der Mumienwagen; E91 330i Touring
Discussion
d_a_n1979 said:
Be wary of LL Parts Sam; I ordered a few bits from them and none arrived. Took me nearly 3months of faffing with eBay to get a refund even though I was told constantly they're on their way... They sent tracking details but they were never correct
A few others I know have had similar issues...
I normally just use them to gauge the price of stuff; I’ll order from BMW because I want it ASAP. I’m bored of not having A/C in this weather. A few others I know have had similar issues...
I dived over to Sytner this afternoon to collect this….
£144 later, one new OE higher pressure A/C line ready to replace the leaky one.
I was bored tonight, so had a crack at fitting it which was easier than I thought. The only faff was where the low pressure line connects by the bulkhead, it traps the high pressure line in place so I had to loosen that enough to slide the connection out.
The line feels quite delicate being a mixture of rigid pipe, some crinkly pipe and rubber pipe. The make reinstallation easier, I disconnected the battery so I could remove the positive cables and engine earth strap. I also disconnected the coolant level sensor at the bottom of the expansion tank and removed the engine braces which meant that I could just drop the line in place.
It didn’t take much effort and it was soon in place.
The leaking old line removed.
This is where it was leaking from judging by the debris that was trapped by the heat shield.
I’m just hoping that it’s third time lucky with getting the A/C working! Having read a few forums, I started catastrophising about the evaporator, which is a world of pain to change because the whole dash needs to be removed.
£144 later, one new OE higher pressure A/C line ready to replace the leaky one.
I was bored tonight, so had a crack at fitting it which was easier than I thought. The only faff was where the low pressure line connects by the bulkhead, it traps the high pressure line in place so I had to loosen that enough to slide the connection out.
The line feels quite delicate being a mixture of rigid pipe, some crinkly pipe and rubber pipe. The make reinstallation easier, I disconnected the battery so I could remove the positive cables and engine earth strap. I also disconnected the coolant level sensor at the bottom of the expansion tank and removed the engine braces which meant that I could just drop the line in place.
It didn’t take much effort and it was soon in place.
The leaking old line removed.
This is where it was leaking from judging by the debris that was trapped by the heat shield.
I’m just hoping that it’s third time lucky with getting the A/C working! Having read a few forums, I started catastrophising about the evaporator, which is a world of pain to change because the whole dash needs to be removed.
Gad-Westy said:
Fingers firmly crossed for you.
Cheers. It’s MOT day tomorrow, I’m a bit nervous to be honest because we’ve not had the car long and I don’t really know it yet. The last one was a clean pass.
Tyres and brakes will be Ok. The handbrake is s
te so it’ll be interesting to see how that gets on. 
Mr Whippy said:
Good work on the AC!
I can't recall if I'd mentioned but that had gone on my 130i... crap around the pipe/corroded.
Cleaning out crap on a timely basis seems like a good plan.
Out of interest, how do you insure your car? With so much work done above/beyond what most others do and will sell for, the value must be more in line with a far newer car...?
Do you use an agreed value?
Cheers
It seems quite a common failure point; there was a lot of crap caught there. It seems like crap design - a pipe sitting in the chassis leg, a heat shield one side and a hole to the wheel arch. I can't recall if I'd mentioned but that had gone on my 130i... crap around the pipe/corroded.
Cleaning out crap on a timely basis seems like a good plan.
Out of interest, how do you insure your car? With so much work done above/beyond what most others do and will sell for, the value must be more in line with a far newer car...?
Do you use an agreed value?
Cheers
That’s a good point re the insurance and one I’ve not really though about to be honest.
Gad-Westy said:
On mine, I could see some green spots when I shone a UV torch down there. When I took it out, there were no obvious holes as such but the pipe looked quite pitted and I'd guess in places it had just become porous. As you say, very poorly protected.
This would have been similar; the crud in that area was really wet from the dye / coolant leaking. This pipe seems to sit a bit higher off the chassis leg, but after each winter I think I’ll just clean it out.nipsips said:
Good news all round! Hopefully the gassing works!
Mine didn’t feel that cold but I’ve got a 2023 Golf hire car atm and the temperature in that is measured in minus figures I’m sure.
I hope it does too…if it still doesn’t work the only other place it’ll be leaking from is the evaporator which will be a miserable job to sort out. Mine didn’t feel that cold but I’ve got a 2023 Golf hire car atm and the temperature in that is measured in minus figures I’m sure.
When it was working, I didn’t think the A/C in this was a cold as my 335i. It was still better than none though.
cerb4.5lee said:
It is always a great feeling to get a clean pass I reckon. 
I've always dreaded MOT day for some silly reason.
Yeah, it’s good to know that I didn’t need to rush into changing all the suspension etc (I’m still going to because the front dampers are original and will be tired). I've always dreaded MOT day for some silly reason.
I’m always the same with MOT day, more so with this because we’ve not had it long.
We now have working A/C again, hopefully it lasts longer than two or three days.
It held pressure ok and there were no signs of leaks with tue cowls etc removed.
Gave it a good wash and repolished the bonnet; all of the small swirls etc are gone now just leaving the deeper defects.
I also popped on some old spacers on the rear which has it sitting a bit better (will get some pics tomorrow).
It held pressure ok and there were no signs of leaks with tue cowls etc removed.
Gave it a good wash and repolished the bonnet; all of the small swirls etc are gone now just leaving the deeper defects.
I also popped on some old spacers on the rear which has it sitting a bit better (will get some pics tomorrow).
Tom4398cc said:
The Mumienwagen looked fantastic in the metal Sam. It’s such a good looking car, imho, compared to some of the quirks of newer car design.
Thanks Tom; it’s getting there slowly but surely. I’m very fond of it already…even more so now it’s cool inside the car!
Hope you had a good trip to Devon.
pmorg4 said:
I know the feeling of hard work constantly dealing with faster drivers too close behind, slower drivers failing to move across etc. Even in the 335i with plenty of poke I can be bothered being "on it" for hours on end so I sometimes just sit in lane 1 with the ACC set to a target speed of 75 or 80 following the cars in front at whatever speed they're travelling. It does mean moving out to lane 2 to overtake trucks and particularly slow drivers, but it's far more relaxing than trying to maintain a higher speed and constantly switching lanes.
Pretty much my approach, an indicated 75 seems to work well enough; you can pass the trucks and bimblers and not hold people up too much. Driving fast down a motorway is boring anyway. The A/C seems to be sorted; no funny nosies when it’s running etc.
Had a run into Derbyshire for a birthday party yesterday and the car performed nicely; it was nice not having to have the windows down at higher speeds.
The rear dampers definitely need replacing; on B roads the back end can be a bit bouncy. I’ll get a pair ordered today from AUTODOC.
Had a run into Derbyshire for a birthday party yesterday and the car performed nicely; it was nice not having to have the windows down at higher speeds.
The rear dampers definitely need replacing; on B roads the back end can be a bit bouncy. I’ll get a pair ordered today from AUTODOC.
Mr Whippy said:
I assume you’re getting reliable service from AutoDoc?
Are they even UK based?
I’ve been reading some reviews saying parts ordered but never turn up… which is why I’ve been sticking with BMW/Cotswold, ECP, or places with a physical presence.
Good new on your AC, so nice to have it all refreshed. I think my AC element in front bumper is due a change too, just looking it’s age!
They’re based in Germany. I typically order on a Monday via the app when parts are cheap and they’re delivered by Friday (at the moment). The prices are hard to beat; one of the tension struts on my 335i that I fitted last year has failed; £53 delivered from Autodoc, cheapest UK is £80-odd.Are they even UK based?
I’ve been reading some reviews saying parts ordered but never turn up… which is why I’ve been sticking with BMW/Cotswold, ECP, or places with a physical presence.
Good new on your AC, so nice to have it all refreshed. I think my AC element in front bumper is due a change too, just looking it’s age!
I paid £73 for a Nissens condenser from Autodoc which was a bargain compared what it would have cost from ECP or GSF.
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