E91 Straight Six Bearding

[Alb.]

Going to look at a 2010 auto 325d msport next week. N57 engine which I’m led to believe is a detuned 330d?

Anything in particular I should be looking out for?

[RiccardoG]

Hi All,

Our 2008 55k mi Touring seems could benefit from some suspension love. No noises etc, but its a bit less settled / sat when at motorway speeds. Have been advsied to look at suspension bushes and maybe shocks. Info not clear as coming second had via ageing non-tech parents...

Question for the experts, what brands to seek and to avoid? I have it that Sachs are the OEM shocks, correct? How about the bushes?

Also, whats the deal with these? Which bushes are the first to go (front rear?) and are there more than one that go?

Any tips on reducing the "wooden" factory feel these have (like all 00's BMWs)?

[Court_S]

RiccardoG said:

Hi All,

Our 2008 55k mi Touring seems could benefit from some suspension love. No noises etc, but its a bit less settled / sat when at motorway speeds. Have been advsied to look at suspension bushes and maybe shocks. Info not clear as coming second had via ageing non-tech parents...

Question for the experts, what brands to seek and to avoid? I have it that Sachs are the OEM shocks, correct? How about the bushes?

Also, whats the deal with these? Which bushes are the first to go (front rear?) and are there more than one that go?

Any tips on reducing the "wooden" factory feel these have (like all 00's BMWs)?

I’ve used B4S dampers in various E8x and E9x cars and can’t really fault them. You won’t go wrong with Sachs, either name will be good. Avoid the cheap ones….I tried some TRW ones on my wife’s 330i and they were rubbish.

For the front, consider fitted the M3 arms which are a direct fit. They naive better bushes and will give a bit more negative camber. The tension struts (wiggly front arms) have a big oil filled bush which ends up leaking eventually.

For rear bushes I’d tend to stick with Lemforder. I’ve. It got round to sorting them on my wife’s car yet so can’t comment on which ones have the biggest impact.

[JakeT]

Alb. said:

Going to look at a 2010 auto 325d msport next week. N57 engine which I’m led to believe is a detuned 330d?

Anything in particular I should be looking out for?

Timing chain, they snap them too. Auto box failure, tailgate rust, rubbish suspension (as Sam says, dampers and proper tyres make a big difference), interior wear and make sure everything works.

Up to feb 2010 was the M57 by the way, which doesn’t snap chains unless it’s done like 300k.

[meddler]

Court_S said:

I’ve used B4S dampers in various E8x and E9x cars and can’t really fault them. You won’t go wrong with Sachs, either name will be good. Avoid the cheap ones….I tried some TRW ones on my wife’s 330i and they were rubbish.

For the front, consider fitted the M3 arms which are a direct fit. They naive better bushes and will give a bit more negative camber. The tension struts (wiggly front arms) have a big oil filled bush which ends up leaking eventually.

For rear bushes I’d tend to stick with Lemforder. I’ve. It got round to sorting them on my wife’s car yet so can’t comment on which ones have the biggest impact.

I'm lining up a suspension refresh myself because the rear end has started feeling a little wallowy. Will probably go with Bilstein B4 dampers, unsure which springs.

But I'm struggling with the parts numbers. I have a 325i M Sport and RealOEM is showing me 31316786015 for the front-left damper and 31316786016 for the front-right - but Autodoc is telling me they're incompatible. I'm also getting conflicting info on the Bilstein website.

Has anyone had this before?

[Court_S]

meddler said:

I'm lining up a suspension refresh myself because the rear end has started feeling a little wallowy. Will probably go with Bilstein B4 dampers, unsure which springs.

But I'm struggling with the parts numbers. I have a 325i M Sport and RealOEM is showing me 31316786015 for the front-left damper and 31316786016 for the front-right - but Autodoc is telling me they're incompatible. I'm also getting conflicting info on the Bilstein website.

Has anyone had this before?

The Autodoc data isn’t always right. They recommended some discs that were too small for my father in laws 218.

I don’t know the details for your car (year, manufacture date etc) but on the face it it, that looks to be the right part.

[twokcc]

Bought my last sachs for front of my 2009 325d from these
https://autopartstechnik.co.uk/

Very knowledgeable -many sellers got wrong part no's. competitive prices and speedy delivery. Also sell other brands

[Swervin_Mervin]

I'd just go on the Bilstein website and cross reference. I got Bilstein B4 on mine a few years ago.

If you that's confusing, it's nothing compared to springs...

[Court_S]

After a quick bit of help…

We changed the CCV system on my Z4 last night and now the car won’t start with everything plugged in but it will start and run with the MAF unplugged.

Does this point to a dead MAF? I want to check before buying a new one because they’re bloody expensive. When my wife gets home I’m going to try the one from the 330i and see if that runs Ok.

[JakeT]

Sure you have the MAP plugged in? I thought these cars used MAF for inlet temps only? But swapping with the wife’s one will be a good idea.

Also have you scanned it for codes?

[Court_S]

JakeT said:

Sure you have the MAP plugged in? I thought these cars used MAF for inlet temps only? But swapping with the wife’s one will be a good idea.

Also have you scanned it for codes?

The MAP sensor is plugged in 100%.

I’ve tried to read the codes but I use Carly and the app is being a turd. It’s gets to 90% and goes no further.

[JakeT]

What shyte. Carly has been pissing me off lately.

Run it with the MAF off and see if the one from your 330i solves it. But it seems strange that the MAF would randomly die, so I’d check all connections again, and make sure you’ve got nothing mixed up.

[Court_S]

JakeT said:

What shyte. Carly has been pissing me off lately.

Run it with the MAF off and see if the one from your 330i solves it. But it seems strange that the MAF would randomly die, so I’d check all connections again, and make sure you’ve got nothing mixed up.

I’ve already checked all of the connections. The small DISA plug looked a bit loose and took a bit of fiddling to get it to sit nicely.

I labelled the connections as I undid them to endure that they went back where they came from.



It’s seems odd to me that it would just die like that.

[meddler]

Court_S said:

The Autodoc data isn’t always right. They recommended some discs that were too small for my father in laws 218.

I don’t know the details for your car (year, manufacture date etc) but on the face it it, that looks to be the right part.

Thanks for taking a look. Manufacture date is August 2011.

twokcc said:

Bought my last sachs for front of my 2009 325d from these
https://autopartstechnik.co.uk/

Very knowledgeable -many sellers got wrong part no's. competitive prices and speedy delivery. Also sell other brands

I'll have a gander - thanks for the tip!

Swervin_Mervin said:

I'd just go on the Bilstein website and cross reference. I got Bilstein B4 on mine a few years ago.

If you that's confusing, it's nothing compared to springs...

Will give the Bilstein website another shot tonight. I think maybe best to ignore what Autodoc is telling me...

As for springs - I've heard good things about the Eibach Pro-Kits but need to do some more research.

Has anybody had a bad experience on Bilstein B4s and/or Eibach Pro-Kit springs? Feedback seems to be overwhelmingly positive for both

[Court_S]

meddler said:

Will give the Bilstein website another shot tonight. I think maybe best to ignore what Autodoc is telling me...

As for springs - I've heard good things about the Eibach Pro-Kits but need to do some more research.

Has anybody had a bad experience on Bilstein B4s and/or Eibach Pro-Kit springs? Feedback seems to be overwhelmingly positive for both

That’s what I’ve run on my wife’s old 125i, my 335i and now on her 330i and my Z4.

In my opinion / experience it’s a good combination.

[Swervin_Mervin]

For reference I've got the Sachs springs (on the front, rear still original) on the B4s. Drives absolutely spot on.

[Mika_98]

Hi all,
After a bit of advice please. I have a 2006 330i, wasn't driven often and since getting into more frequent use, I have an intermittent issue with warning lights such as ABS/Stability, Tyre/Pressure/Wheel Speed, etc. The warning lights come and go.

On a few occasions when the lights all disappear, during braking I feel a bit of brake judder/vibration, a clicking sound and revs also seem to jump very slightly. Lights come back on soon after and those symptoms then disappear.

Going to spend some time this weekend investigating - diagnostics, battery health etc.

Any other suggestions would be really welcome. Many thanks

[Court_S]

Mika_98 said:

Hi all,
After a bit of advice please. I have a 2006 330i, wasn't driven often and since getting into more frequent use, I have an intermittent issue with warning lights such as ABS/Stability, Tyre/Pressure/Wheel Speed, etc. The warning lights come and go.

On a few occasions when the lights all disappear, during braking I feel a bit of brake judder/vibration, a clicking sound and revs also seem to jump very slightly. Lights come back on soon after and those symptoms then disappear.

Going to spend some time this weekend investigating - diagnostics, battery health etc.

Any other suggestions would be really welcome. Many thanks

Have you read the codes yet? Does the cruise control still work when these lights are on? Could well be a wheel speed sensor.

[Mika_98]

Court_S said:

Have you read the codes yet? Does the cruise control still work when these lights are on? Could well be a wheel speed sensor.

Ahh yes, cruise control failed to operate when these warning lights were on.
Would a wheel speed sensor trigger abs and other errors too?

Also forgot to mention, was also suggested there may be corrosion on the abs ring/s due to the car being sat for a week or two. Was advised they may need a clean but hoping to get process of elimination with the quicker checks/tasks

[Court_S]

Mika_98 said:

Ahh yes, cruise control failed to operate when these warning lights were on.
Would a wheel speed sensor trigger abs and other errors too?

Also forgot to mention, was also suggested there may be corrosion on the abs ring/s due to the car being sat for a week or two. Was advised they may need a clean but hoping to get process of elimination with the quicker checks/tasks

When the speed sensors failed on my wife’s old 125i the cruise wouldn’t work. I can’t remember the exact combo of warning lights off the top of my head though.

The rings should corrode and swell from a week or two sitting around. They do swell and corrode but it takes time. Sometimes a simple spacer under the ABS sensor helps to avoid removing drive shafts etc.