Most references to an engine being bulletproof refer to the core of the engine. Over built block, stiff head design, quality metal in the cranks and cams, strong oil flow from well placed galleries. This term does not refer to the ancillaries - alternators, water pumps, and other things that are attrition/replaceable items.

 

Most references to an engine being bulletproof refer to the core of the engine. Over built block, stiff head design, quality metal in the cranks and cams, strong oil flow from well placed galleries. This term does not refer to the ancillaries - alternators, water pumps, and other things that are attrition/replaceable items.

I did think about that thanks. Needs to be qualified.
Kburger


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Amazing! I`ve heard of 330/530/730d`s doing half a million but a petrol on 750k takes some beating but i bet some one has? I took a 330d E46 to 275,000 & the engine was still sweet just everything else fell apart Still miss the old gal. This photo is pre rust! Owned it 12years.

 

Yes I'm struggling with the "everything else" falling apart. Rust is the biggest problem I leave on southeast pa. They coat these cars but once that breaks down It's over. Por15 is helping.


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Congratulations on the mile stone. About 15 years ago I had a e30 with the M20 and sold it with 900k on it. It was still in great shape. It was the shop car to let customers borrow or run errands in.


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A million miles... that's only 290ish US road trips coast to coast.

 

I was taking the cams off a zhp at the PnP that had 350k+ miles. The intake cam journals were severely grooved.

Have you ever looked at yours?

have you had to change your exhaust manifolds?

 

Yes had to do exhaust manifolds to replace cats. Original platinum cats will fetch you a couple hundred bucks. If you want to see my camshafts look at my 750 thread with pictures. This car was kept stock and a daily driver. Long highway trips every day. Whenever I had lifter tick I could not get rid of I addressed it. Mobil 1 5/30 full synthetic to 500,000 miles. Needed Lucas synthetic oil stabilizer from 3 to 500k. Then had to replace hydraulic lifters. That was fun [emoji851]shell rotella T6 full synthetic diesel oil is the best for this engine. You buy the 10 quart jug from tractor supply 5.50 per quart.


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Rinse the wheel wells after it drives on salted snowy roads is the only advice I have for you.

I think you just need to go through all the same cycles again and again. Whatever you did to get to here is enough to get you there. Wish I was racing behind you still.

 

Rinse the wheel wells after it drives on salted snowy roads is the only advice I have for you.

I think you just need to go through all the same cycles again and again. Whatever you did to get to here is enough to get you there. Wish I was racing behind you still.

Thanks dmax. Throttle body is another fiasco. Double solenoid double potentiometers. Overengineering again. Right around that time they went to all drive by wire. Simple. There's a lot of stuff you gotta deal with. TB has 10 wires!! Very sensitive to small voltage changes. My shop guy says you cannot just replace the connector. But threads here talk about it. I have 4 or 5 throttle bodies sitting around. They are not cheap. New 800 bucks. Couple of the wires I found tiny bare spots where insulation wore through. I used permatex liquid electrical tape on it. Working so far. I dread limp mode EML light. But it's for your protection. If the ecu thinks there's a problem with throttle you get limp mode. Because you could have the car accelerate by itself. I had a cadillac do that One of the first cruise controls In cars. It would not stop accelerating on the highway in a snow storm between two trucks. Had to shut the car off. All my weight on the brakes and steering wheel. Fun fun.
Kburger


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The stock water pump is horrible with plastic impeller. Fails at 50k Miles routinely. Stewart water pump takes care of that. For anyone that gets to half million miles you will get to the point where you can no longer stop the oil leaks at cylinders 5,6 exhaust side of valve cover.

what does mileage at 500k do that causes a valve cover leak there?
the water pump used in my M52TU was the same used in many other BMW models.

 

Alex I'm just generalizing sorry. Could be 400k could be 600. I'm just speculating. Maybe you will always be able to fix it. The oem pump is junk I think many people will agree.
Kburger.


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Is the car running fine now? I don't think you need to get to a million miles, I don't think it is worth it. Maybe start to plan for the retirement of the vehicle so you don't have to deal with any events that leave you stranded.

 

That sounds like quitter talk!

 

@kburger is one of my heros on here. We have all been programmed to consume and buy again, not to repair and keep using. But in reality there's no reason to retire something because of an arbitrary number on an odometer. kburger gets it.

I'd love to see the car reach and pass a million miles. Obviously it'd be time to move on one day if the chassis rusts through, or the engine is drinking more oil than gas and knocking harder than a debt collector. But that's not the case here. Too many owners cut corners on maintenance as their car's resale value diminishes, and I've long believed it's that neglect which sees them ending up in the scrap yard rather than the mileage itself. Just don't stop at a million, kburger! 😃

 

@kburger is one of my heros on here. We have all been programmed to consume and buy again, not to repair and keep using. But in reality there's no reason to retire something because of an arbitrary number on an odometer. kburger gets it.

I'd love to see the car reach and pass a million miles. Obviously it'd be time to move on one day if the chassis rusts through, or the engine is drinking more oil than gas and knocking harder than a debt collector. But that's not the case here. Too many owners cut corners on maintenance as their car's resale value diminishes, and I've long believed it's that neglect which sees them ending up in the scrap yard rather than the mileage itself. Just don't stop at a million, kburger! [emoji2]

Thanks man I won't. Thing is I do maintenance on machines for a living. Plus I been driving a 3 series as my daily driver for 33 years. I've driven over a million miles between e36 and e46. Doing all the maintenance on this one for 15 years. It gives you different perspective. Several years ago I was at work in a Wawa parking lot staring at a young woman in a new 3 series. It was lifter ticking reeeeealy loud. You gotta know which issues need immediate attention and which you can let go. I do recommend all Lucas products. Got me 200,000 miles before I had to replace hydraulic lifters. I'm using it on power steering right now to buy some time. Got the rack. Rack doctor. Highly recommend also.
Kburger


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Hey fanatics. Kburger here 750,000 miles on the 2000 323ci. 3/4 to a million miles. I want to thank this forum for getting me here. I wanted to start a threat on the longevity of these cars and how to take care of them at high mileage and dispel some myths. I read in a post my m52tu engine is bullet proof. Not true at all. But we can put upgraded parts in it to help get close to that. The stock water pump is horrible with plastic impeller. Fails at 50k Miles routinely. MP Stewart water pump takes care of that. For anyone that gets to half million miles you will get to the point where you can no longer stop the oil leaks at cylinders 5,6 exhaust side of valve cover. That and the stock ccv system fails way too often. Especially in cold climates. Upgrade to m56 valve cover fixes both problems. I respect Bmw engineering. But some of it is over engineered. Gotta deal with that. The stock ccv has a side tube on the oil dip stick tube to drain the ccv separated oil back to the oil pan. In cold climates this system fails way too often. One night, it was 5 degrees out. I was at work. Car would crank but no start. Engine was still cold after cranking it a few times I pulled the oil dip stick to check the oil. This is no exaggeration. One to 2 quarts of oil shot out of the dip stick tube all over my engine and hood. The problem with the stick ccv is when it fails it pressurizes the oil pan. That's bad for many reasons. There is no reason to drain ccv separated oil back to the pan. Just keep it in the valve cover. Separate it there. Much simpler. Less prone to failure. M56 upgrade on m52 is a good amount of work because you are also upgrading to the newer push in stick coil packs which, imho are much cheaper and better anyway. Use oem. Anyway. I hope this thread generates some good discussions. Thanks fanatics!
Kburger


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why not throw that question at Corporate here in Woodcliff Lake??
would make a good publicity stunt ---if you make at a million they may buy your car and say put it in a museum in Munich...maybe give you an M for your troubles...

 

i have heard that before. When i get to a million i'll try but i've also been told they would not do anything for me. Time will tell.
kburger

 

so ms4xdev flasher worked great with my windows 10 work laptop. It's been alot of work but i think my car will pass inspection this weekend. The rust on the car is really bad. Might be the end of this car. I have a friend who owns a fabrication and welding shop he is an expert welder. Worked on the car several years ago. Will see what he can do for the wheel wells and jack pads. passenger side jack pad just caved in. Not good. Oh, btw, regarding the block being "bullet proof", I did have to replace the RMS (rear main seal), and oil pump, which on M52TU oil pump assembly is basically the entire bottom directly under the crankshaft. A ton of work has been done to the car overall. I always have jobs needing to be done. Right now the steering rack is shot,,rust work,,,abs disabled..never ending.
Kburger

 

Congrats on 750k, I have no doubt you can reach a million and I hope to get there too someday. Though that'll take many more years of driving I still gotta break 300k myself.

 

Thanks, i owe it to the smart people on this forum who have helped me so much over the years.
Kburger

 

these cars should only run on 93 octane gas. Not worth it with gas prices now. I drive 550 miles per week getting destroyed on fuel cost. Don't think i'm gonna keep this car way too expensive now. Like outta control expensive.
kburger

 

why you say 93 octane?
i have an M3 with aftermarket sport tune so I need min 91. you think your E46 323Ci is expensive on gas, be thankful it’s not an M3.

 

That's the spirit! To infinity a million and beyond!

 

First of all, you need to work 40 hours a week. Second, you actually need to get out of bed to go to that job. Third, you need to gross less than 70K/year. Next you need to have kids to support. Then, you need to commute at least 500 miles per week for which you get zero compensation. Then I will listen to you regarding gas prices.
kburger