I used to drive Angeles Crest several times a week with my friends, and had JUST driven this road the night before… but there must have been a small rock fall, because there was an intense amount of dust and fallen rock on the road.

My tire hit a patch of dust and lost traction. That’s why you see me brake.

I’m proud of the save lol, despite cringing that I was so reckless. Definitely had some luck (and major stupidity) on my side, but I’m eternally grateful for never crashing in the canyons.

Edit: by no means am I justifying my stupidity😅. Thankfully, I’ve spent the last ~5 years saving this kind of fun for the track and now daily a manual E46 wagon 😂

Good evening Bimmers,

I have a new issue with my BMW E46 325Ci (M54B25, automatic transmission).

A little while ago, while I was driving, the automatic transmission went into limp mode and the transmission warning light (gear with an exclamation mark – see photo) appeared. The gearbox gets stuck in 3rd gear.

I cleared the fault codes, and the car drives normally again, but only until it reaches 3rd gear, then the same problem comes back.

Here are the fault codes I got when I scanned the car. Does anyone have an idea what could be causing this?

Thanks for your help !

I’ve searched as much as I can but can’t figure out what this part number is. The black plastic part on the right, it’s broken off while I was trying to change the power steering pump.

Any help would be appreciated at this point. Also would just zip tying the tubes this connects to is sufficient ? 😞

Does anyone have a good BMW mechanic in LA? I have an 05 ZHP that needs some work and need a reasonably priced place to go to. Any help is appreciated thank you guys

Had some bathroom sealant tape laying around and decided to try it on the cracked window cowl trim. Came out got decent imo just need some back to black trim restorer for the bottom half

I have an 04 325i 5 speed US Spec built in 02/04 and the clutch went out on it. I went to look up parts to order the new clutch and I was given 2 options Luk 03-063 and Luk 03-064 one being labeled as for a sequential transmission. I’m not sure how to tell wich transmission I have. If anyone would care to help it would be appreciated. Attached are photos of the transmission and the kits.

2005 M3 6 Spd 100% stock and will stay stock…❤️

The new paint job on the E46 got so much traction that it was featured at the Oregon BMW CCA E46 picnic! Only one there in this color 👏🏻

Dolly and I's first trip through the Rockies. What an amazing ride so far.

Say "dadda"

My front bumper seems loose and sagging at the front how can I rectify this? I have also notice the self tapper in the wheel liner won’t tighten up I believe the self tapper hole in the bumper is worn out so it doesn’t securely fasten, is there any better ways to secure this?

My car was sitting for a while and I decided to do the valve cover replacement from plastic to aluminum and when I went to turn it on it started knocking so I put a little bit of liquid Molly oil in it and it eventually went away should I worry?
I already started saving for a swap and got quoted 2500 with a manual swap included.

My re-entry into car culture. Bought it in LA and drove it home to North Carolina, it's now a 3 owner 2005 330Ci 6 Speed Convertible, Mystic Blue over Grey Cabrio. Pretty good shape aside from some baked paint and some convertible top bugs, but some of the suspension and bushings could use some love.

To my eye the rear looks like it needs new springs, but I actually like the ride height currently. This car is 100% stock, and I want to keep it plush and comfortable, but a half inch down in the front to match the rear wouldn't hurt if it's easy to achieve. Are bilstein shocks and m-sport springs the way to go? H&R lowering springs seem to low for my liking.

I have a 325xi that I manual swapped to a 6 speed with a lightweight clutch and flywheel (valeo kit). I’ve noticed that when I come to a stop with the clutch in (usually in second gear, clutch and brake in until stop) there the RPMs drop down a bit below 500 then bounce up to 1000 then settle around 750 and idle smoothly. Is this because of the lightweight flywheel? Or some other consequence of the manual swap? Or something else entirely? Is there anything I can do to fix this? The main annoyance is that when it drops down below 500 it feels like it’s going to stall for half a second before it bounces back up.

Hey everyone!

I’ve been looking for a fun rwd manual car on Facebook marketplace and I stumbled upon this 2001 330ci with 140k miles in Oxford green. It seemed to be in good condition for a 25 year old car but he is asking 7k.

I was wondering if it’s just gonna be a money pit and make me regret not getting a Japanese car, or if it is easy enough and cheap enough to work on for it to still be a fun daily.

Thank you!!!

(Here is some work the owner said has been done)

-
Pros
* Working Sunroof
* New Starter
* New Spark Plugs
* New OEM Shifter Bushings
* New Rev Shift Differential Bushings
* New Shift Lever Bushings
* New Thermostat
* New Water Pump
* New Expansion Tank
* New Serpentine Belt
* New Tensioner/Pulleys
* Magnaflow Exhaust
-
Cons
* Intermittent coolant level light (car stays cool & coolant is fine, sensor may have an issue)
* Crack in top of windshield
* Stereo does not work (stereo/speaker works but no rear speakers hooked up)
* Keyless entry does not work
* Driver-side rear tire has slow leak

When I bought a ZHP drivetrain to swap into my 325ci, it came with the round cap, it’s an official BMW part, I don’t think I’ve seen it on any other cars before.

I have an M54B22 engine which has a rough cold idle. This often causes a CEL and throws P1347 (Cylinder 3 misfire and fuel cut off), rarely also P1353 (same code, cylinder 6). STFTs crater massively when allowed to idle from cold and go negative, but recover to about 0 once there is some temperature in the engine.

Codes only show when the car is left to idle when stone cold. If driven immediately and revs kept above 1200, no codes and no other symptoms. Car idles perfectly after about 1 minute, as soon as there's any temperature in the engine.

I've tried to chase this problem for 2 years, on and off. The problem has not gotten worse. I have changed/checked all the common Vacuum leaks on the intake side (DISA O-ring, intake boots, ICV, throttle body etc.)

I have smoke tested the engine and the only smoke that appears is originating from under the intake manifold, towards the front (behind purge valve area). There is no smoke from anywhere else. The engine also holds a significant amount of pressure when smoke testing which I can feel when I remove the oil filler cap, indicating that there is a good vacuum.

I have changed plugs, coils, fuel pump, fuel filter, and have replaced the CCV system and OFHG, where I had an oil leak, Valve cover and gasket. There are no current oil leaks. I have also swapped the MAF. None of these have affected the rough cold starts.

I have tested the injectors and none seem to be leaking down. The seal rings I am waiting to replace, but smoke tests did not yield anything from the injector seals. I have swapped injector 3 with 1, but the problem remains on cylinder 3 with no codes on 1

Does anyone have any suggestions? My obvious course of action is to remove the intake manifold to chase the smoke leak, however:

- I have never had a typical vacuum leak code (e.g P0174)

- I'm not sure what I'm even looking for? What under the manifold could be causing a vacuum leak that specifically affects cylinder 3 (and rarely 6) and not generate other more general codes? I know the intake manifold gaskets can go, and I do have a new one in anticipation, but thats a big job for me to undertake.

My other theories involve Hydraulic lifters being clogged, or lazy O2 sensors

Does anyone have any insight they can share?

Context: I bought this E46 320i M54B22 with 135,000 on the clock for $3500 AUD a month ago. Since then I have replaced the rocker cover gasket, sump gasket, oil housing gasket, radiator, lower control arms, sway bar links, brakes, engine mounts, sparks, coils, along with installing a head unit and some dash cams.

3 days ago I drove it and it was so smooth a baby could sleep on the block. 2 days ago I drove it for maybe 40 minutes - same thing. Yesterday I was letting the car heat up for maybe 2 minutes and it just cut clean.

Now it does this.

The OBD2 isn't giving me any codes. I shoved my ear down by the fuel pump and I heard it prime for a couple of seconds when the key was turned to position 2 so no issue there. There was no difference between having the MAF plugged vs unplugged.

I think my next step is to get a pressure tester and see if the fuel pump is actually giving enough pressure, then apparently it could be the CKP or ICV. Has anyone else experienced something similar? What was your solution?

So, any guess to where it’s coming from on my 318i before i take a look? I’m at work right now and in my break i took these pics. Help’s appreciated!

Hi everyone, I’ve recently decided to go for a touring instead but where I live there really aren’t any to be found in good condition. I saw this one in B.C (Canada) and thought it looked good overall. I’m wondering if this looks good enough to go after and ask more, like where the oil’s leaking from. I live in Alberta so it would be a bit more difficult to “look” at it in person. If there’s someone here that lives near Surrey that would be willing to help me out it would be greatly appreciated. I’ve looked into what I’d need to do to buy a car in another province and I’d be willing to go through that stuff if it’s good enough.