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Topaz Blue 320Ci Sport (M54B22). Maintenance/mods.

50K views 247 replies 25 participants last post by  YoitsTmac 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi! New member, new E46.

I picked up this topaz blue 2002 320Ci Sport from a used car garage near Birmingham, UK.





It runs well but it was pretty dirty, so I got a pro to clean the car today. He spent five hours on just about everything. The leather seats are now more milano handbag than old man's ball bag.

As you can see, it's almost 100% standard and I'll probably keep it that way apart from the wheels. Suggestions are more than welcome. I'm keen on Style 164.

So far:
- replaced main belt
- replaced cam pulley
- new oil/air filters
- new corners/repeaters
- LED tails, LED sidelight bulbs
- new hood badge



 
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#2 ·
Beautiful!

As you can see, it's almost 100% standard and I'll probably keep it that way apart from the wheels.
Good man.

Suggestions are more than welcome. I'm pretty keen on Style 164.
164s are too....M3-ish. I think a nice set of Style 44s would set your car off perfectly.
 
#6 ·
#5 ·
Hi, local friend :) I think the guy used Autoglym and Meguiars. Whatever it was, it had a really nice matte finish, which took away years of greasy-looking shine.


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#18 ·
Busy morning!

– Six new NGK sparks
– Bosch pollen filter
– Bosch Aero Twin wiper blades
– LED number plate modules
– Chrome dial rings

May just be the placebo effect, but I swear it's running smoother now.








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#19 · (Edited)
Peanut. Late '02 320Ci. Maintenance/mods updates.

Nothing much new going on here. Been deliberating doing the CDV delete soon, as the 1st-to-2nd gear change is becoming really irritating.

I have a slight worry that I've got a leak somewhere. When accelerating in 1st, the engine is busy making noise and revs, but it feels like the power is down. Going to check over the MAF etc this weekend. I know these cars aren't supposed to be like a bullet off the line, but it just doesn't feel quite right.

Also noticed a very quiet rattle when accelerating gently in 2nd. It's almost indistinguishable and is only for a second or two. But the pitch and sound is IDENTICAL to what I've heard on YouTube VANOS rattle videos. Does the rattle start out like that – just occasional? All the vids I've seen, the VANOS rattles even at idle.

On the whole though, car is running really well. The previous owner obviously put a lot of love, care, and services into it. Still in our "honeymoon period".


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#20 ·
Drove the car quite hard to the beach and back. (Or as hard as one can in a 2.2). The next day, the lifters were really noisy all of a sudden. Topped off the oil and it stopped today. Back to normal.

In the process I noticed coolant was completely empty. Will keep an eye on that over the next few days as it could be the expansion tank or something deeper and darker.

Looking at a nice set of Style 44s tomorrow. They may need a bit of TLC, but either way, looking forward to changing the wheels.


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#22 ·
You could do a facelift conversion ?
I did look at a few facelift models when I was shopping for this, but much prefer the pre-facelift. My brother is looking for an E46 so maybe he'll pick up a facelift.
 
#23 ·
Today some good stuff happened, and some bad stuff happened.



That's the good stuff. Took me about 30 mins. The infamous torx screw wasn't too hard to get out. But finding it was difficult. Previous owner obviously changed the hedgehog too, as it wasn't even screwed in.



There's the bad stuff. The fuel pressure regular hose (is that right?) just crumbled away in my hands. I've managed to stuff it back together but only temporarily. I'll get it replaced, but is there any harm driving it whilst it's not perfect?


Engine is running noisy lately. Lifters I can live with, but something else is sounding a bit out of place. Why does my car sound like a diesel engine? Im pretty sure it hasn't always sounded this way. Anyone with a keen ear able to tell me what's going on here...?

https://youtu.be/zqs__ElSzVY

And is the DISA usually that loud?

I should point out that I only have three fault codes; P0604 (memory error), P0161 (O2 sensor), and P1619 (thermostat), which all seem fairly minor. No dash lights.

Maybe I'm just paranoid. If so, tell me to STFU.


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#25 ·
That's good to know. Mine has just passed 111,200 miles. Runs smooth apart from intermittent issues at low revs.

I'm starting to live with the noise. But it's unusual that the lifters are suddenly noisy. They were dead quiet when I bought it two months ago. Starting to think I put a different oil in to the previous owner.
 
#29 ·
Another weekend of "fix something, break something."

Put Castrol Edge 0w40 into the car. Lifters are now near-silent. So that's a good thing.

Also tightened my sparks with a torque wrench. Car feels alive again.



Bought a headlight restoration kit to take some of the murkiness off my headlights. Absolute disaster. Ended up with them worse than before I started. Worked through all the grit levels and compound in exactly the right way. I don't think the RPMs on my drill were high enough. Bought a new set of lenses off eBay instead. Douchebag.



Checked my fuel pressure. 50psi on the nose for a good 30 minutes. So that rules out fuel pressure issues.

A shit load of white smoke on startup yesterday. And still a lot of engine hesitation on cold starts. Everything seems to be pointing to CCV.

I've booked the car in with BMS Surrey to take a look at it. I'm spending each weekend poking at things that I don't know enough about. Hopefully they can tell me what's up and then I can have a go at replacing whatever it is. Unless it's something I can't do.

And I'm wondering when I became such an old guy...



...I'm 32.
 
#30 ·
Had the coolant light come on this morning. Opened the tank to see it completely empty. Only filled it a couple of weeks ago. Have also been getting white smoke from exhaust lately, so am a little concerned. Absolutely zero mayo in the oil, and no immediate signs of a leak.

I did find P1619 recently, which is Map Cooling Thermostat Control Circuit Signal Low. Could this relate to a failure or leak at the O ring?

Car is also running a little rough again – idle is bouncy for the first 5 minutes, juddering on acceleration, stalling occasionally at very low revs.

Visiting a local BMW specialist in a week's time (BMS Surrey – www.bmssurrey.co.uk), so hopefully will get some clarity on what is causing these issues and if they're related to one another.

On the plus-side, fitted some new DJ Auto headlight lenses, which have really improved the appearance of the front-end. :yikes: Also have more parts from the non-smokers package arriving this week. Such a little thing but makes a nice difference to the cabin.
 
#31 ·
Non-smoker options added. That rear bin is not a straight swap, which I didn't realise. So I may need to Dremel something.





LED corner bulbs fitted. Look great behind the smoked corners.



And new headlight lenses, which I mentioned before. They're already mucky after one drive, but a vast improvement on the older, cloudier set.

 
#32 ·
Finally got a professional opinion on why my car's so terrified of accelerating smoothly.

I was expecting it to be an air leak, but a smoke test showed nothing whatsoever.

The moment the mechanic took the car out for a drive, he knew straight away it was the clutch/flywheel. So I'll get those replaced soon. Not exactly essential works, but it's bound to get worse.

The cause of my daily coolant dump was a dead water pump. Also had a nasty squeal from the tensioner pulley, so had that changed too.

Relieved to know that my engine is in great shape for its age. But slightly intimidated by the clutch/flywheel, as I know I probably can't DIY it.

Or can I?

 
#34 · (Edited)
Caught sight of my reverse lights in a window reflection the other day and was surprised at how yellow they looked! Switched them out for some LEDs, which look awesome. Also replaced my exhaust tips for new ones. They're slightly too big, so I'm going to use some exhaust wrap to build up the diameter of the pipes.

I'm halfway through sanding my new Style 44 wheels. Should be in a position next month to get new tyres and have them fitted. Put together a quick mockup below.



Subtle difference. Also considering tinting the rear windows. What do you guys think? After seeing this, I think I'd prefer to keep it tint-free. After all, I am trying to stay pretty stock.
 
#37 · (Edited)
Peanut. Late '02 320Ci. Maintenance/mods updates.

Caught sight of my reverse lights in a window reflection the other day and was surprised at how yellow they looked! Switched them out for some LEDs, which look awesome. Also replaced my exhaust tips for new ones. They're slightly too big, so I'm going to use some exhaust wrap to build up the diameter of the pipes.

I'm halfway through sanding my new Style 44 wheels. Should be in a position next month to get new tyres and have them fitted. Put together a quick mockup below.



Subtle difference. Also considering tinting the rear windows. What do you guys think? After seeing this, I think I'd prefer to keep it tint-free. After all, I am trying to stay pretty stock.


I've been debating tinting my windows but can't find myself to do it. What do you think I should do?



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#40 ·
My noisy lifters came back with a vengeance. Louder than ever.

I know, I know, I should just ignore it and drive the car. But it's pretty embarrassing, and I can hear it even with the windows up and music cranked.

I had temporarily solved it by switching from 5w30 to 0w40 (Castrol). Now that it's back, I found that the only way to really quieten it down was to "overfill" with oil when the dipstick was at its max mark. But this makes me uncomfortable. This also makes me think that oil isn't getting all the way to the back of the top end (lifter tap is coming from the back of the engine). This lead me to read that it could be a side effect of a bad chain tensioner. Anyone have any experience/knowledge on this?

I was just about ready to look into fitting new lifters, all 24 of them. But then I added a can of Wynn's hydraulic lifter treatment to the oil, and hey presto, the car is the quietest I've ever heard it.

Seems a little foolhardy getting so obsessed over a noise that doesn't really do much harm, but in the time that I do own this car, it would be great to say I enjoy it 100%.
 
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