DIY: New Owner, Would Love Advice

[TR_Beastmode]

Hey all! I finally got 'er :')

I picked up a 2002 SMG M3 coupe back in December. 116k miles, always owned in the south so there's little to no rust, and it's had some things done to it already (listed below). As far as I can tell, none of the Big 3 have been done. My goal is to daily this car and eventually know how to do all mechanical work myself. I have very limited mechanical experience, having only done oil changes, plugs/coils, fuel filters, etc in the past, BUT I want to learn and have the time/money to figure it out. If it helps, the only car I ever worked on myself was a Volkswagen so I'm used to the German weirdness. I've done a few maintenance/preventative things over the past month (also listed below).

Things I know have been done, info from a Turner Motorsport invoice I found in the trunk:
1) H&R Sport Spring set (lowering springs), Part # 50414
2) Sachs clutch kit, Part # 21212282667
3) AFE stage 2 cold air intake (the parts on the car are Injen brand so idk if the intake was changed a second time. From pictures I see online by searching Part #, the kit looks the same as what's currently on the car just different colors), Part # 54-10462
4) Headers. I have no idea what brand or where to look to see what brand, but I have the OE Headers in the trunk so I'm assuming they were replaced ( I hope).
5) Suspicions: I think the vacuum lines have been replaced, they are very pliable and look new.

Things I have done:
1) Oil change using FCP Euros Liqui Moly kit. 10w60 oil, mahle filter, and all new O rings and washers. Also added Liqui Moly MoS2. Part # 11427833769KT2
2) Cabin air filter
3) Transmission fluid using Pentosin DCTF-1/FFL-4. Also replaced the drain plug with one that has a magnet, a Gold Plug. Part # 1080107
4) Differential fluid using FCP Euros Liqui Moly kit. 75w140 oil, new fill and drain plugs. Part # 33117525064KT7
5) Fuel filter, Mahle KL104/1
6) Coolant flush, BMW coolant. Replaced coolant temperature sensor, thermostat, bleed screw, engine block drain plug, and all O rings and washers. Part # 13621433077, 11531318274
7) Throttle position switch, the one right by the oil filter. Part # 13637840383.BMW
8) Intake filter, used an Injen filter. Part # X-1018-BB
9) Plugs and Coils. NGK Laser Platinum plugs, Part # 12120022902.NGK Eldor OEM coils, Part # 12138657273
10) *MOST IMPORTANT* Front hood badge and the ///M3 trunk badge. Both were very faded and I didn't like it.

Some of these things may not have needed to be replaced, but I wanted to familiarize myself with the car, have the peace of mind that they are new, and because they are relatively easy (other than getting the fill plug off the trans, the SMG hydraulic lines are in the way). Somehow I think I did everything correctly, the car runs even better now!

In regards to the Big 3:
1) The car has no rust, and from what I and the shop I bought the car from can tell there is no sign of cracking in the rear subframe. It has not been reinforced, and I'm not particularly worried about it since it's not going to be driven super hard and I live in Texas so no salt on the roads.
2) I have no idea if anything has been done to the Vanos. The bolts on it are hex, and I know BMW swapped to torx bolts sometime after 2002. If it had a new vanos I would suspect to see torx bolts. Although, maybe it was internally rebuilt and they kept the old hardware.
3) Rod bearings. Oh Lord help me. When I changed the oil, it was like I was panning for gold. There's a lot of copper. I sent a sample to Blackstone though, that way I can see how f***** I am scientifically.


Any and all advice, suggestions, or reprimands are welcome and encouraged. My plan now is to start calling local shops and getting quotes for the rod bearings. I know I said I wanted to do all work myself but that seems like a big job and I don't trust myself that much for something as important. As far as work I want to do myself, I want to get rid of the lowering springs. I'm currently doing research on what kit to get, but any recommendations would be sick. Again, I want to daily this car. I'm not trying to turn it into a track car (yet). I want something sick af I can daily that's as reliable as it can be.

[Sharocks]

If you don't have receipts and can't see the work done, assume it's not done.

It's a normal car with quirky needs.

SMG adds to that.

You're thinking correct so just stay on the path of spending money.

[nahvkolaj]

WRT Big 3, here’s my experience (I’ve done them all within the last 4 years):

1) The dealer who sold me my car also claimed “no issue” with the subframe mounts. The shop who did the work on the car for the previous long-term owner said she didn’t drive it hard. It wasn’t till I dropped the rear subframe that I could see the cracks on the front passenger side mount area. There is a crack you can sometimes see on the rear driver side mount area. This YouTube channel has more info on identifying a failing RACP: https://youtube.com/@practicalperfor...kV1trrA5dp0IRW

2) You’ll want to inspect the VANOS exhaust hub. Make sure both tangs that drive the oil pump disc are still intact. Mine had one that was broken off. The replacement bolts from the kit I installed were torx under the hubs and hex to secure the hubs. Attached pic is how I knew I needed to do some work.

3) My car had the recall rod bearing replacement. It probably would have been fine for another 20k miles, +/- 20k miles, but they will need to be done even if they were replaced under the recall.

[nuc1]

3) Rod bearings. Oh Lord help me. When I changed the oil, it was like I was panning for gold. There's a lot of copper. I sent a sample to Blackstone though, that way I can see how f***** I am scientifically.

I'd recommend parking the car until rod bearings have been changed. Towing it is far cheaper then a new S54.

Mike

[TR_Beastmode]

Thanks for the tips guys! I found the rod bearings DIY guide on reddit, the one with like 300 steps and pictures. Would it be a bad idea to try to do it myself?

[simon_c]

Personally I would do an oil change and run an oil analysis and then another analysis in the next 3-6 months to ensure consistent results before doing rod bearings. At your mileage you are likely due though so couldn't hurt. I have 2004 that I've owned for 10 years and have done an oil analysis every oil change since I've owned the car. Came back with perfect results every time so I've never done rod bearings. Just something to consider

[TR_Beastmode]

Personally I would do an oil change and run an oil analysis and then another analysis in the next 3-6 months to ensure consistent results before doing rod bearings. At your mileage you are likely due though so couldn't hurt. I have 2004 that I've owned for 10 years and have done an oil analysis every oil change since I've owned the car. Came back with perfect results every time so I've never done rod bearings. Just something to consider

I gotcha. I'm going to wait until I get the analysis back and see what that says. I'll start studying tutorials and doing research on the DIY, start making a list of what I'll need as far as tools and parts. I might try to do suspension work while I have everything dropped anyways. There are only a couple days a week where I need to drive the car so I will keep drive time down until I get more info.

[simon_c]

A couple other things you'll want to check: FCAB, RTAB, engine/trans mounts.

[Halftim3]

^^ These guys know what they're talking about.
having owned my 2004 for 14 years, I'd say when you do suspension to include monoball rtabs and refresh the rear trailing arms monoballs and wheel bearings too.
Have you checked compression or done a leakdown test before? S54 headgaskets are thin between cylinders and break in that area, not very common, but it happens.
-Mike

[Cubieman]

Do you know what the story with the strut bar is?

Looks like the PS flange is intact while the DS is missing the portion that attaches to the bar and has something like epoxy on it. If the DS strurt bar flange is broken and the strut bar itself is nowhere to be found I would start to question whether or not there may have been an accident at some point.

Even if this is the case its not the end of the world, just curious if you knew anything about that.

In any event, congratulations on the car and welcome to the forums, this car is really a good one to learn on.

[TR_Beastmode]

A couple other things you'll want to check: FCAB, RTAB, engine/trans mounts.

When I do the suspension work I am planning on replacing all the bushings, from what I can see now they all look to be in decent shape though. I got a good look at the engine mounts when I was doing the oil change and the engine mounts look good too, honestly look like they have been replaced recently. Neither side is compressed either.

[TR_Beastmode]

Do you know what the story with the strut bar is?

Looks like the PS flange is intact while the DS is missing the portion that attaches to the bar and has something like epoxy on it. If the DS strurt bar flange is broken and the strut bar itself is nowhere to be found I would start to question whether or not there may have been an accident at some point.

Even if this is the case its not the end of the world, just curious if you knew anything about that.

In any event, congratulations on the car and welcome to the forums, this car is really a good one to learn on.

So that is the only sketchy thing about the car that I have found so far. The driver side bracket is broken and it looks like they tried to fix it with JB weld or something, pretty nasty repair lol. There are no accidents reported for the car, but IDK how something like that breaks without an accident. Maybe something minor that never got reported. I don't see any signs of damage anywhere else thankfully. The strut bar is missing too so I have no idea what that looks like.

[TR_Beastmode]

^^ These guys know what they're talking about.
having owned my 2004 for 14 years, I'd say when you do suspension to include monoball rtabs and refresh the rear trailing arms monoballs and wheel bearings too.
Have you checked compression or done a leakdown test before? S54 headgaskets are thin between cylinders and break in that area, not very common, but it happens.
-Mike

I haven't checked compression yet but thats on the to-do list. I think I heard the head gasket goes out between cylinder 1-2 most often? Maybe between 5-6? The car is not leaking oil from anywhere though, at least not that I have found.

[Cubieman]

So that is the only sketchy thing about the car that I have found so far. The driver side bracket is broken and it looks like they tried to fix it with JB weld or something, pretty nasty repair lol. There are no accidents reported for the car, but IDK how something like that breaks without an accident. Maybe something minor that never got reported. I don't see any signs of damage anywhere else thankfully. The strut bar is missing too so I have no idea what that looks like.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-bmw-parts/oem-m3-front-strut-tower-brace-kit/51717895414kt/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19434507518&gbraid=0AAAAAD-pFG6MUzGG370zj6x3zdu4iCO7j&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgvPKBhCxARIsAOlK_ErM0J_Fh3fOxRiKRKRo78A02HDZdaaTlBbiD2MmcbWj-ssqFTtPiikaAj1fEALw_wcB

I would get one form mpartsworldwide on Instagram, just DM them for availability, or maybe used on ebay if you are going to stick with the OEM bar. Definitely run a strut bar.

[jayjaya29]

Thanks for the tips guys! I found the rod bearings DIY guide on reddit, the one with like 300 steps and pictures. Would it be a bad idea to try to do it myself?

Rod bearings is quite the under taking for a relatively new enthusiast. You will have to purchase a lot of tooling. The glitter in the oil does not give me a good feeling.