Mike's Old Man Car - BMW E46 320d

[MiniMike20]

May / June 2023

The car was really starting to properly piss me off. Despite a basically full suspension rebuild, despite basically replacing everything that COULD mechanically give shit the car was being a pain in my arse.

Now, keep in mind, the parts on the car were not the cheapest parts, nor were they the most expensive nor were they OEM. I had stuck to well known 3rd party brands like Febi, Continental etc where possible but it just seemed like part failure season.

Issue 1
The rear drop links kept popping off the anti-roll bar or snapping. By the time the year ended in 2023 the car had snapped three Febi rear drop links.

Issue 2
I had noted the aux belt was slowly eating itself and that the the thudding pulley noise it had when I bought it had returned, this infuriated me as replacing the pulley is a monstrous, labour intensive job.

Issue 3
The steering was feeling dull and slow and I could feel a shudder on the steering wheel despite the discs and pads not being excessively worn.

Issue 4
There was the most irritating suspension knock (very subtle and slight) that could be felt on the top of the passenger rear top mounting... The mount was replaced 3 times with different brands, the shock was tested twice (Bilstein), the noise was driving me up the wall. Nobody could figure it out - Even BMW tested it and re-assembled it at the dealer and could not make the sound go away.

This spiraled in a nasty way - Every mechanic had a different opinion, every workshop had a different approach and it boiled down to go all in and all out and hope for the best....

Issue 1 Remedy

After reaching out to BMW for help we found that there was a specific procedure for mounting / dismounting the rear drop links. This is going to become a thing in this update because a lot of the issues on the car stem from tiny nuance shit comes with using a generic workshop and not a BMW specific workshop. I had previously stated in my posts that labour and working on the car was cheap but I must retract that statement as frankly, the bulk of the issues boiled down to basic things...

After the 3rd set snapped I was ready to set fire to Goldwagen - As it turns out you cannot installed the ARB or the Drop links on the E46 with the vehicle in the air. The suspension must be at level height as per BMW specification when the roll bar is centered, tightened and when the drop links are installed. Axle stands and jacking up both rear control arms is how you achieve this - Hmmm nonsense you think.... Its been 10 000km without a snapped drop link or a drop link "popping off" the ARB. DONE!

Issue 2 Remedy

It was noted that during the saga of the boost leak the intake pipe had blasted the upper pulley on the front of the engine with oil... This caused it to fail, except it didnt really because the part that failed was not the pulley wheel but rather the tensioner spring.... This let the belt move around excessively...

I called bull-sh*t on the tensioner being the issue but again paid my R2800 something for two new ones (if you going to strip that much I aint leaving the second one to fail) and on went a new belt. Looking below you cant see or tell anything is untoward.

Pick the car up and on the way home the AC cuts out and my mood completely drops. Thankfully I was a few km from home, its pouring with rain and I just know the belt is off... I get home and I pull into my bay the vibration dampener exits the chat in a wonderfully catastrophic manner.

Flat bed to take it back to the workshop:

Therefore as it turns out, the dampener had started failing and this put strain on the new pulleys causing them to fail.... But nooo lets throw parts at the car and see which part sticks around the longest. This is where I have to eat my words - A BMW specific mechanic would know what to look for and would have the experience to trace back faults to the core issue. My mood of just get it fixed didnt particularly help because by this point my interest in research and my time to ask for guidance was non-existant.

At this point the car truly was out of favour - I was extremely busy, I needed it to work, the bills were racking up and then it just got worse....

 

[MiniMike20]

Issue 3 Remedy

An issue that was working on my nerves was a constant shudder on the front end especially under braking. The assumption is warped discs right? Well no, because two workshops came back and said the outer tie rods are worn.

So like the good boy I am I replaced them - But again, my mood and interest in the car was at an all time low, so I equally said sure, proceed with new discs and pads. The front got Hella Pagid Discs and Pads (Again not the cheapest, not the most expensive) and the rear just got a set of Hella Pagid Pads.

Surely this would solve this problem.... It did. For 300km before the front discs warped themselves into an oblivion on a road trip up to Mossel Bay with the car. Livid I tell you. When I returned the car to the workshop saying the discs are warped and the shudder is back I was then told noooo its the inner tie rods now.... Anyways - Goldwagen replaced the discs under warranty and 800km later they had warped, again.

The steering feel was however back and wonderful and I was very happy with the R700 spend on the outer tie rods.

Issue 4 Remedy

This was a proper rabbit hole situation. I had this annoying knocking noise on the passenger rear, it was not the shock or the top mounts and the only other thing it could be was the sway bar bushes. This turned into a nightmare.

Rear sway bar bushes were not only toast but we found two bolts loose as well, no idea how that happens.

While it was in pieces we noted the hubs / bearings had a bit of a grindy noise to them and that there was excessive play which could be the knocking noise, so replaced those front and back:

Then we did the upper and lower bushes on both sway bars...

Bushes and bearings for days...

Then the wheel bearings at the back refused to budge - 20 tons later and they popped and while doing so obviously destroyed the rear CV's....

So those were replaced....

To summarise, in the space of 2 weeks I replaced the following....

Front Discs and Pads
Rear pads
2x Engine Pulleys & 2x Belts
Crank Vibration Dampener
Front Hubs / Bearings
Rear Hubs / Bearings
Outer Tie Rods
Upper and Lower Rear Sway Bar Bushes
Rear Sway bar bushes
Both CV's on the output shafts
2x Rear Droplinks

+- R20k bill with labour.

And to this day..... the knocking noise is still there.

 

[MiniMike20]

September 2023

The car was driving fine and well - I was still angry with it so I decided to go buy a basically brand new Fiat 500 and banished the 320d to a parking bay. Eventually it made sense to let my Mom use the 320d as she barely goes anywhere and she is an eco warrior so it would never get driven hard.

I also decided that using my personal cars for work was no longer viable and that I refused to trash my belongings further - This fundamental mindset change meant the BMW went from towing and working to being Mums run around, a welcome relief I suspect.

With that decision made we needed to move Mum from Mossel Bay to Cape Town so the BMW saw its last hurrah of hard work. It towed a few times since but small stuff, easy trips and light weight.

I had always wanted a double din head unit for the E46 and had bought one on a black friday special but the more I delved into the more frustrated I got. With time ticking and knowing the car was going to my mom I ordered a single din faceplate and got a cheap headunit for the car.

It took ages to get it to fit properly and the sound is best described as "shit" but it has bluetooth which works pretty well. I also decided to make the car more Mum friendly by having powerflow fit a sizable box to the exhaust (so it was no longer straight piped) as I was concerned my Mom might fight the Boeing cold starts and awhoooo! turbo dumps a bit offensive.

I want to replace the headunit with a nice carplay unit next year - Make it fancy.

And of course, as luck would have it, the car got smacked in the face by a piece of wood that fell off a truck - Somehow only hitting the tow hook cover, so ordered a new one from BMW and got it painted.

And the move to Cape Town - She did so well, averaging 6.8L with a VERY heavy trailer. My mates Volvo V40 D4 (mapped) did around 7L/100km. We had such a good time including taking the empty trailers to Barrydale for the night and racing over Tradouws Pass being all agricultural doing diesel things.

 

[MiniMike20]

November / December 2023

The boot spoiler decided it no longer wanted to hang about, so a new one was bought and sprayed and fitted - Amazing how such a small detail really changes the look of the car.

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I also bought a new tow bar cover set for it, it deserved it.

In the first week of December I had a client emergency - We had to furnish an entire 5th floor penthouse and everything had arrived at the airport and there was no way to get it to site due to a courier cockup.... Mooooommm! I need the 320d. It did 6 loads from the airport to Bantry Bay fully loaded and reminded me (as I had not abused it for some time) that is in fact an astonishingly good car.

As a result of my efforts and the BMW's heroics the interior designer and client spoilt the BMW with a free detail:

And then Mom asked me why it doesnt make the choo choo noises anymore so it went back to powerflow to have the box cut out again and now is back to its "zef" self with my 55 something year old Mom behind the wheel loving it.

I cannot lie that as much as the car irritated the crap out of me in 2023, it worked, it made money, it covered its own bills and it was spectacular. It ended 2023 on just under 250 000km.

 

[PsyCLown]

Mom likes the choo choo noises.

She looks fantastic after the detail.

 

[MiniMike20]

Early 2024

I got a call from my Mom saying there was a new noise - I knew from the few times I drove it (I was seeing the car twice a month at most at this point) that one of the engine mounts was letting go.

Ordinarily I would be offended that the mounts only last 40 000km but for a long time this is what the car did most days:

I did complain to Goldwagen about the mounts and they were excellent as Moto Euro is their "home brand" and they sent me the stats on the mounts and how many returns they have had etc which was very transparent and basically proved the mounts breaking was more to do with the usage than the quality - They did give me a small discount on a replacement set which was kind.

You will note in the above photo there is also a rear diff bush - This had been on its way since day one but was truly on its way at this point so every time Mom said its knocking I said sure thinking cool its just the engine mounts or the diff bush and knowing she was going away for a week I lined up some TLC for the car.

The interior got a deep clean, still hate the wood:

I also sent the car in for the front discs to be skimmed to resolve the constant shudder - This again lasted 2 weeks before the shudder returned. Hella Pagid quality is not what it used to be.... With all the parts in the boot I dropped the car at my new BMW trained mechanic and then found out the knocking noise was a failed CV on the passenger output shaft that was allowing the shaft to sway left and right by up to 4cm at a time.

Once again, workmanship issues caused that....

The easier solution was to buy a second hand output shaft so that was procured for R900 (the CV was more expensive on its own and nobody had stock) and problem solved. In the meantime I decided I couldnt deal with the brakes any longer so went and bought a whole new set of discs and pads all round and got the mechie to fit them at the same time. This time I went for Febi Discs and surebrake pads and they have been fantastic and despite around 5000km have not warped at all.

Returned the car to mother and that was that.

 

[MiniMike20]

July 2024 to Present

In July I made a move to JHB. As such my friend took the 320d and I took the GP.

We had a spectacular drive up, averaging 150-180 most of the way, the GP was epic and the 320d just soaked it all up. We stayed on a friends farm outside Bloem where the BMW was plenty happy and the GP was not.

Upon arrival in JHB I noted the car was feeling a bit weak and seemed to be over-boosting. This turned out to be my quick fix solution a year earlier coming back to be a problem. The hose I used as a boost pipe was a high heat truck radiator hose and over time the oil had eaten and softened it causing it to swell on boost.

Thankfully Goldwagen had stock of the part this time:

And how she currently sits, now living in Alberton, still with Mum who refuses to give it back to me.

Plans for 2025 include but are not limited to:

Replacement windscreen (its still got its original)
Replacement headliner
Carplay headunit and an active sub
New windscreen trim as the sun has baked it
New BMW emblems
Driver seat repair (leather has been torn slightly since I got it)
New gear lever because I hate the wood one

Other than that it will need a good service soon which is cheap and cheerful and it can soldier on.

In closing, this E46 is a brilliant car. It is versatile, it is comfortable, it handles beautifully, it just gets on with things. It is rock solid on the road and it drives like a 2 to 3 year old car new car would. I truly cannot describe just how epic the drive in this car is. The engine is alive, the steering (being hydraulic) remains some of BMW's best work.

Nothing gives me more joy than stealing the keys from my Mom and taking it for a proper drive and enjoying it. Good little BMW, good.