E46 Daydreams

[Mehowski]

Hi all!

Car is broken again - not ideal.







Coolant expansion tank has given in and is leaking from the joint at the top. New one is £35 which isn't bad, then £20 for new coolant and then I have the fun job of bleeding that. Luckily for me the engine didn't overheat!

Bit annoyed, was hoping to take it to a car meet on Sunday but now I have the whole summer of using it to look forward to knowing the cooling system might become temperamental again.

I'm going to get this fixed then I'm tempted to get rid of the car - it's been giving me shit and I feel like it's reaching the age where everything will need repairing soon.

Currently tempted to buy another small run around like another 6n2 and just use that whilst I save up until I'm 21 in January and treat myself to something cool again.

Keen to hear opinions, but I'm bored of the thing breaking and I want to save money.

thanks!
Michal

+1

I liked like this, focus on a swap maybe

Aidan's BMW looks cool but the Miata looks even better!

The front end is still screaming for a set of projectors IMO. You can retrofit projectors in a set of reflector housings pretty cheap with good results, would even give you the chance to add halos if you wanted.

Projectors would be cool. Or I could credit card my way into another E46 which already has projectors. And is black. And has a sunroof. And cream leather.

I rekon you should get some gloss black grills, and a new exhaust. The exhaust will definitely make you want to keep it and do more trust. I had them change the exhaust on the jag before i picked it up lol

If I get an exhaust I'll start mistaking the car for a Corsa. Nothing wrong with Corsas, but I don't want one.

Could try a set of these if you go with shorter springs to keep the shocks happy.

https://store.garagistic.com/Garagis...nt-E30-E36-E46

might be a plan

haha I have 20x polished bolts at home from my 36. swing by if you want them.

On my way!

You are probably going to bust the dampers as it is now, coilover kits aren't designed to run "all the way down" as we use them so if I were you I'd not be worried. Did you already remove all spring collars in the back? They free a fair amount of lows when removed.

Be aware if you tuck tyre you may need heavier rate springs or you are going to chew your tyre in your wheel arch, there is not much room up there.

Btw I like your current stance, very balanced and oem looking, to me there's no need to lower the rear a lot

thanks, shame my car doesn't like itself and keeps trying to commit suicide

[DawsonLiri]

You are probably going to bust the dampers as it is now, coilover kits aren't designed to run "all the way down" as we use them so if I were you I'd not be worried. Did you already remove all spring collars in the back? They free a fair amount of lows when removed.

Be aware if you tuck tyre you may need heavier rate springs or you are going to chew your tyre in your wheel arch, there is not much room up there.

Btw I like your current stance, very balanced and oem looking, to me there's no need to lower the rear a lot

+1

I liked like this, focus on a swap maybe

Aidan's BMW looks cool but the Miata looks even better!

[19birel]

The front end is still screaming for a set of projectors IMO. You can retrofit projectors in a set of reflector housings pretty cheap with good results, would even give you the chance to add halos if you wanted.

[Tris_xkr]

I rekon you should get some gloss black grills, and a new exhaust. The exhaust will definitely make you want to keep it and do more trust. I had them change the exhaust on the jag before i picked it up lol

[hinrichs]

Could try a set of these if you go with shorter springs to keep the shocks happy.

https://store.garagistic.com/Garagistic-Captive-Modular-Rear-Shock-Mount-E30-E36-E46

[Benwalsh91]

haha I have 20x polished bolts at home from my 36. swing by if you want them.

[Fruttolo]

You are probably going to bust the dampers as it is now, coilover kits aren't designed to run "all the way down" as we use them so if I were you I'd not be worried. Did you already remove all spring collars in the back? They free a fair amount of lows when removed.

Be aware if you tuck tyre you may need heavier rate springs or you are going to chew your tyre in your wheel arch, there is not much room up there.

Btw I like your current stance, very balanced and oem looking, to me there's no need to lower the rear a lot

[Mehowski]

Hi everyone,

Car currently looks the same as it did.





I did take care of a couple of things. Firstly, I used a paint correction kit to paint in the number plate trim scratches, so now I don't have two random white dots on my plate. I did the same to the two golf sized chips just underneath. All in all, good stuff.

I also bought some £2 shiny nut covers. On one hand I now feel like I'm driving a Chrysler 300C but on the other hand I'm happy that I no longer have miss matched wheel nut colours. It'll do until I have spare cash for proper bolts.

I also made a new pal on instagram who has a lovely E36. His name is Aidan and some of you have probably seen him on the gram.



He has made me realise two things. 1, I want an E36 vert, and 2, my stance game is weak. Looking at my rake now makes me want to cry and I'd very much like to drop the rear so it's sitting level and ideally I'm tucking tire.

I stuffed some pals into the back of my car and I absolutely loved the way it sat.



Unfortunately for me, I cant drop the back anymore, meaning I'm either going to have to get some scissors out and do some choppy bits, or find some new springs. I'm worried however that if I get new shorter springs I'll end up busting the FK AK dampers. Which would be unfortunate.

Anyone got any tips/ideas? I don't fancy spending on £800 worth of new coil overs just yet, before someone at the back suggests it.

Nice job guy

I really like the KBS styling side skirt extensions. A little less the front splitter.

Thanks. Yeah, I've kind of gone off it.

Those striped tail lights actually look pretty sweet with the clear indicators

Glad you were able to take care of the maintenance without too much issue, always feels great to have the car running tip top.

Thanks, I took em off for my MOT and haven't bothered since. They're cool but they're a lot of hassle and don't really fit the OEM+ theme I've got going on. Might save it for when (if) I get splits and do some jap themed stuff. Just an idea for now though.

I think oil leakage from rocker cover and oil filter housing is very common problem for older BMW's. I have changed mine many times with no success, sadly. It keeps leaking anyway, but less.
BTW you can look at realoem.com and find all parts, pricing and part codes for BMW's.

Hmm, on one hand it's nice to know I'm not the only one with this problem but it's also a shame this problem exists. Thanks for the plug by the way!

Nice progress. Big fan of the wheels. Actually looked at these for my E39, but wanted a staggered setup. They really suit the your E46 though. think I'll be following this thread!

Thanks! I don't think they'd fit onto an E39 anyway as your centre bore is too t h i c c.

I was using sealeant, but without success. Not sure, but maybe crankcase ventilation does not work as it should, makes pressure under rocker cover which makes oil leak. Should check before oil change.
It's right to use a thin layer of sealant over gaskets.

Sounds complicated. I'll go to the pub instead.

This is definitely a good shout. Too much pressure can sometimes blow the gasket, which is what happened on my M52, changed all the crankcase breather pipes and breather, problem solved!

Drive it till the wheels fall off I say!

I think your car looks great as is, and doesn't need a front lip.

Thanks. I think you look great too.

[becausephilchow]

I think your car looks great as is, and doesn't need a front lip.

[Minuki]

I was using sealeant, but without success. Not sure, but maybe crankcase ventilation does not work as it should, makes pressure under rocker cover which makes oil leak. Should check before oil change.
It's right to use a thin layer of sealant over gaskets.

This is definitely a good shout. Too much pressure can sometimes blow the gasket, which is what happened on my M52, changed all the crankcase breather pipes and breather, problem solved!

[RV97]

Ever tried coating the gaskets with sealant paste? I had a friggin leak in my golf that did not want to go away because of a ruined o-ring seat, so I gobbled a bunch of grey sealant on it, torqued it down and voila no more leak. Not the "right" way to do it but I **** leaky cars so extreme problems need extreme solutions

I was using sealeant, but without success. Not sure, but maybe crankcase ventilation does not work as it should, makes pressure under rocker cover which makes oil leak. Should check before oil change.
It's right to use a thin layer of sealant over gaskets.

[thirtynine]

Nice progress. Big fan of the wheels. Actually looked at these for my E39, but wanted a staggered setup. They really suit the your E46 though. think I'll be following this thread!

[Fruttolo]

I think oil leakage from rocker cover and oil filter housing is very common problem for older BMW's. I have changed mine many times with no success, sadly. It keeps leaking anyway, but less.
BTW you can look at realoem.com and find all parts, pricing and part codes for BMW's.

Ever tried coating the gaskets with sealant paste? I had a friggin leak in my golf that did not want to go away because of a ruined o-ring seat, so I gobbled a bunch of grey sealant on it, torqued it down and voila no more leak. Not the "right" way to do it but I **** leaky cars so extreme problems need extreme solutions

[RV97]

Cleaned up the engine of all the oil, and have diagnosed the oil leak from two areas. First area is the left hand side of the rocker cover gasket, and the second one being from the oil filter housing. I've got the rocker cover gasket replacement already, however I still need the 4 seels that go around the coil packs. No clue what these are called but I'm sure I can find these on ECP or even eBay.

I think oil leakage from rocker cover and oil filter housing is very common problem for older BMW's. I have changed mine many times with no success, sadly. It keeps leaking anyway, but less.
BTW you can look at realoem.com and find all parts, pricing and part codes for BMW's.

[19birel]

Those striped tail lights actually look pretty sweet with the clear indicators

Glad you were able to take care of the maintenance without too much issue, always feels great to have the car running tip top.