[Igor-onlyBMW]

Hi all!
My name is Igor, I'm 29 and I'm from Ukraine. My e46 320 m52b20tu was released on 09/09/1999 in titan-silber metallic 354. Manual 5 speed gearbox. It is modest in configuration but has: parking sensors, rain sensor, fog lights, folding mirrors, sunroof, air conditioning, on-board computer. Boring fabric gray interior. Mileage today 300000km. I service the car myself, I have owned it since 2020, but I managed to do and refine a lot. If you are interested, I will tell you a lot of interesting things from her life. My e46 is very basic compared to most of the cars here but I still love it a lot and never want to sell it. Thank you!

 

[The_Fixer]

Welcome!

Igor use Google translate

His translation.....

Hi all!
My name is Igor, I'm 29 and I'm from Ukraine. My e46 320 m52b20tu was released on 09/09/1999 in titanium-silver metallic 354. 5-speed manual transmission. The equipment is modest, but there are: parking sensors, rain sensor, fog lights, folding mirrors, sunroof, air conditioning, on-board computer. Boring fabric gray interior. Mileage to date is 300,000 km. I service the car myself, I have owned it since 2020, but I managed to do and refine a lot. If interested, I will tell you a lot of interesting things from her life. My e46 is very basic compared to most of the cars here but I still really love it and never want to sell it. Thank you!

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

Thanks, that's what I originally did but my browser fixed it again. Thanks, already changed!

 

[Obergoose]

I absolutely love the style 90 wheels! Lovely car paired with a great owner.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

Let's start with the purchase history. I read a lot of stories about how people in search of bmw traveled all over the country and looked at dozens of cars. I would never have thought that I would buy my car from the first inspection, and even more so that this car would be from my street. I watched him for 4 years from the balcony when he was owned by another guy but would never have thought that it would be my E46. When I saw an advertisement on the Internet, I did not recognize this e46 ... then I phoned the owner and realized that it was her. Inspected the car on the same day and it was in good condition, at least than most e46 sold at the time. The main thing is that there were no problems with the body and in general it was not bad as it seemed to me. Then my brother came to his e39 and my father. They helped me understand that this is a good option for my money. Below are some photos from the day of purchase and a photo from the announcement of the sale.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

Has been replaced:
Bosch fuel filter
wix air filter
Cabin filter
Engine oil liqui moly 5w40, pre-flush oil
Gearbox and rear gear oil
Spark plugs NGK
Coolant
Considered important to install the front strut brace.
The INA water pump was replaced, there was a backlash.
Together with the water pump, the tensioner roller and engine belt were replaced. The air conditioning belt was good, and the air conditioning tensioner roller was simply lubricated.
I also bought a new fire extinguisher and a first aid kit.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

The next step I decided to do dry cleaning salon. A special vacuum cleaner was purchased for wet cleaning. At first, I completely cleaned my seats and carpets as best I could ... but I was not happy that the driver's seat was torn and by chance I saw that the exact same gray interior was being sold in perfect condition. Naturally I bought it at a good price. Unfortunately it is not leather but clean and whole.
I also sent my old steering wheel for leather upholstery. It's more pleasant to be in the car.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

I constantly want to fix or repair something in my e46, but not because it is broken, but in order to prevent a breakdown or just to get in a good mood. Given the age of the car, many parts need simple cleaning and lubrication, this is not expensive and everyone can do it. This time I disassembled, cleaned and lubricated the climate control unit. There is a fan that sometimes starts to creak.

After cleaning everything works just as well and quietly. I am satisfied.
Sometimes I noticed that the ABS and ASC lamp on the panel lit up. One of the reasons for this may be cracked soldering contacts on the ABS block board. I checked and it turned out to be exactly the same. It was inconvenient to get and open the block, because it was sealed. But otherwise there were no problems. I soldered the places where it was necessary and took it back using glue for gluing glasses. It turned out hermetically and there is no longer a glowing error on the panel. ABS and ASC work great.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

I think many people here know the problem of the current e46 doors due to the peeled off lining inside. You just need to remove the door cards, remove the trim and replace the sealing material ... in this case, butyl cord. It took me exactly 11 meters of material. Leaking doors in my car is prevented. The left rear door began to leak a little, but I noticed it in time - I saw drops of water on the inside

this material is very sticky but I warmed it up a bit with a blow dryer before gluing the skin to make sure it won't leak for a long time

I also had to replace the mechanism holding the right front door open and half-open, I bought it in advance from a donor car in excellent condition and took advantage of the fact that they removed the door trim. I also lubricated the glass guides in the doors and the cables on the power windows with special grease, they are mechanical in the back, but it suits me, I rarely open the windows from the back. After lubrication, less force should be applied to open the windows.
I still had Teflon grease left, which is slippery but dust does not stick to it, so I cleaned and lubricated the rubbing parts of the sunroof.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

Pay attention to the engine. Gradually acquired parts and it's time to replace them.
At first it was BREMI spark plug tips... the original Bremi ones also had small cracks after many years.

The oil cup gasket and valve were replaced by me due to the fact that there were oil sweats on the engine. I also expected to see wear on the original valve in the oil cup based on a mileage of almost 300,000 km - and this was confirmed, the valve had a lot of wear and sometimes jammed, this was signaled by a late-fading oil pressure lamp on the dashboard.

I bought 2 valves as you can see from the photo... the second one is for my brother and his e39, in return he gave me a hose for the vanos system, my original hose was tired.

The o-rings of all 6 injectors and the mini-filters inside them were also replaced. The old injector filters were like new, probably because I periodically add an additive to the fuel to clean up contaminants, but I put in new ones anyway.

In the course of work, the idle speed regulator, throttle valve, Disa were cleaned, some hoses of the crankcase ventilation valve were replaced and the tube into which the oil dipstick was inserted was cleaned - there was no o-ring at hand to replace, left it for the next time.
I did not notice any changes after the work carried out, the car drove well as before, but I got rid of oil leaks and replaced what I had planned for a long time. I'm calmer now.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

With the onset of autumn, I began to notice that the cabin filter was wet. This was to be expected as the lower windshield molding/seal had a lot of damage from time to time. In addition, it spoiled the perception of the car as a whole.

A new part is not cheap. Many try to use a universal sealant and it works for a while. Deciding that the miser pays twice, I ordered the original BMW part 51718208483

The replacement was not difficult, my friend on the e30 helped me. There was a lot of debris under the old pad but no rust yet. I cleaned everything and installed a new part, clips were included. The most difficult thing in this work for me was to remove the wiper arms, I needed a special tool.

 

[PowerS54]

Great work Igor! You have been a busy person. Jealous of the pit. Wish they were legal over here.
Can't decide which set of wheels I like better.
Love the cloth interior. It makes the grey look outstanding.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

Great work Igor! You have been a busy person. Jealous of the pit. Wish they were legal over here.
Can't decide which set of wheels I like better.
Love the cloth interior. It makes the grey look outstanding.

Thanks a lot! I am surprised that you liked my modest mechanical interior, many people want a leather interior, which is why I want to keep it, it is cozy, especially in the evening under lamp light
As for the rims, they are forged 90 style from e65... they have removable caps.

 

[PowerS54]

The leather was the majority over here. where it gets warm, the cloth would be so nice. Again, great work .

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

After buying a better interior, I still had a set of old door cards ... my seats were quickly bought and the door trim turned out to be useless to anyone. I decided to use the old doorknobs and modify them a bit.

Each pen has its own individual number. I want to make the backlight for the handles like it is done in the e38.

My idea was to cut holes in the handles and fill them with clear epoxy. The resin, after curing, would serve as a light diffuser, and as a light source I use LEDs from an old original cassette player.

using plasticine, I made a mold for pouring epoxy resin into the pen and filled it with a syringe

after hardening, the resin became very strong and acquired a milky color. I made small holes right in the hardened resin and inserted the LEDs there. they stuck very tightly but I added some glue on top. To begin with, I tried to turn on the LEDs using a homemade power supply to understand what resistors would be needed when powered from a car. I settled on a 390 ohm resistor for each LED, it seems to me that it does not shine too brightly and will last a long time...

I also put metal tape on top of the resin to make a reflector for the LEDs
experimented a little with the blue light, I was interested to see

but the native amber light is much more pleasant and will look harmonious in the cabin as a whole

All I have left is to install the handles in the car and enjoy them. you need to add electrical connections to make it easier to remove the door trim and run wires to power the handles. unfortunately the installation of the handles took longer than I wanted and they stayed in another city. I will definitely finish the installation as soon as I get a chance. it looks very nice in real life, much more beautiful than in the photo.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

I continue to drive. It was autumn outside, this is the time to do anti-corrosion treatment. I almost never go out in winter, very rarely and not far, but I wanted to save the body and extend its life as long as possible. First of all, I removed both bumpers and sills, as well as the front fender liner to assess the scope of work.

There was a lot of dirt under the front fender liner from the bottom ... apparently it had not been cleaned for 20 years ... after removing everything superfluous, I went to the nearest car wash ... only then I remembered that the registration numbers were left on the bumpers in the garage and I drove without them. The car looked like a rally car

This was the first time I removed my front bumper... I saw the bent bumper reinforcement underneath and it became clear to me why the original regular bumper was replaced with an m-tech2. Fortunately, there is no other damage and the airbags are all intact. when the car was completely dry, I started processing...

The rain kept bothering me. I drove the car into the garage that I just rented, but it's very crowded. Toward evening, I realized that I would not have time to do all the work in 1 day and I would not have enough materials.

In the morning I went again for new processing materials and despite the rain I went back to the garage

Damn weather I thought... the rain left me with very little room to work but I was persistent and decided to touch up a couple of problem areas on the body...

Late in the evening I finished the reassembly and went home. The next day, my goal was to apply protective wax to the body and I decided to repeat the wax protection every 2-3 months

I spent 3 days on this instead of the planned 1 day but I was very pleased with the work. I hope this will last for a while and the car will be easier to endure winter or bad weather.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

Замена подушки безопасности в рамках отзывной кампании BMW.
Читал об этом на автомобильных форумах. Я отправил электронное письмо ближайшему дилеру с VIN-кодом моей машины. Довольно быстро мне ответили, что если руль на машине не менялся и остался родным, то меня привлекли к замене передних подушек безопасности (водительской и пассажирской). Как я избран, замена подушки безопасности от производителя TAKATA. Пришлось для этого ехать к дилеру на осмотр, расстояние около 200 км...пара часов езды...
Дилер мне подтвердил, что пробег у моей машины оригинальный, также сказал, что на дойку мне заказаны 2 подушки безопасности и они прибудут через 3-4 недели.
Через пару недель мне пожаловались на бесплатную замену подушек безопасности. Я достигну пути с женой и маленьким сыном.

Менеджер сказал мне, что водительская подушка безопасности не подлежит замене в конце концов. Хотя он производится Takata, его серийный номер менять не нужно. Мне просто нужно заменить пассажирскую подушку безопасности.
Ну, я уже читал, что у многих меняли только подушку безопасности пассажира, но мне было немного непонятно, почему тогда заказывали 2 подушки безопасности и почему они не увидели это с первого раза. Замена заняла час-полтора. Мне дали подтверждающий документ, и я поехал домой. И да, это было совершенно бесплатно. Я рад, что довольно старая машина все еще привлекает внимание BMW. Но у меня были некоторые сомнения в честности менеджера.

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

Painting of plastic interior elements.
I think everything is clear from the name ... like in any other e46 (except for the museum one), after 21 years it became scary to look at the plastic parts covered with soft touch. It is especially sad when a young lady with nails drove a car ...

I thought for a long time, wondered what to do, the better to paint ... structural paint for bumpers or mat black, or maybe gloss in general ...
Once I went to a construction shop, just to figure out what gray colors are and just bought a bottle of gloss ... and there was no other))) at home there was a black mat, varnish and primer for plastic ... I decided that it would be better than it was anyway ...

I liked the result ... 2 years have passed since then ... no scratches appeared, everything looks like it was painted yesterday.

 

[Obergoose]

Pretty sure my '99 has the same issue with the ASC module. It throws errors intermittently so I'll have to crack it. Open using your post as a guide.

Really like your door handle mod, looks classy!

 

[Igor-onlyBMW]

Thanks a lot!
As for the ABS / ASC block, I want to note a couple of details: first, you should not stick the knife deeper than 5mm when you open it, I almost damaged the parts on the board. Many people simply cut a hole in the cover approximately in the place where the contacts are, and then glue it. And secondly, it’s very inconvenient to get this block, there is not enough space where it is located, a small magnet is very useful, when unscrewing the screws, they will definitely fall out and turn out to be from below under the block where you can’t reach it with your hand.