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S400 DDS 2004 320td Comapct Sport

6K views 19 replies 5 participants last post by  roppa2 
#1 · (Edited)
As the title says...

Thought I better start a Project thread. Although I’m not intending on modifying the BMW extensively or anything I’ve found others’ threads incredibly useful so I intend on ‘doing my bit’ as well. :)

I picked up my E46 320td Compact Sport a week or two ago. I’d owned a 320d SE saloon 3 or so years ago and loved it. It never missed a beat and with minimal servicing I managed to run it happily for 2 years & 27k miles.







A few details of my new car:

2004 '04' plate Facelift Sport
Topaz Blue
Full Black Leather Sport Interior
Parking Sensors
OEM 17" Sport Wheels (style 97)
Business Radio (needs upgrading)



I’m noticing a few differences with the 320td Compact. Firstly the M Sport suspension is a lot stiff than my previous BMW, which had Eibach Sportline Spring on OEM dampers. This may also be because of thicker anti’roll bars (I don’t know if they’re different SE vs Sport). Secondly the engine tickover is a bit louder and seems to have more ‘clatter’ to it. The previous owner was in no way an enthusiast and with 93k miles on the clock I’m not really expecting it to run like the day it came out the factory.

I’ve a full service booked for the Wednesday, along with a gearbox oil change, wishbone rear bush/mounts replacement, front wheel bearing, rear brake shoes replace/adjust and a front wheel bearing (unsure which side).

I’ve already managed to pick up a puncture in my rear tyre which led to driving in the snow on one and a half wheels (spacesaver) until last Friday (only 3 day) I got both rear tyres replaced. I threw away the Accelera budget and put on some Hankook Ventus V12 Evo’s in 245/40/17 form. I know they’re not premium tyres but their new Euro Label rates them at Fuel Efficiency = C and Wet Grip = B so I can’t really complain. Will give you my verdict on these tyres in 15k miles or so.







I also picked up Aero wipers from Costco for the front and back windows, what a difference. :)

Future plans:

After a mini-overhaul this Wednesday I’m gonna see what the diagnostic test says and work on increasing my mpg (currently 37mpg, old BMW high 40’s). Once I have the car running right I may look into rinsing some more power from it. I’ve just sold a Mk5 Golf GT TDi 140 which I had running 180+ bhp, full Milltek exhaust, remap, etc.

First priorities after a full service is to remove the swirl flaps and change the Turbo/Crank breather to the new shape Vortex type (if I have the old type?) I’m currently looking into deleting or disabling the EGR Valve. If I delete it can I safely remove the EGR Cooler and associated pipework? I assume I’ll need to find a way of blocking off the exit from the exhaust manifold.

Alongside the Swirl Flaps, EGR and Crank case breather I’m looking to fit a full set of braided brake hoses (HEL Perfomance) and renew the brake-fluid.

Pictures will follow (I’ll edit this post) once I get home and find all the pics on my laptop/iPad.

Looking forward to your views and advice. Especially for a remap and exhaust. I currently have a Self Tuning System (STS) from Shark Performance which will get my a remap for 75% of the RRP. But I’ve also heard good things about Ecotune in Glasgow. I’m located just outside Edinburgh so they would be my closest BMW tuner by far, I think. I notice they also do a reasonably priced decat and full exhaust for the salon/coupe 320d but not for the Compact. :-( I may have to go down the custom route.
 
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#4 ·
Ok, so it's Wednesday. Update = the garage only managed to get the service (Inspection 2) and a gearbox oil changed. I had a look at the old oil that came out. It looked and smelled burnt. 'Oil for life' - I don't think so BMW! Gear changes feel a lot smoother and it's a lot easier to get into 1st now.

Still got the wishbone/control arm rear bushes to do, apparently a rear frame bush needs replaces and I've couple of diagnostic codes to deal with. Went for a 100 mile trip tonight though and my mpg is up to 43. Slight result. :)

Good news though, the wheel bearing I thought needing replaced has no signs of wear and after the service it doesn't make any noise either.

Will post up fault codes in a bit when I find the piece of paper.
 
#5 ·
Tonight's bargain (and reason for 100 mile round trip) is 4 winter wheels and tyres. Barely used Hankook I*cept Evo 205/55/16 tyres wrapped round BMW steelies. Barely worn and at a bargain price I couldn't turn down. Roll on next winter/snow session.



Might try and source a set of 16" alloys over the summer.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Fault codes I currently have. Any help appreciated.



My car is a 2004 M47N. I dunno if it will have a 4 or 5 pin MAF, or if the inlet temp sensor will be built into the MAF. I guess I'll need to get under the bonnet at the weekend.

4BC2 - Hot Film Air Mass Meter. Short To Ground/Open Circuit
4BC7 - IAT Sensor. Short To Ground/Open Circuit
4BA0 - IAT Sensor. Short To Ground/Open Circuit
4203 - Glow Relay. No Communication
 
#7 ·
So I've noticed the standard headlights were like candles at night. Not sure if they're aligned properly (height, etc) but I struggled to see a complicated junction the other night. :-S

So, the solution = Philips DiamondVision H7 for the dipped beam. Seeing the results I'll probably get another set for the full beam. :)
Here we go:

Original candle power setup:



The solution, sourced on eBay with a next day delivery at £25:



I didn't go for the whole photo every tiny step you go but here's a half and half shot. Original Philips bulb in the driver's side, DiamondVision in the passenger side:



Not a great picture as the sun decided to show up for a millisecond and spoil a dull day. Night/dusk pictures will follow soon. :) Here's a better angle showing the whiteness (not so much blueness) the new bulbs give off:



Some folks don't like the blue reflection when the bulbs are off. I quite like it to be honest but from standing eye level you can't see much. If you crouch down so your eye-to-eye with the headlamp you get a slight hint they're not your usual bulbs (outside, larger light housing):



Night/dark photos to follow soon.
 
#10 ·
Thanks bud. I had a full set of Silvatec bulbs in my last BM. Will probs try and get the same. Looking for a brighter reverse bulbs too.

On another note, I've noticed that my headlights are projecting pretty low to he ground. Anybody know which screw/adjuster I need to turn to lift them up a bit?
 
#15 ·
Thanks Sparx. I've found the adjustment screw next to the headlights. Now need to find out which way to turn to raise them. :)

It's been a busy and successful day today, EGR cleaned out, manifold de-flapped, no more MAF problems. Only got all 4 glow plug codes. Now to find the glow plug relay controller.

Details and pics to follow. :)
 
#17 · (Edited)
In the words of Borat, "Today has been great success!"

Started early and managed to remove the swirl flaps. First things first I ran a fault code reader and came up with the following:



I'd had a 'proper' fault scan at a garage last week or so and they didn't find half as many codes. :-S

First ones to jump out at me were all 4 of the glow plug ones. I'm presuming this is the glow plug relay/controller/module at fault? I need to set about finding that next.

Then I got stuck into de-flapping the inlet manifold. It couldn't have gone easier as everything dis-assembled easy as pie. Easy when you have a step by step photo guide too! Thanks Lloyd.

My EGR valve had the usual crud on it which meant the inlet manifold does too. I managed to clean the EGR as below and have the manifold a quick clean also. Will revisit that another day:



To



I'm aware it'll just get coked up again but until I can get it mapped out the it'll have to remain in the system. I may look into puting the brass pipe end thing in sometime.

For de-flapping I simply removed the spindle+flap assembly and cut the spindles down to length this removing the flap and protruding spindle. It is not secured by anything on the inside but can't fall out as I put the rail and vacuum pump back on. Flaps 1 and 4 were loose already so I'm mega glad I've sorted them out before they got any worse.

One day I may remove the EGR, cooler and pipe work and blank off the exhaust manifold. Should this happen I'll get the inlet manifold clean enough to eat your dinner off of it! ;-)

Pic of the general state of my 320td's swirl flaps.



Final point (but first thing noticed today) was I managed to solve my MAF Sensor problem. Once I'd removed the engine cover I discovered that it was unplugged!! No wonder there was no response from it on my last scan. Once re-assembled I took the car for a drive. No noticeable change thankfully. Will see what the mpg does in the future.

Finally I re-scanned the car to find the remaining faults:

4212
4222
4232
4242

All glow plug faults (seemingly) so ill investigate the relay/controller. All other faults haven't re-appeared! :-D

For those interested I'm using Shark Performance STS (Self Tuning System) which is an AlienTech box, this also reads/clears DTC's.
 
#18 ·
This week/weekend's goal is to replace the front control arm/wishbone rear bushes, drop links and find my glow plug controller.

For anybody's interest I managed to get two Delphi (OE quality) drop links for £20 posted on eBay.

And another wee fact. Bolts for the wishbone bushes are M10x1.5p 35mm thread length, Grade 10.9. Given the general state of the rest of my car I guess my bolts will be perfectly re-usable but I'm going to replace them anyway, probably with stainless bolts and washers (and of course Loctite 243). :)

Tightening Torque for drop links = 59Nm
Tightening Torque for wishbone bushes = to be found out.
 
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