So, I am completely Skodaless and have a brace of BMW, a 116d M sport and an e91 330d. The 1 is nearly new with about 22k on it and is a work car, economical, good on tax and looks quite smart.

 

 The e91, replaced the Fabia and is the family battle bus, it has done 98k, is an 06 and has had one previous owner and full service history but I am starting to doubt this!

 

 so far I have given it a good clean, fitted a tow bar and electrics and today the oil and filter has been changed along with air filter and pollen filter.

 

 I have one more job on my list, it is to replace the fuel tank breather pipe because if I fill the car to full with diesel I get a leak, it is a common fault but is murder to replace. BMW did a recall on all petrol models because of the flammable nature of petrol, however the diesel cars were not recalled and the pipe must be purchased for £45 and if you have BMW fit it, labour is 8 hours at £120+ per hour! So, I have the pipe and my time is free.

 I forgot, I have to delete the swirl flaps too.

 

 As for drivability it is super smooth and has plenty of go about it, 231bhp with 500+nm torque, so it will be ideal for towing my Golf to track days, as for fuel we are seeing high 30's around town which I am delighted with considering it is a 3litre auto.

 

 

 

 

The wife has taken the 330d to work today so I can't do anything to it or simply just take it for a drive    so I turned my attentions to the "1", gave it a good clean out and then washed and polished it. I also contemplated steeling the wheels off it to go onto the "3" but I don't think the lease company would appreciate that 

 So, get your shades on as it here it is, all clean and polished, even the scratches are clean and polished and look better than they did. 

 

What's that on the driver side on front bumper?

What's that on the driver side on front bumper?

They are scratches, the car had been used by two people before I got it, obviously they did not know where the front corners were.

 

 Having recently purchased a 330d e91 and then finding out about the swirl flaps failing I decided I would delete them as per the recommendations on here. On Wednesday I spoke to PMW who were extremely helpful.

 Order was placed for Swirl flap blanks, round gaskets and square gaskets and for good measure I bought a vortex filter which I am really glad I did because when I got the cover off there was nothing inside where the filter should be!

 

 My plan was to do the work tomorrow but as the weather was nice I started the strip down tonight, everything went so easy I finished the job tonight too, from start to finish it took two hours. Everything removed, flaps removed and blanks fitted, gaskets changed and manifold refitted, vortex filter changed and then everything bolted back on, I am well chuffed, I thought it would be difficult for some reason.

 I can recommend this as a diy job because it really is straight forward. Only problem I had was that I dropped one bolt which was from the engine cover and is now lying on the plastic belly plate under the car, this will be retrieved tomorrow as I have the diesel tank breather pipe to replace and then the car is somewhere near where I want it.

 

The flaps I removed were in good condition and would have probably have lasted for a few years to come but I don't want that risk.

 

Inlet Manifold removed,

 

A Swirl Flap

 

 

 

Flaps removed and blanks inserted, also new gaskets too.

 

An update on the brace of BM's.

 

 The 1 has a knocking front strut and a none responsive heater control, called the dealer (Stratstone Leeds) to book it in, however they will not collect so am a bit stuck arranging a lift to sort the thing out, there is 8000 miles until the next service so I will leave it until then and book a courtesy car.

 

 The 3, this thing is running like a train! I have been towing the Golf to and from track days, it has incredible torque, 62 mph on the cruise control, the car holds top gear at 1,400 rpm no matter whether we are going up or down hill and returns about 30mpg towing.

 I have had delivered 7 litres of ATF, a new sump and filter to service the auto box, these are supposed to be sealed for life but 100,000 miles I think it will be ready for a change.

 Finally, I washed, vacuumed and polished it today, noticed lots of scratches and dings so thought about getting it resprayed but this will cost a bomb and for an old battle bus will not be worth it.  SO, this got me thinking of having it wrapped, any ideas on cost for a full wrap?

 

 I will get the feelers out with some local wrapping types.

An update on the brace of BM's.

The 1 has a knocking front strut and a none responsive heater control, called the dealer (Stratstone Leeds) to book it in, however they will not collect so am a bit stuck arranging a lift to sort the thing out, there is 8000 miles until the next service so I will leave it until then and book a courtesy car.

The 3, this thing is running like a train! I have been towing the Golf to and from track days, it has incredible torque, 62 mph on the cruise control, the car holds top gear at 1,400 rpm no matter whether we are going up or down hill and returns about 30mpg towing.

I have had delivered 7 litres of ATF, a new sump and filter to service the auto box, these are supposed to be sealed for life but 100,000 miles I think it will be ready for a change.

Finally, I washed, vacuumed and polished it today, noticed lots of scratches and dings so thought about getting it resprayed but this will cost a bomb and for an old battle bus will not be worth it. SO, this got me thinking of having it wrapped, any ideas on cost for a full wrap?

I will get the feelers out with some local wrapping types.

Tried a machine polish or was it just hand polished

Tried a machine polish or was it just hand polished

It is way past a polish, it has scratches on most doors, crazed rear bumper and really bad splurge on the bonnet where it looks like a pterodactyl shat on it.

 

 Paint or wrap is the future 

The 116 went for its second service on Monday, 36k miles so fairly routine you would have thought. However, it had a few issues, I mentioned the front offside strut was knocking when the car went over a bump or cats eye, i also mentioned that when the car is cold there is a definite clutch judder. I left the car and drove away in an X1, it was ok but I wouldn't buy one.

 Anyway, it is now Wednesday and I only got my car back at 17:00 today, it has had a full service, front strut sorted, new flywheel and clutch, no questions asked, all under warranty, I am quite surprised as when I had the Audi A4 I argued for 12 months that the dual mass was knackered but they would never change it, the car went back at the end of the lease without anything being done to it.

 

 I now have another 11 months with the 1 so it is now time to start looking for what will replace it. It won't be an X1.

The 116 went for its second service on Monday, 36k miles so fairly routine you would have thought. However, it had a few issues, I mentioned the front offside strut was knocking when the car went over a bump or cats eye, i also mentioned that when the car is cold there is a definite clutch judder. I left the car and drove away in an X1, it was ok but I wouldn't buy one.

Anyway, it is now Wednesday and I only got my car back at 17:00 today, it has had a full service, front strut sorted, new flywheel and clutch, no questions asked, all under warranty, I am quite surprised as when I had the Audi A4 I argued for 12 months that the dual mass was knackered but they would never change it, the car went back at the end of the lease without anything being done to it.

I now have another 11 months with the 1 so it is now time to start looking for what will replace it. It won't be an X1.

Audi S1?

Looking for something bigger, I have even had a look at the Yeti again but they don't seem to be as simple to spec as when I had my last one, just an SE with 170tdi that was loaded. Now it is L&K or something and you can't have that engine with that trim.... Skoda have made it a bit difficult.

 

 So, top of the list is a 320d M touring at the minute, this might change though.

 

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/bmw/3-series-touring/320d-m-sport-5dr/pictures/65539?mediaId=67770

Do the current 2.0 dervs still have issues with cam chains? Not an issue if it's a lease though I guess.

 

I've found BMW dealers (the same one) a mixed bag. Some times really helpful, sometimes really snotty. I guess they don't like my student-y attire maybe? Either way, sounds like you had a good experience so   

Not sure about the cam chains, service is ok from Stratstone problem is they are in the Leeds which is a nightmare to get to and from.  I will let you know if my cam chain develops an issue, I would imagine it will be a big issue too.

330 went for MOT today, drove in straight onto the ramp, checked over, emissions checked (zero nothing detected) then onto the brake test and headlight aim, exchanged a few pound notes and we are home with an MOT certificate, nice easy uneventful morning really.

 

 Not bad considering my pre MOT check was to turn the lights on, check for blown bulbs and then hit the brakes from 70 mph on the way to the test to check they work, here's to another year of trouble free motoring.

I have been for run today in the 330, oodles of power smooth torquey drive and one or two issues 

 

 I have had the torque app plugged in whilst driving and this has confirmed my Thermostat concerns, the best the temperature hit was 70'C, add this to the list of jobs to do. I hope by changing the stat the fuel economy will improve from 25 mpg to at least 30 mpg  :wonder:

 I also have a new set of rear springs for it, nice heavy duty slightly longer springs more akin to towing and as it will be towing the Golf around to the circuits this year this needs doing, in addition the these two jobs I think there is something going on with the steering, it feels heavy, not heavy that power assistance is not working but heavier than normal, so this will have to be checked and maybe the fluid changed.

 

 I will also change the oil and filter because we have had the car a year now and I changed the oil when I got it.

Lovely day today, weather was warm, sun was bright so an ideal day to tackle some of those jobs on the 330d.   

 First was straight in and remove all the plastic, fan, engine cover and such like to replace the thermostat, I tried to save the coolant to use again but gave up on it as is poured out all over the place!

 Quite an easy job when I got to do it, I was dreading it after reading some of the how too's on BMW forums making it out to be a big job that takes four hours, it doesn't, it tales about two hours and I changed the oil and filter in that time too.

 I did work on the car for four hours though, I replaced the rear springs for some heavy duty springs, this was an easy job, so easy in fact it only took an hour to replace both.

 

 Then it was off for a test drive, to make sure temps are up at 90'C as they should be and to give any airlock a chance to eradicate itself from the system, I also wanted to get the damn DPF regen to initiate, we tried the BMW approach, cruise on the motorway for at least ten miles and DPF should regen, it didn't, so after 25 miles I U-Turned at a motorway junction and travelled back again, this time holding the auto box in manual, 4th gear instead of 6th and cruised the 20 odd miles back at 75 mph, pushing 3,200 rpm all the way.

 

 I have no way of knowing if a regen was performed but I can confirm the error code telling me of high pressure in the DPF has gone, so I am assuming the DPF is less asthmatic now than it was before, we are going out for the day tomorrow, a good long journey so we will take it to see how it performs, initial results I am happy with as fuel economy has started to creep up and engine temp holds 90-92'C.

 

The brains of the outfit!

 

 

Am I really that bald....

 

 

 

 

Bloody Fan wouldn't let go, I found out later the heat exchanger was bolted to the bottom of it!

 

Trying to catch coolant

 

Thermostat, old and new

 

Maf, Breather, EGR and Turbo inlet, no play in the turbo shaft but plenty of oil in the pipes. Thermostat moulding too.

 

 Plastic fantastic

 

EGR Cooler with Thermostat attached.

 

 

New Thermostat installed

 

Proof that the whole job was worthwhile, 90'C when cruising, this was as low as 63'C before the stat was changed, no chance of a regen when the engine is that cold

 

 

 

 In addition to me fettling the BMW my lad had a few jobs on his Lupo too, exhaust blow and an oil change, he is a clever lad, did it all on his own.

 

 

 

 

 

Is that a cheap main stat you have fitted?

Circoli from ECP (looks like it)

If so you'll be doing this job again in a month, i did this. Genuine stat from BMW is the only way to go

It was not a Circoli stat, it was the other stat ECP offer, Facet, the one BMW forums claim is the same as the BMW stat but not stamped up with BMW.  The stat I removed was a BMW stat.

Suppose we will see how long it lasts.

My Circoli one lasted a month before temps dropped to 70 degree's again

I could tell from the picture that its not an oem stat housing straight away so hopefully the gubbins is oem

Look on the bright side, I know how to do the job now 

Saturday was an interesting day, it started early with the 3 going to BM garage in Llay, it was having the DPF fault code investigated, pressure readings were on the high side so a forced regen was called for and off down the road I went while it did its thing, I returned to the garage half an hour later and the readings were promising with the pressures dropping, set a forced regen again and off down the road I went again, on my return the pressure figures had gone back up to what they were when first tested.

 We repeated the force regen and drive scenario another three times and the pressure was staying high, finally we set it to call for a regen again and I went for a much longer drive, in fact I drove from Llay to York Raceway to attend a Sunday rally as service crew.

 Sunday I towed the rally car home to work the car and get it hot hoping the regens will clear the DFP. I will find out on Saturday if the DPF has cleared, if it hasn't I will have to dig deep and get it sorted.

 

 

 To rub salt into the wound, my wife called tonight on her way home from work, she told me there was a loud bang and now smoke is coming out from under the bonnet and the back of the car, also a loud noise was happening too, so as you would expect from a domestic engineer, she proceeded to drive home whilst all of these things were happening  :peek:   sort of in denial there was an issue and making sure she was home for Emmerdale, I drove home with all sorts of things going through my head as what the problem could be.

 

 I parked up and noticed the 3 looked like it had been slammed, you've guessed it, the front spring had snapped, this was the bang, the smoke was the spring rubbing on the tyre, so much so there is a groove around the inside of the tyre that is 1/2 an inch deep, run flats must have a 2 inch thick wall as it hasn't burst but will be replaced!

 

 So, jacked it up, whipped the wheel off, strut out and spring out ready for a new spring to be fitted tomorrow, then a purchase of a tyre also.

 

 

 I now know what BMW stands for, Bavarian Money Waster   :(         I want my Yeti back 

My Facet stat didn't work out of the box !! My OE one would hover around 70c(failing not quite dead)  the Facet couldn't go above 50c no matter what(dead) BMW genuine sit's just under 85 when cold outside, 87+ these warmer days (bingo)

 

I don't know if it's relevant, but on mine (N47 engine mind you) I can tell when it's doing a regen by how lumpy it runs, you can kind of tell with torque too, if you set a dial with the cat temp showing then you should see a huge obvious rise in temp whilst the regen occurs.

I wonder if this is any use on that engine, Coolant temp should rise a few C too.

 

 

 

HTH 

Thermostat is still working well, no issues.

 

 Springs replaced, new tyres all round and she is mobile again  , tomorrow a visit to BM Garage in Llay to have a map installed, power, economy and all the usual promises that go with a map, I will let you know how it goes..... literally.  

/\ let us know how long it lasts

Mine made it a month then pooped itself

I have been orienteering this morning, not quite but I have been looking at maps, the generic type so no rolling road involved, not ideal but the maps BM garage use are well tried and tested, I had the choice of Stage 1, Stage 2 or Stage 3, (not proper Stage variants as no hardware would be changed)

 

 Stage 1 was dismissed immediately as it did not seem to be enough change for the cost, Stage 3 was also dismissed as this had massive power increase from stock so this left Stage 2, in the middle and quite substantial improvement over stock.

 

 Stage 3 takes the power from 231 bhp and 500nm to 330 bhp an increase of 99 bhp and 700nm an increase of 200nm which is a bit much for my 100k mile battle bus.

 

 Stage 2 takes the power from 231 bhp and 500nm to 285 bhp an increase of 54 bhp and 630nm an increase of 130nm which on the drive home has made a noticeable difference, very smooth power delivery and if provoked a real good shove in the back, from 40 to 80 takes next to no time at all.

 

 I know the figures quoted above have not been verified on the rollers but from the drive to the garage compared to the drive home I am a very happy chap.

 

 

 

 

 Jase, the thermostat is still working too