]

Congrats! Gonna go for the zhp of xi's?

Thanks man. ZHP of xi's? I like it.

Anyway, be vigilant about checking the CV boots. If they crack grease leaks, junk gets in, stuff breaks, it get's expensive. Also, you're gonna start looovin the snow

Hmmm what is this thing you call CV boots?
Seriously tho, is there a diy for replacing these? Is is easy or a PITA? Expensive?

[johnnyrad]

Just drove her home. Man it drives better then my wife's XC90 that had 46,000 miles on it! -1 for the Swede's. Only got it up to 80 mph on the highway and..smooth as silk baby and quick. Should be quick being a 330. God I love the E46 platform. Anyway here are a few fresh pics. Paid $9,300













Ordered about $500 bucks worth of parts from ECS Tuning last night so will have lots of wrenchin to do over the next few weeks. First up on Sat is oil and filter and brake bleed with ATE Super Blue. Next Saturday belts, plugs, fuel filter, and coolant overhaul. Can't wait to get in there and get dirty! Yea Haw

Edit: Not sure about the beach ball orb thingy floating over the car in the second picture. Maybe I should submit it Ghost Hunters..or maybe it's a rain drop. ha

[ranger]

Great buy!

[johnnyrad]

^Thanks Ranger

[danewilson77]

Looks great Johnny.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[ryankokesh]

Thanks man. ZHP of xi's? I like it.



Hmmm what is this thing you call CV boots?
Seriously tho, is there a diy for replacing these? Is is easy or a PITA? Expensive?

Yeah, it's not a simple job. You need a hub puller, so that kind of scared me away from trying. I just paid my indy a bunch of money to do it (one side only so far...). I didn't have much of any diy experience of confidence back then though, so I'd probably give it a go now.

[johnnyrad]

Changed the oil tonight on the xi. Also doing a brake bleed on Sat with ATE Super Blue. The big stuff will start next weekend. I'm very pleased to find that while underneath the car it appeared to be clean. No leaks and the CV boots looked original and had no tears or rips. They did however show signs of dry rot but appeared to not be comprimised...until I checked the metal bands on the outer boot. It had serious play on the passenger side and water and dirt I would think could sneak in there. So the outer boots should be changed. But other then that I give the overall condition an A- simply because the belts need changing and the ps cap gasket is smushed beyond recognition allowing ps fluid to ooze out. But all things considered they are very simple and easy fixes.

On a side note, folks that see the car can't believe I paid what I did for it. Some other's thought the car was new. Goes to show that the E46 styling was so far ahead of it's time and ahead of all other cars. Now if it would just snow already..

Edit: I also found a JCL Automotive card in the glove box. +1 right there. They are a BMW indy shop in the area and that tells me the PO at least probably took the car there for service and not to Kudor's garage. Not that Kudor is a bad dude or anything but ya know.

[echo46]

Congrats, sounds like a nice ride. Sorry I can't help with respect to the xi. Power steering refresh i.e. Resevoir replace and hose replace fairly easy. Good luck with her.

[Whitexi]

I remove the axle nut lower control arm nut and that's it. I push the axle trough the hub and swing the hub out and that gets that part out. Then just tap the axle out the diff. I can do it on my car in about 1 hour and some change.

I also have changed the boot without any crazy tools really. I used a hammer and nicked the cv joint off the axle shaft and then that was it. I only bought a cv boot clamp pliers at napa and used an oem boot kit.

[johnnyrad]

Well upon further inspection, My inner driver's side CV boot is ripped and spewed grease all over the top of the control arm. So that is a fail and must be replaced. I didn't see this the first time as I was only inspecting the outer CV boots. Duh. After some more research and since the other CV boots seem passable for now, I decided just to simply replace both the left and right front axles that way it's done and I don't have to worry about it probably for another 100k mile. I think I would rather just replace the whole axle then simply the boots because the amount of work appears to be the same. I got both axles from FCP Groton along with two diff output seals for about $250, which is a total win I think. I'm a tad bit intimidated with this DIY to be honest as I have yet to see any actual vids of how the shaft goes into the diff. How do you know when it's in and seated? Does it click in or do you have to use a hammer and whack it in? Idk I'll keep searching.