Dumb Question Thread - No Flaming Allowed

[0-60motorsports]

Hey fellas - I have an SMG, and the car turned off on me unexpectedly yesterday. Good thing I was near my house, and I was able to quickly restart the car. I did some research and suspect it may be related to the "salmon relay" so I ordered one. I also want to get a good scanner/coder to diagnose the issue and future issues. I'm reading online that there are Bluetooth coders that will work with smartphones now. Any good scanner/coder that you of to recommend?

Carly is good but it isnt free, yearly subscription.

[Marc E46M3]

Hey fellas - I have an SMG, and the car turned off on me unexpectedly yesterday. Good thing I was near my house, and I was able to quickly restart the car. I did some research and suspect it may be related to the "salmon relay" so I ordered one. I also want to get a good scanner/coder to diagnose the issue and future issues. I'm reading online that there are Bluetooth coders that will work with smartphones now. Any good scanner/coder that you of to recommend?

[ljmartyre]

3D print or have someone 3D print a tool for you - https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/c...-install-tools

Corteco (OE for BMW) seal is about $14 and you should only need one, maybe two with the tool. The crappy part is if it leaks for whatever reason, those four TTY bolts are not cheap. A good DIYer should be able to handle this without issue.

Somehow I don't know anyone with a 3D printer, but I cant imagine it being hard to find locally. Thank you!
I bought 1 OE and 2 Corteco seals just in case. The bolts are definitely annoyingly priced, no doubt.

It is a pain. See here for my most recent experience: https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...661#post309661

Man, looks to be. Some solid info in there. I'm going to PM you with a question or two if you don't mind.

[heinzboehmer]

Ok so after deep diving on several things over the last few weeks I’ve come to a crossroads.
I’m a heavy DIY person, and the last oil leak to tackle on this car is the FMS.
Most of the threads say it’s a pain in the ass, and without taking the timing cover off - it’s even harder.
People routinely have said they went through/ ruined several seals before getting it installed correctly.
Problem is, it’s not a $6 seal anymore so I’m a bit trepidatious.

I’d like to avoid taking the entire timing cover off to do this, and also avoid sourcing/ buying a special tool that I’ll literally only use once. Thoughts?

It is a pain. See here for my most recent experience: https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...661#post309661

[Slideways]

Ok so after deep diving on several things over the last few weeks I’ve come to a crossroads.
I’m a heavy DIY person, and the last oil leak to tackle on this car is the FMS.
Most of the threads say it’s a pain in the ass, and without taking the timing cover off - it’s even harder.
People routinely have said they went through/ ruined several seals before getting it installed correctly.
Problem is, it’s not a $6 seal anymore so I’m a bit trepidatious.

I’d like to avoid taking the entire timing cover off to do this, and also avoid sourcing/ buying a special tool that I’ll literally only use once. Thoughts?

3D print or have someone 3D print a tool for you - https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/c...-install-tools

Corteco (OE for BMW) seal is about $14 and you should only need one, maybe two with the tool. The crappy part is if it leaks for whatever reason, those four TTY bolts are not cheap. A good DIYer should be able to handle this without issue.

[bavarian3]

Ok so after deep diving on several things over the last few weeks I’ve come to a crossroads.
I’m a heavy DIY person, and the last oil leak to tackle on this car is the FMS.
Most of the threads say it’s a pain in the ass, and without taking the timing cover off - it’s even harder.
People routinely have said they went through/ ruined several seals before getting it installed correctly.
Problem is, it’s not a $6 seal anymore so I’m a bit trepidatious.

I’d like to avoid taking the entire timing cover off to do this, and also avoid sourcing/ buying a special tool that I’ll literally only use once. Thoughts?

heinzboehmer

[ljmartyre]

Ok so after deep diving on several things over the last few weeks I’ve come to a crossroads.
I’m a heavy DIY person, and the last oil leak to tackle on this car is the FMS.
Most of the threads say it’s a pain in the ass, and without taking the timing cover off - it’s even harder.
People routinely have said they went through/ ruined several seals before getting it installed correctly.
Problem is, it’s not a $6 seal anymore so I’m a bit trepidatious.

I’d like to avoid taking the entire timing cover off to do this, and also avoid sourcing/ buying a special tool that I’ll literally only use once. Thoughts?

[Slideways]

VANOS Oil Line: Are we replacing with Genuine part, or some other aftermarket piece?

If the original line with one tab is install as described in TIS, it should be fine. Some of the failures might be down to not installing it properly and putting tension on the line. TIS gives three steps to install that line.

[Cubieman]

VANOS Oil Line: Are we replacing with Genuine part, or some other aftermarket piece?

The genuine part was revised at some point, not sure when.

I bought a genuine years ago but they are so expensive now a Bimmerwold or Rogue would be the way to go all things considered, $50 vs $330.

[PSUEng]

VANOS Oil Line: Are we replacing with Genuine part, or some other aftermarket piece?

[Cubieman]

Twisty Christmas tree...

Thank you!

[PSUEng]

What type of clip holds the carpet in on the RH side upper most hole?

It looks to be a twist lock instead of the standard gray push type pieces.

Twisty Christmas tree...

[Cubieman]

What type of clip holds the carpet in on the RH side upper most hole?

It looks to be a twist lock instead of the standard gray push type pieces.

[elrichmeister]

So remember to check your tires. Luckily i was checking mine before a car meet, i knew had a some inner tire wear, but didnt realize it was that bad.
The front tires lasted me from 3/2022 - till now which was about 32K miles which is an awesome for a PS4S i think?
I have some Stance branded coil overs from previous owner, it has camber plates but they seem to be maxed out to the positive camber, the top nut is pretty much at the limits on the strut tower.
Should i look into addressing the tire wear issue? Since the tires lasted as long, maybe its okay on its current setup?
I did get alignment recently on the front, tech mentioned that camber plates were maxed out, but its wear is at the edge of the tire so not sure if its something else.


Here are the pics:

[Slideways]

^ This.

If you do not foresee yourself replacing a certain part for the next 5-10 years or ever, save yourself $60 and get it from another vendor.

The E46 M3 coolant reservoir can easily go 10+ years. Luckily, it is not built into the radiator like the S50/M54. Mine is original