E46 Things

[jc43089]

B C said:

I am having, what would seem to be the beginning stages of a failing fuel pump, leaking injectors, or a cam sensor on the fritz.

Occasionally the car does not fire up on first crank attempt. but always does on second attempt as if the mixture/fuel pressure is not right. I do wait for the fuel pump to finish priming before starting and that does not make a difference.
I will connect the laptop tonight and see if any codes are stored.

It does appear to be a common issue and I did find this posted hinting at summer blend fuel in cold temperatures. Plausible as it was chilly this morning.

Probably the head gasket.

[B C]

I will order 2 new head gaskets just in case the first one is defective

[B C]

No start on first attempt condition happens at ~70F ambient temp which rules our the BMW TSB about the summer blend fuel at cold temps. 

INPA shows codes: 178 196 197 198 204 205 206 213

these are misfire and catalyst efficiency codes.

Someone else’s experience with the same codes and symptoms confirms the fuel pump theory

[B C]

This morning the car fired up on first attempt rather than second but it took just slightly longer to fire up than ideal. I reset codes, reset adaptations, drove to work, everything running perfectly as usual. I checked for new codes when I got to work and there were none. 

I will check for fuel pressure bleed-off when I am underneath removing the CDV in the coming weeks and see if by chance the fuel filter needs to be snugged down just a little more even though I had checked for leaks pretty thoroughly after replacement. If things continue/deteriorate, my first check will be to pull the fuel pump and see if the rubber hoses on the pump are leaking before ordering a new pump. 
The best price I can find at the moment is Bimmerworld or Tischer for $370

[GunMetalGrey]

It almost sounds like it's not getting enough air. 
I think VF Engineering makes a centrifugal air pump that should help remedy this situation.....

[Jdesign]

GunMetalGrey said:

It almost sounds like it's not getting enough air. 
I think VF Engineering makes a centrifugal air pump that should help remedy this situation.....

I think he's right.

[B C]

All is normal for the while. This week it will surpass my van for the title of highest mile vehicle in my household.

(Datsun is a 2006 with 112k, van is a 2006 with 155k, M3 is a 2005 with 155k)

Pointless post, just happy to be driving this car though.

[B C]

Nearly 2,000 miles on the car this driving season. 

CEL illuminated last night. I had my Bluetooth dongle in the center console so I popped it in:  P0420 (meow) 

Cat efficiency below threshold.

I checked the Carfax report and the BMW recall for the DME reprogram has already been done back in 2009. It allows more leniency in the rear O2 sensor readings before registering a CEL.  Reset the CEL and did a few full throttle runs to get things nice and rich but it hasn't returned in 3 drives adding up to about 30 miles. Checked codes with INPA and nothing is stored. I'll consider it a fluke for now, at very worst there are plenty of folks upgrading their headers and selling stock cats cheap.

It has been starting just fine, im considering the start on 2nd attempt also a fluke.

[wasnt m3]

Sounds like time for headers and a tune.

[Jdesign]

B C said:

CEL illuminated last night. I had my Bluetooth dongle in the center console so I popped it in:  P0420 (meow) 

[B C]

[B C]

Today:

Added Redline Water Wetter to the cooling system. The mechanical fan has been upgraded to a Spal puller but it uses the controller for the aux fan. Its called the “2 for 1” fan mod. Remove mechanical fan, remove condenser aux fan, install Spal puller that runs off the ECU.

I had a very rigorous stop and go commute with the AC on in high heat and humidity and the temperature crept up a bit. We will see how the Water Wetter helps if at all.

I started repairing some rust/bare metal from some rubbing on the wheel arches presumably from some stancebro wheels and tires installed a couple of owners ago.

it goes most of the way around the arch but this is the most barren spot.

I scraped back some of the undercoating and found some more corrosion that had seeped through the edge.

Ground down a bit

POR 15

I will give it a light top coat of undercoating once it dries a bit longer.

I also started installing the strut tower reinforcement plates.

These plates sit loose on top of the strut mounts/camber plates and disperse the load to avoid having cracks form at the strut mounting holes, or mushrooming of the mounting points.  They are a BMW part that is offered for cars driven in areas with rough roads like Africa, Wisconsin, and the Moon

Temporarily installed to check clearance of camber adjustment screws

There was some light surface rust up inside the strut tower which was also repaired.

While the wheels were removed, they were cleaned thoroughly on the inside and the tires were rotated.

[B C]

Clutch delay valve removed, clutch bled.

Check out the tiny orifice the CDV uses to ruin the 1-2 shift

[patsbimmer1]

How does it feel?

[B C]

patsbimmer1 said:

How does it feel?

I’ll report back tomorrow and let you know if the CDV is a troll or im just an utter failure at manual transmissioning.

I spent this evening finishing up the POR15 on the other side of the car, checked the bleed on the clutch before putting the under-panel back on. Now Im letting things dry. Car is still up in the air ,but just sitting in the garage, the pedal effort feels a tad lighter. It makes sense that it would.

I have been researching how to code/unlock the M-Track mode for a little less DSC intrusion, mostly so I dont feel like I am roasting the rear brakes. I dont know that I will ever feel comfortable messing around with coding, especially with it all being in German, but the M-Track mode is on the wish list if there was ever anyone competent locally that could hook that up.

[B C]

Everything is back together and I took it out for a test drive.

SO MUCH BETTER!

If you have a clutch delay valve on your E36+ Newer BMW and it has not been removed yet, you need to remove it!

For  those who have never experienced a CDV or dont know how it feels to have one, basically it delays the engagement of the clutch and makes timing the clutch release and throttle more challenging than it needs to be. It is very hard, if not impossible to get a clean 1-2 shift that doesn’t involve excessively slipping the clutch or giving passengers a jolt.

It can now be driven smoothly without trying very hard

[B C]

New windshield.

Had 1 rock chip that showed potential to expand rapidly and picked up another rock chip last week that i don't remember hearing. Now I have a clean slate to pick up more rock chips with

[Boris3]

For future reference who did the replacement?

[B C]

autoglassfitters.com

[Jdesign]

Price?