E46 Fanatics Forum banner

My Silver Grey 325i "Aura" w/ M54b30 ZHP swap

24K views 76 replies 15 participants last post by  Darkstar5379 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi guys, been meaning to do a "Journal Thread" for a while now. I've had the car since late 2016 and put about 30k miles on her since. I'll be updating this thread as I do things like maintenance and mods/upgrades. First, I'll be posting till the present date, starting with Year 1 and 2. This is going to be word heavy since I didn't take too many pictures at first, my mistake I know

I bought it from a local in town who "fixed" her (red flag #1). Looking back now, knowing what was wrong with her I would've Negotiated for a lower price, oh well.

This is my first car and she has been treating me well so far, I got this one since my father has his 330i for several years and I've been helping him do oil changes and the water system, so I figure I can handle it. 2 and a half years later, no regrets.

When I got her, she had about 126k miles and has a black interior which I like since I don't like tan. She has the premium package and that meant real leather and power seats! Almost no rust on the body except a rock chip on the hood so I wasn't too concerned since this was an Arizona car and a Florida car. A few scratches but didn't bother me.



https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1Ee5ucDxsps89go1mFioYO8co-0pFKiks
https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1YZqFI8x30Dx1-Z2-lOLLjEWPfUnzAMaz

Year 1

After purchase I noticed oil coming out of the oil filter cap, so I did an oil change, and who ever did it last never removed the old oil O-ring and just put the new O-ring over the old one never making a seal (red flag #2) :facepalm:

Also, the dip stick was loose, turns out they never put that 13mm bolt back and just zip tied to the intake manifold (red flag #3):facepalm: :facepalm:

After all that was resolved I did the whole coolant system, except the hard coolant pips. Easy job since I did it about a month prior on my father’s car.

A couple of weeks went by without an issue until I got home and noticed my rear badge was missing, so that weekend after class in Miami I went to the stealership to get a new one, I figure it will last longer, nearly 2 years later it still looks new!


https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1NDxAfyKo0XHxYt4Bz_TVsvLY469QucMv
https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1vuL8UwClRMpbU3aqFv34wZgSfB2n_i2K

Several months later I did my control arm bushings since I was getting a slight shimming on the highway, PO said he did one of them and he gave me the other when I bought the car (red flag #4) looked like an eBay part so replaced both with an oem set.

Did an oil change probably round this time too, I don't remember when I do them, all I know I do them every 7k miles

I also had an electrical gremlin that was keeping my brake light on after start, no cruise control and leaving my radio on after shutdown. It was intermittent, so I wasn't aware of it until I notice the brake lights were on while I was walking to my car. Turns out it was the ignition switch. I fixed it cheaply, got it at a junk yard, so I'm not complaining.

At the same time at the junk yard getting a couple of ignition switches and fuses, I ran into a 323i with a full set of silver trim! (I wasn't a fan of the wood trim, so I wanted something different) :woot:


https://drive.google.com/uc?id=18ppoXFRciWF5slkDRQC18p_MFRpWPYLr

A week later I went to another junk yard in search of a sport steering wheel because I wasn't a fan of the 4 spoke steering wheel and I wasn't going to spend over $100 on eBay for one either. Long story short I found a great one and some 330i Silver gauge rings! For a fraction of the cost! :D

The gauge rings were easy to install, I just replace the front housing of my gauge cluster with the 330i one

Oh, and I tripped the airbag sensor, rookie mistake :facepalm:


https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1KF71iuii2YH92qV7oKRk9JmqBMhi9pJS
https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1ooIPYmNs2Oy94xrFkdKxgjUFWbumou8L

Fixed the Airbag sensor using PA soft and an old XP laptop I have. So, no biggie.

Around this time, I installed the factory alarm system, the first alarm horn was dead, so I got another one from the junk yard

That's pretty much it for year one. I drove it for about 14k miles that year since I let my brother drive it to school and I drove it on the weekends to go to College in Miami.

Btw A year is when I bought the car so like early September, Year 1 ends August 2017
 
See less See more
7
#38 ·
Darkstar, just read through your journal - very thorough work. Sub'd. I'm in the midst of a similar resurrection of a poorly cared fore vehicle (except I was the one who abandoned it a decade ago in a garage! Looking forward to future updates.

Cheers
 
#39 ·
Darkstar, just read through your journal - very thorough work. Sub'd. I'm in the midst of a similar resurrection of a poorly cared for vehicle (except I was the one who abandoned it a decade ago in a garage! Looking forward to future updates.

Cheers
Thanks, and good luck on your refresh!

Quick update

Just got back from my trip yesterday. The new to me MAF was waiting for me and I installed it this morning. Now shes starts right up and driving again! No lean codes so far after 40sih miles, just cat codes and for some reason a P1515 code? :dunno: I reset the code and see if it comes back.
 
#40 · (Edited)


Short Maintenance Update

Shes driving fine still, no lingering pressure in the coolant system and level is pretty much where it has been after bleeding it last time. No overheating, temp dead at 94-95c.

Oil level is normal too, no leaks but after 4k miles on the new engine I had to put in about 2 quarts so shes burning some oil.

The starting issue is unfortunately still there. So the maf didn't fix it but I needed one since I accidentally broke the old one. :tsk:

The P01515 code hasn't come back in 80ish miles I've put on her in the last week, nor has the lean codes :thumbup:

I'm not really driving her too much lately since of this whole virus scare is freaking everyone out and classes have been canceled because of it. I just drive her to town and back to do errands and short 10 mile trips around my area so she isn't sitting for more than a few days.

College classes have been postponed so I'm working on the parts car getting her back to 95%! Will probably start another build thread on it once I got the interior put back together or when I think I'm ready to write a whole new thread.

Everyone stay safe and stay healthy! And follow me on Instagram @darkstars325i to see more recent pics of Aura! (Shameless plug I know :shhh: )



Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
#41 · (Edited)
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Hood Luxury vehicle


A little late on the updates but had nothing really much to update about. Shes still running strong at 166k miles and I'm convinced it was the radiator since I haven't experience any over pressure since changing the rad a few months ago.

I did have to change the Hard coolant lines a couple of months ago since I experience a small leak coming from them. They were old and broke when I was removing them so they were on their way out anyways. Since changing them no loss of coolant and no over night pressure. I replaces all vacuum lines and gaskets in the intake manifold, cleaned the ICV and throttle body, The PO replaced the throttle body with an oem vdo throttle body, wonder why?

I bit the bullet and drove my car to Miami for the weekend a couple of weeks ago and other than a weak start or two no issues what so ever!

Still had the starting issue, its a long crank then weak start, sometimes blue smoke but only caught it once or twice. I took out the injectors the other day and they aren't leaking, maybe #3 is but its not dripping but more like it has a little at the tip but not enough to drop on the shop towels below so that cant be the issue right? Sometimes the car starts on the first crank which seems odd too 🤔

I just did the oil change at 5k miles and swapped to 5w30 Valvoline full synthetic since a friend of mine warned me about mobile 1 thinning out and swears by Valvoline. I was worried since I had 0w-40 so I did the oil change. I do agree with him on Valvoline, my mothers 04 Galant is at 340k miles only running on Valvoline 5w30 synthetic blend so why not on the bmw? (no oil fights please, I know how touchy oil threads can be). After the oil change I'm not getting the starting issue so maybe was the oil? My oil did smell like gas so maybe I do have a bad injector? 🤷‍♂️

Hope everyone is staying safe and new pics are coming soon!

Also love the new look of the site, kinda miss the old emojis tho

(Late edit but I did have two leaky injectors so that fixed the starting issue! (y))
 
#42 · (Edited)
Hello everyone! Some recent pics!

908596


127.jpg

908595

128.jpg

908597


129.jpg

908599


130.jpg

908600


131.jpg

908602


133.jpg

908603


134.jpg

908604


135.jpg

908605


137.jpg

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Alloy wheel Rim


138.jpg


Maintenance Update:

She's at 167.6k and still running strong, No major issues at all, oil burn is minimal, temp and coolant is where it should be and no overnight pressure! I've driven her everywhere even up to Orlando and Cape Canaveral to see a rocket launch! (last two pics)

I'm really happy on how shes preforming on long trips! After 6 months of driving her on the new rad and gaining the trust on this new engine, I'm finally driving her worry free! 😄😁 (mostly worry free because its still a 16 year old bmw that I put together lol)

Anyways:

  • CEL is on but its still just for the lack of catalytic converters :rolleyes:
  • Replaced 2 fuel injectors #3 & #4 were leaking pretty bad when warm so I replaced then with oem VDO purple injectors and fixed my starting issue! (y) (tempted to get 4 new ones to just have all new injectors just because 🤷‍♂️)
  • My Yellow traction control Light and yellow "BRAKE" light comes on now and then but idk what that could be. It usually goes away after restart or when I drive but last time it came back was on my 3 hour road trip back from Orlando the other day and stayed on the whole trip, that was fun :rolleyes:
  • Replaced the drivers side Kidney Grille with an Genuine BMW Performance Gloss black one because the fitment on the cheap ebay ones is getting on my nerves so if anyone has a passenger side one collecting dust please message me!
  • Been getting a lot of complements on the car lately, Its really fun to see a persons reaction when I tell them I pulled the engine out "because I wanted to" and be surprised that she's an 04 model. They keep telling me she looks for her age! 😁
- The Parts car (I haven't come up with a name yet) is running strong too but still missing a few things. She needs new Grilles and a hood (The hood has some rust spots and losing clear coat) I would love to get a Facelfted hood! I think that would make it look great with the pre-facelifted headlights! But that has to wait till ! get her all sorted but she drives very well!

- My brother moved out for college and before he did, I did all the maintenance on his 330i which required me to pull the engine out to change the torque converter from the transmission, It was easier for me since I need to do ALL the gaskets, ALL vacuum hoses, CCV, spark plugs, all coolant hoses including the hard ones, water pump, oem thermostat (the new one sucked so had to put the old one back on) and pulleys. I told him it would be better, since we are pulling the engine out, to just manual swap it since his TC was shot and the new one would probably fail too but he likes the auto so we just replaced the TC, change the filter and changed the pressure regulator since this was a zf auto and No leaks! the New TC is quiet and running smooth!
While the engine was out I notice that the cylinder head and block had LKQ stamps on them! This engine was/is a junkyard engine! I thought it was funny so did my brother, It didn't bother us since we had it for the last 30k miles and has been reliable since we got it. It was a fun/stressful 4 days for sure but now he can drive it reliably for a while without worrying about any engine problems! (mostly without worry because its still a 17 year old bmw that I put together! lmao😅)

Anyways nothing really more to report other than I'm taking another trip to Orlando after this tropical storm passes Florida so another 350 mile round trip here I come!

Hope everyone stays safe and hope for another 1000 trouble free miles!

Quick edit: Drove back from my 350 mile road trip with zero issues! :D I've driven her some more and now I'm at 168.2k!

-Side note-
Unfortunately, for some reason, Google drive links don't work with the add picture link option, I had to upload pics directly to the forum site and it only allowed me 10 pics so that's a C- for the new forum layout (n)

Also I would update my Sig but it will yell at me that I have too many links soooo I'm not updating that until that has a solution or just leave it like that 🤷‍♂️
 
#43 · (Edited)
Alrighty! Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe! Here's a round of pics!

911507


139.jpg

911508


140.jpg

911509

New to me Bmw Performance Intake! :D

141.jpg

911510

Is it a pain in he butt to check the coolant level? Yes, yes it is, but worth it
142.jpg

911511


143jpg

911513


144.Jpg

911512


146.Jpg

Maintenance Update:

  • About 8-9k miles on the new engine! I've put alot of miles on her lately too, including a few trips to Orlando, that shes at 170.3k miles with no issues! :D
  • CEL is on, you can guess why...
  • As shown above I got a new to me BMW Performance Intake from a fellow fanatic! I got it as a birthday present for myself and I couldn't be happier! Butt-dyno feels a bit more but I can defiantly hear a difference and I didn't pay an arm and a leg for it! Yes its a bit rough cosmetically but that doesn't bother me too much, The engine bay looks amazing, now I just need a pretty strut bar to match... I'm kidding 1k for a Bmw performance strut bar is too much for me but I am looking at this company called DMG that makes simple but beautiful strut bars for the e46 m3, If aura is good this year she might get it for Christmas :p
  • Got a email from BMW stating that I have another Air bag recall on my car. I did all of them 2 years ago but apparently this one is for cars that already had the recall done on the passenger side. :rolleyes: So looks like I got to go to my dealership, They're nice and I never have a problem with them, plus I love going there because they have a huge window into the service area and you can watch the techs work on some cool cars (y)
  • My Driver side Angel Eyes bank died on me a week ago, I notice when I was parking and saw my reflection and noticed my car was winking at me, I disconnected the other side and later found out a capacitor blew on the controller box. Contacted Umnitza and they sent a replacement for free! (y) My AE were only out for a few days but now they're shining bright again! :D
  • I used the parts car as a guinea pig for these Amazon/Chinese window regulators. They're alright, they do their job but they look like they have some resistance and the motors seem like they're working harder to move the winow up and down or they could be just old, its a 01 325i after all. but for 26 bucks each they're ok especally for just keeping the window up like what I needed for the parts car;.
Story time!

About a month ago I got a notification about a manual 330ci coming into the junkyard. I wanted to start collecting little bits for a manual swap just in case my fathers or my auto transmissions decide to take a dump and at least I'll have some parts available when I have to do a swap. Welp as soon as I saw it had a stick I headed towards Palm Beach, an hour and a half drive. As soon as I arrive I saw a few bmws in the parking lot, worried someone beat me to it, and sure enough there was a young guy about my age getting the hood up. He was a nice guy and he told me its a 6sp and hes planing on getting everything for his manual swap and I gave him advice on what he needed like the electric fan. I told him good luck and I was a little bummed but I was glad it was going to an enthusiast rather than a mechanic trying to flip it.

Anyways it was getting hot, and not to waste a trip, I grabbed a few odds and ends for the parts car and somehow I manage to forget my electric ratchet, I only noticed when I got home when my Intake came in.

At that point I wanted to go back the next day because there might be a chance I can find my ratchet and maybe the guy left some bits on the manual car I can salvage. My father came along and I didn't expect much nor did he. Well as expected my ratchet was nowhere to be seen but for shits & giggles I went to the 330ci and to my surprise EVERYTHING (other than the pedals) was still there!! Looks like he gave up at the shiftier. I reconnected the shift linkage to confirm it was a 6sp and yup it was! Called up my dad that was waiting in the car and we went to work

To make a very long story short 5 hours later with my dads help we got the damn thing off and yeah, him and I never taken a transmission off when it was on a car but I'm glad none of the torx bolts stripped, that was my biggest fear. Now the tranny is living in storage at my hangar until its needed, all I need now is the pedals 😁

911489


Oh if that guy that I met at the junkyard (sorry I don't remember your name) is reading, please message me cuz I wanna buy those pedals off you, Its a later mode clutch switch and pedals that I'm interested in, less hassle to wire than the early model ones. Worth a shot right? 🤷‍♂️

Anyways A few days later I drove back to the junkyard to get the driveshaft (I literally couldn't sleep at night knowing I left it) I didn't bring my big pry bar the first time around so that cost me an extra trip but it was still there, and I also got some eBay headers off another new arrival! The flange on one is kinda off but it was 18 bucks so I'm not that far into it and its for the parts car. :p

911498
911499


A big thank you to everyone:

This month marks 4 years owning Aura, I never planned on doing so much to her this quickly but opportunities came up and I took them. I'm truly surprised it's been only 4 years but regardless I'm extremely grateful for this community that have indirectly helped me so much over the years. If not for this forum and all its helpful members, with their countless write ups, and the YouTube Content Creators, I couldn't bring up the courage to do any of the stuff I manage to do, from pulling engines to simple valve cover gaskets. I'm also very grateful to my father as well. He taught me the basics on his car and encourage me to get Aura since I worked on his car so well. And because of this knowledge I've acquired over the years, I will keep Aura running for as long as possible! Thank you to everyone and I hope for many more years and miles to come! :)

That's pretty much it! Hope everyone stay safe!
 
#44 · (Edited)
M3 Mirrors!




913262


148.jpg

913260


149.jpg

913261


150.jpg

913263


151.jpg

913266


152.jpg

913267


153.jpg

913268


154.jpg

913272


155.jpg

913269


156.jpg

Bought these off a guy for $20, He was willing to give it away to me for free cuz I drove like 80 miles to get them but I offered 20 bucks cuz he was asking $50 for them and didn't want to just take them for free. I say good deal! They where missing the glass and the motors but that's alright with me.

So far no wind noise, fitment is near perfect on the drivers side but the passenger side is very close, I do believe it needs a bit tweaking and grinding to be perfect like the driver side but for now its great!

I know why a lot people say it's a tedious and long process to get these mirrors to fit on sedans but man it's worth it!

I had to cut the mirror bases with a dremel and used a grinding stone to finish it off, I followed the Roge engineering pdf. and a few forum posts to make this fit properly.

It's a lot of work and I can see why not too many people do this because you do have to cut up not only the expensive mirrors (not expensive in my case because I paid nearly nothing for them) but also your door and drill new holes to screw them on. It took a weekend and a couple of more days to get it right but I was doing other things like the steering rack and Vanos at the same time too.

I also had to source some mirror motors but turns out an 03 Audi a4 at a junkyard has the same type of motors! So does VW Passats and jettas from that era too. Do they work electronically? Idk cuz I'm running manual mirrors till I do a ribbon cable swap for power functions, I just needed the motors to hold the mirror.

Speaking of mirrors, they're just ebay euro style mirrors, which fit perfectly, I wouldn't trust the heating element though, for obvious reasons 👀

Anyways I can't wait to get these painted when I have more time in a couple of weeks! 😁

Maintenance Update:
  • CEL is on, 2 codes for Rear o2 sensors like always and 1 for evap stuck open which is weird, probably have to replace it with an new one this time cuz I replaced this with a junkyard one 2 times in the past year.
  • The 3 Yellow Traction lights turned on on a long trip, again, I have no idea why. Its intermittent and doesn't happen all the time. It sometimes goes away when I restart the car or goes away when after restart and I drive off. And other times it just stays on! Its very weird
  • Almost 172k miles! I've been driving alot lately and no major hiccups 😁
  • Yellow tag steering rack Installed (finally) with new tie rods and steering bushing thing. After 6 hour road trip I've really been enjoying it! Big difference!
  • Installed a 32k miles Vanos unit and replaced the seals and anti-rattle thing
  • Installed M3 mirrors, took a couple of days and a trip to the junkyard but they're installed!
  • Picked up a low mileage armrest for 45$ since mine has been broken for like a year already so that's being installed this weekend
That's all for now! Everyone stay safe!
 
#48 · (Edited)
Oh man, what an excellent read and well done on everything thus far, very tasteful mods.
Thanks! 😁

Do the manual swap... you won’t regret it, also get the diff from the junk yard if you have not.
I really want to do it right now but my auto still runs fine and I'm using her right now for main transportation. I'm planing on doing it as a summer or next winter project. ;)

And unfortunately I didn't get the diff because before I do the manual swap I want to nab me a m3 rear subframe with the 3.62 LDS. Once I get that i'll probably pull the trigger

I needs me that bmw performance air box. Looks amazing. Where did you find it?
For the 330i's its very hard to find one for sale. I purchased the intake from a member on this forum for a decent price. But for a 325i you can still buy one new on ECS tuning. But its not worth 600$, It looks amazing and I can definitely hear a difference but don't pay more than $350 if you manage to find one. Because I think this is more for looks and noise than actually power gains but I haven't but her on a dyno yet
 
#53 · (Edited)
Mirrors are painted! 😁

915867


157.jpg

915868


158.jpg

915889


158.1.jpg

915879


158.2.jpg

915869


159.jpg

915870


160.jpg

915890


161.jpg

915874


164.jpg

915875
915877


(I'm a little late on this update since I've painted these a couple of weeks ago)

The Mirrors turned way better than I was expecting!

I painted them myself using "paint scratch" spray paint and 2k clear coat. The paint match is pretty spot on too!

Since I was painting the mirrors I went and painted the passenger side brake duct cover and color match isn't the greatest but this bumper has been repainted before I got it at the junkyard sooo... whatcha gonna do? 🤷‍♂️

The mirror bases were another story, had to repaint them 4 times to get them how I like them and even then it's only good enough. I thought I would try making them more glossy black but the high gloss looked tacky and stood out too much so I opted to paint them back to the satin/gloss black look I had before.

Other than that, I think they turned out pretty well! Aura looks complete now! 😁

Maintenance Update:
  • She's at 173.7k and running great! 😁😁
  • Still have that code for the evap valve. Haven't had the time to order it lately but thats the only code for her other than the usual o2 senor codes :rolleyes:
  • Oil change is happening soon swapping to Castrol 5w-40 Euro, Wally world in my town now sells it! 😁
  • Its been a year since I've done the engine swap! I've put about 12k miles on the new engine! It took me about a year to trust this engine but now I'm finding any excuse to drive lol
  • I hear a harmonic humming coming from the engine bay but goes away when the engine warms up. It doesn't sound terrible but noticeable, to me that is. I have an idea what it might be, one of the tensioners for the pulleys. I haven't replace them and should've done it when the engine was out, it has been doing it for the last few weeks and that's the only thing that it could be, right? 🤷‍♂️ It dosen't sound metallic just a hum once in a while and not that loud. I'll investigate some more before ordering the kit :unsure:
  • I took her to the Cape again to see another rocket launch, the Crew-1 launch, and on the way back a rock hit just left of the passenger side grille and left a rock chip the size of a dime and a dent the size of a quarter :cry: (I would insert an image but there's that dumb 10 pic limit and this new layout won't accept google drive links for display so here's a link Rock chip ) But at least I got a awesome picture of the launch. 😅
Anyways that's all for now, everyone stay safe!
 
#54 · (Edited)
917036


167.jpg

917035


168.jpg

917042


168.2.jpg

917037


169.jpg

917038


170.jpg

917039


171.jpg

917040


172.jpg

917041


173.jpg

917043


174.jpg

Maintenance Update:

  • 174.6k miles and still goin'
  • CEL on but now its just o2 sensor codes as usual
  • Oil change completed with Castrol 5w-40 LL-01 oil. 😁
  • Replaced Evap valve under intake manifold with a new oem one, got rid of the Evap code! (y)
  • A/C belt tensioner replaced aswell the idler pulley. However I got the wrong main tensioner. Turns out my engine has the Hydraulic tensioner so now I gotta get one of those. I was gonna return the mechanical one to fcp but I decided to keep it since my parts car, "Anna" (I finally named it), could use it. Oh and yeah the A/C and main tensioner pulleys were both shot sooo they had to be replace
  • CCV was replaced. was going to do the o2 pilot mod but opted out because the check valve the 50's kid recommended didn't get here on time. I'll do it eventually since I am burning a quart every 1800ish miles?
  • I also replaced the OFHG while the intake was out. It was leaking a bit, which was odd since the PO said he replaced it before his kid wrecked his zhp but turns out the previous owners mechanic used rtv around the gasket! The gasket itself was brittle and hard! He said he just did it but I guess his mechanic just rtv it instead of replacing it? Idk but that's what it seems because I don't think a OFHG goes bad in less than a couple of years?
  • The humming is still kinda there? It's not as loud but I still hear it a bit. I need to get the hydraulic tensioner kit and then I'll know if that fixed the sound.
  • Aura wasn't exactly good this year (considering I just did all this maintenance lately lol) to get a shiny Dmg strut bar buuut shes still got something for Christmas. I wont say until after Christmas but I'll leave a hint: Bmw wants almost $3k for it new. I got it for $150 used :sneaky:
Anyways that's all for now, Stay safe!
 
#55 ·
Leave some clean for the rest of us
 
  • Like
Reactions: Darkstar5379
#58 ·
Thank you! And the o2 codes are for post cat o2 sensors. I have catless headers so that's why I'm getting those codes since I have no catalytic converters lol.

Eventually I'll get them coded out with a tune but cant justify spending money on that just yet.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
#60 ·
Hi everyone, been busy and nothing really important to highlight here, just some pics! [emoji16]

921569

175.jpg


921571

176.jpg


921573

177.jpg


921575

178.jpg


921576

179.jpg


921578

180.jpg


921577

180(1).jpg


Nothing new to report for Aura but Anna (parts car, yes I finally name it after two years of ownership! [emoji854]) got a few goodies like a Mtech 1 body kit! (btw yes you can fit a front bumper, rear and side skirts in the e46 [emoji28] ) I already made a showcase on the car! Go check it out! For a while now Aura has been the daily and now I would like Anna (parts car) will take place as the daily while Aura is the road trip/weekend warrior for now. That's the plan at least haha

Maintenance Update:

  • She's up to 178.5k miles and still goin', gettin more and more complements every time someone ask what year it is and the mileage [emoji16]
  • Only o2 codes popping up so nothing new
  • Hydraulic tensioner replaces last month. Got rid of the humming :D
  • New cabin filter just because
  • Oh I realized I never revealed the Christmas gift for Aura, It was a full set of shadow line gloss trim! [emoji16]
  • Road trip after road trip and shes still driving strong.
  • Will defiantly do a suspension refresh soon too, and get those 4 new fuel injectors that I have still yet to order :rolleyes:
Anyways that's all for now, Stay safe!
 
#61 ·
Hi all! Sorry for the lack of Updates, I've been very busy at work and haven't had any time to update this thread. A proper update is coming soon for all those intrested. but just a quick one, Aura is running great! Plus she looks diffrent last time you've seen her! Pics coming soon!
 
#62 · (Edited)
I'm back!

Feb-Mar

928791


185.Jpg

928802


186.Jpg

928793


187.Jpg

928794


188.jpg

928801


189.jpg

928803

Last time you'll see Aura like this

190.Jpg

Maintenance Update: (Feb-Mar)
  • Replaced 4 fuel injectors
  • Oil change @179k same Castrol 5w-40 I did the oil change early since I change the fuel injectors. I suspected I had another leaky one so I wanted fresh oil.
  • Found an oem M-tech 2 bumper for 100 bucks! It needed some body work and new bumper guids but turns out the pre-face lifted guilds are a direct fit! It took a long time to get it painted, like 3 weeks or more but worth the wait and the paint guy is a bmw fanatic too!
  • New to me lower headlight trim with headlight washers! I found them at the Junkyard, one day I'll get them retrofitted! 🙃
  • Entered "FCPeuro madness" Contest in the daily category. Didn't win but got into the Quarter-finals! 😁
Other than that no major work was done in those two months. Next post will be Apirl-May (lot of work)
 
#63 · (Edited)
April-May

Aura is part of the M-tech II Club now!! 😂🤣

928805


191.Jpg

928806


192.jpg

928807


193.jpg

928808


194.jpg

928809


195.jpg

Real Taninrot Full Interior!

928810


196.jpg

928811


197.jpg

928812


198.jpg

928813


199.jpg

928814


200.jpg
(200 pics!)

Maintenance Update: (April-May)
  • As of now she just turned over 184k! Over 23k miles on the engine swap!!
  • CEL on, evap code and O2 no biggie
  • Oil change done at 183.4k. Doing oil changes every 5k miles now with Liqui Moly 5w-40 😁
  • Front suspension done. Control arms (m-sport/zhp spec) CABs (Meyle) Sway bar link (Lemforder) and I got an m3 Front sway bar with new sway bar bushings!
  • Found a "zhp" clone at the junkyard, got my hands on the m3 steering wheel and the auto gauge cluster! Now I got two! The auto cluster is shot but I can still salvage the needles and back face.
  • Also at the junkyard that zhp clone had the Zhp muffler, got a guy to cut it off, best 13 bucks ever spent! (ran over my phone later on trying to drive with no muffler so it was kinda less worth it, funny story tho🤣)
  • Also Also at the junkyard I got the 330cic rear sway bar at 20mm. will install soon.
  • New headlight lenses (oem of course)
  • New ULO Truck lights (because one was on sale and I wanted a matching pair. Also wanted oem quality for my trunk lights, I had eagle eyes trunk lights)
  • Freshly painted M-tech 2 bumper, just need the break ducts ( I will not pay 300 bucks each for a new one)
  • RED INTERIOR! I found a full Taninrot sport interior for a sedan! Absolutely love it! The driver seat needs some work but everything else is in great shape! Plus I didn't spend over 1k for it! But I did get a parts car cheaper for these seats, also the zhp engine was cheaper than this interior too 😅

That's everything I can remember on what I've done in the past couple of months. It seems like a lot but I really haven't had the time to do much.

Anyways that's all for now!
 
#64 ·
Your build is such an inspiration and so much fun to follow on Instagram
 
  • Like
Reactions: Darkstar5379
#66 ·
4 month update! 😅

Sky Wheel Cloud Tire Car


201.jpg

Car Vehicle Gear shift Motor vehicle Steering part


201.jpg

Wheel Tire Vehicle Cloud Car


203.jpg

Car Automotive parking light Wheel Tire Vehicle


204.jpg

Car Vehicle Sky Motor vehicle Plant


205.jpg

Speedometer Tachometer Gauge Car Motor vehicle


206.jpg

Vehicle Grille Automotive lighting Automotive tire Hood


207.jpg

Tire Wheel Plant Automotive side marker light Vehicle


208.jpg

Plant Vehicle Mirror Car Automotive side-view mirror


209.jpg

Car Vehicle Gear shift Speedometer Satellite radio


210.jpg

Maintenance Update: June-Sept

  • Currently at 193.5k miles :cool:
  • That's over 32k miles on the engine swap!!
  • CEL is on, as always, sap codes, rear o2 codes and a evap code. Business as usual
  • Two oil changes one at 188.2k w/ 5w40 Liqui Moly and one recently at 193.1k w/ shell T6 5w40 (trying something to see if that will help with oil consumption)
  • Deleted sap pump (I don't need it cuz I have catless headers) and installed oem delete plate
  • Had an o2 sensor bank one sensor one code, swapped it with a spare, code gone car runs better now ( I had a hesitation at 3k rpm sometimes, thought it was the VANOS but was the o2)
  • Installed the 20mm rear sway bar
  • Yellow fog lights! not oem but I like them on the parts car so I got some for this one too!
  • Found some Bilstein b6 front shocks at the junkyard, took a gamble and got them, they had sport springs too. Turns out they're still good! Installed them last week and ordered some rear shocks to match!
  • Got some harnan/kardon tweeters to get the h/k system to 90% (the red interior came with h/k speakers and is a huge improvement from my old blown system)
  • Finally got the zhp gauge needles installed. was a mission cuz the speedometer was getting stuck and was off by 5mph but after like 5 attempts we're all good! 😅
  • Got a rennline phone mount. Its pricey but it was a gift to myself
  • Topped off trans fluid, its weeping a bit but I only was a quart low, two years after the swap
  • Changed most power steering hoses to fix a slow leak from one of the cooler hoses
  • Change coolant return hose because power steering fluid was dripping on it 😬
  • Picked up some rear sport springs, haven't installed them yet since I just got them from the junkyard yesterday
  • Found a 6sp manual diff, 3:07, figure to get it since finding a m3 rear subframe for below $1k is hard to find. 6sp swap by the end of this year! (hopefully)
  • Added an rubber lip to the front of the bumper to make a subtle/cheap improvement to the center gap of the mtech2 bumper (thanks to @notnm3 on Ig for the idea)

Other car related Updates

  • I Bought another engine! It's a blown m54b30 motor I picked up for 300$ as a project. I haven't touch it in 2 months but I'll get to it since I have more spare time now.
  • The parts car "Anna" got register a couple of months ago and has been my daily since. Its just to go to work or into town car and its fun! (Not for the past week because Anna decided to have a stuck caliper) Not as fast as Aura but the 5sp manual makes up the difference. Aura is now just my day off car and road trip car 😁
  • Speaking of road trips, I'm taking Aura on a almost 1k road trip in the coming weeks, wish us luck 🤞
  • Anna has had alot of work done, will update that thread when I get a chance. (I write these updates piece by piece so maybe next week?)


Anyways that's all I can remember what I've done in the pass few months, Thanks for reading and everyone stay safe!
 
#69 ·
Thanks! Style 32s are my favorite!

What an awesome thread, and great photos! Wish I went out and shot more. Subbed!
Thank you! Sorry to hear about Mia but I'm looking forward to your Alpine White zhp build! (y)
 
#74 ·
New Year Update!

Tire Wheel Sky Vehicle Land vehicle

211.jpg

Car Sky Tire Wheel Vehicle

212.jpg

Wheel Tire Automotive parking light Sky Car

213.jpg

Car Wheel Land vehicle Plant Automotive side marker light

214.jpg

Plant Car Tire Vehicle Wheel

215.jpg

Wheel Plant Tire Car Vehicle

216.jpg

Tire Wheel Car Cloud Vehicle

217.jpg

Cloud Sky Tire Grille Automotive lighting

218.jpg

Cloud Wheel Sky Tire Vehicle

219.jpg

Automotive parking light Land vehicle Car Vehicle Automotive lighting

220.jpg


Maintenance Update:
  • Shes at 196.9k miles! almost to 200k!
  • CEL is on. same as before
  • She sometimes has a rough idle at start on cold mornings. Only for a sec or two. no codes but that's the only issue shes giving me lately
  • Did a 1k mile road trip in early October, Aura drove amazingly! No issues whatsoever! Went to St Augustine for a few days (I'm a history nerd), took the scenic rout up the A1A then to the tip of Florida to see a Civil War fort in Jacksonville and then back down the A1A. (pics above)
  • Installed some M3 Bilstein B6 rear shocks to complement the front b6s ( I got one on sale for $69, open box, and got one new from FCP) at the same time I installed the rear sport springs too
  • She now has Michelin pilot sport A/S 4s! Awesome tires, Got these for the high tread wear and price, I highly recommend for daily use!
  • Manual swap has been delayed since I just picked up a Imola red zhp with a 6sp! (already have a thread about it)
Other car related Updates:
  • I did a manual swap on my fathers 330i! At 204k miles, the rear main seal was leaking and he said just slap the 5sp in there since the trans is coming out, Now its at 208k and hes happy with the swap!
  • As you guys have read I got a Imola red zhp! Very happy with that find, got it at a great price! That will become the new daily soon once everything gets sorted.
  • Aura isn't going anywhere but Anna (the silver car) might be for sale, once I address a few things or I might make her a race car? We'll see
Thats all for now! Hope everyone had a great Christmas/holiday and everyone have a happy new year!
 
#77 ·
Aura is still alive!

I've done some surgery to Aura last time I updated and she past a milestone as well! 200k miles!!

Wheel Tire Automotive side marker light Car Sky

221.jpg

Car Vehicle Plant Cloud Sky

222.jpg

Sky Tire Plant Car Vehicle

223.jpg

Car Vehicle Gear shift Motor vehicle Steering part

224.jpg

Car Vehicle Gear shift Speedometer Motor vehicle


Gear shift Vehicle Speedometer Hood Radio


Sky Cloud Vehicle Car Wheel


Automotive parking light Tire Wheel Car Land vehicle


Car Tire Wheel Vehicle Land vehicle





Maintenance:
  • @204k miles! Yes She finally past the 200k mile mark!
  • And of course the CEL is on, Same evap/sap pump and Rear o2 codes (this time they're not actually there)
  • Oil Change at 198k w/ T6 rotella then one at 200.9k miles (because of the manual swap) w/ Castrol 5w-40
  • Auto Trans went on permanent lip mode in 5th gear @200,9xx miles. I could've just fix the auto but i had the 6sp manual swap ready to go and was dying to slap it in something!
  • Full Zf 6sp manual swap competed (Auto got stuck in 5th gear, limped it home almost 200 miles away coming from Orlando speed world 👀) It was an engine out service and took almost a month since I was waiting on parts and I have a full time job 😅
    • Luk dual mass flywheel w/ New clutch
    • Bmw performance short shift kit
    • Bmw M3 dead foot peddle
    • New slave cylinder
    • o2 Pilot mod
    • New rear main seal and oil pan gasket (I did it last time the engine was out but might as well)
    • Reinstalled new low mileage Vanos unit
    • Valve cover gasket
    • New o2 sensors (bank 1 and 2 sensor 1) and rear o2 delete
    • Diff bushings
    • Painted front cross member (behind the kidneys) Silver
    • And other little stuff while I had the engine out (again)
  • Replaced two newish injectors with junkyard injectors to see if that fixes my starting problem and it did! I will be warranty swapping them from fcp euro soon!
  • Front tires are wearing alot will have to replace soon, Need to figure the suspension out since I just put these tires on 8 months ago
Other than that all is well with Aura, The 6sp swap was a success! 3k miles in with no issues!
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top