Ozz 318ci Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hey folks, Been very quiet on here as of late but for some reason, finding real love for my little 2.0l e46. I've never had a problem with it and it's looking really smart through a couple of strange accidents lol. (more on that later) But to keep her this good, was just wondering what sort of preventative maintenance I could do on this at weekends (I'm limited to a really good socket set tools wise.) I mean I know I can find guides on everything on here if anything goes wrong. But I want to know what's the best things I can be carrying out before things go wrong and things that will prolong the life of this engine as she takes a bit of hammering now and then. It's on 97k at the moment and just went through MOT no advisories and a minor service which is great but definitely isn't sweet as a nut or in fantastic condition IMHO. Although the garage this was carried out couldn't find out what was knocking from my front drivers side wheel which doesn't fill me with confidence although there service has always been very quick and very reasonably priced. So all in all, looking for people to name a few checks like visual ones in troublesome areas, cleaning out certain things etc I should carry out to keep her running well (Especially any particular ones to that engine, N42). I was thinking of checking the pipework this weekend and give my engine bay a real good degrease and clean. I'm not the best with car DIY but always looking to learn, so this is all I could think of, and this will only a visual check of what I can easily get to unless anyone can tell me a better way of checking for leaks etc, plus I will change the plugs as I don't think they were done on the service. Just oil, oil filter and coolant. Thanks guys Apologies for what is probably a very vague post and if it has been done before and all the waffling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooge Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 In the winter I always check and clean all the wheel archs, remove the arch liners and clean them and just make sure there is little dirt around. Also making sure the basics such as windscreen washer fluid are topped up. Clean out or replace the air filter and do the same with the filter for the blower. Keeping it clean will keep you busy too! Ozz 318ci 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHL Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Cleaning always helps keeps car in good nick. I always clean my engine bay n underneath. Simply because its easier to spot problems when they occur. Im new to BM's but theres some truth in if aint broke dont fix it. So id say routine checks like oil level, washers, anti freeze, tyre pressure n treads. Check around for rust, salt on the road and what not. Hope that helps. Ozz 318ci 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
