the purpose of this conversion is to remove the mechanical fan (engine driven) and the electric aux fan in front of the radiator, and replace them with the single electric fan used on manual cars.

the only part you need is the OEM manual fan, i got mine from a bmw breakers off a 330ci which had covered under 60k for £40!

Btw my car has been already converted from automatic to 6-spd manual gearbox just to note!

So......

firstly you need to remove the air box intake feed which is held down with 3 push-in plastic clips,

after that you need to loosen off the fan cowling which is held on with a t25 screw (located at the top near A/C pipes), and a plastic push-in clip on the opposite side near the radiator cap, there is also 2 plugs which need un-plugging, 1 larger plug powering the front aux fan and a smaller plug connected to the module mounted to the shroud.

the cowling is now ready to remove, so using the correct size spanner and locking tool you can free/remove the mechanical fan and slide the cowling out, you will noticed a huge gap now which in future will allow easy access to work on belts/water pump etc etc if needed!

the new manual spec electric fan just slides in the exact same place as old fan cowling came out of and is held in place by the same 2 fittings (1x t25 screw and 1x plastic clip), once in place you just plug the fan in, the fan is powered by the same plug which was connected to the aux fan, also remember to plug the module in (this is needed for the A/C as its a sensor).

the next step is to remove the front bumper and plastic cowling then remove the aux fan which is held down by 4x 13mm nuts, once its off refit cowling and bumper and your ready to test everything.

the electric fan is variable speed and will also run when A/C is activated exactly the same as manual spec cars, i ran my car up to temp and using the OBC function 7 (engine coolant temp) monitored everything, without the A/C running mine held at around 90'c and when it creeped past this the fan started up, on a road test in both heavy traffic and motorway runs i've had no issues at all with coolant temps with it never going past 92'c. Its very quiet now as theres no noisy mechanical fan running

as i said earlier my car has already been converted from a automatic to manual last year so i don't run the additional gearbox cooler anymore so i cannot comment on how much difference it will have on the temps, i have done a little extra research on e46fanatics and it seems its quite a popular swap on there automatics and a few run these is much higher temps then we see here in the UK.

will post pictures up later on once i've sorted them.

One thing that I did want to be able to do was diagnostics, retrofit memory seats, and recode my car keys. To do this I needed a bit of software (If INPA, DIS, SSS aren't familiar to you then you should google around) and a cable to connect my car to my computer.

The stock cables available come in many forms but the best one to get is a blue kkl usb cable from ebay. These are sold for all cars and there are no BMW specific cables for sale. Unfortunately, BMW isn't mentioned much in these listings and this is because without modification THESE CABLES WILL NOT WORK.

They can be modified. This guide is written to show the easiest way to do the modification so you can have a cheap OBDII interface cable of your own.

PREREQUISITES

You need to have a fine tipped soldering iron and the skills to use it. The work that needs to be done is very fine and requires mm precision.

STEP 1

Get a usb kkl cable off ebay. You can have them sent from china for a really cheap deal but from the UK these can still be found for less than ten squid.

STEP 2

You're going to need to get down to maplin and buy some bits (or just rummage through your boxes for the bits). What you need

1x NPN transistor (2n3904)

1x resistor 220k (can vary down to 100k or up to 400k)

you also need a bit of solder and a little bit of wire

STEP 3

Open up the cable by removing the four philips/pozidriv screws (two per side)

remove the casing

STEP 4

cut the bit of wire to length and solder it to the back of pins 7 + 8 - you can also just use solder to bridge the pins

STEP 5

use a bit of solder to bridge pins 17 and 18 of the fdtl chip - this will form a base for the next step which is tricky otherwise.

Then take the transistor, cut the legs so they are about 1cm long and bend the outer two down and together so there is about a 2mm gap between them. Use the iron to dab a bit of solder on to each of the three legs

note the labelling

STEP 6

Solder leg (E) to the bridged pins 17 and 18. If you've prepped well this will be simply a case of holding the transister against the top of the fdtl chip, lining up the leg and dabbing it with the iron.

Check if the C leg is sitting over pin 20 (there should be a pin that you avoid between the two that were bridged). If it isn't, bend it so it sits over it and then dab it with the iron. The solder that you put on the leg before should be enough to get them to join. Keep going until they are stuck together.

]

STEP 7

Now take the resistor and cut one leg short (about 1.5cm). Then solder this leg to the middle 'B' pin of the transistor (the only one now not connected)

Then bend the resistor so the other leg sits against the back of pin 1. and solder that on too.

STEP 8

Put the case back on and grab a beer!

Job done. You should now have a working USB-OBDII cable that has ignition detection and works in INPA, DIS, and SSS.

Happy hunting.

If you need any help just shoot me a PM

This is the one I got:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140524980332

FYI You can get them pre modified if you give up on the soldering:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320695338721

Please support a fellow e46er! 

https://youtu.be/MOTNx6lVlNM

- 4-5 hours.

Symptoms of faulty CCV:

- Engine drinking oil (as much as half a litre/month is typical).

- Oil residue in the inlet manifold (remove your DISA valve to check).

This is a job that most people who live in a cold/ish climate and own a 7+ year old e46 probably need doing, even if they dont realise it.

The CCV (crankcase ventilation) system is designed to recirculate oil vapours from the camshaft housing down into an oil seperating valve so that the oil can be seperated and recycled down into the sump (via the dipstick) and the other vapours are sent to the inlet manifold and exhausted.

BMW have acknowledged that the CCV is a weak point on their M54 engines as they get condensation buildup during cold weather which mixes with the recirculated oil vapours and clogs the oil seperation valve itself. This then prevents the oil from being drained down into the sump, and instead gets sucked up into the intake manifold where the oil gets burnt during combustion, and comes out of the exhaust.

Youll then end up with a gunked up valve as mine was:

This is the main culprit behind so many people complaining that their 6-pot M54 engines drink a lot of oil. Most just dont bother replacing the valve, just top their oil up when needed. Well id had enough of forking out for oil top ups so decided to finally get on with sorting out the cause.

What you'll need

- T-40, T-25 Torx bits

- 6mm, 10mm, & 13mm sockets & Ratchet

- Various length Ratchet Extension bars

- Needle nose pliers

- Small Mirror

- Torch

- Set of cross and flat headed screwdrivers

- Magnetic pick up tool (for those screws that youll drop down onto the skid plate!)

- Stanley Knife

Tips

- Label all the connectors you remove with masking tape!

- Have a magnet pick up tool at the ready in case you drop any screws down onto the skid plate

- Give yourself plenty of time to do the job

- Use some washing up liquid or silicon grease to get the new hoses on if youre struggling with them

Parts

There are 2 different parts lists that are available to do the job. Theres the standard 'warm climate' parts, and a more expensive 'cold climate' setup. The cold climate parts are foam insulated to reduce the amount of condensation build up in the ventilation system. Its up to you which version you buy, but the cold climate one is more expensive and the valve is much more of a pig to fit due to its larger size, so be warned!

The parts list are as follows (prices as of Nov 2012):

Warm Climate Parts

11617501566 Oil seperating valve - - £40

11611432559 Vent pipe - £17.52

11617504535 Connecting line - £24.30

11157532649 Vent Hose - £11.66

11617504536 Return Pipe - £25.43

11431740045 Dip Stick O-rings - £2.10

13547504729 Throttle Body Gasket - £6.65

---------

£127.66

Cold Climate Parts

11617533400 Oil seperating valve (insulated) - £45.70

11617533398 Vent Pipe (insulated) - £19.06

11617533399 Connecting line (insulated) - £24.30

11157532629 Vent hose (insulated) - £11.66

11617504536 Return Pipe - £25.43

11431740045 Dip Stick O-rings - £2.10

13547504729 Throttle Body Gasket - £6.65

---------

£134.90

Procedure

Battery

Firstly, unhook your battery. Unplugging sensors during the ccv replacement with your car powered up could throw errors with your ecu, so just to be safe remove the earth (black) connection on your battery. Its located under the black tray on the right hand side of your boot. Pull the upright carpet out of the way and lift up the black plastic tray to access it (being careful not to pull on the green fuel cap release in doing so). A 10mm socket is all youll need to loosen the connection and lift it off.

Air intake filter and boots

The next job is to remove your air intake components. This comprises of the air filter housing, MAF and intake boots. Firstly, remove the 3 expanding clips on the intake housing using a flat headed screwdriver, and then the 2 hex bolts that are holding the air filter housing to the engine bay.

Now loosen the jubilee clip and unclip the MAF connector (by pinching and pulling on the plug)...

The whole intake unit should now lift out exposing the upper and lower intake boots. The upper one comes out easily by pulling ouy the vacuum hose at the top (you may need a screwdriver to prise this out) and then loosening the jubilee clip and pulling it out.

To remove the lower one though, youll firstly have to remove your DISA valve, which is held in place by 2 T-40 hex bolts. Once youve removed them, just unplug the DISA connector, and twist and pull on the valve and it will come out as one complete unit:

With the DISA valve out you can now remove the lower intake boot by loosening the jubilee clips that tie it to the ICV (the smaller hose on the lower intake boot) and the throttle body (the larger one). It can take a bit of tugging but the lower boot will eventually pull off, exposing the throttle body.

Throttle Body, Conduit Box & Purge Valve

The last stage before you can actually see the CCV is to remove the throttle body that youve now exposed, and also the conduit box which houses various looms. To do this, firstly unbolt the 3 10mm nuts that are securing the conduit box. There are two easy ones to see in the middle and on the left, but the third is out of sight on the right hand side located next to the bottom right hand throttle body bolt (use a mirror to locate it if youre having trouble). Once you have all 3 nuts off, just move the conduit box out of the way.

Next remove the throttle body 4 10mm hex bolts which secure the throttle body. Its hard to see the bottom two in the picture below but theyre in the same position vertically as the upper ones. The bolts are quite long so dont be surprised when they just keep on unscrewing!

With the bolts out, unplug the throttle body connector and pull on the TB and it should easily slide out and can be completely removed with a bit of twisting and pulling. Now its just a case of unplugging and unhooking the purge valve to the left hand side of where the conduit box was.

At this stage it is also a good idea to take out the retaining bolt on the dipstick housing so that the whole dipstick assembly can be moved out of the way. The retaining bolt is located as shown here:

This will now completely expose the oil seperator valve which will now be removed.

CCV (Oil seperator valve & hoses)

With everything now out of the way you should now be able to see the oil seperator under the inlet manifold. Its now time to start unclipping all the hoses in the ccv system so that the valve can be completely removed.

To access the top hoses (connecting hose & return pipe), youll need to firstly take off your micro filter assembly (A) and fuel rail cover (B ), as shown here:

The micro filter assembly is removed by turning the 3 sprung clips through 90 degrees until they pop up. Its cover can then be removed, revealing the filter itself. Take out the filter and then unclip the enclosure in front of it (C ) and pull out the 12V cable in black conduit. By now removing the 4 T40 torx screws that are holding the housing in place you will be able to pull the whole assembly out.

You can now access the two hex bolts (under the plastic covers) that hold the fuel rail cover in place. Unscrew these and pull off the cover.

With the cover off you can now access and remove the connecting hose and return pipe. Use a pair of needle nose pliers to pinch and pull them off where needed, dont worry if they snap, theyll probably be very brittle and youll be replacing them anyway.

The final hose to remove at the top is the one thats attached to the valve cover. Just pinch and pull this as with the others.

With this final top hose removed, you can now unscrew and remove the valve itself (D below). It is held on by 2 x T25 torx screws as shown by the arrows. In the diagram below, hoses (B ) and (C ) should be detached as per the previous step but its now totally up to you how you remove the valve itself, some prefer to cut hoses (B ) and (C ) at the valve end so that the seperator can just be pulled out, some prefer to do some wiggling about and keep them intact. Either way youll need to remove the 2 torx screws.

With the oil seperator out from underneath the intake manifold its just a case of removing the drain hose (A) which is attached to a nipple on the dipstick at the other end. I found that by far the easiest thing to do was to slit the hose at the dipstick end with a stanley knife and pull it off. The oil seperator valve can now be completely removed from the engine bay ready for the new one to be fitted.

Preperation & Reassembly of new parts

Before reassembling the new parts back in place, there are a few steps that need to be taken. Firstly, the nipple on the dipstick needs to be checked to see if its clear of gunk, otherwise the new oil seperator will just get clogged up again. The best way to do this is to remove the distick completely. To do this, take out the dipstick (which you use to check your oil levels) and then with the retaining bolt having been removed earlier the dipstick tube will completely lift out of the sump with a bit of a wiggle:

Once out, check the nipple that the drain back hose from the oil seperator connects to, and make sure its clear of gunk. If its clogged up you can use a bicycle pump or an air line to clear it as much as possible. While the dipstick housing is out, its also a good time to replace the larger dipstick o-ring. This can be found either around the bottom of the dipstick housing, or in the hole in the sump where the dipstick tube pulled out from.

With that part complete, fit the new drain hose to the dipstick nipple ready to connect to the new valve and replace the dipstick housing, but dont re-secure the dipstick retaining bolt just yet.

Its now time to fit the new valve and hoses. This is by far the most awkward part of the job so be prepared for a few scraped knuckles. I found that the best way to re-fit was to attach the connecting hose (C ) first (mine was a push and twist fit) and then feed the hose up through the gap in the inlet manifold where you pulled the old one from and get the oil seperator into position at the same time. It takes a lot of patience and twisting as the throttle body housing gets in the way, but dont fret it does go in there eventually.

Once in place, secure the valve back in place with the 2 torx screws, and then feed the valve cover hose (B ) down through the gap next to the oil filter housing and connect it to the ccv valve. The valve cover hose (B ) takes a little bit of bending but its a push and click type rather than the twist fit, so its a bit easier than the last one.

Now fit the final hose which you secured to the dipstick nipple earlier, it goes on the bottom of the new oil sperator and should be a push and click type again.

Youre now ready to do the rest of the reassembly, which i did in this order...

- Refit and reconnect the purge valve

- Refit and reconnect the throttle body & replace gasket with the new one youve bought

- Refit the conduit box

- Refit and reconnect the DISA valve

- Resecure the dipstick housing on its bracket

- Refit lower intake boot

- Refit upper intake boot & reattach vacuum hose

- Refit air intake enclosure/air box & plug MAF back in

- Refit fuel rail cover and micro filter assembly

- Reconnect battery

....And youre done!!

Hopefully you find this guide useful and it cures your oil drinking problems with your engine. I take no responsibility for anything going wrong when you follow the above, its just what i did step by step, and it all worked out for me. If you have any questions, dont hesitate to ask.

Lastly there are some fantastic how-to videos on youtube by Bavarianauto. I pretty much followed what he did in them and it was very handy seeing everything done in real time. I highly recommend watching them before taking this job on. I can only post the first part for some reason, but there are links to parts 2 and 3 at the end of the video:

[media=]

Acknowledgments

I pretty much nicked some of the pictures from other websites to write this guide as i didnt take any pictures at the time of doing mine, so thanks to DetailingWorld, Bavarianauto and BMW fanatics for those.

- Sit in the car with all the doors shut and windows up with your key fobs (all your fobs need to be done at the same time)

- With one of your keys turn the ignition on then off and remove the key

- Press and hold the unlock botton and then press the lock button 3 times.

- Release all buttons and the locks will bounce up and down.

- Repeat this with the other key/keys (press and hold unlock and press lock 3 times, locks will bounce)

Note: Only switch your ignition on once, doing so again while programming will reset the process and you will have to start again.

Hope this helps

So, my 2001 pre-facelift coupe has had an annoying plastic-on-plastic vibration/rattle that sounded like it was coming from the centre of the dash behind the middle air vents.

It resonated at about 2000rpm and was proper annoying when changing down gears or when travelling between 20-30mph as it got so loud it sometimes confused me into thinking I'd accidentally put it into first gear and my engine was straining or something.

It was reaaaally annoying, and after taking part my dashboard to no avail, I decided to root around the back of the engine to see if anything was loose, and after dismantling various parts and ages of annoying my neighbours with engine revving I found the problem.

I know a rattle can be caused by some plastic bits inside the dashboard, behind the head unit and middle air vents, but this wasn't the case with mine. And to be honest, this was easier than taking the bloody vents and what-not out.

I'm not sure what models/years are prone to this, and I'm not sure how the engine bays differ on each model/year of e46 but if you have a problem that sounds like it could be this, it takes less than an hour and doesn't really cost anything.

All you need is:

Some silicone/mastic sealant.

A torx screwdriver. (didn't check the size I used, sorry!)

Right, this is where you'll be working:

Step 1: Unclip and remove the plastic wiring loom/hose tidier so the wiring loom and hose are loose. Then, undo the three spring-loaded clip things on the cabin filter cover.

Step 2: Lift the front of the filter cover up and pull towards you to remove it (there is a lip on the back of it that slots under the rubber seal above it). At first I thought this was attached to the plastic trim under the wipers as it wasn't going anywhere, but after some "gentle" persuasion it came out.

Step 3: Remove the cabin filter itself by lifting slightly and sliding it towards you.

Step 4: Undo the four torx screws. One of mine was missing, the more I look around the car the more screws I find that are missing! Then lift out the heavy ass cabin filter housing.

Step 5: Lift off the rubber seal on top of the black plastic divider to the right of the cabin filter housing (highlighted in red on the two photos). Lift the grommets the various hoses and cables go through out of the slots so the hoses can freely move out the way when removing the next part. There are two of twisty screw clip things on the black wall located where the green arrows point that you may want to remove so you can push the plastic divider-wall thing out the way (sorry, forgot to take a picture of this bit).

You don't have to remove any of this from the car, just loosen it so it can lean out of the way to get the next part out easily.

Step 6: Undo the two torx screws and lift out the wall plate thing.

Step 7: You should now see the cavity that is under your dashboard and the back of your AC air ducts through a cut-out in the back of the engine bay. Around the edge of the cut-out is a rubber seal (as outlined in red, its a big 'U' shape, can't get a full pic of it in situ as it goes behind the engine). THIS IS THE CULPRIT. Over time the rubber perishes, stiffens and warps causing it to flap around and vibrate against the metal edge. If you tap it you can tell. If I'd have known this was causing the problem I would have bought a new seal, but it won't really make a difference.

Step 8: Pull it off, it looks like this.

Step 9: Now, get some mastic or silicone sealant and cover the rubber seal in that sh*t. Apply it all the way around the edge of the cut-out in the engine bay where the rubber seal fits aswell. Try not to get it everywhere like I did…

Step 10: Re-fit the rubber seal, ensuring the locating lugs go through the holes in the metal body and the rubber sits flush. Make sure mastic is spread along the whole rubber seal and making definite contact with the metal body. You are essentially just gluing the seal down to the car to stop it flapping around and vibrating.

Step 11: Refit the wall plate and tightly fasten the two torx screws. Apply more mastic over the top if you want, just to be sure.

Step 12: Put everything back in reverse order, ensuring everything is tightened properly.

I replaced the bolt that was missing, but only had a slot head

DONE!

No more annoying vibrations or flappy rubber inside your engine bay!

I'm glad I found what it was as it was doing my head in!

Hopefully this helps and solves someone else's annoying vibrating rattle noise. If not, it may be behind your radio head unit/middle air vents that your problem lies, so good luck!

Cheers!

Alex

Here you go :-

If you can't find what you're looking for on e46zone, try BMW 330ci, my330i, MadRussian or the e46fanatics link above. Between e46zone and the other sites mentioned, there shouldn't be much you can't do yourself!

Exterior

Replacing BMW Badges

Interior

Heated Steering Wheel Retrofit

Instrument Cluster Removal

Carbon Fibre Wrap Interior Trim (Also useful for how to remove interior trim)

Carbon Fibre Laminating (real CF weave)

Centre Armrest Install

Suspension/Brakes/Drive train/Engine

DISA Valve Replacement

Spring Replacement/Upgrade

Front Control Arm Rear Bushes

Engine Whistle/Intake Boot

Anti-Roll Bar Links

Fan Clutch Removal & Engine Belts Change for Autos

Rear Brake Change

Lighting

Angel Eye Install (NON-Facelift Coupe)

Angel Eye Install (Facelift Coupe)

Electronics/ICE/Stereo

E46 Integrated Bluetooth with S/W Controls (Parrot Kit)

Complete Business HU upgrade - Sirius, MP3, Aux-in & iPod

Double-Din Installation

Facelift Coupe - Ski Hatch Removal

BMW Remote Key Fob Programming

How to change the battery and casing for your key

Maintenance

Handbrake adjustment

Front & Rear Brakes

N42 Air Filter Replacement

Clean EGR Valve (M47N)

Swirl Flaps Cleaned & Crank Case Breather Checked

(320d) Oil Change

General/Stuff that didn't fit into any other category

Sticky Seatbelt

Sticky Door Handle

Butterfly Valve Exhaust Mod

Occupancy Sensor Bypass Module (Airbag Light on OBC)

CDV (Clutch Delay Valve) Replace/Delete

(Saloon) Subframe Repair

Throttle Adaption Reset

New member with a question. just swapped the front hub and bearing over on my 330ci. I have read to tap it onto the stub axel then use the nut to wind it on then torque the nut upto 290nm. 
My question is by doing this will the bearing have been pushed up the stub far enough and seated properly by torquing the nut. The Outer face of the nut ended up flush with the end of the stub axel so you can seal the nut on. 
 

just want to make sure it is on correctly etc. 
 

many thanks. 

You will need the following two items

1. OEM Part number 63 21.8.374.807 (saloon and coupe according to RealOEM)comes with the bulbs already fitted = £16.25

2. Length of 10 amp cable approx 3 feet

A. Unscrew tool tray and remove form boot lid.

B. Unclip boot lid liner to gain access to light clusters.

C. Unplug left hand light holder and replace with new light cluster.

D. remove white clip from connector plug feed in stripped end of cable and rplce clip. plug in connector to cluster

E. Route cable along line of cable already in boot lid to right light cluster.

F. Push other end of new cable into outer Brown/Yellow cable on right connector.

G. Re fit trim and tool tray.

H. Switch on rear fogs and admire the fact you now have two one each side.

OLD AND NEW LIGHT HOLDERS

LEFT CABLE CONNECTOR WITH NEW CABLE

RIGHT CABLE CONNECTOR WITH NEW CABLE INSERTED IN OUTER BROWN/YELLOW CABLE

First, the theory. In a steptronic car, moving the stick to the left and knocking it up and down changes gear. This is done by a microswitch on each end of the switch. When the switch is pressed, a live signal is connected to earth and the car's gearbox ECU knows to change gear. This modification taps into this circuit. When the paddle is pressed, the very same signal is grounded via the steering wheel, giving the same effect.

First, you'll need to go shopping. You'll obviously need a steering wheel. I got mine from an E46 M3 SMG. A CSL wheel will do just as well, but you won't have the multifunction buttons, though you should be able to transfer yours over if necessary.

You'll also need to go shopping at your local dealer. Here's the list of part numbers and prices:

6x B61.13.0.006.663 - Bushing Contact - £1.10 each (I recommend getting 10 so you've got spares)

4x B61.13.0.006.664 - Pin Contact - £1.14 each (Get 10 again, just in case)

1x B61.31.8.379.091 - Steering Wheel Slip Ring - £76.91

1x B61.13.8.380.696 - 2 Pin plug- £0.57

1x B61.13.6.925.611 - 4 Pin plug - £0.74

1x B61.13.6.925.634 - 4 Pin Socket - £1.02

I got the 4 pin plugs above simply because I didn't feel happy about cutting/soldering the car's original wiring. This way the loom is revoveable should I ever need to take it out.

Finally you'll need 2 metres of 2 core cable. I got some from Maplins for about 80p per metre.

The first step in the conversion is to fabricate the new wiring loom. I started by putting the pins/bushings into the plug/socket housings. The shorter connections (the bushings) go into the plugs. The longer ones (pins) go into the socket. The pics below show the plugs and sockets in various states of construction.

You'll need to cut the cables to about 6 cm on each. Shorter is better, but I needed something to work with because I don't trust my soldering! I needed to make sure that I got the wiring joined correctly, so I connected the 4 pin plug and 4 pin socket together, then connected the top wire from each together with solder & heatshrink. I then did the bottom wires in the same way. The middle two need to be joined in a similar way, but the new 2 core wire needs to be connected as well. I heatshrunk the whole lot together and wrapped the lot in insulation tape. Before you wrap it up, mark the other end of the long cable (I used masking tape) so you know which core connects to which pin on the plug.

Now is the time to start taking the car apart. Start by disconnecting the battery negative lead. Tuck it out the way so it doesn't flick back and accidentally touch back to the terminal. If you don't do this, the airbag light will be triggered and you'll need it reset by a dealer/specialist.

Grab the back of the gearstick gaiter and pull up. This will release the clips and it'll lift up. Disconnect the wiring plugs and remember where they went. Next, remove the two screws you've just exposed, and lift up the window switch surround. Disconnect the plugs for the switches and move the trim section out of the way. You should now see the purple plugs for the shifter.

Next, remove the sunglasses holder under the aircon controls, by lifting the lid and pulling hard. You have to pull it harder than you think! You should now see two screws that were behind the sunglass holder, and two that were under the switch surround. Remove these and the whole plastic centre section comes out. Be careful here - the cigarette lighter cables will still be connected.

Next, remove the steering wheel. The airbag is the tricky bit. Behind the wheel are two small holes. Poke a flat blade screwdriver from the side and push the spring on each side to release the airbag. Have a look at the new wheel and you'll see the spring retainers. It's fiddly but can be done with a little patience. Once the airbag is out, prise up the back of each plug to release the clips and remove the plugs from the airbag unit. Put the airbag to one side.

Now, inside the wheel, remove the two plugs at the top. One is for the airbag, one for the multifunction computer. Next, get a 16mm socket and undo the bolt in the middle of the wheel. Remember the angle of the wheel to make sure the new one goes back the same way! Pull the wheel off and put to one side.

On top the steering column undo the screw, and underneath, push in the pins on the two trim fasteners. THe lower half of the steering column will now come away. I removed the lower dash trim above the pedals at this point but I'm not sure you need to.

Now is the best time to test fit the new wiring loom and cut it to length. You can then solder the remaining two bushing contacts to the loose end of the cable. Don't push them into the 2 pin plug housing yet.

With the new steering wheel in your hand, place it on the new slip ring (not attached to the car yet) and plug the paddle plug into the slip ring socket. Get a multimeter and set it on continuity (or resistance if you don't have it). Put one probe on the metal backing of the steering wheel, and the other on one of the pins on the back of the slip ring (on the 2 pin socket). Hit the paddles and work out which paddle is connected to which pin by looking for a change in the mulitmeter readings.

The back of the new slip ring is picture below.

So, we now know which pin on the slip ring corresponds to which paddle. On the wiring plug by the gear stick, the blue wire is up (+) - trace this up the new loom and fit the 2 pin plug the correct way round so that the blue wire is connected to the (+) paddle. If you get this wrong, you can always switch the pins in the plug by lightly pressing on the clips that hold them in.

Route the new loom through the centre console (this is why you removed the lighter socket and it's panel). Poke it up through the back of the steering column and zip tie it along the way to keep things neat.

By the gear stick, disconnect the purple plugs, and insert the new loom in between, like the pic below, and tuck it down out the way.

Time to replace the slip ring. Undo the 4 screws that secure the slip ring housing to the steering column and carefully remove the indicator stalks. Unplug the wiring for the slip ring, then replace with the new one, ensuring all plugs are back in, including the new one. Insert the indicators and screw the slip ring back in place.

Time to fit the new wheel. There are three plugs now:

Plug these into the slip ring, and do up the centre bolt - tightly! Make sure the wheel is in the same alignment as the old one now. I didn't, and had to straighten it later. Plug the airbag back in, push the clips ont he plugs down, and push the airbag unit back into place.

Now you can reconnect the battery.

At this point you should be able to start the car and test it out. Put it in drive, go left into sport mode and try the paddles. The stick should also still work. If this doesn't work, re-check the wiring plugs-you may have missed one.

Once you're happy, start re-assembling all the interior trim (the same way you took it off), then go for a drive. I challenge you to not smile at your now arcade-machine style gearchange

Sorry I didn't get more pics. I was too busy trying to get it done.

If you've got any specific questions, reply or PM me. I'll be happy to talk you through it.

Matt

To set one-touch window operation

Get in car

Close all doors

Ignition to position 2

Press desired window button so window goes all the way down

Release switch

Press and hold button down all the way to second click for 10 seconds

Release switch

Now raise window by pulling switch all the way up

Release switch

Hold switch up for 10 seconds

Release switch

The window should now "One-Touch" You can do this with multiple windows at the same time.

The concept is that you disconnect a vacuum hose from the exhaust therefore forcing a butterfly valve inside one of the twin pipes to remain open to allow for a deeper sound at low revs.

For those that found the above didn't make sense (and it didnt to me at first) i'll explain.

Basically because BM's are made for big fat German executives (dont flame me for my generalisation ) the E46's with twin exhaust pipes have a butterly valve in the inner right exhaust pipe that completely shuts off that exhaust from around 1000-3000 revs to limit exhaust sound around urban areas. Once you go above that rev range, the valve opens and you get a nicer and deeper exhaust note which you would generally be after if you were revving that high.

The "golf tee mod" works by disconnecting the vaccuum hose that attaches above the exhaust and operates the butterfly valve and stuffing it with something of a similar size to a golf tee to plug the end. This then allows the valve in the inner right pipe to be constantly open and therefore give you a much nicer and deeper exhaust note even at idle and right through the rev range.

Well long story short (too late now i know lol) I attempted this mod yesterday, located the pipe, stuffed it with a short metal screw (it looks cleaner and wont melt) and started her up. Nothing. "Well i guess you get what you pay for" i said to myself thinking that it had made absolutely no difference at all. I switched off the ignition and had a look inside the exhaust pipe to see what was wrong and noticed the butterfly valve (which completely blocks off the pipe) was still closed and assumed i had disconnecting the hose at the wrong time and left it stuck in closed mode. So i tried pushing it with my finger and it wouldnt budge.

It turns out that the butterfly valve had actually rusted shut and i eventually had to go get a crow bar and bash the valve open with several hard blows. So i've basically been driving my beloved car around for the past 3 months since i've had it with only one with freaking exhaust pipe!!!

Well needless to say i personally found the exhaust sound noticeably improved and even a little bit more low down torque, though the latter is probably just a placebo affect, but makes sense in my head.

While this probably wont apply to all those with aftermarket exhausts, give it a go if your interested and while it wont be night and day it will sound a lot better imo. You may even find you've had a stuck valve and are only using one exhaust pipe like me, in which case prepare to feel cheated for your many hours of "i wish my exhaust was a bit louder and deeper and that a butterfly valve in the inner right pipe hasnt rusted shut limiting my exhaust to just one" that you've had to needlessly endure all this time!

Ok well got some pictures up, they're not great and only quick so here goes

The valve semi closed (i didn't want to push it all the way fully closed again)

And the valve fully open, or as near as i could get it anyways!

The valve vacuum hose plugged up with a small screw

And finally the hose hanging down from inside the exhaust area!

For anyone wanting to do this, just slide yourself under the car around the exhaust area and have a look for that black vacuum hose. Once you've found it, feel along to where it connects to the exhaust pipe and give it several firm pulls (but not too much to tear it! Though it should be quite durable). Find something e.g golf tee, small screw to plug the end with and then take a look inside your exhaust pipe to make sure the valve is fully open as shown in simon's and my own pictures. If its closed and a gentle push wont open it, you may have a similar situation to myself and it may be rusted shut. Grab something sturdy e.g a strong screw driver and try to knock or pry it open (this may take some force so be careful!!)

If anyone needs a hand with this mod, give me a PM or a reply

I have an e46 se with an aftermarket Eonon headunit installed, the speakers aren’t all that great but I have seen online that you can pick up the Harmon kardon ones for really cheap. My question is would it work straight plug and play or do I have to get additional wiring? Please advise thanks 😁

Caution: Doing this interferes with the cars software and if you don't do it correctly could cause issues with the control modules. Only proceed if you are confident!

NOTE: Coding this in without the reset / initialise button in your centre button box means you have to use INPA to reset the system after a pressure change.

Tools Required:
Coding cable
INPA
NCSExpert

1. Plug in your coding cable

2. Start your engine

3. Open INPA, check you have communication.

4. Open NCSExpert and load your coding profile.

5. Click FG/ZCS/FA, then ZCS/FA f. ECU (F1 then F3)

6. Select E46

7. Select AKMB

Wait for it to grab your VIN and FA. Then click Back.

8. Click Process ECU (F4)

9. Select AKMB

10. Click Change Job (F2) and make sure CODIERDATEN_LESEN is selected (to read from the module)

11. Click Execute Job (F3) and wait for 'Coding ended'

12. Navigate to C:\NCSEXPER\WORK\ and open FSW_PSW.TRC in Notepad or NCS Dummy.
You need to change the following values:
RDKS - nicht_aktiv -> aktiv
CAN_RDS - nicht_aktiv -> aktiv
AKUSTIK_RDKS - nicht_aktiv -> aktiv
WARN_MEDIUM_RDKS - piezo -> piezo (change to gong if your car has a gong)

Save the file as: FSW_PSW.MAN in the same folder (make sure it actually saves as a .MAN, not a .txt!)

13. Back in NCSExpert, click Change Job (F2), select "SG CODIEREN" and click Exectute Job (F3)

Wait for 'Coding ended'. Your clocks will reset.

14. Click Change SG/SET, and now select MK60

15. Ensure the JOBNAME is CODIERDATEN_LESEN (if not, hit Change Job (F2) and select it from the list)

16. Click Execute Job (F3) and wait for 'Coding ended'

17. Navigate to C:\NCSEXPER\WORK\ and open FSW_PSW.TRC in Notepad or NCS Dummy.
You need to change the following values:
REIFENDRUCKWARNSYSTEM - nicht_aktiv -> aktiv

Save the file as: FSW_PSW.MAN in the same folder (make sure it actually saves as a .MAN, not a .txt!)

18. Back in NCSExpert, click Change Job (F2), select "SG CODIEREN" and click Exectute Job (F3)

Wait for 'Coding ended'. Your clocks will reset.

19. Turn off your engine, wait 10 seconds, then restart your engine.
You should notice the tyre pressure warning light illuminate amber, then red, then back to solid amber. This indicates the system needs calibrating.

To calibrate (Sorry, no screenshots). Open INPA, E46, Chassis, MK60, Activate, RPA, then Initialize RPA.

Turn off your engine. Wait 10 seconds, then restart the car. 

You should now notice that when the ignition is switched on, the TPMS light will illuminate amber, then red, then switch off. Congratulations, the system is now functional. When the system detects that a tyre is losing / has lost pressure, the amber light will illuminate.



When you check and refill the tyres, you will need to reset the system. You can plug into INPA, E46, Chassis, MK60, Activate, RPA, then Initialize RPA to calibrate it.

For the more advanced retrofit, you can replace your button bar with one which contains a TPMS button, then run a wire between Pin 40 on the DSC plug, and Pin 2 on the button bar multiplug. This will enable you to reset the system with the OEM button.

Although the car's now gone.. I took some pics a few weeks ago whilst I was fitting the JOM coilover kit to my 330 vert as the info I managed to find previously on the 'net seemed to relate to coupes etc, which after removing some of the boot trim and finding nothing, decided it was a different story for the verts.. so here's a quick set of pics that others hopefully, might find useful.

Rear suspension

Locate rear jacking points and jack up car and remove wheel

Undo and remove bottom shock bolt

Lean on the hub / disc and pull the spring out form its locators

Semi-lower the roof, using the back edge of the roof to support the roof cover

Remove the plastic grommets (2 each side)

Remove the 2 nuts whilst steading the shock and remove completely

Remove the top mount nut if you're not fitting new top mounts as they need to be transferred to the new shocks

Fit the adjuster and rubber ends to the new spring

Note: adjuster sits at the top of the spring

Wriggle the new spring back into position and bolt up the new shock starting at the top. A 2nd jack is handy to be able to lift the hub to align the bottom bolt.

Front suspension

Locate jacking point, jack up car and remove wheel. Would also suggest soaking the bolts and joint where the shock goes through the hub clamp with WD40 and leave for 5 mins to act

Undo and remove hub clamp bolt

Undo top drop link nut

Undo bottom drop link nut and remove drop link

Give the hub some downwards pressure and it should separate from the shock

Remove the 3 top mount nuts. Steady the shock whilst removing the last one so it doesn't juts drop out

Remove the shock and attach the spring compressors, assuming you're not replacing the top mount as this needs to be transferred to the new suspension

Be careful at this stage.. as removing a spring can be dangerous.. just take your time and all should be good

Once the spring is compressed enough, undo to the top mount nut

Attach the top mount to the new suspension leg and tighten the top mount nut ready to re-fit

Bolt the top 3 nuts up under the bonnet first, but don't tighten them right up.. and mount the bottom of the shocik back into the hub clamp

Attach the new, shortened drop links (I used 2004 Fiat Coupe rear drop links)

Make sure everything's tightened up, replace wheel. Allow to settle for a couple of days / weeks. I had mine on the lowest setting and within 2 days, my fronts were rubbing the arches slightly when cornering under load. I adjusted these ~1" of adjustment on the threads at the front and this cured the problem running standard 225/40 18 tyres and 15mm spacers.Final result

Cheers..

Ian

BEFORE YOU START

Please remember that if you drop any bolts or tools down behind the engine it may be hard to extract them so be careful!!!!!

Take you car out and let it warm up (the oil will drain better)

To start with the tools required are,

An set of allen key's (cant remember exact size)

A pair of latex gloves

A 17 mm socket or spanner

An extension bar

A clean rag

A flat bladed screwdriver (this is for ease of use not mandatory)

A 36mm socket (and upsize adapter to 3/4 inch drive)

A posi/star screw driver

A ratchet

A power bar

An elbow (makes things easier with sump plug)

Im sure you know how to jack up a car but please use axle stands to secure the car. Safety first.

First off the tools I used

Here is the oil filter housing

I found that to make it easer I removed the engine cover (5 allen head bolts) and slides out (beware of the grommit to the right of the cover) just push it towards the rear of the car, it may take some budging.

Here are the bolts. make sure you keep them safe and not lying on the engine bay.

Now locate the sump cover/flap, undo with posi/star screw driver

The sump plug is hidden underneath (17mm socket + elbow), when loosening off remember the oil will come out quickly and will be hot/warm so remember to have a container ready!!!!

When the oil is draining you might as well remove the oil filter (36mm socket and extension bar/power bar), cover the oil filter housing with a rag (stops anything falling/flying/crawling/being dropped into it)

Here is a picture of the sump nut washer (must be replaced) and the oil filter gasket (must also be replaced)

This is the location of the old filter gasket, I found that it it was better to use the flat bladed screwdriver than picking it out with my hands.

Now after the old oil has drained out, MAKE SURE THE WASHER CAME OFF WITH THE PLUG, mine didn't it was stuck to the sump.

Replace the sump plug and washer, re-fit the oil filter (tight, not sure on torque setting but make sure its nipped up).

Re-fit the engine cover and sump cover.

Use a funnel/half cut bottle to start pouring the new oil in. I believe it takes 5 litres but use 4.5 first as its better to be under than over, you can always top it up not always take it back out.

Lower the car off the jack/axle stands, start the engine (before hand the dipstick will seem like it has loads in until you have the car level (off jack/axle stands) and the filter has had a good time to soak through.

After a few minutes check the oil level and fill accordingly.

If i have missed anything out please feel free to let me know.

I hope this helps. BIZZY

Any idea of what's up 

Pull the seatbelt out to it's maximum length and use a slightly damp cloth to wipe off about 2-3 feet of the belt starting where it enters the door post. Use of a white cloth can show you how much dirt you are removing. Now, lightly spray both sides of the belt, again for that same 2-3 feet, with 303 Aerospace Protectant. I do cover the area around where the spray is used with some towels in order to keep from getting it all over everything, other than the belt. 303 won't harm anything, but you may have to go over those splattered areas and wipe on some more protectant to smooth out droplet spots. After applying the protectant to the belt, let the belt go into the retractor for that same 2-3 feet, then pull it out all the way again. Do this multiple times, as what you are doing is lubricating the retractor mechanism. You should feel things free up after a number of cycles.

cheers 

cheers 

does anyone know if I can replace it with either of these wheels ? 

Cheers