New owner - what preventive maintenance should start thinking about?

gam3cock · Thu, Apr-20-2017, 05:58:28 PM

Hey guys. I've had the car for about a month now and have been working on turning everything back to stock. What I mean by that, the previous owner was an older guy that loved chrome and black on a titanium silver car

Mix that with a sagging headliner, horribly painted trim and neglect. Good news is that I have all the service records from bmw dealership so I knew it was maintained well. So here is what I have done in the last month:

Oil Change
Air Filter
New Expansion tank and Coolant Flush
Cabin Filter
Front Control Arm Bushings
Rear Trailing Arm Bushings
Spent 16 hours painting/sanding/filling interior trim back to stock silver
Brake Pads
Claybarred/wax/detailed
Replaced Headliner
OEM Clear corners
OEM LED Tails
In the process of fixing headlights
Oh and got the subframe checked out.

Now my question is, what should be the next few things on my list? Cheers!

lmtfi · Thu, Apr-20-2017, 06:05:56 PM

Bulletproof the VANOS.

Halftim3 · Thu, Apr-20-2017, 06:33:51 PM

^yup and:
Rtabs with limiters
engine and trans mounts, exhaust mounts
rear shock mounts
front strut reinforcement plates

Around 150k miles, starter and alternator, are just some of the preventative maintenance items to think about.

LateBraking · Thu, Apr-20-2017, 06:36:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmtfi

Bulletproof the VANOS.

I second bulletproofing the Vanos. Valve adjustment while you're in there. Change Rod bearings to WPC treated ones, I was shocked at how bad mine looked despite only having 55k miles on the car. Here's what they looked like, I'm glad I was paranoid and had them done right after I got the car.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHE4v1aAix4/

Just because the subframe looks okay now doesn't mean it'll be okay in the future. Also, sometimes the damage can occur in a way that is hard to see. I'd just pony up and get it reinforced....or risk paying more later. Hindsight is 20/20.

gam3cock · Thu, Apr-20-2017, 07:56:47 PM

Awesome guys, keep them coming. I forgot to mention I already had the Valve adjustment done.

For the Vanos, when yall say bullet proof it? What does that mean exactly? Are there specific parts I should replace? Or should I just get a whole new rebuilt unit?

LateBraking · Thu, Apr-20-2017, 08:02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gam3cock

Awesome guys, keep them coming. I forgot to mention I already had the Valve adjustment done.

For the Vanos, when yall say bullet proof it? What does that mean exactly? Are there specific parts I should replace? Or should I just get a whole new rebuilt unit?

I just want to say that this forum, when people are not attacking one another, is a treasure chest of extremely valuable information and wisdom. When I bought my E46 M3, I basically bought everything on this list I found in another thread. It made it super easy.

Also, you should go into the marketplace section and get in on the WPC treated rod bearings group buy thread. It's important enough that the group buy has never officially ended. Haha.

TheCoder · Thu, Apr-20-2017, 08:11:50 PM

Welcome to the club ,second what they said above, but generally speaking you always want to focus on the engine first, as that is the most valuable asset of you car, so VANOS , and rod bearings (especially on vehicles made pre 2003 I think). Other common engine related preventative maintenance are good as well specifically those related to the engine cooling system.

RCAP is kind of a unique e46 situation that you want to address sooner than later.

Do you have previous maintenance records? If so then go through those first before making any decisions since you don't want to do the job twice unnecessarily.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

Monte0704 · Thu, Apr-20-2017, 08:46:28 PM

I acutally have a slightly different sheet for the Vanos bulletprooing. Main difference is the Rouge Engineering braided vanos oil line. People have had that break, so I added it.

The valve cover gaskets are reusable, as are the spark plug gaskets, and the 13x valve cover grommets. AS long as your current ones are OEM, that is. There is a reason the OEM ones cost so damn much.

**Obioban** · Thu, Apr-20-2017, 09:06:00 PM

^updated oe line is cheaper and better

suaveflooder · Thu, Apr-20-2017, 09:51:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obioban

^updated oe line is cheaper and better

Link to what is different on the updated one? I've never heard of this failing and not finding much on google other than the braided one.

Thu, Apr-20-2017, 05:58:28 PM	#1
gam3cock Registered User Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 50 Reputation: 0	New owner - what preventive maintenance should start thinking about? Hey guys. I've had the car for about a month now and have been working on turning everything back to stock. What I mean by that, the previous owner was an older guy that loved chrome and black on a titanium silver car Mix that with a sagging headliner, horribly painted trim and neglect. Good news is that I have all the service records from bmw dealership so I knew it was maintained well. So here is what I have done in the last month: Oil Change Air Filter New Expansion tank and Coolant Flush Cabin Filter Front Control Arm Bushings Rear Trailing Arm Bushings Spent 16 hours painting/sanding/filling interior trim back to stock silver Brake Pads Claybarred/wax/detailed Replaced Headliner OEM Clear corners OEM LED Tails In the process of fixing headlights Oh and got the subframe checked out. Now my question is, what should be the next few things on my list? Cheers!

Thu, Apr-20-2017, 06:05:56 PM	#2
lmtfi Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 7,393 Reputation: 0	Re: New owner - what preventive maintenance should start thinking about? Bulletproof the VANOS. __________________

Thu, Apr-20-2017, 06:33:51 PM	#3
Halftim3 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 458 In the garage: '04 BMW M3 Reputation: 0 Location: So Cal	Re: New owner - what preventive maintenance should start thinking about? ^yup and: Rtabs with limiters engine and trans mounts, exhaust mounts rear shock mounts front strut reinforcement plates Around 150k miles, starter and alternator, are just some of the preventative maintenance items to think about. __________________

Thu, Apr-20-2017, 07:56:47 PM	#5
gam3cock Registered User Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 50 Reputation: 0	Re: New owner - what preventive maintenance should start thinking about? Awesome guys, keep them coming. I forgot to mention I already had the Valve adjustment done. For the Vanos, when yall say bullet proof it? What does that mean exactly? Are there specific parts I should replace? Or should I just get a whole new rebuilt unit?

Thu, Apr-20-2017, 08:11:50 PM	#7
TheCoder Registered User Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 420 In the garage: '03 BMW ///M3 '02 BMW 325Ci Reputation: 0 Location: Henderson	Re: New owner - what preventive maintenance should start thinking about? Welcome to the club ,second what they said above, but generally speaking you always want to focus on the engine first, as that is the most valuable asset of you car, so VANOS , and rod bearings (especially on vehicles made pre 2003 I think). Other common engine related preventative maintenance are good as well specifically those related to the engine cooling system. RCAP is kind of a unique e46 situation that you want to address sooner than later. Do you have previous maintenance records? If so then go through those first before making any decisions since you don't want to do the job twice unnecessarily. Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk __________________ 2002 Titanium Silver BMW 325Ci SOLD 2003 Estoril Blue BMW M3 2003 Estoril Blue BMW M3 Journal How to Import a car from Canada

Thu, Apr-20-2017, 08:46:28 PM	#8
Monte0704 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2017 Age: 23 Posts: 84 Reputation: 0 Location: Eugene	Re: New owner - what preventive maintenance should start thinking about? I acutally have a slightly different sheet for the Vanos bulletprooing. Main difference is the Rouge Engineering braided vanos oil line. People have had that break, so I added it. The valve cover gaskets are reusable, as are the spark plug gaskets, and the 13x valve cover grommets. AS long as your current ones are OEM, that is. There is a reason the OEM ones cost so damn much. __________________ 2004 E46 M3 SMG II \| 1990 Nissan Skyline GTR

Thu, Apr-20-2017, 09:06:00 PM	#9
Obioban Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 35,396 In the garage: '03 BMW 530 '04 Bmw E46 M3 '01 BMW M5 '95 BMW M3 '05 BMW M3 Reputation: 54 Location: SE PA	Re: New owner - what preventive maintenance should start thinking about? ^updated oe line is cheaper and better __________________ Current Cars: 2005 IR/IR M3, 2001 LMB/blk M5, 03 530i, 04 M3 wagon, and some boring stuff Past cars: 04 M3, 96 M3, S50B32 e36 M3 CM race car

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