My Car My Life

BMW E90 Rear Absorber Replacement (DIY)

2017-10-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.

Parts that I bought:

Shock absorber rear (Bilstein): 33 52 6 771 725: $220 x 2

Shock absorber rubber mounting rear FEBI: 33 52 6 768 544: $75 x 2

Guide support, upper FEBI: 33 52 6 771 737: $30 x 2

Guide support, lower FEBI: 33 52 6 771 738: $30 x 2

Damper: 33 52 6 767 334:: $45 x 2

The car is turning 10 years old next month and has clocked almost 130k km since rolling out of factory.

Front absorbers were replaced in Jun 2016 because leaks. Now its the rear absorbers’ turn. Check out the leaks in the following photos:

I also noticed some fine hairline cracks on the bottom absorber mount, hence decided to replace them too.

The tricky part about this DIY is the bottom mount fasterning bolt. There are the E-Torx type which I do not have the tool to open them. Check out the following photo, refer to the yellow arrows.

I went online and ordered the following:

But before the item arrives, I ran out of patience and do it my way by using the following, size 10mm 1/2’ socket..

The following is the replacement set, ready for the be installed.

Step 1 is actually go under the car and try loosen the E-Torx and the bottom absorber nut. Once that is done, we more on to the upper nut as show in the following photo. A size 17” ring spanner with a 6mm hex bit on a 3/8” ratchet.

Viola!

Reverse the process and tadaa!!

I did use a jack to give me more room in the wheel well because I did not remove the wheels. The car is supported by the springs which we did not remove, that is why we can remove the absorber without removing the wheels.

Time spent: a good 2 hours of workout.

More photos after the jump..

The black and silver part below which are represented by item 5 and 4 above were not repalced. Item 3, the damper comes in a completed set with the black plastic sleeve.

The following is the used top guide support (Upper), item 7 in the diagram. If you ask me, I would suggest re-use them because the material is still not compromised despite the worn marks.

The photo below you can see (diagram item 6) the top guide support (lower) is compromised, syggest replacement.

See, bad shape..

What about bottom mount? I think can still use because the part is very sturdy destipe the hairline cracks but since I bought, I replaced them too.

Avanza: Power window master switch failure (solved)

2016-11-03T02:24:00.001-07:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.

Part number: 84820-B0010

A new switch would set you back USD39.98

Carefully pry open the bottom of the power window controller.

Carefully lift up the printed circuit board

You will notice the failed switch has a broken white color plastic which is responsible to maintain the position of the rocker/flipper switch.

Viola! Discovered “Satay” stick is the perfect replacement for the broken plastic.

Cut the “Satay” stick to the required size

When reinstalling the printed circuit board, make sure the white color switch slide is in the middle and fitted into the roker switch.

Test the switch. If too tight, the Satay is too long, vice versa..

BMW E90 320i N46B20 Cooling System Leakage

2016-07-30T01:29:00.000-07:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.

Symptom:

1. Coolant warning pops up.

2. Wetness on the bottom engine cover directly below the intake manifold area.

3. On closer inspection, stick a torchlight behind the oil filter housing

You will see this..

The following is the culprit..

Source: http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E90/Malaysia/320i-N46/R-N/apr2007/browse/engine/cooling_system_water_hoses/#7560130_4

Parts required:

Item 4: Connector: 11 53 7 560 130, comes with profile gasket

I also bought the hose (Item 1 below) because coolant stains appear at the connector area.

Hose f engine inlet and addit.water pump: 64 21 6 928 590

http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E90/Malaysia/320i-N46/R-N/apr2007/browse/heater_and_air_conditioning/additional_water_pump_water_hose_valve

Only 2 size 10mm bolts holding to the Connector, very easy job.

After the connector is removed:

New versus old

The culprit.. just the gasket..but for peace of mind replace the entire connector.

Lastly, top up coolant accordingly.

OK folks! That’s all the photos I have to share.

Good luck and thanks for dropping by..

BMW E90 320i N46B20 Valve Cover Membrane / Diaphragm

2015-11-28T04:50:00.001-08:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.

Symptom:

We can smell oil fume from inside the cabin through the a/c vents but it stops when we switch to internal air circulation mode.

From the engine, you will notice the valve cover is wet with oil stain as follows

A check on the parts catalogue revealed that this N46 engine belongs the the LCI model with 156hp, some called it N46N as my E90 320i was the last batch of the pre-LCI model. There is no more CCV in my model

Below is the part catalogue for my vehicle where this membrane is missing:

Part Code: 11127555212

http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E90/Malaysia/320i-N46N/R-N/browse/engine/cylinder_head_cover#7555212_1

Online search pointed me to this website where they actually make the repair kit: http://vanos-bmw.com/membrane-for-cover-n46n-bmw-11127555212

I then contacted the local parts dealers and found out they do not sell the repair kit, but the entire valve cover.

Running out of option, I attempted to pry it off and see where it takes me..

After one hour of careful prying.. VIOLA!!

You will notice centre of the membrane has detached from the rest of the section, hence allowing oil fume to escape.

Carefully, I cleaned them up, took out my cobbler glue and used bicycle tube (refer to the black color item below, shaped like a flower ).

Then I put them together.. to reinforce the broken centre piece.

Mission accomplished!

I assemble the kit and cap it back in. One mistake, I forgot to reattach the spring..

Another round of prying to refit the spring.

Thank you for reading and please provide feedback or query if any..

Updated: 11/4/2016..

It has been working fine now. 6 months down the road..

Ta-dah! No more oil stains, only dust stain. The leak was actually very serious, I lose lots of engine oil.. so mush so, it drips on my porch. Now my porch is dry like a dessert.. ! I’m pretty sure if I were to visit a mechanic then, they will most likely advise to replace flywheel oil seal and oil pan gasket. Pheew!

To all N46N owner out there, please take note!

BMW E90 N46B20 Water Pump / Thermostat / Thermostat Housing

2014-10-12T01:05:00.000-07:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.

2007 BMW E90 N46B20

Mileage: 108k km

Been losing 500ml coolant weekly.

Photo taken from beneath the power steering pump.

I have no idea where the leak came from due to limited visual access but I can confirm it is from one of the water pump components. And losing fluid at 500ml a week, I can’t be keep topping up and dilute my coolant mix which is not healthy for the engine.

So I decided to take the plunge by buying all the components for that location (just in case), including one of the short hose.

Item 1: Water pump: 11 517 511 221

Item 2: Thermostat: 11 537 510 959

Item 4: Thermostat Housing: 11 517 572 859:

Item 7: Connector: 11 517 542 128

.. and Item 1: Water Hose: 11 537 572 159

The spark plugs are for different project.

The rubber O-ring came with the water pump are not utilized because the rectangle one already available in the new thermostat housing while the round shape O-rings are for the old connector which was designed differently. New connector as you can see from the photo above at 4 o’clock location is entirely coated with rubber.

Workshop guide:

http://workshop-manuals.com/bmw/3_series_e46/316i_n42_sal/2_repair_instructions/11__engine_(n42)/51__water_pump_with_drive/1_ra__removing_and_installing_replacing_water_pump_(n40_n42_n45_n46)/page_748/

1. Our E90 N46B20 power steering pulley actually do not have the 3 holes to reach for the 2 water pump fastening bolts. Hence the only way is to remove the power steering pulley. Slacken the 3 x T40 bolts on the power steering pulley before remove the V-belt. The tension provided by the belt help securing the pulley from spinning freely. The pulley is very light and made of plastic material.

2. Use a size 16mm wrench to tension up the V-belt tensioner and release the V-belt.

3. Remove the power steering pulley.

4. Slacken the 2 x T40 bolts fastening the water pump to the power steering pump. These bolts are very tight. My Torx key set failed me because it bent when I apply force:

I had to order this:

5. Now the tricky part. The 4 x T45 bolts is hard to reach. Luckily they are not extremely tight compared to the above. The “L” shape Torx key excels. The T45 bits I bought is mostly hopeless here due to the narrow access.

Below is how I slacken (NOT RELEASE) the T45 bolts and if you are confident, you can release the water hose connections as it will give you a bit of extra room:

6. Water hose disconnection. Start from the top. Lift up the metal clip (refer bottom picture, from point A to point B) and wiggle your way out, 3 hoses connected to the thermostat.

7. Disconnect the thermostat wire located at the bottom of the thermostat.

Got the following from Pelicanparts. Similar connector. Just press the metal clip to the green arrow’s direction and pull the plug off.

8. Now you can release the 4 x T45 bolts. The water pump connector may still be hanging to the engine and require some prying to get it out.

9. After both the power steering pump and water pump is out, then only I remove the 2 x T40 that fasten the power steering pump and water pump together. Water pump can then be taken out. Viola!

Removal took less than 45 minutes. Installation is not easy. Remember to fasten both power steering pump and water pump together before attempting the 4 x T45 power steering pump mount. Do not forget the connector at the water pump. Very tricky to put it back in because it keeps jumping out.

All in, I spent 4.5 hours to complete the job, inclusive of beer break in between.. Started 8:30pm, completes 1am.

More photos for references:

Power steering plastic pulley can be open using the T40 Torx key. Notice the V-belt still in place.

After taken out the water pump:

Check out the thermostat top water hose. Size 10mm bolt. Also you will notice the water pump connector below the exhaust manifold.. took me a while to get it out. Actually mustn’t apply force as it gets tighter. Just need to repeatedly tap it to get it out. Ya, I replace the connector too.

The old water hose, lucky I replaced it. Ya, I applied gasket maker here too :

Another view at the stubborn connector:

Bottom view:

Back view:

Check out all the screws and bolts taken out. How do you like my metal screw pan? I believe we bought it from IKEA toy section when my children were young. It was on the way out to the donation bin when I rescued it and turn it into a screw pan by adding few magnets at the bottom. Viola! No more losing screws..

Old versus new. I apply gasket maker whenever possible. In fact, I’m suspecting my leaks are from these areas and not the water pump.

This is how I open the thermostat, using a 1/4” bit. 7 of these screws. 3 to secure the thermostat to it upper housing and 4 to secure the water pump.

2 bottles of 1.5L coolant with 6L of distill water. Still plenty left.

That’s all for now! Thank you for reading and please provide feedback or query if any..

BMW E90 Door window lifting mechanism rear

2014-06-24T03:02:00.000-07:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.

2007 BMW E90 N46B20

Mileage: 92k km

Left: 51 35 7 140 589

Right: 51 35 7 140 589

My rear left lifter failed in Jun 2013 while my rear right lifter failed 3 nights ago.

Some call it Window Regulator, some call it Lifter. We seldom wind down our rear window and that’s where the problem lies. Over time, the window get stuck to the side rail and an attempt to wind it down will cause the plastic components to snap.

An irritating warning will light up on the dash board with a loud “gong” which repeats every 20 seconds. What it tried to tell is the anti-trap function deactivated:

This error can’t be reset or disabled until the lifter is replaced! Hence you will have to bear with the repetitive loud “gong” every 20 seconds.

I bought a replacement lifter and DIY the change.

These are what I did:

1. Open door card / panel as usual. Many guide available online and here’s one of the many, in fact this video is complete:

http://vimeo.com/13163932

2. Carefully peel open the moist protector or damp guard layer.

3. Open the 3 size 10mm nut holding to the lifter.

4. Unlock the window glass from the lifter holder.

5. Unplug the motor connector.

6. Slide the lifter out.

7. Apply grease to the new lifter

8. Transfer the old motor to the new lifter

9. Reconnect the motor to slowly run the motor up/down to make sure the window glass holder slides smoothly, add grease when necessary

10. Disconnects the motor and slide the lift back into the door cavity

11. Reinstall the 3 size 10mm nuts

12. Reconnect motor

13. Make the window glass sit into the holder and make sure the lock is in place

14. Test the window, up / down. You may reprogram the window at this stage or may do it after reinstall the door card.

15. Installing the door panel:

~ Make sure all the upper metal clips are on the door and not on the panel. If any still stuck on the panel, pry them off and clip them back on the door before installing the panel. Easier that way.

~ Pay attention to these black color little fabric washer. It prevent noise from a loose stud. Some are stuck on the door and when you install the panel, it will just fall on the ground without you noticing it. Pry them off using you finger nail from the door and put them onto the door studs before installing the door panel. That way you will never lose them. Below photo shows only one of the stud with the fabric washer intact. The rest are still stuck on the door.

16. Reprogram the window:

Some material I found online..

New Lifter:

New vs old:

Thank you for reading and please provide feedback or query if any..

BMW E90 DIY Rear Absorber Bump Stop / Damper

2014-05-10T02:33:00.000-07:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.

Been noticing my rear absorber central shaft exposed. The bump stop that’s suppose to hold on to the dust cover has disintegrated due to ageing. The dust cover is very crucial in protecting the absorber from grime and sand which get stuck onto the central shaft. The shaft slides up and down during operation and any dirt on the shaft will damage the oil seal in the absorber and causing it to leak.

PROCEDURE:

1. Open the left and right panel carpet in the trunk.

2. Open the rubber cover on top of the wheel well in the boot area and you will see the nut securing the absorber.

3. Use a size 16mm ring offset spanner for the absorber nut while securing the central shaft with a hex bit wrench.

4. Can safely remove all the nuts and washer and we can now slowly jack up the car.

5. When the car raise, the wheel will drop and slowly widening wheel fender gap. As soon as you can reach your hands in comfortably, stop jacking and secure the vehicle whichever way you preferred. Slide down the absorber shaft and Voila! Bump stop and dust cover can be removed. From the photo below you will notice we do not even need to remove the wheels.

6. Remove all the seats and washers. Refer to the red box below. Stack them together during installation. Only item 7 is installed from the top. Trust me, I learned the hard way..

7. Release the jack and fasten the top nut. Done! Now do the same to the other wheel..

UPDATE:

Similar procedure for rear absorber replacement:

Thank you for reading and please provide feedback or query if any..

BMW E90 DIY Rocker / Valve Cover Gasket Replacement

2013-06-29T11:32:00.001-07:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.

2007 BMW E90 N46B20

Mileage: 92k km

Been losing engine oil badly due to leaks and valve cover gaskets seems to be one of the culprit.

Last change was during BSRI period in 2010 ( about 2 years ago) and I figure it may be time to change it. Surprisingly, the gasket price has come down drastically to now the original gasket only RM180.

Item 2 below is the gasket, it comes in 2 pieces as shown in the following illustration. My leaking culprit seems like the inner piece.

Item 3 & 4 below is the spark plug tube O-rings, only 2 tubes are accessible without removing the Valvetronic motor.

My reference material for the DIY:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmZ09lz97kE

BMW E87 & E90 (1 & 3 Series) Rocker Cover & Vacuum Pump

Just follow the above YouTube guide and below are some shots I managed to get my camera man to shoot:

1. Microfilter, its tray and other covers taken out:

2. Need to unplug the Vanos sensor sockets and flip the harness over the engine cover to clear the path for rocker cover remover, also remove the 2 wires from the positive jump start terminal, as advice by the YouTube above. Don’t have any bungee cord with me, but have plenty of raffia strings.. and that’s how I secure the hardness away from obstructing the valve cover.

3. Most of the 16 pieces of size 10mm screws are easily accessible except for the one at the upper left corner in the photo, near the firewall, a bit of back breaking persevere bend-over will get the screws out..

When installing the cover, please use the common cylinder head tightening technique of begin tightening from the centre.

4. A blow up of the above photo seems showing the oil cap gasket is the culprit.. No the valve cover gasket!!

5) Oh.. well..

6) Severe wetness around the Valvetronic motor..

7) Close up on the wetness..

8) Viola! Forgot to pull out the No.1 ignition coil..

9) 91k km almost 6 years old engine exposed!

10) Sludge-free Ignition coil 2 and 3 not removed. Spark plug tube for spark plug No.4 had to be unplugged from valve cover because the Valvetronic motor is the way when lifting/sliding the valve cover out. Meanwhile you will notice there no gasket sealant applied before. Last job was done by Ingress Auto (Authorised Service Centre).

The following are the spots where I applied gasket maker sealant.

11) The bigger picture.. Many dried leaves near the rubber seals around the microfilter, had to vacuum them out to prevent them from entering my engine after the valve cover been removed.

Extras:

I took the opportunity to check the oil separator which is connected to this breather hose. The oil separator is actually a spiral inner cavity plastic device to cool down engine crank case fume / breath and catch the oil to divert it back to the oil sump. It has a recommended lifespan of about 100k km and start to clog up resulting in breath difficulty to the engine. I connect a short section of garden hose to blow into it. I find no difficulty blowing into it means the oil separator not clogged. So I’m in no hurry to replace my oil separator..

And this are my ignition coils.. for my future replacement reference.. so looks like it’s a Bosch 0221 504 100

Another trick I want to show is the oil cap fastener. There’s only 2 metal piece securing the cap to the valve cover and depressing against the rubber gasket within the cap to prevent oil from seeping out. Over time the rubber gasket harden and need replacement, the gasket is not sold separately and a new cap cost RM60. To prolong the life of the cap, I press the 2 metal fastener against the gasket as per the direction shown below. This will result in a tighter seal to prevent oil from seeping out.

Also I saw the the oil cap gasket like leaking..

So I pry out the oil cap gasket to check its condition.. notice the pressed marks below, the rubber gasket still soft, so I flip is around and reinstall it. Now monitoring my oil level, so far so good.

Thank you for reading and please provide feedback or query if any..

BMW E90 DIY Oil Filter Housing Gaskets

2013-01-13T05:45:00.001-08:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.

2007 BMW E90 N46B20

Mileage: 85k km

Been noticing the roundel is losing engine oil and noticeable around the base of oil filter housing. There are 2 gaskets as shown in diagram below, item 5 and 6.

http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E90/Sedan/Malaysia/320i-N46/RHD/N/2007/april/browse/engine/lubricat_syst_oil_filter_heat_exchanger/

It is very interesting to discover that my car don’t have item 9 and 10.

These are the gaskets I bought.. RM15(Gasket: 11 42 7 508 970) and RM23 (Profile-gasket: 11 42 7 508 971), respectively.

Okay, here goes the DIY procedure..

1. Open item 13 (intake manifold), unplug connector (item 17), followed by removing item 1 (intake silencer).

Note: Item 9 will be stuck to item 13 while item 11 and 8 will be stuck to item 1.

2. Unplug connector item 4 below. Open the throttle housing assembly: 13 54 1 439 580, item 3 below is a size 10 bolt and there are 4 to open, all similar size and length.

3. Lay old news paper to cover the alternator and whatever expose area that’s vulnerable to oil drip when we dismantle the oil filter housing and coolant heat exchanger.

4. Remove all 4 Torx bolts (item 7) securing the heat exchanger. All same size.

5. Now we unscrew the 3 size 10 bolts securing the base of the oil filter housing.

6. Replace the 2 rubber gaskets. Photo below shows I’m digging the oil filter housing bottom gasket.. notice how flat is the gasket? The heat exchanger gasket has be replaced in the photo, notice the difference in rubber surface texture?

The old gasket is harden and brittle.. proceed with caution if you want to remove it in one complete piece.

New gasket..

7. Clean the 2 connecting surfaces and install everything back in reverse order.

That’s all folks!

My supervisor paying close attention while the job is performed..

Thank you for reading and please provide feedback or query if any.

Next job should be valve cover gasket.. really..

BMW E90 DIY Automatic Transmission Fluid Change

2012-09-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.
2007 BMW E90 N46B20
Mileage: 80k km
Transmission model: ZF GA 6HP19
1. Park the car on a level ground. Secure the rear wheel from rolling. I use a piece of brick.
2. Jack up front left of the car. I use my Toyota scissor jack. A hydraulic jack would make the job a lot more easier.
3. Place extra support to prevent the jack slip. I use another brick below the raised front left tyre and a jack stand to support the lower arm knuckle end.. I also inserted a piece of solid rubber into the plastic jack stand point to prevent the plastic jack stand point from damage due to the incompatible jack used.

4. Open the bottom shield (item 10) and ..

.. unscrew fill bolt (Item 3)

Get the drain pan ready because old ATF may gush out when the fill bolt is removed, best just loosen it first and leave the bolt in place until step 5 below is completed.
5. Release drain plug (item 4) and the used ATF will be released.

6. Close the drain plug (item 4 above), don’t over tighten because it’s plastic, can break.. and they don’t sell them separately. It comes with a new plastic transmission oil sump.
7. Insert refill hose to feed new ATF. Do not push in too much as you can damage the transmission box’s internal fragile components.
8. Drop the jack so the car is level to the ground again. Refilling ATF must be done with car level to the ground.
9. Pump in ATF until overflow and that’s how they measure the level.

10. Start the engine with aircond running, and run through all the gears R, N, D, DS, M1~M6, 3 seconds for each with handbrake engaged and brake pedal firmly depressed. Then back to ‘P’ and let engine run for 3 minutes to heat up the ATF to 30~35 Celsius.
11. With the engine running, top up the fluid until it overflow. Make sure it’s not exceeding 50C because you will under-fill the fluid due to heat expansion.
12. Jack up the car again to plug the fill bolt and reinstall lower shield.
JOB DONE!!
Some photos to help you better understand the procedure.
~ Getting ready the fill hose.

~ Check out the other end of the clear refill hose, getting ready to be inserted into the fill hole.

~ The tools that helped me open the fill bolt and drain plug.

~ Below is how the "custom” tool being used to open the plastic drain plug. I do not the a hex wrench that’s large enough, has to DIY the opening tool..

~ Work in progress..

~ Fluid used, the red cap is old stock, blue cap is new design. Old bottle design do not have an inner plug while the new design has. 4L is sufficient if transmission sump with embedded strainer is not replaced.

~ Fluid level guide.. http://www.scribd.com/doc/97008578/6hp19-21-Bmw-Fluidlevel

After the job, I found few better ways to perform the job. Please stay tuned!
Thank you for reading and please provide feedback or query if any.
Next job should be valve cover gasket..

Update: Found ZF Procedure in Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRrgmfM8VlQ

Avanza: New Rear Engine / Transmission Mounting (DIY)

2012-06-30T08:26:00.001-07:00

2005 Toyota Avanza AT 1.3L

Mileage: 180k km

The repair job I did about 9 months ago failed again.

The vibration of engine can be felt in the cabin especially during high speed, so mush so there’s vibration on the steering..

Finally settled with a brand new original mounting:

INSULATOR, ENGINE MOUNTING, REAR NO.1

Part no.: 12371‑BZ010

The mounting is actually located behind the transmission and fitted underneath the mounting bracket 12321E in the following diagram:

The DIY write-up can be obtained from my last repair job posting:

http://upgr8s.blogspot.com/2011/10/avanza-diy-repair-transmission-mounting.html

I strongly advice Avanza owners conduct a periodical visual check on the condition of their mount [look out for crack lines, replace when excessive] because being a hardy Toyota, the car can still be used even when the mount is badly worn and if the owner is not particular or sensitive enough, may not even notice it. Driven around with a worn engine mounting may cause other components of the car to fail due to the excessive vibration of the engine, I suspected my ATF metal cooler tube ruptured by this excessive movement/shift of the engine/transmission, now suffered from leaky ATF..

Next DIY will get it fixed, one way or another..

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more to come.

BMW E90 320i DIY Rear Brake Lining / Pad Change

2012-04-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

DIY Disclaimer: I hold no responsibility should anything goes wrong when you decided to follow my guide. It’s strictly meant as a reference for knowledge sharing purposes.

2007 BMW E90 N46B20

Mileage: 70k km

OBC says 410km to go and it’s in yellow warning display. Bought the lining few months back standing by for this change. GDB1612 (Rear), GDB1625 (Front).

When I open the box, surprised to see the metal guides and 2 pcs replacement screw included. How thoughtful..

Steps to replace the brake lining:

1) Find a level spot on your porch, engage parking brake and get a stopper (I use a brick) to secure the opposite front wheel before we jack up the rear, to prevent the car from rolling, just in case.

2) Loose the 5 wheel lugs and jack up the rear. I start with right rear where the brake sensor is. Just in case it takes longer than necessary to replace the sensor.

3) Remove the wheel and slot it under the car as additional “insurance” just in case the jack slipped.

4) The brake caliper design is different from the front, which uses a 7mm Allen key to open the caliper housing which the rear us using a size 13mm wrench. A size 15mm wrench is needed to stop the internal guiding bolt from rotating. There are 2 such size 13mm bolt to remove, upper and lower, to secure the caliper.

5) Carefully remove the sensor cable, can unplug after or before remove removing the caliper. Your preference.

6) This is how I push the caliper piston back into the chamber. Monitor the brake fluid reservoir for overflow when this is carried out because the returning of the caliper piston is forcing the level of the brake fluid reservoir to raise.

7) Replace the metal guides (supplied together in the new brake lining)

Bottom guide:

Note: Check out the support I use to rest the caliper at the bottom right of the above photo.. LOL!

Upper guide:

Note: Check out the new black bolts, the grey ones are the used bolts. They all are applied with tread lock compound. Funny thing is how come only 2 new screws are supplied? Is it I’m not supposed to open all 4 bolts? (2 each side) Maybe just open the bottom screw is suffice and flip the caliper up..

8) Slot in the new lining

9) Replace the sensor cable.. I was trying to reuse the old sensor cable but I notice some crack lines over it.. so I replace it. Need to open the rear portion of the wheel house shield because the the brake sensor connector is hidden behind it.. Be careful not to bend any of the pin inside the connector. There’s a guide in the connector to prevent the connector from wrongly plugged. Align the guide carefully.

New versus old:

DONE! Check out the brand on the caliper, it’s made by TRW..

Thank you for reading, comments are welcome!

Update:

Just found this

BMW TIS - 34 21 200 Removing and installing/replacing brake linings on both rear disk brakes (TRW floating caliper)

http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/s/view.pl?1/09/80/63

So according to the guide, only the bottom bolt needs to be opened and replaced, and tilt the brake caliper upwards for lining replacement job. Now I know lor.. hehe!

BMW N42, N46 Engine Cover Coolant Leak Fix (DIY)

2012-03-22T08:23:00.001-07:00

Part no: 11 53 7 505 411 / 11 53 7 583 666

It was worrying when my N46 keeps losing coolant. For the past 6 months, I’ve been patiently toping up the reservoir despite culprit idenrtified.

Symptom:

1. The coolant loss rate is very inconsistent and this warning came up on 2 separate occasions in the past 6 months despite bi-weekly check and top up when necessary:

2. Wet patch on the porch under the exhaust catalytic converter. Tried to wash the porch but the coolant stained spot remain wet long after other areas of the porch has dried up.

3. Burnt smell after driven the car. Leaked coolant drip onto the exhaust catalytic converter.

It took me a long while to discover the leak. I was under the car doing my routine oil change and I notice my cat box is coated with white powdery substance. So I went under the cat box and look up. I saw a black plate at the back of the engine covered with white residue. Viola! That’s the culprit:

Item 17 (Cover plate):

I managed to take this photo at one of the nearby BMW showroom:

I managed to tighten the 4 size 10mm bolts and hoping it’ll solve the problem and continue to monitor. After few months, situation didn’t improve. Of course, I have enquired at the part shop of the cost and bought a spare cap just in case.

The low coolant warning came up the second time last Tuesday and realising continue to top up is just a waste of my BMW coolant, I decided to took the plunge to replace the cap the next morning, before heading to office..

This cap is inherited from the N42 block first introduced in the E46, meaning the E46 318i with the N42B20 2.0L 4 cylinder engine faces this same coolant leak problem if the cap fail.

I started off by clearing the microfilter housing above the firewall.

1. Lift up the harness cover that runs across the engine cover

2. Slide the harness cartridge out from the bottom microfilter housing by first slide out A1, A2, and A3 simultaneously. Follow by B1, B2, B3 to slide out the inner cartridge.

3. Remove the item 4 and 5 in the following diagram, left and right covering

4. Remove item 3in the following diagram: upper microfilter housing. (6 size 8mm screws)

5. Remove item 2: bottom microfilter housing. 2 size 8mm screws at location 17), then slide the housing out horizontal away form the windscreen cover. There’s a wire connector on the housing, don’t forget to unplug the connector.

Below are the microfilter bottom and upper housings, notice a connector in the red circle. Wire need to unplug before pulling this off.

6. To access the rear engine cover which we wish to replace, we need to unplug the engine cover breather hose. This is where I stick my hand in to open the cover. Yes, I was lying on my tummy over the engine to perform this maneuver..

I manage to remove 3 of the 4 size 10mm bolts on the rear engine cover through “A” below while the 4th bolts has to be reach from the side (above exhaust manifold), label “B” below.

The entire DIY was performed with no line of sight to the component I wish to replace. Only feel by hands and fingers.

Caution: Make sure there’s no bolts, components or tools slip off your hand because it will be another DIY just to recover what fell off..

This is the component I’m changing, brand new:

Outer:

Inner (Notice the 2 circular grey color with black edge rubber seals, joined at one end.:

This the worn cover taken out, check out the flatten rubber seals, totally harden, flatten and worn..

Now repeat the process to put everything back..

Notes:

~ Make sure you clean the mounting surface on the cylinder header before installing the new cover. I use my finger nail to scrape the harden stuck rubber on the header.

~ Took me a while to remove the cover despite all 4 screws removed. The harden rubber seal stuck on to the cylinder header. I used an industrial pen knife to pry it off.

~ After fitting all back, I filled slightly over 2L of coolant into the cooling system.

~ Don’t forget to check coolant level again after a day.

~ I actually forgotten to install the breather hose. Ended up dismantling everything again..

Thank you for reading and do provide feedback if any.

BMW E90 DIY Microfilter / Cabin filter / Pollen filter / A/C filter Change > Part #: 64 31 9 142 115

2012-03-02T20:15:00.001-08:00

2007 BMW E90 N46B20

Mileage: 67k km

Yes! Decided to replace my item 1: Microfilter/activated carbon container

Part #: 64 31 9 142 115

Original is made by 3M and it’s more than double the price of what I bought.

This is the original taken out from the E90…

.. and dated 2009 November.. since my E90 was manufactured 2007, the microfilter was replaced before under BSRI (BMW Service and Repair Inclusive).

This is what I bought:

Check out the OEM reference part code, 64319142115, which represents the variant with embedded activated carbon for odour absorption.

Opening the housing, item 3 is simple:

Just remove 6 screws in total, all size 8mm:

Flip it up and you’ll see the microfilter is clipped under the housing.

Now let’s compare the 2 filters, why the big difference in price!!

Side view, right side is original, it’s using the plastic flap for sealing rather than the sponge found in the cheaper microfilter, despite made in Germany as claimed. The sponge will melt or disintegrate through time and the broken sponge will get sucked in the the a/c cooling coil.. bad idea!!

Side by side, right is original, filled with dirt.. you will also notice the original element is more spongy cotton-liked while the cheaper OEM replacement is less appealing.. I think filter efficiency differs too..

Next stop, send the old microfilter for laundry cleaning.. LOL!

Thank you for reading and do provide feedback at will.

BMW E90 DIY Front Brake Lining / Pad Change

2012-02-04T08:48:00.001-08:00

2007 BMW E90 N46B20

Mileage: 67k km

Early January, OBC said my front brake linings can last another 2.5k km.. 2 weeks later or 1k km later, I’m at –500km !! Hence, the following DIY..

Been changing brake pad since I first own cars.. and still doing it to my other higher mileage Toyota mini MPV.. refer to my archive.

Here goes:

1) Use a brick to block the rear wheel to secure the car preventing it from slipping of the jack.

2) Turn the steering to the right for a left wheel job so the brake caliper is exposed.

3) Loosen the wheel lugs before jacking the car.

4) Jack the car.

5) Unscrew the lugs and remove the wheel. The wheel tend to seize at the rusty wheel hub and require some effort to knock the wheel out. I used a rubber mallet. So worry the jack slips while I hammered it. Check out the rusty wheel hub.

6) Unplug the plastic protective plugs, item 7 below so we can reach and unscrew both the upper and lower guiding bolts using size 7mm Allen key wrench, item 6.

7) Use a sharp plier to slide the guiding bolt out so we can lift up the caliper housing.

8) Carefully remove the brake wear sensor. It can be recycle depending on the condition of the sensor. I’m not so lucky because I broke mine. I pulled/forced it out before opening the caliper housing, hence snapped into 2 pieces..

9) Slot in a metal bar or wrench handle into “X” below and use it as a pivot to push the caliper piston back into it’s camber, to make room for the new lining. Make sure you apply force to the center of the piston surface so even pressure is applied. Uneven pressure make damage the piston seal in the long run.

Make sure you monitor the brake fluid reservoir so it does spill/overflow. Remove any excess brake fluid carefully because the corrosive fluid can damage our car’s paint. If contacted with the car’s body, immediately rinse off with water, wash with soap and wax it.

Also please note that the 2 guiding bolts need not be taken out entirely.

10) Clean the slots where the lining seated, it’s filled with brake dust. The clean seat allow the lining to slide in and out during operation, prevent sticky pads. The lining over the caliper piston is plug into the piston cavity, so need to apply some force to unplug it.

11) I prefer to install the brake sensor before returning the caliper housing into place because I can see how the sensor is seated without the brake disc rotor blocking my view. You may do it later.

More photos:

Pad/lining that I use. TRW brand.

Close-up on the sensor

Old vs new

The bill, yup! I bought both front and back, same price. For E90, only the front left and rear right has sensor.

Notice how I use the wheel to support the rotor, just in case the jack slipped.. Also notice the L-shape bar on the lower right corner? I used that to push the caliper piston returning it back into the piston camber.

By the way, have fun figuring out how to reset the OBC counter.. haha!

Thank you for reading!

BMW E90 DIY A/C Blower Service

2011-11-05T02:09:00.002-07:00

2007 BMW E90 N46B20

Mileage: 61k km

Been suffering from this squeaky sound when ever we change speed [accelerate/decelerate] or turning the car. I’m suspecting the blower bearing need oiling or greasing.

An example of the squealing sound is found here, only difference is for mine, I only hear the squealing when taking corners or changing speed:

Thanks to a head up by BCM Club Guest Kimi Yap, I took the plunge to take the AC blower out for servicing.

1. Slide the front passenger seat backwards.

2. Locate the 2 Torx screw under the dash and remove them.

3. Slide the dash bottom panel out. The the Item 11 in the following figure. Sorry the one in the photo is left hand drive, mine is right hand drive..

4. Now you can squeeze yourself into the footwell and look up.. haha! [~Kinky]. Figure out a way to pull the vent duct out. There’s a metal clip, I just pulled hard.. Nope, it’s not broken..

The vent duct item 6 in the following photo. Again, sorry for the LHD orientation.

5. Once the vent duct is out of the way, you see item AC Blower [Item 1]

Location “A”: Remove the wire connector

Location “B”: Suppose to be a screw point to secure the AC Blower BUT no sight of screw?!

Location “C”: A tab where we need to slightly pull/press the tab down towards the footwell with one finger and another hand rotate the AC blower counter-clockwise. Viola! The AC blower just FALL out.

6. Flip the bottom cap open to oil it.

7. Oil from the top too.. check out the dirt on the fan blades. So I decided to clean them, u can use vacuum cleaner, brush but I use water..

Just beware don’t let water wet solenoid. To be safe, I use hair dryer to blow dry whatever excess moist to prevent rust to the motor components.

8. Reinstallation is just reversing the steps.. but I added a screw at Location “B”

Before:

After:

Breakfast after a satisfying morning DIY..

The end..

Avanza’s 4th Battery

2011-10-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

Used the car on Saturday morning, but failed to start in the same evening when we want to drive out for dinner. I got the following replacement.

The translucent shell on the MF battery allows us to check water level.. too bad no ready stock for NS40, had to settle for this NS60 replacement.

Age of car: 6 years 4 months

Mileage: 167,000km

Some useful Youtube collection

2011-10-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

1. BMW Front Brake Rotor Replacement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3spy5jtvXo

2. BMW M52/M54 6-cylinder Valve Cover Gasket Replacement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww8qc3Y4BxA

3. BMW Power Steering Fluid and Filter Reservoir Replacement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Gp1vNgOLc

Will update when discover new useful clips.

Avanza: DIY Squeaky Drum Brake / Brake Dust Cleaning

2011-10-10T04:21:00.000-07:00

I just found this in my archive. It is a procedure to clean our rear brake dust because when it cumulates, it created squeaky noise. This job was done in October 2010.

Tools needed:

1) Wheel opener

2) Size 12 bolt

3) Brush

4) Size 12 wrench

5) Car jack

6) Rubber hammer

Loosen (not remove!) the wheel lug, jack up the rear, remove the wheel, use the size 12 bolt to screw in for pushing the hub cover out

Hint: Secure the all 3 others wheels from rolling because to perform this, you must release the parking/hand brake. If not, the parking brake will grab on tight to the hub cover and you wouldn’t be able to remove the hub cover. This is not a front wheel drive vehicle, so the front wheel will roll freely if we lift the rear.

The rubber hammer is to knock the hub to loosen it while screwing in with the size 12 bolt.

This is how the rear brake internal looks like. You can clearly see the rear brake shoe still appears to be very thick. This is at above 100k km. Original 6 years old brake shoe, never replace before.

This is a close up of my humble tools. Check out the hub cover on the left, there a tiny hole for the size 12 bolt to screw in, that’s how we force the hub cover out.

Check out the amount of dust I managed to dust out.

To put the hub cover back, just put it back in and fasten the wheel.

Hint: Jack one rear wheel at a time because the other rear wheel needs to remain on the ground. The transmission selector set to ‘P’, the other rear wheel will help secure the car from rolling. Still, for extra precautionary measure, use objects like bricks to block both front wheels and the other rear wheel from rolling. When jacking, do it slowly and monitor the car for the slightest rolling if any. Can be potential safety hazard if this is not observed.

That’s all for now. Hope you enjoy my write up.. till next blog update, Adios!

Avanza: DIY Repair Transmission Mounting

2011-10-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

A recent change of transmission fluid has led me to inspect the transmission mounting while I crawled under the car, and I’m suspecting it has cracked.

I also noticed an occasion knocking sound from the central cabin tunnel when going through bumps.

So I came across this epoxy adhesive which is perfect for the job.

It has 3 types, 4min, 5min and 90min and each can withstand 3 tons, 3.5 tons and 4 tons respectively. I think 90 min is too long, hence I picked the 5 min variant. The entire car doesn’t even weight 3 tons..

Going under the car again and yes, the black clean line is created due to rubbing, meaning there are movement between the top plate and the 2 rubber support blocks, which shouldn’t happen unless the section has cracked or broken.

This following photo is taken from the rear, notice the same black crack lines between the V-shape top plate and the 2 rubber blocks? Oh! That’s my pet taking her nap in the back ground..

Found a jack point, it’s at the flywheel housing, at the joint where the transmission is connected.

After jacking the transmission up, the gap between the top plate and the 2 rubber blocks are clear!!

Since the gap is not wide enough for me to apply the epoxy adhesive, I had to remove the mounting. 2 size 14mm bolts at the top and 2 size 14mm nuts at the bottom, to be accessed through the bottom cross beam. Look at the following picture after ripping off the 2 sections.. The 2 sections are supposed to be moulded together.

Here goes nothing.. mix the epoxy with the hardener.. the mix is actually hot, an increase in temperature due to the chemical reaction.

I only apply one side, the top plate. Then slide the top plate over the rubber blocks.. I need to act swift because I only have 5 min before the epoxy harden even though it takes hours to fully cure.

Installing the transmission mounting back to it’s original location.. Hint: Put in the top bolts first before tightening the bottom nuts because the top bolts do not have free play while the bottom has.

Slowly lower the jack..

Hint: I lay some old newspaper under the jack to distribute the weight because I worry I might crack my tiles.

Viola!

I think the past 7 years, 160k km of flying over speed bumps and uneven road have finally taken a toll on the transmission mounting.. but fear not, after tonight, flying continues.. !!!

Thank you for reading. Comments are welcome!

Avanza: DIY Power Steering Fluid Replacement

2011-10-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

Hand wash pump, stick it into the power steering reservoir and pump. Be careful not to pierce the strainer inside the reservoir. This is not a perfect method because:

1. The insert of the hand pump too hard, can damage the metal strainer netting in the reservoir.

2. The hand pump suction is not powerful enough to siphon out debris in the reservoir. After I siphoned out the fluid, a peek with a torch light revealed that there’s debris inside the reservoir.

The next time I do this, you should see some improvement to my method.

Check out the fluid color. On the left is from my 1 day old partial drained transmission fluid, taken out due to overfilled. On the right, is the one taken out from my power steering reservoir. Dirty eh?!

Still the power steering fluid appear less dark comparing to the transmission fluid. Planning for a full drain in 20k km time. Stay tuned!

The 3L partial drain of transmission fluid is really hopeless!

Thank you for reading..

Comment appreciated.

Avanza: DIY Removal of Excess / Overfilled ATF

2011-09-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

1 day after I replaced the ATF, even with around 2.3L of ATF, I still felt overfilled. So that prompted me to perform this next DIY: To siphon out excess or overfilled ATF.

I connected the hand soap nozzle to a rubber hose as my siphon device. Insert the other end of the rubber hose into the transmission via the transmission fluid dipstick entrance. Use an empty drinking bottle as a catch, keep pumping the ATF out. It takes less than 3 minute to get rid of my following excess ATF. Don’t forget to check the ATF level once in a while during pumping to avoid over siphoning of the fluid leaving insufficient fluid in the transmission..

Check out my state-of-the-art device.. LOL!

The ATF I managed to siphon out.. Check out how dirty the fluid is despite only 1 day after the ATF change. This is because only less than 40% of the oil fluid is drained through transmission oil pan. The bulk of it still stuck in the torque converter. So moral of the story, replace your ATF more often. I am practicing every 40k km but I certainly recommend 20k km if your time and budget permit. In fact every litre of the genuine Toyota D-III ATF sold by the authorised service centre only cost MYR19, so 3L only cost less than MYR60. You can even fill your empty fuel tank with that amount of money. By the way, the balance fresh ATF can be used to replace your power steering fluid in the power steering reservoir. They share the same type of fluid. To siphon your power steering fluid from it’s reservoir, same technique, via the power steering fill / dipstick cap.

Avanza: DIY ATF Replacement

2011-09-23T00:26:00.000-07:00

Unscrew the drain bolt under the transmission oil sump/pan, it’s a size 14 bolt.

Don't understand why the ATF drain bolt is not located at the lowest point of the sump, how to fully drain the old fluid on the sump? The only explanation I can think of is IF the bolt were lost, not all fluid "escape" so gearbox may survive.. I had to lift the front right wheel using the jack until maximum the jack can provide.. to tilt the pan to try get as much of the old fluid out. Next time can consider siphon technique, releasing from drain bolt doesn't get rid of old lube as well as siphon technique since the siphon tube can reach the bottom of the pan.

Only about 2L is drained..

I bought the drain bolt washer from the authorised service centre, the metal o-rings are for the rear diff, one each for drain and refill screw. The “paper” type is the same as engine oil drain bolt gasket, meant for transmission drain bolt. Didn’t get to use though because lazy to remove the old gasket. Very tightly stuck onto the ATF pan.

For refill, I joined some larger diameter straws, to be exact, 3 of them together using salophen tape to pipe the fresh ATF in.

I bought extra ATF but seriously, 3L is more than sufficient.

Check out the DIY funnel.. heh! liquid medicine measurement cup for the kid + silicon sealant nozzle, hot glued together..

Avanza: DIY Fix to Air Filter Box Leakage

2011-09-10T02:19:00.000-07:00

Been noticing a loud hissing sound at he engine compartment, coming from behind the engine, towards the firewall. A close inspection discovered that there’s a tear on the air filter box seal. The fix is very simple, just use some 3M double side tape to secure the loose foam seal.

Check out the red colour 3M double sided tape, with the protector yet to be removed.

Discovered this while cleaning my K&N air filter, cleaned my throttle at the same time.

BMW E90 320i DIY Removal of Front Bumper

2011-05-15T01:01:00.000-07:00

Moving my car into my porch with auto gate fail to fully deployed has cause the gate to slice my front bumper leaving a 6” cut right next to my bumper light. Darn.. The consolation was it didn’t damage my bumper light.. phew~..

So I took off my bumper and sent it for repair.

First, open the top 4 big screws..

Lift up the rubber liner seal..

Unscrew bottom 7 screws.. check out the scrubs under the lip...

.. 2 fender arch screws each side..

2nd screws..

.. rip the fender liner and 2 more inside.. (1st)

2nd..

slide the clip out (plastic portion).. the metal clip remain on the bumper.. and unplug the fog light sockets.. Notice the nasty cut at 12 o’clock?!

Viola! .. less than 10 min..

Removing the fog lights..

.. going to the paint shop..

1 for the album! Say “Cheeszzz… ”

Bumper repaired, sprayed, enjoying sun bathing..

Securing my big mouth to prevent stones hitting my radiator.

Thank you for reading, comments are welcome!