Also found a factory assembly mistake, the steering coupler was attached one spline off, and the plastic tab is a bit twisted!

Wow ... good thing the plastic didn't break, that sleeve seems to be made of unobtainium ...

You sure it was factory and not from a previous repair, like mounts or struts? It's real easy to be off a spline when reassembling.

Wonder how your steering wheel alignment will be when you put it back correctly ...

 

Wow ... good thing the plastic didn't break, that sleeve seems to be made of unobtainium ...

You sure it was factory and not from a previous repair, like mounts or struts? It's real easy to be off a spline when reassembling.

Wonder how your steering wheel alignment will be when you put it back correctly ...

I was planning to put it back on one spline off too 😆

The engine mounts were dated as originals, as was the rack, and oil pan gasket was leaking at 90k so likely not done.

I don’t see why else the coupler would’ve needed to come off. Given by how rusted solid together it is I don’t think it has ever been off

 

Did ypu replace the steering coupler with a new one?

I looked into this and could not find a cheap reliable source.

Genuine only and the best part of £200. Maybe LLL Parts.

 

Did ypu replace the steering coupler with a new one?

I looked into this and could not find a cheap reliable source.

Genuine only and the best part of £200. Maybe LLL Parts.

Could not get it off for the life of me. Didn’t whack it too hard as I didn’t have a replacement on hand.

I’m planning to go for a good used one, grease up the u-joint and put a solid steering coupler. Not paying that much for a new one! I’ll probably get it from a breakers so I can check for play instead of playing ebay return games

 

Special thanks for the extra RHD tips!

 

No worries! You got the job planned soon right? With a manual the job is much, much easier. A lot of the bolts are a pain to get to with the gearbox cooler lines in the way.


I just filled it up now and started the car, letting the loctite and sealant dry overnight. I read from mrmcar that he likes to push the accelerator all the way down and crank for 20-30 seconds to let oil circulate before starting. Did that and engine started instantly and shot up to 3.5k rpm 😖 My heart sank. Hopefully should be ok - I turned it off instantly

 

Can this be done without dropping the subframe and just lifting up the engine a few cm/inches?

 

No, because the pan can not come out by just lifting the engine. Not enough clearance.

 

I was under impression that people just lifted the engine a bit when doing oil pan gasket, but turns out that they were doing it in a way that they just lowered the oil pan and as it rested on the subframe they replaced the gasket which is PITA in my eyes and I will do it properly now that you guys showed me how to do it. I will have the whole front end off the car since I will be changing timing assembly and installing oil pump chain tensioner which should make it even easier to work underneath the car.

 

I was under impression that people just lifted the engine a bit when doing oil pan gasket, but turns out that they were doing it in a way that they just lowered the oil pan and as it rested on the subframe they replaced the gasket which is PITA

I'm not sure, but that method I think requires cutting the oil pan gasket at one of the corners to get it around the timing chain/oil pump & oil pickup tube assemblies, and then using RTV where it was cut to seal it up.

It's pretty much a hack ... I suppose some have success with it (though we never hear about the long term result).

Lowering the subframe is easy, and for the work you are doing its a moot point anyways.

IMPORTANT: Just make sure the front is on jack stands & not ramps when you lower SF ... otherwise the car could shift over laterally without the SF securing the front control arms/struts in place ... NOT a good thing ...

 

+1 on the tip to be careful with those two recessed bolts. I did not pay proper attention and missed the holes. They both jammed in against the flywheel. Had to pull all the bolts and the pan back off to get the out. Then redo cleaning the surfaces and the RTV on the joints. Quite a drag.

 

I had that gasket changed in my auto 530i E39 at the same time as motor mounts and no complaints from the garage that did it.

I guess that there must be much less room in the E46. My E46 drops a little bit of oil so hoping only VCG, OFHG or PAS fluid.

 

I had that gasket changed in my auto 530i E39 at the same time as motor mounts and no complaints from the garage that did it.

I guess that there must be much less room in the E46. My E46 drops a little bit of oil so hoping only VCG, OFHG or PAS fluid.

That's cheating!

How many hours' labour did they charge, out of interest? I was planning to rent a bay with a lift to do mine, and possibly stay overnight at a pub next door so I could allow two days for it rather than rush. I work slow so not impossible it could actually cost me more DIYing than paying a garage...

 

Typically you would turn over on starter with fuel pump fuse removed for a bit. More important for a rebuilt engine than a sump gasket change I would think. However with modern synthetic oil coating bearings etc. I would hope no damge.

 

Engine start after following up complete oil drain and...


That is the downside of these forums. Reading about all woes. My E39 loses 50ml maybe of coolant every week or two. No other symptoms and cooling system refreshed a few years back. No oil in coolant or versa for that matter. Car did overheat about 8 or 9 years ago due to a pinhole leak in a hose but I cut the motor right away. I try to avoid reading too much into it or I would be changing the headgasket and time serting.

Gearbox was condemned about 7 years ago by a number of specialists. £300 and a new speed sensor and fine since.

Can't see you can do much about it now other than run the car and forget and change oil regularly. Chances are you will be fine.

 

Engine start after following up complete oil drain and...


That is the downside of these forums. Reading about all woes. My E39 loses 50ml maybe of coolant every week or two. No other symptoms and cooling system refreshed a few years back. No oil in coolant or versa for that matter. Car did overheat about 8 or 9 years ago due to a pinhole leak in a hose but I cut the motor right away. I try to avoid reading too much into it or I would be changing the headgasket and time serting.

Gearbox was condemned about 7 years ago by a number of specialists. £300 and a new speed sensor and fine since.

Can't see you can do much about it now other than run the car and forget and change oil regularly. Chances are you will be fine.

Yeah, the internet can blow a lot of things out of proportion. As can imagining the worst.
50ml coolant every couple weeks isn't a bad leak at all - I have about 100ml going every couple months. Didn't know where from but I just saw when I did the oil pan gasket residue around the (new) upper hose. Small leaks can be hard to find...

I might do an oil analysis on next years oil change, just out of sheer curiosity.

 

Be careful. It could tell you things you might be better off blissfully unaware of and can do little about. Car would go on for 10 years plus like it but you end up persuaded to rebuild the engine!

I would only do it if serious actual symptoms arose.

 

That's a good point there. Love some blissful ignorance 😌

I'm not too horribly attached to the car though - at this point I'm just working on it for fun, and trying not too spend too much money keeping myself busy.

 

The point of the oil analysis is to get a heads up on serious symptoms as they are arriving or before they get really bad which can basically save your engine so don’t shun oil analysis reports… cheap cost for advanced notice of potentially bad things happening like rod bearings going…

That being said, I’d run them on my E39 M5 now, but never ran them on my E46. However, if my E46 was an M3 I certainly would’ve ….


0-60 in M.5

 

For the E39, the engine is worth it to spend money checking up on. The E46 M3 has a track record of needing some additional "maintenance items" which are worth checking in on before it's too late.

I don't think my non-m counts there... I had a quick look in the oil filter and no sparkles - not that there should be any anyway.

Had a good amount of gunk on the filter though for only 20 or so miles since the oil change. I loosened up a lot of caked up crud in the oil pan when I cleaned it. I probably should've spent a bit more time cleaning to get rid of the rest.

 

Fix one leak and there shall be another…
At least this one’s an easy job for the next oil change! OPG dry as a bone 😆

 

Fix one leak and there shall be another…
At least this one’s an easy job for the next oil change! OPG dry as a bone 😆

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

I replaced the level sensor on my car at the last oil change because the light kept coming on even though the oil level was OK.

If you decide to change the sensor rather than just the gasket then FYI, from the research I did many aftermarket sensors are no good. Only genuine or Hella work apparently. I fitted Hella.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/6PR-007-868-031-Sensor-engine/dp/B003NE119O

Haven't verified this is the correct part but I believe it is.

 

Well the sensor is a cheap ebay special... Only a year or so old. Sensor works fine, or at least, I don't get an oil light. I check my oil level every couple of weeks so the level sensor working isn't hugely important to me.

Will get a better quality seal and reseal it. For now I snugged up the nuts and we'll see how it fares

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

That's a pretty neat trick