2004 E46 325i

[HK Tan]

-What do you drive: 2004 E46 325i-How you came about to know bmwclubmalaysia.com?: Google-What were you expecting or purpose coming to bmwclubmalaysia.com? Get some info, make friends

 

[jarance]

welcome to the club. It your the M-Sport version? 2004 is the last batch of the E46 prior to E90.

Watch out for the bushing.

 

[MSport]

Welkum! Welkum!

 

[mizhan]

welcome mr. tan.

 

[shyful313]

Hello HK Tan..Welcome to the club:top:

 

[joe_myinc]

welcome bro

enjoy stay here..........................:wink:

 

[astroboy]

..

Watch out for the bushing.

How to watch? What bushing? Share a bit more la..

 

[jarance]

Is this the notorious E46 lower arm bush issue? I guess those who have not replace an E46 lower arm bush have not really owned an E46..

Is there any E46 owner out there that have not replace their lower arm bush before? Please put up your hand and please tell us how long (in km terms) have you own the E46?

Its not fair to measure the life span of the lower arm bush by "month", "km" traveled is a better yardstick, apart from road condition because if roads you traveled has many pot holes, its very damaging to the lower arm bush.

What about lowering your suspension by converting to a shorter but harder spring, will this shorten the life span of your lower arm bush?

When lower arm bush kaput, you will feel looseness on your undercarriage, alignment will start to lari, and vivid knocking sound can be heard when crossing bumps or pot holes. If they are loose enough, you will even feel the wheel axle shifting back and forth when pick up or braking.

To quote you lah.. you are so modest..

 

[enkil]

welcome to the club.

 

[IanDaddy]

HK, I am a newbie too, will be getting my 04/05 E46 325i (I believe it is the Exclusive Edition) this week.
Which edition and did you just buy it recently ? I understand from AB salesman that during that time , the last batches of 325i was packaged as Basic,Exclusive and M-sports.

Welcome to you.

 

[Vroom325]

Hi Iandaddy & HT Tan. Congrats on your ride.
Iandday, u got ur ride from AB?

 

[IanDaddy]

Bro Vroom,
Got my ride from a friend who is a dealer. Got him to look out for a good one since 2 months ago. Will be taking it for engine , tranny oils change, fluid , coolant etc.
What engine oil would you recommend ? Mileage is 62K.

 

[Vroom325]

Hi IanDaddy, good for u. Yeah, change all the oil.
It takes time to look for a good unit.
Oil, I think got a lof of sifu can advise u here.
I believe any brand of 5w-40 will be good.
If you wanna be sure that you are buying original oil, buy at petrol station.

Again, try the difference of v-power(if u have the budget) & ron97.
For me, I clearly feel the difference. Engine more quiet & powerful.
Especially around 2000rpm range, engine very quiet compare with 97...:listen:

 

[Vroom325]

One thing about the tranny oil. Make sure u use back the original one.
Gotta ask all the sifus out there, I think our gear box is ZF, MUST use back the oil for it.

 

[IanDaddy]

Yes, my tranny is ZF and will use ZF fluid. Will do a flush as the fluid is very dirty even as 62K. Wonder if it is better if i opt for semi-synthetic and change every 3 months or 5K whichever come first at the same time , have more frequent check on the car. Appreciate comments from Sifus.

 

[Vroom325]

Iandaddy, that will depends how soon u finish a 10k km, by the way u describe, it looks like 6months? Hm... difficult timing. if about 3-4 months, I think ok to use fully synthetic. If it take u long time like 6months to do a 10k or less, may b what u think is good for ur car. The more rajin u change oil better for engine is my understanding.:top:

Sifus? What do u guys think?

 

[IanDaddy]

Vroom, it will take me more than 6-8 months to do 10k and I think that is long. I plan to do 3 months oil change and can get the car checked proper and more frequent.

 

[IanDaddy]

Open up the cooling system, there are white stuff like emulsion paint sticking to hoses, connectors, seals yo name it. It is like the inner part of the hose is painted white, the stuff is brittle and flaky. The radiator too looks dirty and the bottom outlet seems to have the same but the stuff is softer just like the emulsion paint. My mech told me that BMW coolant is the culprit and all the BMW has this problem, that is why expansion tank problem, bust hoses , leaking radiator etc. Merc never have problem like this with the coolant, in fact I have some friends who are using Merc coolant in their UDM.

Any comments and/or experience from Sifus ?