New E46 owner from California

Welcome OP! Once you get your PM all caught up then you can add some modifications to your E46 (angle eyes, suspension, etc.). Also doing some coding will also enable built in features of your E46. Have fun!

PM?

Yeah I want to add angel eyes for sure. DO you know it they are easy to put on?

Welcome

Originally Posted by rg1bmw

Welcome

Thank You

welcome

I have a question for you guys. There's a whistling/rubbing noise coming from engine when I start it up. The noise gets louder as I accelerate but goes away after 5-10 of driving.
It usually does this from a cold start up.
Also, I tried to listen if it's coming from the pulleys but it sounds like it's coming from more in the middle of the engine.

Does the radiator fan have any wobble to it? Could be the water pump, the impellers are plastic and get brittle with age. This happened with my 2000 323Ci and caused a similar noise.

Originally Posted by Polodown

Does the radiator fan have any wobble to it? Could be the water pump, the impellers are plastic and get brittle with age. This happened with my 2000 323Ci and caused a similar noise.

No the fan looked stable in place, no wobble at all.

looks good, plenty of potential

Originally Posted by J.Khlok

looks good, plenty of potential

Thank you!

Bad news today fellow fanatics.
Driving up the interstate with my normal every 2 weekends drive from San Diego to Palm Springs, within 30 mins on the freeway, I noticed my battery light came on my dash.
First time I ever seen this.

After 5-10 mins from when I started driving I noticed my temperate needle went up fast.

I pulled over when it went up, and when I went to lift up the hood there was no smoke.

So I went back in the car to start it up and I noticed my steering wheel was tough to turn. So I figured it was my power steering pump.

When I checked under the car it was dripping slowly.
So I just called my roadside assistance to tow it back to a shop.

So I was wondering if you guys could give me a heads up on what it could be more or less besides that the shop could charge me a fortune.

Thanks.

Sounds like your serpentine belt, or a pulley broke...perhaps both.

The serpentine is running the: PS, Water Pump, Alternator.

Without the belt, you have no Power Steering, no coolant circulation, and no charge on the battery.

Where was the leak coming from?

How long did you drive it hot?

Do you have tools, and are you good at following directions?

This is a very easy fix, that could be done by a rookie in a few hours.


Report back, when it gets diagnosed.

Originally Posted by ///MPR77

Sounds like your serpentine belt, or a pulley broke...perhaps both.

The serpentine is running the: PS, Water Pump, Alternator.

Without the belt, you have no Power Steering, no coolant circulation, and no charge on the battery.

Where was the leak coming from?

How long did you drive it hot?

Do you have tools, and are you good at following directions?

This is a very easy fix, that could be done by a rookie in a few hours.


Report back, when it gets diagnosed.

I couldn't see where the leak was coming from cuz I was stuck on the expresslane.

But it was leaking a green liquid.

I pulled over right when it got hot.
So I turned it off. Turned it back on, and it was still on, but I had to drive to the nearest exit which was about half a mile away.

Yeah I have tools but not a place to work on it cuz I just moved to an apartment complex.

How long would this fix take?

Is your car Auto, or Manual?

The Automatic uses a different Fan, and could add a bit of time to the job, there is a special fan clutch tool, however I have read that it isn't necessary, and can be substituted for a long flathead screwdriver, but I have a manual, with an electronically controlled fan, so I can't say for sure.

Red Flag on the "green" coolant leak, of course the fact that it is leaking is bad, but the fact that it is green, says that the last person to top off the coolant used the wrong coolant.

Not that this was the source of your problem, but many people including myself are vehemently against the green stuff. (Only Genuine BMW/Mini coolant) its a couple bucks more expensive to use the prescribed stuff, and a couple dollars for distilled water (only)

If one pulley went bad, you can assume the others are not far behind.
I would replace all them, to keep you from having to revisit this job prematurely.

Now, for the cooling leak....let me just ask, do you know the cars service history...specifically the cooling system?
If you're not sure, I would replace everything, except the hard pipes, and radiator, unless of course they are leaking.. unlikely that they are.

If you are well prepared: read/print the DIYs, and have tools, and all the parts...you could knock out everything cooling system, and pulleys in 4-5 hours, as a first timer on this car. Its about a 2 hour job for me.

Links:
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...st/bleeding) *

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...leys you need)

Awesome ride and welcome. I'm new too. Just got my new girl and am very excited to get started on her. Had a few scuffs on the bumper I had taken out as my first investment. My first 3 was a red 325. Nice.

Originally Posted by ///MPR77

Is your car Auto, or Manual?

The Automatic uses a different Fan, and could add a bit of time to the job, there is a special fan clutch tool, however I have read that it isn't necessary, and can be substituted for a long flathead screwdriver, but I have a manual, with an electronically controlled fan, so I can't say for sure.

Red Flag on the "green" coolant leak, of course the fact that it is leaking is bad, but the fact that it is green, says that the last person to top off the coolant used the wrong coolant.

Not that this was the source of your problem, but many people including myself are vehemently against the green stuff. (Only Genuine BMW/Mini coolant) its a couple bucks more expensive to use the prescribed stuff, and a couple dollars for distilled water (only)

If one pulley went bad, you can assume the others are not far behind.
I would replace all them, to keep you from having to revisit this job prematurely.

Now, for the cooling leak....let me just ask, do you know the cars service history...specifically the cooling system?
If you're not sure, I would replace everything, except the hard pipes, and radiator, unless of course they are leaking.. unlikely that they are.

If you are well prepared: read/print the DIYs, and have tools, and all the parts...you could knock out everything cooling system, and pulleys in 4-5 hours, as a first timer on this car. Its about a 2 hour job for me.

Thank you.
Ill inform you once I get word from the mechanics since its at the shop.

It turned out to be:

-Radiator reservoir
-tensioner pulley
-idler pulley
-serpentine belt


They wanna charge me 575$

Is that too much?
Or is it easy enough to do it by myself. ?

Originally Posted by Jsmk23

It turned out to be:

-Radiator reservoir
-tensioner pulley
-idler pulley
-serpentine belt


They wanna charge me 575$

Is that too much?
Or is it easy enough to do it by myself. ?

It's cake. Nothing worth spend $600 on.

Any links?