BMW 3-Series Maintenance and Repair

cushingbmw · January 2008

we pretty much took off everything needed in order to drop the tranny to change out the clutch. I had thought maybe we clogged the cat accidently when we removed the exhaust, but we are getting descent exhaust out the rear and it seems to look/smell okay. From some further reading I might be leaning towards a part of the exhaust that is touching somewhere. looks like it is going up on the stands once again. Any other suggestions are welcome while we jack it all back up. thanks

cushingbmw · January 2008

while I was driving for my other job tonight it came to me. It occured to me that the cross member/brace that bolts up underneath the engine/tranny was used to jack the car up to get it on jack stands. When I drove it up on ramps just now and sure enough, the crossmember was bent up and touching. I unbolted one side slowly and got back into the car. The vibe had shifted from the whole car to the right side of the car now. I proceeded to unbolt the other side and the vibe went away completely. Problem solved..yeah. Now all I need to do is to bend the brace back a little bit and put it back on and be on my merry way. Thanks because you got my mind in the right spot at least.

circlew · January 2008

Excellent. Enjoy the new clutch.

Regards,
OW

tsj3 · January 2008

wouldnt you know it. the first week i have it, temperature drops to 9 and the transmission coughs up some slippage starting frim stop, then when i came to a quick stop it appeared to wind up from behind with a jolt and a clunk.

roadburner · January 2008

Have the ATF level checked by a shop that knows how to do it properly.

bslate · January 2008

Thanks Roadburner,

I appreciate the advice. I am leaning toward getting a used engine with 80-100K miles on it - I've looked on sites such as car-part.com and prices range from $350 -$1000. I figure another $1000-$1500 in labor. Do you think I should stick with a 4 cyl engine vs 6 cyl? I am thinking the 4 cyl will be more cost effective and would theoretically have less issues since that is what is in the car to begin with. I have found a guy that works on various makes - not specifically BMWs - that is interested in performing the work on the side- my usual shop seemed to be extremely expensive. Any concerns there, or is the job easy for someone familar with that kind of work regardless of make? Thanks.

idoc2 · January 2008

Recently I took my 2007 328xi to have a scheduled oil change. At the time the car had 14,800 miles and was 11 months old. The dealer read the car's computer data from the key fob and told me the car still had 2,800 mile to go before a change was indicated but said despite this it could be done after the car had its first birthday. Since I had erroneously assumed that the change would simply be done at 15,000 miles I now started to track the miles remaining until a change was indicated. What I noticed was that the miles until a change was due were going up! Shortly after the car was a year old I returned to have the oil changed at which time I pointed out that the indicator now suggested that there were 11,000 miles remaining until an oil change and not due until 10/2010. (No I had not played with any settings). The dealer said there was a TSB on this issue and not only replaced the oil but also upgraded the software.

IDOC

roadburner · January 2008

Do you think I should stick with a 4 cyl engine vs 6 cyl? I am thinking the 4 cyl will be more cost effective and would theoretically have less issues since that is what is in the car to begin with.

A 4 cylinder swap will obviously be an easier procedure. If you are happy with the performance I'd stick with it.

I have found a guy that works on various makes - not specifically BMWs - that is interested in performing the work on the side- my usual shop seemed to be extremely expensive. Any concerns there, or is the job easy for someone familar with that kind of work regardless of make?

The guy you found might do excellent work -who knows?- but it has been my experience that you are almost always better off using a tech who knows BMWs. The swap procedure is pretty straightforward, but think about it: Will that guy have the proper torque specs? Or even care? Does he know how to bleed the M42/M44 cooling system? Does he know that he MUST use BMW coolant? Will he bother to get the proper copper nuts to use on the exhaust system? You know what they say about a jack of all trades...

Mr_Shiftright · January 2008

I agree, it's not a good idea to bring a modern BMW to a "generalist" for overall maintenance. Surely there are common sens things he can do but given my experience watching Porsche and Audi specialists, there is no way in hell someone who is on the outside is going to know how to care for these cars in any complete and competent fashion. There is simply too much to know about them.

If it was Chevy-Ford-Pontiac, I'd say sure.

achap98991118 · January 2008

Is this a possible DIY w/o complications?

roadburner · January 2008

Is this a possible DIY w/o complications?

The job isn't all that difficult. Here's the step by step procedure for an E36 3 Series- the procedure for your 323i will be about the same.

cdnpinhead · February 2008

Wow, what a nice piece of work that writeup is. Brings back memories of my old Datsun shop manuals that had actual photos of what you were supposed to be working on, as opposed to the vague line drawings I have to deal with today. Circles and arrows on actual photos are very good things. I've torn down & rebuilt engines & once upon a time would tackle any job on a car save front-end alignment & differential shimming. That was then. . . Not only have cars gotten more electronic & tightly packaged, but the shop books have gotten worse in the bargain. It's a real hat trick.

Are the Bentley BMW maintenance manuals that are often suggested on these boards anywhere near as good as this?

Mr_Shiftright · February 2008

No, the Bentley books are for people who are better at reading from text with an occasional illustration, and who might be a cut above the rookie DIYer. I would think any book that goes into detail like Pelican Parts would be about 12 feet tall, because the modern car has so many components. But I'm no snob, I'd use the Pelican Parts diagrams first time around on certain jobs.

roadburner · February 2008

Are the Bentley BMW maintenance manuals that are often suggested on these boards anywhere near as good as this?

Mr. Shiftright is correct, the Bentley manuals don't have as many illustrations, but I still consider them to be the best collection of reference material short of an official BMW CD.

cdnpinhead · February 2008

". . .an official BMW CD."

Are those reasonably good? At what price?

I really enjoy doing what I can to my car, but I do need shop manuals to help me determine what's do-able, given the current state of affairs. Then, if I think I can do something, it's nice if the manual is complete & correct. Doesn't always happen.

roadburner · February 2008

Are those reasonably good? At what price?

The BMW Service CD is known as the TIS. It contains service procedures, torque specs, TSBs, etc. The problem is, BMW went online a few years ago so all the information on the newer cars are accessed through www.bmwtechinfo.com, which is a subscription service. The TIS CDs for the older cars run @$150. More info can be found here.

cdnpinhead · February 2008

Thanks for the links--bookmarked for me now.

The online thing might not be all bad, at $30 per day, assuming it's possible to print off the relevant bits from the PDF file(s). One can print a lot of stuff in 24 hours.

roadburner · February 2008

The online thing might not be all bad, at $30 per day, assuming it's possible to print off the relevant bits from the PDF file(s). One can print a lot of stuff in 24 hours.

I agree. I haven't had to use it yet as my wife's X3 hasn't needed anything other than scheduled maintenance. Often if you cultivate a relationship -and spend some money- at your dealer's service and/or parts department they will run off something you need.

chile96 · February 2008

Just decided to keep our '03 325 and wanted to know what general items I should expect to go wrong so that I could go ahead and replace myself without my pregnant wife possibly being stranded somewhere

Immediately before the warranty expired, I got the dealer to replace both control arms and just had the power steering pump replaced by BMW NA for free even though we were 10mos out of warranty and at 42K miles. You know what they say about honey and flies - it worked!!!

Anyway, I was going to replace the brake pads but anything else. I seem to recall something semi-major going out around 60K miles usually on these e46s but can't remember. I've got some time on my hands right now so no better time that the present.

And can you recommend any brake pads that will yield less brake dust than the OEM pads. Don't need performance as this is the wife's car and most likely baby-mobile for the first 6mos

Thanks as always

roadburner · February 2008

Just decided to keep our '03 325 and wanted to know what general items I should expect to go wrong so that I could go ahead and replace myself without my pregnant wife possibly being stranded somewhere

After 60K I'd keep an eye on the water pump, but it will begin to leak rather than suffer a catastrophic failure.

And can you recommend any brake pads that will yield less brake dust than the OEM pads. Don't need performance as this is the wife's car and most likely baby-mobile for the first 6mos

What you want are Axxis Deluxe Advanced pads; $88 for all four wheels from Zeckhausen Racing. Little if any dust and OEM levels of braking performance on the street.

sunilb · February 2008

Well, I had to add another quart after ~ 850 miles and about 3.5 weeks (recall this is a '01 330i with 84.9K miles; I live in the Bay Area so the temperature has been colder [35ish] but not midwest-cold)

Any thoughts on what to do?
I'm planning to drop it off at my mechanic later this week, but would like to suggest what he should look for (besides leaks, which he hasn't found in the past)-- PCV valve? oil separator?

Other than this, the car is great but I don't want to be adding a quart every month.

I change the oil (BMW 5W-30) every 7.5K miles... should I use Mobil1 0W-30 and/or increase the oil change frequency to 5K miles?

kominsky · February 2008

.

For about the last week or so, everytime I start driving my car after it's been sitting awhile, I hear a grinding noise (definitely not the ABS self-test) when applying the brakes. If I drive only a couple of miles and stop, there is a distinctive burning-brakes smell as well. However, as I continue to drive, the sound goes away and the smell also goes away, so I'm assuming things cool down with further use.

Yesterday I took my son to a friends house about 3 miles from home. The grinding was present and when we got there the smell was bad. At the risk of great pain, I walked around the car and touched all 4 rotors.. they were warm at best. I've done the same thing with a previous car and I knew when I came across a rotor with a frozen caliper because I was on the ground screaming and crying seconds after contact...

Would a bad wheel-bearing exhibit these symptoms? Any thoughts on the emergency drums doing this (I almost never use the emergency brake and it hasn't been on in weeks)? Any other thoughts?

My next step is to start pulling wheels/rotors to look for something. Unfortunately, I probably won't have time to do that until the weekend.

Thanks!

EDIT: The car is a 2001 330Ci w/133K miles

shipo · February 2008

I assume that your brake sensors haven't triggered a light on the dash yet. Yes, no?

In my case, I've had two BMWs, and both of them managed to wear at least one set of pads at an odd angle, an angle that was able to allow the backing plate to start grinding on the rotor while at the same time holding the sensor far enough away from said rotor to prevent any contact and subsequent light. My guess is that you have a pad that has worn funny and is only partially contacting the rotor. Sounds like it's time for new brakes. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

kominsky · February 2008

Your assumption is correct... no light on dash.

I just replaced the pads and rotors in August... being an average mechanic at best, I guess we can't eliminate user error as a source of the problem. Everything
has been fine up until now, though. I guess I'll know for sure on Saturday when I start pulling things apart.

Thanks!!

shipo · February 2008

Did the brakes six months ago huh. Hmmm, that kinda rules out your brakes, at least the pads and rotors (unless you've had a pad failure). FWIW, while neither of my BMWs ever chucked a pad, I have had it happen on other cars. When you pull your calipers off, check to see if the friciton material is still completely intact on every pad.

Best Regards,
Shipo

Mr_Shiftright · February 2008

He should do a cylinder leakdown test. That way there is no guessing as to what's up in the engine. If you were leaking a quart every 850 miles it would be all over the engine or undercarriage by now and pretty obvious. Leaking or burning, there are no other possibilities. Have you ever noticed a puff of blue smoke on early morning start-up?

Visiting Host

kominsky · February 2008

The biggest point of confusion for me is that the noise and the smell go as I continue to drive the car. It seems like a missing pad would get grindier(?), hotter, and smellier the more I drove.

Thanks again for your input!!

BTW, if I chucked a pad, I'll have to hold you responsible. I got those PBR/Axxis Metal Master pads you're always talking about.

sunilb · February 2008

I haven't seen any smoke, and I should have clarified... it's not a quart every 850 miles, just this one time (previously the intervals/mileage were longer but it seems to be shortening).

I checked under the hood this morning, and everything is clean and the dipstick is reading "full".

I'll drop it off tomorrow and ask them to do a leakdown test (and pray that it's nothing serious).... just to be clear-- the leakdown test is to check and see if oil is leaking into the cylinders? If it is, how bad could the problem be (ie, is it fixable at a reasonable cost or am I looking at a very expensive situation)?

Mr_Shiftright · February 2008

cylinder leakdown tests for ANY leakage in the cylinder, whether through the rings or up top through the valves or even through the head gasket.

My rule of thumb is that if you carefully monitor oil consumption over the course of a few months and it comes out to 1,500 miles or more per quart, then forget about it, it's just normal wear and tear. A little oil burning is okay. But if it starts to drop regularly, from 1500 to 1250 to 1000, then you have to jump on it and figure out what's wrong.

Maybe this was just confusion on reading the stick? Happens to all of us.

sunilb · February 2008

well, he did the test and there's no leakage anywhere. he also checked the valve cover gasket and oil separator, and these were fine as well.

i guess that's good news, but the only thing the mechanic could figure is maybe it's due to colder weather.

anyhow, we are going to try a thicker oil (Mobil 1 0-40) and keep monitoring it.

circlew · February 2008

Cold weather? Never heard that contributed to additioal oils consumption.

Regards,
OW

sunilb · February 2008

i know... it's really a stretch, but he said he checked everything and didn't see any leaks anywhere.

i'll switch to the heavier oil and then if it's still an issue, go look for a second opinion.

roadburner · February 2008

i'll switch to the heavier oil and then if it's still an issue, go look for a second opinion

I don't think that the switch to 0W-40 will make a bit of difference. There are only so many places the oil can go, and the mechanic has failed to find the culprit. His suggestion that 0W-40 is the answer tells me he doesn't have a shred of a clue.

cdnpinhead · February 2008

". . .a shred of a clue."

This is what is lacking, nearly always, when I want my vehicle fixed. I can f*** (let's say foul) it up myself for free. If I pay the man, I expect him (or her) to know more than I do & to fix the thing more quickly. For this, I pay them.

Well. . .

I have any number of things that aren't right on my daily driver (and in my house) that I'd dearly love to let a competent (that's C O M P E T E N T) technician deal with. My car is rare (that's in, they discontinued it), so not many technicians will have ever seen one before. My bad. I won't do it again.

The fact remains that a competent mechanic is worth his/her weight in gold. A $793 repair diagnosed (yeah, right) by the Nissan dealership becomes an $87 fix at the (trusted) shop.

Works for me. If I end up with a BMW, it won't be before I determine which independent shops nearby are deemed worthy. Since BMW has been around awhile, such databases actually exist.

YMMV.

sunilb · February 2008

okay, i'm actually not trying to defend this mechanic (they've treated me fairly in the past)... the heavier wt oil was my idea.

for better or worse, I did a lot of searching on other forums and only found the following possible culprits for excessive oil consumption: valve cover gasket, valve seals, and oil separator.

I also found that some people (with higher mileage cars) have switched to this heavier oil and it has slowed the consumption.

So, based on this and the suggestion for the leak-down test, I asked my mechanic to do this test and check all of these things as well as anything else he could think of.

When he came back with nothing, I asked him to go with the heavier oil. I figure at the least, it may work (it may not... but, you know what they say about what you read on the internet!).

I'll keep you informed. (for the record, I'm at 85,020 miles and dipstick is reading at the full mark).

Mr_Shiftright · February 2008

So the oil separator (a $75 German PCV valve) was replaced and the engine was checked for excessive crankcase pressure?

This cranky (no pun intended) oil separator is a known BMW issue.

idoc2 · February 2008

I drive a 2007 328xi and recently noticed a buzzing or whirring sound similar to that of a small electric motor coming from the passenger side rear quarter. It is only audible outside the car and after the ignition has been turned off. It lasts for about 2 or 3 minutes. Does anyone have any idea as to what this may be?

IDOC

ehernandez · February 2008

I purchased my car back in June 07, since then it has probably been in the shop at least once a month.

My biggest problem which has yet to be solved by BMW is my clutch. Everytime I release the clutch, it makes a squeaking noise. If I have the radio off or low, this sound drives me nuts. I have come to realize that this noise is the pedal not the clutch itself.

Another interesting problem arose a few days ago. After I washed my car: everytime I released my clutch my air conditioner would turn on from its off mode.

Has this or anything similar happen to anyone else?

LIST OF OTHER ISSUES:

- Sunroof Colapsed, was not able to close, looked sunken in for days.

- Passenger seat, had 3 huge bumps on the bottom part of seat. Very unattractive

- Random display of messages on the cars on-board computer display.

roadburner · February 2008

Does anyone have any idea as to what this may be?

I think it is a function of the emissions system; my wife's 2004 X3 2.5 does the same thing.

manualguy · February 2008

I have a 2006 325i with adaptive head lamps. Today the OBC flashed a warning that the swiveling feature is not working. The car has less than 20000 miles on it. I love the car but I am dreading the thought of warranty expiration.

Have any of you experienced this particular failure?

br
ManualGuy

davidd3 · February 2008

Yes, I had this (and many other) problems with my 2006 330i. Actually, I had this particular problem in the very first month. Fixed under warranty. After a few days in the service center of trying this that and the other thing, it turned out to be something as simple as a loose wire.

I'm leasing mine and it goes back at the end of the summer. It will fortunately never be out of warranty during my time with it.

manualguy · February 2008

Thank you. I am scheduled for a visit next week and will update the group when I find out the root cause (?).

I have never owned or leased a BMW before this one. I am quite surprised by the emotions that this car evokes in me. So I would expect irrational thinking on my part as far as this car is concerned and I keep this well past the warranty period.

davidd3 · February 2008

My car is also my first BMW. I have a love/hate relationship with it. Love the way it drives, the way it looks, and that maintenance is included. Hate having problems (such as adaptive headlight failure) which necessitate periodic visits to the service center for things other than routine maintenance. There are 3 cars in my family now. The other 2 are Hondas. We have had no problems whatsoever with either Honda. My BMW is by far the worst car I have ever had when it comes to things going wrong with it. So I'm thinking long and hard whether or not I will get another BMW when my lease ends this summer.

kyfdx · February 2008

Took our '05 330Cic in for Inpection I (30K mile checkup).. They did the normal stuff, plus flushed the brake fluid.. Total cost: $ZERO

Didn't realize it.. but, that is the first trip to the dealer since the 15K oil service.. Just over one year...

thomberman · February 2008

My anti freeze light went on so I filled it with regular anti freeze but the BMW dealer said I need to put BMW anti freeze in. Is this ture and did I ruin the car by putting in regular anti freeze. Thanks

shipo · February 2008

Is it true that you need BMW anti-freeze? Yes, it's true.

Did you ruin your car by putting regular anti-freeze in there? No, that would be unlikely, especially if it has only been in there for a short period of time. That said, you would be best off if you had the cooling system flushed and the proper coolant re-added to your car.

FWIW, if you are on a budget, you can also use the Zerex G-05 HOAT coolant (I've found it to be available at most NAPA stores). http://www.valvoline.com/zerex/pdf/Zerex_CoolantChart.pdf?coaid=1B5D1AEA1AFC

Best Regards,
Shipo

rhmass · February 2008

I brought my car in for routine service and soon received a call that the rear shocks have leaks and also one of the cv joints. The caller told me they only have one shock in stock, so he proposed to put it on now and ordered the other one to have it put on when it arrives. I was surprised to hear this proposal as I thinkshocks should always be replaced by pairs. This is the first time I come to this dealership for service. Is this a normal practice to do it one at a time. It seems he can always ask me to come back when he has the parts rather to do it piecemeal.
The car is a '02 325ixT with 45,000 miles
TIA

rhmass · February 2008

I didn't authorize the repair, but did raise the question to the service advisor as I thought shocks should be replaced by the pair (later confirmed by board members here). His explanation was that it would save me time to get one done now since the car is in the shop for maintenance anyway, and then bring the car over for the other one when the order is in. Totally bogus statement.

While I am not technically oriented, being a member of CCA for many years and reading Mike Miller's column does me good, and of course I also benefit from reading many postings here by those very knowledgeable people.

circlew · February 2008

Only in pairs. Do not do it separately.

Regards,
OW

kyfdx · February 2008

He probably doesn't want to give you time to shop the deal...

If he replaces one.. then, you'll go back for the other one... If he quotes you a price for both of them, you might find another place to get it done cheaper..

Either way, I agree... wait for the other one..

I was having front struts done once... The left and right were two different struts.. They sent two left struts, and the repair shop put the left one on, and told me they'd call when they got the proper right hand strut.. Every strut that the distributor shipped was the wrong one.. It turned out they only had left struts.. I never did get a matching strut... :surprise:

BMW 3-Series Maintenance and Repair

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