New Member, New ZHP - long time E46 owner

[malapane]

Hello All,

Well, I have owned an E46 nearly constantly since 2001. Currently I have 5 of them at home, 4 of them are road worthy and will be kept. One is a parts donor that I had fixed up, but was then totaled and the body is unsalvageable.

But this is my first ZHP. I have been looking for one since last spring, but only very seriously since this spring. I think that the prices for a decent one seem to have jumped over this summer as I was getting very frustrated. I missed several very good deals by hours or minutes, but I finally settled on this one. It has higher mileage than I was hoping at 168k, but it seems in pretty decent shape and my son really liked the color combo, so that was worth a bit extra to me.

It is a 2005 Sapphire Black 6 speed sedan with Natural Brown leather and black cube trim. Interior condition is quite good for mileage. The paint needs quite a bit of work, but it is good enough. Mechanically it is better than the last 3 E46s I have bought, but of course needs some attention. Most importantly is that it is totally stock - never been modified in any way as far as I can tell so far.

All in all, a good candidate to bring back to rude health. Here it is...
37368

[malapane]

37370

[Vas]

Welcome

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[fredo]

Welcome, sir. Car looks nice. What service or repairs do you plan to do ?

[malapane]

Welcome, sir. Car looks nice. What service or repairs do you plan to do ?

Thank you both.

Right now I am going to test the compression and just drive it for awhile to see what it needs. He said the valve cover gasket and CCV system were changed recently, so I will just watch for any oil leaks or coolant issues for now. Seems to need control arm bushings - just slightly, but I will start a list so I can mechanically refresh it efficiently. I have refreshed 3 E46s in the last 20 months, so I have some spare parts and can prepare an easy plan of attack. Honestly it drives great. I drove it 4.5 hours home without raising a single eyebrow. More than I can say for the last 3.

Cosmetically it needs a few things that I can tinker with in the mean time. New grilles, new/painted impact trips front and rear. Needs a new armrest cover. new shift knob. Fabric paint the rear package tray... etc. What's the best cleaner /treatment for the black impact strips on the doors? I have never seen a set so covered with wax residue.

Oh, one thing I don't understand that I need to fix. The xenon headlights both work but low beams are very dim. Is that a known issue?

[fredo]

Very likely, your ZKW headlamp bowls are burnt. Some people replace them. Please notice AL headlamps don't have this issue.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?19695-Replaced-ZKW-burnt-bowls-today

[BMWCurves]

First:

https://i.imgur.com/qxg6s5e.gif

Second:


Oh, one thing I don't understand that I need to fix. The xenon headlights both work but low beams are very dim. Is that a known issue?

There is a well known burnt bulb reflector issue in sedans. Sedan owners can weigh in on the best solutions

[malapane]

Thanks! All the years I have had E46s and not a xenon spec car until last year. The xenon headlights on my 03 touring are spectacular, so I figured there was something going on here.

I guess now I will have a new project to research on my list.

[BADCLOWN]

Did you buy this car in Kentucky?

[malapane]

Did you buy this car in Kentucky?

Yes, Taylor Mill. Right near you it looks like. Did you know this car?

[BADCLOWN]

Posted the Craigslist link on this website a short while back.

A couple guys were interested but it looks like you got it before I could look at it for them

[malapane]

Looking into the burnt ZKW Xenon headlights is making my head spin.

Is there a projector retrofit kit that is any good? If not, the only reasonable option is the clemsone46 recoated bowls? Does the e90 metal bowl swap have any merit. I have only dismantled halogen E46 lights before, so my knowledge of this xenon issue is close to zero. I will keep digging of course, but finding lots of contradicting info already..

[malapane]

Posted the Craigslist link on this website a short while back.

A couple guys were interested but it looks like you got it before I could look at it for them

I did respond to that thread. Yeah, I first contacted the guy about 1 day after it was first listed - 10/1. But then he didn't respond - said later he had a personal issue delay his ability to respond. So I reached out again on 10/4 and got him on the phone. After getting a feel for the guy and the car we arranged a deal and price on the phone based on his description of the condition. He was very honest and trustworthy and it was a smooth transaction. Someone had come to look at it previously and had passed. I was the second to come, but he said he had many inquiries in those 5 or 6 days before I picked it up. After missing several of these this summer I have learned to move a little faster to secure a decent deal. The only ones that sit around are either thrashed, or asking what I think is too much $$.

I missed one in Knoxville a week earlier that was sold for $3,500 with 158k on it, although the pictures suggested it was a little more rough. The seller said the buyer of that one trucked it to Atlanta. I was close on that one, but he sold it sight unseen before we could arrange me to look at it. The communication and pictures on that one weren't good enough for me to commit sight unseen.

[t.er]

Welcome! Nice looking car, but man that a-pillar in the 2nd pic has got to be one of the worst I've seen lol.

[malapane]

Welcome! Nice looking car, but man that a-pillar in the 2nd pic has got to be one of the worst I've seen lol.
Thanks! My son loves black or dark blue with the natural brown, and those are pretty rare, so I was a little less selective as long as the mechanicals were solid.

I've salvaged worse, but the A pillars aren't good. It has never had tint and the last 5 summers it has been outside. Luckily the rear seats haven't been damaged at all yet. That is the next place to get scorched and that is much more difficult to remedy. I had one where the stitching on the rear headrests was so UV damaged that the thread gave way and the they started unraveling. Headliner is all good too except one small corner.

[johnrando]

Welcome, and congrats on the car!

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

[Thatguy_JZ]

Welcome! Nice car and combo. Looks sharp!

For the Headlights, you can find New AL headlights by Magnetti Marelli (OEM) on eBay from time to time for $800ish for a set when they are on sale.

After back and forth with 3 different set of used AL's from other cars not a one of them was in that good of shape and I found that all of them had issues under the ballast with the wire insulation splitting/failing from the heat. I ended up just selling them all off and plan to buy new ones when I see them go back on sale.

CobyWheel also offers an Alcantara cover that you can re-wrap your worn arm rest yourself. I did this on mine and it came out great.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[holyc0w]

Thanks! All the years I have had E46s and not a xenon spec car until last year. The xenon headlights on my 03 touring are spectacular, so I figured there was something going on here.

I guess now I will have a new project to research on my list.

Greetings neighbor

Some options for the xenon issue are:
-Using a retrofit kit like this one. This will require some work, but the process has been documented a bit on forums: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/morimoto-retroquik-bmw-e46-zkw-repair-CRK-RQ-E46?quantity=1
-Finding a used AL set
-Buying a new AL set

[malapane]

Welcome! Nice car and combo. Looks sharp!

For the Headlights, you can find New AL headlights by Magnetti Marelli (OEM) on eBay from time to time for $800ish for a set when they are on sale.

After back and forth with 3 different set of used AL's from other cars not a one of them was in that good of shape and I found that all of them had issues under the ballast with the wire insulation splitting/failing from the heat. I ended up just selling them all off and plan to buy new ones when I see them go back on sale.

CobyWheel also offers an Alcantara cover that you can re-wrap your worn arm rest yourself. I did this on mine and it came out great.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

Thank you.

I am not sure I will go full headlight replacement quite yet. Probably something less costly until I get the rest of it sorted out a bit more.

Was the armrest originally alcantara too? Or would it have been black leather on a Natural Brown ZHP. My alcantara is just the steering wheel, shifter and e-brake boots.

I found a decent black leather armrest in my local junkyard on Friday and have a black leather cover being delivered today. I think I will rewrap the original armrest, clean up the junkyard one and see which looks better...

[malapane]

Greetings neighbor

Some options for the xenon issue are:
-Using a retrofit kit like this one. This will require some work, but the process has been documented a bit on forums: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/morimoto-retroquik-bmw-e46-zkw-repair-CRK-RQ-E46?quantity=1
-Finding a used AL set
-Buying a new AL set

Hello neighbor!

I think I have narrowed it down to two options:
Retrofit like the one you linked, or
clemsone46 refurbished bowls

I would also be interested in swapping E90 metal ZKW bowls, but that likely seems difficult to source as E90 xenons probably aren't cheap either.

I have 2 concerns with the clemsone46 bowls, 1st the cost seems a bit high for refurbished plastic, and 2nd, seeing how bad some of these bowls are I wonder how well the geometry can be restored with the repair of the plastic.

For the retrofit, possibly the Mirimoto units aren't so great...? I have seen a few posts suggesting this. and I don't love having to drill the original headlight frame to fit them...

I have no hesitation with the job to fit either, just prefer a zero destruction method.

Are the AL units completely plug and play? Same mounting and wiring?

I am going to check the one local car in the junkyard. I assume it has halogens, but worth a look.

[holyc0w]

For the retrofit, possibly the Mirimoto units aren't so great...? I have seen a few posts suggesting this. and I don't love having to drill the original headlight frame to fit them...

I have no hesitation with the job to fit either, just prefer a zero destruction method.

I think most people have been satisfied with the Morimoto units from what I have seen. They have changed the projectors over the years. Here's a fairly detailed documentation of the install process one member posted:
http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?19877-Yet-another-projector-retrofit-tutorial-ZKW-gt-Morimoto-Mini-D2S-4-0



Are the AL units completely plug and play? Same mounting and wiring?

I am going to check the one local car in the junkyard. I assume it has halogens, but worth a look.

There is some trimming required. I believe the brackets are slightly different, but it's not too involved from what I remember.

[Oli77]

Welcome to the Mafia! Looks like you are in good hands.

[malapane]

A few new pieces of info. I did confirm my lights are ZKW. They have AL covers, but the housing had the silver ZKW sticker on the top and the Xenon projector lenses do not have a line across them.

Also, the only local junkyard car that still has headlights is a pre lci with halogens.

I found a regional junkyard with a fair price on a set of lci xenons, but so far they refuse to check the brand or part number for me...

[malapane]

I just found a pair of used complete AL xenons, with mounting brackets for $190 shipped to me. After researching the clemsone46, retrofitlab and theretrofitsource solutions, I didn't think any of those were very precise ways to restore the headlights to factory working order, so short of spending more money than I can justify on this car for new units, I think this option addresses my issues and concerns the best.

I think I have working bulbs, and should have good enough lens covers, so this should be all I need to get these in proper safe working order.