E46 Fanatics Forum banner

So you want full reliability, huh? Reliability Super Suite (Part#s included!)

43K views 107 replies 41 participants last post by  Mango 
#1 · (Edited)
:pimpin:

You want full reliability for your E46? Follow these tips. I realize some may think these are excessive but hey. You're the one who wants maximum reliability, right? Of course, nothing is absolute. But follow these tips to greatly improve your odds of reliability.

Of course you should follow all the other information in my thread for great performance, efficiency, and cooling.

Some of the information overlaps my other links, but if you want to concentrate on reliability, listen up!

Electrical and Ignition

This is by far the most important part of the list!

Battery, BMW part# 61218381749



If your battery is five years old or older, or you don't know - replace it. This will cost between $90 and $200. Try Autozone, Walmart, Costco, etc. Make sure the battery you purchase comes w/ a vent tube kit.

Voltage regulator, BMW part #s 12317559183 Square plug voltage regulator or 12317515319 Round/oval plug voltage regulator



You may suddenly get a battery light while driving down the road one day. It may flicker or stay on. Either way, your voltage regulator is toast. Expect to pay between $40 for a Bosch VR or $120 for a Valeo VR. You can also get a new alternator (remanufactured) which will have a rebuilt VR from alternatorpros.com. Those will run around $130. If you have a Valeo alternator, it makes sense to just replace the entire alternator. You will have to look with your eyes to see which voltage regulator you need.

Final Stage Resistor, part number 64116920365



Expect to pay about $55

Starter, manufacturer (Bosch) reman part number 70306010103
You can also try alternatorpros.com for a reman starter.



Expect to pay about $120

Key, part number 66126955748 (from 9/99)



Bring your registration and driver's license to the local BMW dealer. Order a new key. They've been known to fail and all the new parts in the world won't mean anything with a busted key. Plus a new one looks so nice. Expect to pay around $160-200.

Ignition coil spark plug boots, for Bosch coils part number 12131740477 or for Bremi coils: part number 12139067831




Ignition switch, part number 61326901961



These can sometimes go bad on BMWs. Intermittent electrical errors when you turn the key. Expect to pay about $67

Crankshaft Position Sensor, part number 12141709616



Expect to pay about $100

Camshaft Position Sensor (Intake), part number 12147539165



Expect to pay about $100

Camshaft Position Sensor (Exhaust), part number 12147518628



Expect to pay about $100

Fuel

Fuel pump, part number 16146766942

*Buy a universal clamp! A member recommended size 1/4-5/8"*



Expect to pay about $130

Fuel pump sealing ring, part number 16111184084



Expect to pay about $17

Fuel pump relay, part number 61368373700



Expect to pay about $10

Critical Vacuum

Crankcase vent system (complete)



You can buy them separately or as a kit. Your call. Make sure you buy ALL Genuine BMW. Do not skimp on this. Expect to pay $150.

Crankcase vent valve 11617501566

Vent pipe (attaches to valve cover) 11611432559

Vent pipe #2 (attaches to top of CCV valve) 11617504535

Vent pipe #3 (attaches to bottom of ccv and dipstick tube) 11157532649

Vacuum hose 11727545323 (attaches to side of ccv)

Vent pipe #4 11617504536

Manual cars/Clutch Hydraulics
Clutch line, part number 21526774267



Expect to pay about $50

Clutch master cylinder, part number 21526773670


Expect to pay about $50-100

Clutch slave cylinder, part number 21526785966



Expect to pay about $50-100

Grand total manual cars: $1,096-$1,306 (depending on where you shop)
Grand total automatic cars: $956-$1,156 (depending on where you shop)

Bonus:

DME compartment. Remove cover, clean/vacuum/condition seal w/ gummipflege. Inspect for any leaves, dirt, or debris or anything weird with the wires. Never know what previous owner junked up the wires doing teenager angel eye wiring! Make sure any splices or cuts are properly joined/repaired, well protected, and insulated.



General wiring Inspect all wiring harnesses and plugs for damage or exposure. Re-wrap any exposed wiring harnesses with new loom if the loom has broken off or disintegrated. Remove all sensors and clean with electrical contact cleaner then apply dielectric grease to the pins/contacts.



If you like this thread and/or if it has helped you: remember to rate it a full five stars by clicking on the rating stars on the upper right corner!!
 
See less See more
19
#6 · (Edited)
Mango, great work.
Just adding something to the list, if someone bothers to type the part numbers and put a picture go ahead.

Edit: sharing screenshots of my excel worksheet of the repairs I did since September 2011 along with vendors and price(may vary now). Couldnt get to attach the excel sheet for some reason.

Text Font Line Document Number


Text Font Line Document


Text Font Line Document Number
 
#14 ·
Mango, great work.
Just adding something to the list, if someone bothers to type the part numbers and put a picture go ahead.

Edit: sharing screenshots of my excel worksheet of the repairs I did since September 2011 along with vendors and price(may vary now). Couldnt get to attach the excel sheet for some reason.

View attachment 515756

View attachment 515757

View attachment 515758
Thanks. While your list is great, it has nothing to do with reliability.

I don't make these threads for nothing.

This thread has an extremely specific purpose.

The parts listed are critical and likely to prevent a vehicle from starting or maintaining explosions within the cylinders (you know that thing an engine does when it runs) to keep the piles of meat in the interior (driver/passengers) moving to their intended destination.

Yo mango I would like to see a DIY of how you get your engine compartment so clean. I clean mine my 11' ride doesn't look that good. the DME compartment pick made me sick it was so clean.
Oh that's not my engine. I just pulled that pic randomly off the internet. I'd be embarrassed if that was my engine.

This is my engine:

 
#7 ·
Fuel filter you mean?

How about tossing in mention of cleaning stuff for icv/tb/maf/disa? Techron ftw

But, I think you got the biggies at least for the ordinary mileage e46's. I know I'll be coming into the period where I'll have things to get to behind the intake manifold that I didn't last time...like an idiot...the knock sensors, crank position sensor, vac hoses down there.

Anyway, kudos on another great thread!
 
#10 ·
Thanks. And nope. Those things do not directly affect reliability. I am talking items directly responsible for starting and charging of the car and keeping the pistons firing so the vehicle can drive. That's why I said the other items are for efficiency and performance while this list starts the car.
 
#13 ·
Yo mango I would like to see a DIY of how you get your engine compartment so clean. I clean mine my 11' ride doesn't look that good. the DME compartment pick made me sick it was so clean.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Good eye. My local dealer didn't have the bolt in stock so I just put a rubber stopper in there until I get the bolt. I got everything installed and I had that one stupid bolt missing and it was driving me crazy so I put the stop in there until I get it. Unfortunately the closest BMW store is an hour away and I haven't been back up in the last week to get It. That partition in the back on the drivers side that was missing was a pain in the a$&. Once I started digging around in there I had to reroute a couple of the harnesses that whoever was in there before I bought the car didn't bother putting back in the proper place, like the one that routes over the engine and is clipped to the front of the cabin air filter assembly. It was tucked down behind the motor which is why you can't see it in the first pic. It turned into a bigger project than I expected however I am now glad I got in there and fixed what was out of place and missing. Also was able to do some cleaning down in spots that are usually hard to get to.


Sent from BimmerApp mobile app
 
#26 ·
Awesome list Mango, definitely motivates me to clean my engine bay better. After this summer I'll be done with school for a while so it'll give me a chance to catch up on all the small stuff that's been bothering me. I've done a majority of the stuff on this list, just need to check my wiring, change coils, and do the CCV.

Next up is suspension though.
 
#27 ·
Yep! Thanks. The only reason why I mention CCV is because it CAN prevent your car from starting and running. a busted pipe/hose can create a large enough vacuum leak to kill the engine once the it begins to idle after startup. I encountered an E46 once that kept dying at startup because of a busted CCV pipe. very large vacuum leak
 
#32 ·
thank you.

I just wanna drive Mango's car to feel what a hyper-meticulously maintained E46 feels like.... And just to meet Mango. You think beacons of golden light emanate from around him?
:lmao: I hope it would be blue light...

It's really really nice. Completely solid and secure at high speed. Car just squats down in high speed corners with complete confidence. Shrugs off bumps mid-corner like DMAX shrugs off mods for his car. Engine is nice as well. brakes very nicely too. no noises. need to find more excuses to drive it.
 
#35 ·
Mango, how many times are you going to buy your car? what hasn't been replaced? I'm not hating BTW, it's really nice, probably what mine looked like when it left Munich.
with all the fires around Socal lately you might want to get a Nomex (tm) car cover... protect your baby!
 
#36 ·
anything that hasn't been replaced is in good condition but is in line to be replaced. i already have a list. basically stuff thats very difficult/time-consuming to get to. Stage 3 of my suspension thread requiring removal of the rear end (or part of it) or very expensive special tools. I bought some tools yesterday to take care some of it. excited.

I think oil changes w/ filter 7.5k, other fluids and filters every 30k. light rebuilds 60-70k with emphasis on wear/tear or cooling items, 80-130k emphasis on electrical items, 100k light suspension items (stage 1 and 2 of my list) and 130k-200k heavy suspension items (stage 3 of my list)
 
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