The Random E46/ZHP Question Thread

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Originally Posted by alexandre

My blower motor went when my car was in the shop 2 weeks ago. I had it replaced with a scrap yard unit immediately as I needed heat for an imminent road trip. I found out new X3 units (which are interchangeable) are $100. I paid $80 for the used one and I can return it within 2 weeks. What do? I've seen DIY time estimates go up to 6 hours but my tech took 40 minutes to do it...

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6 hours?! Are they accessing the motor from inside the car?

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Originally Posted by zYx

Here is link for 325Ci (suspension is the same, 325 is selected from my bookmarks, was lazy to change) from TIS and they are only mentioning upper end of coil and alignment to stop of spring pad. I'm also positive that only upper end must be resting on stop of pad and not the lower. So, stephenkirsh's spring is OK.

http://workshop-manuals.com/bmw/3_se...ber/page_1487/

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So I'm back to square one about my rattle?

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Originally Posted by stephenkirsh

6 hours?! Are they accessing the motor from inside the car?

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Nope - lots of fiddling around to get it to sit right apparently.

^ was going to ask you the other day if you used the x3 blower...

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Originally Posted by Hermes

Your dad's is set wrong as well. BMW has been using this style spring seat for as long as I can think. There is no reason why the end of the spring would not seat in the notch. Those people online who say it's ok are stupid, the spring is supposed to sit in the notch.

edit: 1978/79 E21 struts, notice the notch

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...E6F6B87C81.jpg

early 02 front suspension (my springs are too short, thats why its not seated in top. it's a bitch every time I raise and lower the car to make sure the springs are seated correctly)

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...2/P1030946.jpg

non-stock e46, but you can see it's sitting in the notch

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...D165878368.jpg

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Here's what my BMW master tech says. He started working at dealerships when e90 came out and has seen plenty of e46 over time.

Attachment 17736

Him + the Bentley manual makes me think my springs are fine.

Maybe this should be in the edumacate me on suspension thread. :dunno

To respond to question why shouldn't the lower end of the spring sit in the lower perch pocket?
1) The lower is not a pocket to capture the end of the spring, it's a notch to fit a spring compressor arm in there
2) Look at shape of lower notch and upper notch--very different shapes at least on OEM strut
3) Spring shouldn't turn with steering (whole strut turns on bearing in strut hat). But when you compress the spring the ends may rotate relative to each other, so if you have both top and bottom ends captured in pockets, they won't stay there all the time.

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Originally Posted by stephenkirsh

Here's what my BMW master tech says. He started working at dealerships when e90 came out and has seen plenty of e46 over time.

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I lost the same plastic push rivet as Rando.

My e-brake makes soft creaking noises if I don't crank it tight enough and get in or out of the car.

My blower fan took about 6 hours to remove and replace the first time, about 4 hours the 2nd time, and if I had to do it again, <3 hours. Just have to remove lots of pieces to get to it, and some of the torx screws holding it in are hard to remove/replace. (The first time I just oiled it, the 2nd time I replaced it).

I ordered both so I'll let you know which it is.

Does air bag deployment in an E46 activate a kill switch to prevent car from being started?

"No flamesuit required"

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Originally Posted by danewilson77

Does air bag deployment in an E46 activate a kill switch to prevent car from being started?

"No flamesuit required"

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Justin?


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No. Just some dude.

The friendliest forum on the planet.

This guy wrecked his car. He did all the repairs himself (to include replacing the air bags) and now needs to drive the car to body and paint shop. But it won't start.

The friendliest forum on the planet.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...020d256797.jpg

"No flamesuit required"

Told him I was pretty sure air bag deployment activated a kill switch of sorts.

"No flamesuit required"

Wow. I would've sent this straight to the scrapper.

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Originally Posted by LivesNearCostco

To respond to question why shouldn't the lower end of the spring sit in the lower perch pocket?
1) The lower is not a pocket to capture the end of the spring, it's a notch to fit a spring compressor arm in there
2) Look at shape of lower notch and upper notch--very different shapes at least on OEM strut
3) Spring shouldn't turn with steering (whole strut turns on bearing in strut hat). But when you compress the spring the ends may rotate relative to each other, so if you have both top and bottom ends captured in pockets, they won't stay there all the time.

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That makes sense. I was just guessing because I was assuming the notch was correct and couldn't explain why it would change.

So a couple of times when I go to unlock my car, it only unlocks the drivers door no matter how many times I push the button (on the key or inside the car) The only way to let a passenger in was to open the door from the inside. Anyone know why? Is it something weird that I just happen to have done each time or is it some electrical gremlin?

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Originally Posted by theothersawyer

So a couple of times when I go to unlock my car, it only unlocks the drivers door no matter how many times I push the button (on the key or inside the car) The only way to let a passenger in was to open the door from the inside. Anyone know why? Is it something weird that I just happen to have done each time or is it some electrical gremlin?

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Your GM5 is probably getting tired. www.bmwgm5.com

Thank you!!!

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Originally Posted by danewilson77

Told him I was pretty sure air bag deployment activated a kill switch of sorts.

"No flamesuit required"

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Anyone confirm this?

"No flamesuit required"

There definitely is a kill switch on our + cable, which is why it costs so much:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...08&hg=61&fg=30

Whether it tripped or not is another matter. Easy to test with a voltage meter though.

Is the trunk supposed to unlock if you hit the unlock button on the key twice ?

Made a mistake and slid into a granite curbstone --> bent rear lower control arm. What should be replaced along with it?

Details on damage: definitely cambered the wrong direction, only slightly though. Alignment way off, as expected. Moved the car into a parking space, no scraping sounds or other unusuals. ABS / Brake lights now on the dash. Also i royally fucked my rim. So yeah. Good day. Live and learn.

Looked underneath and everything seemed in order apart from the arm.

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Originally Posted by Vas

Is the trunk supposed to unlock if you hit the unlock button on the key twice ?

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Yes.

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Originally Posted by LivesNearCostco

To respond to question why shouldn't the lower end of the spring sit in the lower perch pocket?
1) The lower is not a pocket to capture the end of the spring, it's a notch to fit a spring compressor arm in there
2) Look at shape of lower notch and upper notch--very different shapes at least on OEM strut
3) Spring shouldn't turn with steering (whole strut turns on bearing in strut hat). But when you compress the spring the ends may rotate relative to each other, so if you have both top and bottom ends captured in pockets, they won't stay there all the time.


I lost the same plastic push rivet as Rando.

My e-brake makes soft creaking noises if I don't crank it tight enough and get in or out of the car.

My blower fan took about 6 hours to remove and replace the first time, about 4 hours the 2nd time, and if I had to do it again, <3 hours. Just have to remove lots of pieces to get to it, and some of the torx screws holding it in are hard to remove/replace. (The first time I just oiled it, the 2nd time I replaced it).

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Originally Posted by ELCID86

Maybe this should be in the edumacate me on suspension thread. :dunno

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Originally Posted by stephenkirsh

Here's what my BMW master tech says. He started working at dealerships when e90 came out and has seen plenty of e46 over time.

Attachment 17736

Him + the Bentley manual makes me think my springs are fine.

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Originally Posted by stephenkirsh

So I'm back to square one about my rattle?

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Ok I'll put this to rest in this thread and say my springs are fine and my clunk isn't related to improperly set springs.

Phew. Quite a discussion!

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Originally Posted by derbo

Yes.

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Wonder why mine won't. Holding the trunk button on the fob opens it though.

If your trunk is double locked then unlocking all the doors won't unlock the trunk but the trunk key fob button still will open it. This is to prevent a valet or window smashing thief from being able to open your trunk. Use key to turn trunk lock to the left (counter-clockwise) and then the trunk should unlock when all the other doors are unlocked. Unless your trunk latch switch has failed.

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Originally Posted by LivesNearCostco

My blower fan took about 6 hours to remove and replace the first time, about 4 hours the 2nd time, and if I had to do it again, <3 hours. Just have to remove lots of pieces to get to it, and some of the torx screws holding it in are hard to remove/replace. (The first time I just oiled it, the 2nd time I replaced it).

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What did you use to oil it and was that done to cure the crickets that have moved into my dash?

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Originally Posted by Vas

Wonder why mine won't. Holding the trunk button on the fob opens it though.

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Ditto.

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Originally Posted by NoVAphotog

What did you use to oil it and was that done to cure the crickets that have moved into my dash?

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If you have crickets you're just delaying failure... IMO if you're gonna pull it throw a new one in there. The X3 blower is a direct fit and only $100-105. #64113453729

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Originally Posted by alexandre

If you have crickets you're just delaying failure... IMO if you're gonna pull it throw a new one in there. The X3 blower is a direct fit and only $100-105. #64113453729

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Bookmarked! Thanks for sharing!

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Originally Posted by alexandre

If you have crickets you're just delaying failure... IMO if you're gonna pull it throw a new one in there. The X3 blower is a direct fit and only $100-105. #64113453729

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Sweet. And that pn comes with the new saddle? Also, 20-40 minute DIY?! I had definitely read the 6+ hour ones before and was :eyetwitch

Anything else to do "while I'm in there" besides general cleaning? What type of oil should I put on the new one (if necessary)?

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Originally Posted by NoVAphotog

Sweet. And that pn comes with the new saddle? Also, 20-40 minute DIY?! I had definitely read the 6+ hour ones before and was :eyetwitch

Anything else to do "while I'm in there" besides general cleaning? What type of oil should I put on the new one (if necessary)?

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I think so. I too was under the impression it was a horrible DIY but my tech took 40 mins too...

Only thing I'd do while in there is vacuum the heater core. Nothing else really. I doubt the new one needs oil - I'd just install and that's it.

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Originally Posted by alexandre

I think so. I too was under the impression it was a horrible DIY but my tech took 40 mins too...

Only thing I'd do while in there is vacuum the heater core. Nothing else really. I doubt the new one needs oil - I'd just install and that's it.

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Sounds good. Thanks for the PN and advice on this, I can't get over that price difference...and to think there are folks out there blindly paying it at the stealerships the world over (among many other things, of course)!

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Originally Posted by alexandre

If you have crickets you're just delaying failure... IMO if you're gonna pull it throw a new one in there. The X3 blower is a direct fit and only $100-105. #64113453729

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Thanks for the info, Alex. I've heard the crickets on mine before but have since gone away, never to be heard again. I'm sure the blower will give up the ghost one of these years.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by az3579

Thanks for the info, Alex. I've heard the crickets on mine before but have since gone away, never to be heard again. I'm sure the blower will give up the ghost one of these years.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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It was intermittent in mine. Mostly happened on extremely cold mornings (sub 0F). Certainly not all the time like on Daniel's car. And then it just died out of nowhere.

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Originally Posted by NoVAphotog

Sounds good. Thanks for the PN and advice on this, I can't get over that price difference...and to think there are folks out there blindly paying it at the stealerships the world over (among many other things, of course)!

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Unbelievable I know. MSRP is even higher than on that thread now - $708.90!!! My local dealer will happily sell me one for $915. I'm just laughing at how ridiculous this is.

The guy that found out that the X3 one is a direct fit is a genius. Ordered one through BMW of Morristown for $100.10 and will be returning the scrapyard unit currently in my car. I'll let you guys know how the job goes...

I used WD-40 because I had the crickets and it worked for a short time, then the crickets came back and I replaced it with a new aftermarket fan that cost, maybe $150?

Been going over it in my head to try to figure out if I could replace it in 40 minutes. Memory is a little fuzzy having done this around 3 years ago but the fastest I can imagine doing it tomorrow is 2 hours. But I'm a slow mechanic, so maybe an expert can do it in 40 minutes.

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Originally Posted by NoVAphotog

What did you use to oil it and was that done to cure the crickets that have moved into my dash?

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How often should you change out Power Steering fluid?

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Originally Posted by UdubBadger

How often should you change out Power Steering fluid?

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According to old school guide, 30k, I believe. I'll double check.

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Originally Posted by UdubBadger

How often should you change out Power Steering fluid?

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Mike Miller says @30k.


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