Rubber Boot

[das boots]

I got mine from thebmwpartstore. Received them in 2 days. Free ship.

[aurelius]

Any part in your order that's not in stock will slow things down, especially if it's a part coming from Germany. I ordered 23 E30 parts a while back, 19 of which were special order. Took a month.

Funny thing is, they ship via Fedex Express. You'll have the stuff the day after they ship it out.

This being the final day for their free shipping promo, I put it to the test just now. Windshield cowl for mom's E46. Was expecting an exception since the part is large. But it's shipping free.

Parts source in question is linked within my earlier post above.

[quikryptonite]

Ah, must be something to do with that I would imagine. I got the parts from BMWMercedes dot com. I didn't think about a part not being in stock. Whoops.

[aurelius]

Actually it's bmwmercedesparts.com and they've extended free shipping thru June.

It's BMW of Lincoln (Nebraska) but you have to go thru the site above to get the parts discounts. Formerly Husker BMW.

Definitely a great source for "dealer-only" parts.

[MrMaico]

Actually it's bmwmercedesparts.com and they've extended free shipping thru June.

It's BMW of Lincoln (Nebraska) but you have to go thru the site above to get the parts discounts. Formerly Husker BMW.

Definitely a great source for "dealer-only" parts.

Hmmm. I've been debating ordering a new windshield from them and didn't make up my mind before the end of May. Nice to know I have another month to decide. LOL Can't beat the price of $247.

I buy most of my original parts from them since they are so close to me but they can be slow on getting orders fulfilled at times though. They quoted me only $20 shipping on a windshield about a month ago. Mine is just pitted pretty bad, I'm afraid I'll replace it then get a major chip in the new one.

I also ordered a set of these boots just to have on hand back when I bought my car 2 1/2 years ago. Still haven't needed them. :-)

Barry

[aurelius]

Unfortunately my combo wrench set's smallest is 8mm and the nuts on the lower boot's 2 clamps are 7mm. I ended up cutting out the bulk of lower intake boot but even with that, the heads on the 2 hose clamps are still tough to reach. Clearly the original boot was attached before the motor was installed.

Anyhow, I'll be doing this on another E46 soon and am looking for a recommendation for a ratcheting 7mm closed-end wrench for those clamps.

Ironically a Snap On truck blew right by me yesterday but I was on foot.

Suggestions and where to buy?

[johnrando]

Hmmm. I've been debating ordering a new windshield from them and didn't make up my mind before the end of May. Nice to know I have another month to decide. LOL Can't beat the price of $247.

I buy most of my original parts from them since they are so close to me but they can be slow on getting orders fulfilled at times though. They quoted me only $20 shipping on a windshield about a month ago. Mine is just pitted pretty bad, I'm afraid I'll replace it then get a major chip in the new one.

I also ordered a set of these boots just to have on hand back when I bought my car 2 1/2 years ago. Still haven't needed them. :-)

Barry

OEM windshield for $247 with free shipping? Amazing! I might just order an extra and store it!

[das boots]

Unfortunately my combo wrench set's smallest is 8mm and the nuts on the lower boot's 2 clamps are 7mm. I ended up cutting out the bulk of lower intake boot but even with that, the heads on the 2 hose clamps are still tough to reach. Clearly the original boot was attached before the motor was installed.

Anyhow, I'll be doing this on another E46 soon and am looking for a recommendation for a ratcheting 7mm closed-end wrench for those clamps.

Ironically a Snap On truck blew right by me yesterday but I was on foot.

Suggestions and where to buy?

I got my metric 1/4" socket set from HF. They have this extended tool for the socket and the wrench which is flexible. Use anything to make it work. After the removal, I re-positioned the clamp head to the side for easier access in the future.

[aurelius]

Btw as is common there was a crack in the lower boot's extension to the ICV.

Cured mildly erratic engine idle speed.

66k miles when replaced. Probably should've done it 10k miles ago.

[aurelius]

Removing a set of intake boots from another E46 and in removing the fitting from the upper boot, the smaller of the 2 hoses cracked in half, as pictured below.

My immediate question is whether this will affect drive-ability. I'm assuming it's a fuel vapor hose. It's actually a hard plastic tube, the last 6 or so inches of which is covered in rubber hose in order to attach to the fitting to the boot. The inner plastic hose ID is too small to attach directly to the fitting.

Discuss...