Our Saviour Has Returned !!!! You have NO idea how much these Videos have saved me over the past few months after recently purchasing a 2004 325xi. I seriously thank you for these videos❤
Man , this guy is bad news and has cost me a lot of money !!!. Would have been better that I never stumbled across his channel ........ As a result of him I got a new hobby, after watching his brilliant video's. Now even a pen pusher like me can rebuild car engines. I now own 3 BMW's with M54 engines and an E86 with N52 engine.......not to mention all the tools he made me buy , car lift an all !
Yeah. I did a head gasket ( 2000,323i ) i used his videos almost at the same time he did his , but mine didn’t lasted me as long. The exhaust gases started to sneak in to the cooling system and blew every reservoir I installed. 😢
I still enjoy watching these E46 instruction videos. This week I refreshed my radiator, expansion tank, water pump, thermostat and upper/lower hose. I also decided to replace the electric fan. A couple years ago I did the two hard pipes and heater hoses. Hopefully I'll be good for some miles down the road. Thanks for the help Jason!
Its funny to hear you say "its been 8 years". I used to watch your videos almost daily when I had an E46 which I ended up selling about 5 years ago. Your videos enourmously helped me keep it going when I had it. Cannot believe its been 8 years since your rebuild!
You are absolutely right. Im 20 year old guy with zero mechanic's knowledge and fully rebuilt my VANOS, changed chain tensioner, valve cover gasket, and done my cooling system without the plastic pipes which broke down in this video. I don't even own a garage. Everything done on the street. Man I loved my M52TU
@@tonkis4812you’ve done everything I need to do to mine rn 😭😭 plan to do it this summer so hopefully I have the same success story as you! The little work I’ve done so far has been easy though haha
I have a 330ci E46 and a 330i E90...the E90 is faster/smoother/more comfortable but the E46 as my wife described it as like 'driving a wild beast'. I couldn't have put it better!! I love that damn thing! :-)
@@andrewglover9874heck yeah man I got a 330ci recently and have put some work into it but man I love driving on these mountain roads where I live. Cheers
I have updated my 2001 E46 cooling system three times and have been lucky the last 22 years. I think I should check out this line, still original on mine, scary! Thanks for sharing!
Great as always! You saved me 1000s on my 20 y.o. 1st gen pre-facelift e83 x3 m54 (have it for 8.5 years). What a journey. Started from 0. Knew literally nothing about maintenance and repairs on cars and instead of selling it, the 50s Kid gave me the confidence to start my journey and grow in the last 3 years. You're amazing, man! I managed to replace so many things (even engine mounts!). Next up is the rear diff main bushing.
Unfortunately "almost" everything being made today is CRAP. The Radiator that I replaced in 2008 BMW 328iT in 2021 failed at little over 20k/2 years. The "Replacement" OEM Behr/Mahle Radiator made in South Africa and was put in July 2021 with 140k . Failed at the plastic aluminum seam drivers side in Sept. 2023 with 160k on the clock. The original radiator was made in Germany. The Replacement did not fit very well. The hole for the screw for the exchange hose was smaller than the original. I compared the holes with drill bits. I could not get the screw in. I ended up drilling out wider to accommodate the screw correctly. I tried a Denso Radiator this time, made in Malaysia as the 2nd Replacement, hopefully I will get longer life. I had tried Nissen Radiator before the Behr/Mahle for the 1st replacement, but it leaked right out of the box. Very frustrating and a lot of wasted time for garbage parts.
Comment for the algorythm! The legend is back! Our E46 God!🙏🙏 Been here since 2016 and you encouraged me to buy and maintain an E46 which i love, they are great cars! Love Ya' man, thank you for everything!
Brutal, sorry that happened! Thanks for all of your amazing content, your videos are essential when I need to do a project on my 2003 ZHP sedan or my kid's 2001 330Ci Sport. Neither car has had the under-manifold coolant lines replaced yet. 😞
You've gotta love whoever came up with the idea to put those plastic tubes down there. On the other hand, the original ones do generally last a long time. These pipes are usually on my preventative replacement list for any m54 I or my friends acquire, together with the usual suspects like expansion tank, motor mounts, ccv, oil filter drain valve and gasket, valve cover gasket, disa valve, vanos seals, pan gasket etc. My current one is completely sorted and dry as a bone underneath. Hope to keep it like that for a while.
Hi Jason!!! Great to hear from you again!! We love you man!! The incredible content you have provided throughout the years on your videos has made me a certified BMW E46 tech DIY home mechanic to take care of all repair / maintenance issues on my E46!!
Reminds me when my E39 thermostat let go leaving a parking lot in Socal (overheat and tow). You will recover. I had no idea there were other coolant hoses under the manifold. 04 x3 E83. Crap.
So great to see an e46 video from you 50skid! Your older ones have been so valuable to me and helped me work on my e46. Sorry it was the problems you had but again… so good to hear from you!
I have to say a big thank you for your E46 videos! I've just got my first one, a 2004 325Ci, and I've learned so much about the engine, suspension, brakes etc. from watching the huge collection you've made. It's allowed me to tackle some maintenance jobs, and also made me paranoid about the many ways that the M54 engine could let me down at any point in the future ;) I've got a long list of things to work on/replace as mine seems to have been a little neglected, and your work helps so much. Thank you again!!
Same happened to me starting last year, in my case it was a blown radiator, it bent at the bottom, finally ended up changing the entire system, radiator, expansion tank, hoses... everything, just to be safe because all parts were the factory ones, it was a surprise that the first thing to fail wasn't the well known bmw expansion tank but the radiator... Keep doing this videos Jason, I learnt a lot from you to maintain my 01' 330ci (same color than yours)
Jason - thanks for all you do on your channel. Like others, you've saved me a number of times dealing with repairs on my '05 330Ci. A new issue raised its ugly head the other day, as described below, and I wonder if you might have an opinion as to causation: A little more than a week ago, I went to start my car (which had been sitting for over 24 hours in a garage) and just as soon as I turned the key to the start position there was an actual explosion under my hood - with lots of smoke. It happened so quickly that I don't think the engine even turned over. When I investigated, I found that the intake manifold had cracked in several locations. I presumed that one or more of my fuel injectors had leaked while the car was not being used and that caused fuel to leak into the manifold. I sent all six fuel injectors to a repair facility to be inspected, cleaned and pressure tested and to my surprise none of them were found to be leaking. Any idea what might have caused this explosion???
i had a somewhat similar explosion in my 2000 320, after replacing the intake cam position sensor. the replacement sensor was faulty. i was replacing both cam sensors out of precaution, but had to put the old intake side sensor back in, as it was defective. It was a hella brand. of course, i had symptoms of a bad sensor after installing the new defective sensor: hard start. yours may be a different problem, but hopefully this info helped.
Your videos are beyond great. I'm 70 years old, been wrenching 60 years. TH-cam research last 10 ish. Your knowledge, technique, video talent, ability to explain, attention to details that matter, demeanor all top notch. Thank you.
i still watch your videos from time to time been since 2016 looking jnto get a older bmw glad i got your videos gives me the confidence to work on them my self
This happened to me a couple months ago when water pump came apart in Wal Mart parking lot. Jason, after all your great videos I totally would have stopped to help ya! There's a universal metric o ring kit at harbor freight also - i found the horrible mechanic who serviced my car before I owned it put the wrong size in the lower hose! Anyway, thanks for another great video!
The thing is that when you replace original parts on your german car with the parts that's sold in US you tend to create yourself a problem. I''ve many friends who drive e46 and non of them have had problem with those hoses. So even after over 20 years those hoses are still not leaking.
You should buy a new oem coolant cap, they at some point did a revision for it to open at a lower pressure (becouse they had al lot of problems with the coolant system rupturing as you have experienced) the new part has a yellow warning lable on it.
Nice, good seeing you still going strong with it. I started my DIY watching your videos. Was wondering what your take is on the Ms4x and tuner pro side of things in terms of programming and all.
@@50sKid I have no doubt you probably researched it by now, so it is a way of reading, modifying and writing back programming code back to the car. There has been quite a bit of development into it and I think it may be something you might enjoy playing around with. Although before you do any full reprogramming, make sure to copy over specific crucial data from your old bin files to your new ones such as ISN values, Vin numbers and CAN bus calibration values. Otherwise you'll have problems with Ews or immobiliser deletes or re alignment of them and it's chaos. So maybe research and ask questions just to be sure before implementing anything.
Just out of curiosity, have you tried expansion tank caps with lower pressure rating? The 1.4 and 1.2 Bar caps seem to be popular. It's not going to fix anything per se, but should reduce the stress on the plastic cooling system parts.
@@50sKid yeah but the cap will vent at a lower pressure so it won't experience as many high pressure events. I think I've had my lower pressure cap since about 110k
The higher pressure cap is on there because of the variable thermostat the E46 has. It goes up to 110°C (the diesel thermostat is 88 °C) and the higher pressure is required to keep the water in the system from boiling. That's also why the radiators like to bend on the bottom of these cars...the caps also get plugged from time to time and then the weakest part in the system pops, so it's good to change the caps from time to time...
@@xcofcd pretty sure that BMW's technical literature states that the factory thermostat is computer controlled to operate from 80 - 103 ° C. You might be thinkng of traditional thermostat that has a wax element
Just replaced the Vanos solenoid on my E46. Internet research suggested I use a ‘shower valve socket’. They’re sold in a set. I used either the 1-9/32 or 1-11/32 socket (whichever is the 32mm equivalent). Slid right over the solenoid with no clearance issues. Worked great! A lot cheaper than the Vanos-specific socket that is sold, but just as effective. Plus now if I ever have a shower valve emergency, I’m ready!
FEBI Bilstein sells mainly China trading products under their name, only sometimes they resell OEM parts (like hardy discs from SGF). Be careful with them. I hope, your O-rings are FPM (higher heat tolerance up to over 200°C) and not NBR (inadequate for engine gaskets, heat tolerance only up to like 120°C). Greetings from Bavaria 🖖🏼
ah the good o’ blame China excuse again. Country of manufacture doesnt matter. Pay Chinese manufacturers more and you’ll get better quality. Don’t pay them peanuts and expect quality parts that last as long as OEM parts that are double or triple the cost.
This might be a difficult concept for a lot of people to grasp but China is actually more than capable of producing high quality products. Just look at DJI drones and Oneplus, Oppo, Xiaomi smartphones.
In most of m52/54 these plastic hoses are cracked. You can diagnose them with a torch looking into gap between vanos solenoid and cvt hose before taking manifold out. It's good to replace orings into silicone ones as well.
I love my e46 but she does me the same way I just replaced the value cover gasket I have the sulev but she's a beautiful car and drives awsome I've been doing work on it for 5 year thanks to you
This is just added ammo for me to tackle those plastic pipes when doing a full cooling refresh on my M54B30. Only have 89k miles on my ‘03 z4. Dully noted to solely go genuine BMW. Good to hear it was those pipes, was wondering if your reservoir blew even though I knew you did all those parts replacements no long ago.
How did you/or anyone else here find the quality and fitment of the Febi hoses? Looking to replace mine and they’re a fraction of the price of BMW hoses but I’ve heard so many mixed reviews about quality. Same for the expansion tank, what would you recommend? I was going to go with Meyle but again heard people saying steer cleae
Had the same the beginning of the year but where it goes into block, tip broke off as usually happens . This after 5 years and approx 60 000km after engine rebuild when it was last replaced . Bought OME this time from BMW hoping it will last longer this time.
I picked up a nice E46 convertible with this problem for $500. Seller said it had a hole in the block. I replaced this part in his driveway and drove it off. He was in shock lol . Sold it for 4k Welcome back buddy!
Great vid as always mate! :) I also have a 2002 330i, and your vids have been a lifesaver. Mine is not as nice as yours though - Blame the British winters for that lol. Cheers!
i live in a high climate country (Libya) and plastic hoses get brittle easily so we solve it by modifying the thermostat by decreasing it to 72c and it works fine all the plastic stuff lasts much much more longer. sorry for my English
Dam, my hard hoses under the manifold still original. Done everything else coolant side otherwise. 2003 330ci manual 6 speed with 240k miles. Owned since 2011.
I had to replace that vanos solidniod recently because it was leaking though the electrical connecter on the back of it not the oring and man those things are not cheap
Hi Jason, greetings from Malaysia.. thanks to all the videos you made, it really helped me to diy my e46. A quick question, can we just delete the 2 hoses when we bypass the heater valves?
I have installed a coolant PRESSURE gauge in my 2002 325i. This engine runs at a much higher pressure (18 psi generally) than a Honda Accord (12 psi generally, and as low as ZERO psi). Lower pressure cap will not help for the most part, since even a 1.4 bar cap stays closed up to 20psi. Meaning, for the most part, lower pressure caps are a waste of money. Also, Europeans use a different formulation of plastic than the Japanese. The BMW plastic deteriorates over time with exposure to coolant and heat. There is nothing you can do other than replaced these plastic parts before they blow up. One final thought: It is very easy to leave air in the cooling system during bleeding, and that leads to overheating of varying degree (not always apparent to the driver). The only way to bleed completely is the factory way: Apply vacuum to the cooling system and then fill it using the force of the vacuum to suck in the coolant. No other method is fool proof.
Is it not possible to get cooling hoses that don't break like that? surely some company made a better than oem coolant hoses that are way more durable than 8 years, especially for this chassis? I dunno
I did the cooling system and realized the two expansion tanks I’ve used have failed due to rubbing against the belt. I know my radiator is sitting properly but I can’t figure out why
Good video. I definitely believe in replacing all of the low quality plastic parts with an aluminum/metal upgrade and OEM rubber hoses with the high quality silicone ones (if available) is a must to increase reliability to make ownership easy as possible.
I have experienced that same leak under the intake manifold on my old E39 525i, except it was a slowly seeping leak. But the cooling systems in both the E46 and E39 are total crap! The plastics used for the hose fittings, radiator tanks, etc., quickly get brittle, crack and leak. In the nine years I owned that E39 I replaced the radiator, coolant reservoir, upper and lower hoses (one of them TWICE!), water pump (TWICE), the coolant lines under the manifold. BMW really built some unreliable crap in the early 2000s.
Did you ever get a ticking noise for like 2 seconds when cold starting you e46? i replaced the small oil non return valve on the filter housing and the chain tensioner and still does that. It started to happen when i changed the oil, i put 5w30, the only thing i didnt do was changing the 2 small oring gaskets on the oil filter cap(it doesnt come with the filter on this engine). Its really driving me nuts.
Damn, Kid! I just replaced everything when my cooling system grenaded, and now you tell me that that cheesedicky plastic hose is going to blow in a couple of years! AAAAAK....
Damn, at least it was an easy fix. I just had to spend months trying to figure out what ended up being cylinder wash. Had no compression after sitting for a few months an couldnt figure it out until a week ago....
last summer of 2023 I replaced those two plastic coolant pipes with Febi brand on my 99 323i with fresh antifreeze and my car is running so smooth like new. Thank you for your video.
not weird at all. most car a/c systems will shut down if the coolant gets too low, otherwise you'd permamently damage your a/c system, same way with how the a/c compressor just stops turning if you have no AC gas in the system to prevent damage too
@MultiLittlePsycho low coolant has no impact on the a/c system...I understand how low refrigerant levels shut the a/c compressor off but I dont understand how coolant levels can affect the a/c system at all...
duuuude, you scared the crap outta me. but i dont think i have to worry about those hardlines, i have only 100k kilometers on my 2000 320. thats just 70k miles. how difficult is it to get that intake manifold off though? glad youre back on the road, well, and on youtube.
The pinch clamp on the ps hose isn’t crimped fully. That’s your problem. There should be about a 1mm gap when you’re done crimping. It’s still a better clamp than a worm gear clamp because it applies equal pressure all around the hose.🎉
I did my complete system on my E46 about two years ago, and my plastic hose leaked again. Pulled the intake, and it was cracked. It just happened to me this week also.
They make the upgraded coolant hoses out of metal. To avoid changing them often. Mine lasted 5 years and cracked again so I got the upgraded version made of metal
Hey Jason, got this strange missfire on my e39 525i, 174k miles, only on cold start just like you used to have on the e46, i found out that nr2 coil has no spark when its misfiring in that cold phase, not everytime, when engine hot if i unplug nr2 coil it has spark, compression was good, might have a headgasket leak, this car is new to me and the red flag is that it had mostly water in the coolant system and barely any antifreeze, any tips thanks
I don't know for you, but I kind of get fed up with my 330ci as there is always something to fix and I never get to enjoy my car long enough after some repair before something else need some repair....but at least I can warch your videos and see how bad I'm screwed (got to replaced the air/oil separator and hoses next)
6:43 ... Topaz brand?? Stick with Genuine BMW on the two hard pipes. Not worth it to try anything else ... even Febi is junk these days for this application.
Our Saviour Has Returned !!!! You have NO idea how much these Videos have saved me over the past few months after recently purchasing a 2004 325xi. I seriously thank you for these videos❤
Same for me with my 2000 328ci
Man , this guy is bad news and has cost me a lot of money !!!. Would have been better that I never stumbled across his channel ........ As a result of him I got a new hobby, after watching his brilliant video's. Now even a pen pusher like me can rebuild car engines. I now own 3 BMW's with M54 engines and an E86 with N52 engine.......not to mention all the tools he made me buy , car lift an all !
Yeah. I did a head gasket ( 2000,323i ) i used his videos almost at the same time he did his , but mine didn’t lasted me as long. The exhaust gases started to sneak in to the cooling system and blew every reservoir I installed. 😢
I have two e46s, ones an Xi the others a manual coupe n both have head gasket issues rn :((
I still enjoy watching these E46 instruction videos. This week I refreshed my radiator, expansion tank, water pump, thermostat and upper/lower hose. I also decided to replace the electric fan. A couple years ago I did the two hard pipes and heater hoses. Hopefully I'll be good for some miles down the road. Thanks for the help Jason!
Its funny to hear you say "its been 8 years". I used to watch your videos almost daily when I had an E46 which I ended up selling about 5 years ago. Your videos enourmously helped me keep it going when I had it. Cannot believe its been 8 years since your rebuild!
m54 is such a nice engine to work on. Yes there are some things that make you go nuts but overall it is simply one of the best engines
You are absolutely right. Im 20 year old guy with zero mechanic's knowledge and fully rebuilt my VANOS, changed chain tensioner, valve cover gasket, and done my cooling system without the plastic pipes which broke down in this video. I don't even own a garage. Everything done on the street. Man I loved my M52TU
@@tonkis481220yr old talking engine codes, love it!! Keep going pal, it's all about confidence and just doing it.
@@_lmagine 🙏🙌
@@tonkis4812you’ve done everything I need to do to mine rn 😭😭 plan to do it this summer so hopefully I have the same success story as you! The little work I’ve done so far has been easy though haha
We love E46❤
Get away as far away as possible, it's an toxic and abusive relationship 😂😂
Love my e46 328
Love me E46 and we haven't even gone 3rd base. Oil pan gasket education happening right now
I have a 330ci E46 and a 330i E90...the E90 is faster/smoother/more comfortable but the E46 as my wife described it as like 'driving a wild beast'. I couldn't have put it better!! I love that damn thing! :-)
@@andrewglover9874heck yeah man I got a 330ci recently and have put some work into it but man I love driving on these mountain roads where I live. Cheers
I have updated my 2001 E46 cooling system three times and have been lucky the last 22 years. I think I should check out this line, still original on mine, scary! Thanks for sharing!
Great as always! You saved me 1000s on my 20 y.o. 1st gen pre-facelift e83 x3 m54 (have it for 8.5 years). What a journey. Started from 0. Knew literally nothing about maintenance and repairs on cars and instead of selling it, the 50s Kid gave me the confidence to start my journey and grow in the last 3 years. You're amazing, man! I managed to replace so many things (even engine mounts!). Next up is the rear diff main bushing.
Unfortunately "almost" everything being made today is CRAP. The Radiator that I replaced in 2008 BMW 328iT in 2021 failed at little over 20k/2 years. The "Replacement" OEM Behr/Mahle Radiator made in South Africa and was put in July 2021 with 140k . Failed at the plastic aluminum seam drivers side in Sept. 2023 with 160k on the clock. The original radiator was made in Germany. The Replacement did not fit very well. The hole for the screw for the exchange hose was smaller than the original. I compared the holes with drill bits. I could not get the screw in. I ended up drilling out wider to accommodate the screw correctly. I tried a Denso Radiator this time, made in Malaysia as the 2nd Replacement, hopefully I will get longer life. I had tried Nissen Radiator before the Behr/Mahle for the 1st replacement, but it leaked right out of the box. Very frustrating and a lot of wasted time for garbage parts.
Comment for the algorythm!
The legend is back! Our E46 God!🙏🙏
Been here since 2016 and you encouraged me to buy and maintain an E46 which i love, they are great cars!
Love Ya' man, thank you for everything!
Brutal, sorry that happened! Thanks for all of your amazing content, your videos are essential when I need to do a project on my 2003 ZHP sedan or my kid's 2001 330Ci Sport. Neither car has had the under-manifold coolant lines replaced yet. 😞
Watched all your videos in the past, sold my E46 2 years ago but still enjoy watching thanks
You've gotta love whoever came up with the idea to put those plastic tubes down there. On the other hand, the original ones do generally last a long time. These pipes are usually on my preventative replacement list for any m54 I or my friends acquire, together with the usual suspects like expansion tank, motor mounts, ccv, oil filter drain valve and gasket, valve cover gasket, disa valve, vanos seals, pan gasket etc. My current one is completely sorted and dry as a bone underneath. Hope to keep it like that for a while.
I keep a spreadsheet that lists each repair that I have done. Date, mileage, part number, manufacturer, etc. It has really helped me with maintenance.
can you send me it please 🙏
Hi Jason!!! Great to hear from you again!! We love you man!! The incredible content you have provided throughout the years on your videos has made me a certified BMW E46 tech DIY home mechanic to take care of all repair / maintenance issues on my E46!!
Reminds me when my E39 thermostat let go leaving a parking lot in Socal (overheat and tow). You will recover. I had no idea there were other coolant hoses under the manifold. 04 x3 E83. Crap.
So great to see an e46 video from you 50skid! Your older ones have been so valuable to me and helped me work on my e46. Sorry it was the problems you had but again… so good to hear from you!
I have to say a big thank you for your E46 videos! I've just got my first one, a 2004 325Ci, and I've learned so much about the engine, suspension, brakes etc. from watching the huge collection you've made. It's allowed me to tackle some maintenance jobs, and also made me paranoid about the many ways that the M54 engine could let me down at any point in the future ;) I've got a long list of things to work on/replace as mine seems to have been a little neglected, and your work helps so much. Thank you again!!
I thought the M54 was a rather reliable engine tho, isn’t it?
that's crazy, my car has 200k on the original plastic pipes and they haven't busted like that. this makes me want to replace them asap 🤣
Same happened to me starting last year, in my case it was a blown radiator, it bent at the bottom, finally ended up changing the entire system, radiator, expansion tank, hoses... everything, just to be safe because all parts were the factory ones, it was a surprise that the first thing to fail wasn't the well known bmw expansion tank but the radiator...
Keep doing this videos Jason, I learnt a lot from you to maintain my 01' 330ci (same color than yours)
I watch this channel for the last 6 or 7 years I guess ... and i am always happy to see something new on it.
This man is so so adroit !
This can happen when you put too much coolant in. That level rod in the expansion tank is the real deal. Never over fill or things will split.
Jason - thanks for all you do on your channel. Like others, you've saved me a number of times dealing with repairs on my '05 330Ci. A new issue raised its ugly head the other day, as described below, and I wonder if you might have an opinion as to causation:
A little more than a week ago, I went to start my car (which had been sitting for over 24 hours in a garage) and just as soon as I turned the key to the start position there was an actual explosion under my hood - with lots of smoke. It happened so quickly that I don't think the engine even turned over. When I investigated, I found that the intake manifold had cracked in several locations. I presumed that one or more of my fuel injectors had leaked while the car was not being used and that caused fuel to leak into the manifold. I sent all six fuel injectors to a repair facility to be inspected, cleaned and pressure tested and to my surprise none of them were found to be leaking. Any idea what might have caused this explosion???
i had a somewhat similar explosion in my 2000 320, after replacing the intake cam position sensor. the replacement sensor was faulty. i was replacing both cam sensors out of precaution, but had to put the old intake side sensor back in, as it was defective. It was a hella brand. of course, i had symptoms of a bad sensor after installing the new defective sensor: hard start. yours may be a different problem, but hopefully this info helped.
Man i am so happy you're back , i just got back to my E46 after driving an EV and it has every possible issue you have dealt with :)
Great video, Jason! Lot's of great info on the E46 coolant system. More reference material to go to when my E46 starts a random leak.
Your videos are beyond great. I'm 70 years old, been wrenching 60 years. TH-cam research last 10 ish. Your knowledge, technique, video talent, ability to explain, attention to details that matter, demeanor all top notch. Thank you.
i still watch your videos from time to time been since 2016 looking jnto get a older bmw glad i got your videos gives me the confidence to work on them my self
Thank you for the info
Big help on a tear down ❤
This happened to me a couple months ago when water pump came apart in Wal Mart parking lot. Jason, after all your great videos I totally would have stopped to help ya! There's a universal metric o ring kit at harbor freight also - i found the horrible mechanic who serviced my car before I owned it put the wrong size in the lower hose!
Anyway, thanks for another great video!
I'm feel you!
Good to see you
The thing is that when you replace original parts on your german car with the parts that's sold in US you tend to create yourself a problem. I''ve many friends who drive e46 and non of them have had problem with those hoses. So even after over 20 years those hoses are still not leaking.
4:40 ... what brand were these hard coolant pipes replaced with in 2015? Genuine BMW or aftermarket?? ... looks like cheap aftermarket.
You should buy a new oem coolant cap, they at some point did a revision for it to open at a lower pressure (becouse they had al lot of problems with the coolant system rupturing as you have experienced) the new part has a yellow warning lable on it.
Nice, good seeing you still going strong with it. I started my DIY watching your videos. Was wondering what your take is on the Ms4x and tuner pro side of things in terms of programming and all.
For this car? I haven’t heard about the ms4x
@@50sKid I have no doubt you probably researched it by now, so it is a way of reading, modifying and writing back programming code back to the car. There has been quite a bit of development into it and I think it may be something you might enjoy playing around with. Although before you do any full reprogramming, make sure to copy over specific crucial data from your old bin files to your new ones such as ISN values, Vin numbers and CAN bus calibration values. Otherwise you'll have problems with Ews or immobiliser deletes or re alignment of them and it's chaos. So maybe research and ask questions just to be sure before implementing anything.
Just out of curiosity, have you tried expansion tank caps with lower pressure rating? The 1.4 and 1.2 Bar caps seem to be popular. It's not going to fix anything per se, but should reduce the stress on the plastic cooling system parts.
I had the same thought, I run mine with a 1.4 bar cap.
I don’t think it’ll change much. The plastic still goes through the same heat cycle
@@50sKid yeah but the cap will vent at a lower pressure so it won't experience as many high pressure events. I think I've had my lower pressure cap since about 110k
The higher pressure cap is on there because of the variable thermostat the E46 has. It goes up to 110°C (the diesel thermostat is 88 °C) and the higher pressure is required to keep the water in the system from boiling. That's also why the radiators like to bend on the bottom of these cars...the caps also get plugged from time to time and then the weakest part in the system pops, so it's good to change the caps from time to time...
@@xcofcd pretty sure that BMW's technical literature states that the factory thermostat is computer controlled to operate from 80 - 103 ° C. You might be thinkng of traditional thermostat that has a wax element
Just replaced the Vanos solenoid on my E46. Internet research suggested I use a ‘shower valve socket’. They’re sold in a set. I used either the 1-9/32 or 1-11/32 socket (whichever is the 32mm equivalent). Slid right over the solenoid with no clearance issues. Worked great! A lot cheaper than the Vanos-specific socket that is sold, but just as effective. Plus now if I ever have a shower valve emergency, I’m ready!
Good to hear from you
All the best
I’m so glad you keep making E46 videos!!!
FEBI Bilstein sells mainly China trading products under their name, only sometimes they resell OEM parts (like hardy discs from SGF). Be careful with them.
I hope, your O-rings are FPM (higher heat tolerance up to over 200°C) and not NBR (inadequate for engine gaskets, heat tolerance only up to like 120°C).
Greetings from Bavaria 🖖🏼
ah the good o’ blame China excuse again. Country of manufacture doesnt matter. Pay Chinese manufacturers more and you’ll get better quality. Don’t pay them peanuts and expect quality parts that last as long as OEM parts that are double or triple the cost.
@@kc2213 you won't change the turning of the globe. It is as it is. Nobody needs car part philosophy.
@@PatrickLibertatis Im just calling out bs as I see it. Your nonsensical response is just as illogical as your initial post 😂
This might be a difficult concept for a lot of people to grasp but China is actually more than capable of producing high quality products. Just look at DJI drones and Oneplus, Oppo, Xiaomi smartphones.
If you look on FCP many of the current parts for the e46 are now made in China.
Thank you for sharing once again! Keep them coming!
Yay! Another video! Woo!!!
Thanks for pretty much teaching me how to work on cars.
In most of m52/54 these plastic hoses are cracked. You can diagnose them with a torch looking into gap between vanos solenoid and cvt hose before taking manifold out. It's good to replace orings into silicone ones as well.
I thought you sold your e46, glad you still have it. I like your videos!!
I love my e46 but she does me the same way I just replaced the value cover gasket
I have the sulev but she's a beautiful car and drives awsome I've been doing work on it for 5 year thanks to you
This is just added ammo for me to tackle those plastic pipes when doing a full cooling refresh on my M54B30. Only have 89k miles on my ‘03 z4. Dully noted to solely go genuine BMW. Good to hear it was those pipes, was wondering if your reservoir blew even though I knew you did all those parts replacements no long ago.
Ahh we miss you, would have loved and old fashioned 50sd kid step by step removal of the intake manifold. Otherwise great as usual.
hes done a step by step for the manifold already.
'So glad I saw this! I'm having the same issue with my 03 325 ci!🎉
How did you/or anyone else here find the quality and fitment of the Febi hoses? Looking to replace mine and they’re a fraction of the price of BMW hoses but I’ve heard so many mixed reviews about quality.
Same for the expansion tank, what would you recommend? I was going to go with Meyle but again heard people saying steer cleae
Goat finally uploaded. God I love this channel! 🙌
Had the same the beginning of the year but where it goes into block, tip broke off as usually happens . This after 5 years and approx 60 000km after engine rebuild when it was last replaced . Bought OME this time from BMW hoping it will last longer this time.
I picked up a nice E46 convertible with this problem for $500. Seller said it had a hole in the block. I replaced this part in his driveway and drove it off. He was in shock lol .
Sold it for 4k
Welcome back buddy!
Good to see you back on e46
How many miles before it broke? Have to keep this mind after I replaced those pipes recently.
70k
Great vid as always mate! :) I also have a 2002 330i, and your vids have been a lifesaver. Mine is not as nice as yours though - Blame the British winters for that lol. Cheers!
Thanks for your video! You removed your m56 aluminum valve cover, just wondering why you went back to the plastic valve cover? Thanks!
Coolant lowers PH over time as it ages, change before 5 years for 5 year fluid. Acid will eat away at plastic and o-rings
Excellent. A really good dose of reality.
i live in a high climate country (Libya) and plastic hoses get brittle easily so we solve it by modifying the thermostat by decreasing it to 72c and it works fine all the plastic stuff lasts much much more longer.
sorry for my English
Dam, my hard hoses under the manifold still original. Done everything else coolant side otherwise. 2003 330ci manual 6 speed with 240k miles. Owned since 2011.
We missed you bro!
I had to replace that vanos solidniod recently because it was leaking though the electrical connecter on the back of it not the oring and man those things are not cheap
Same happened to me in Scottsdale Arizona. What a nightmare! Made me wish i woild have drove my Toyota.
Hi Jason, greetings from Malaysia.. thanks to all the videos you made, it really helped me to diy my e46. A quick question, can we just delete the 2 hoses when we bypass the heater valves?
I have installed a coolant PRESSURE gauge in my 2002 325i. This engine runs at a much higher pressure (18 psi generally) than a Honda Accord (12 psi generally, and as low as ZERO psi). Lower pressure cap will not help for the most part, since even a 1.4 bar cap stays closed up to 20psi. Meaning, for the most part, lower pressure caps are a waste of money. Also, Europeans use a different formulation of plastic than the Japanese. The BMW plastic deteriorates over time with exposure to coolant and heat. There is nothing you can do other than replaced these plastic parts before they blow up. One final thought: It is very easy to leave air in the cooling system during bleeding, and that leads to overheating of varying degree (not always apparent to the driver). The only way to bleed completely is the factory way: Apply vacuum to the cooling system and then fill it using the force of the vacuum to suck in the coolant. No other method is fool proof.
Is it not possible to get cooling hoses that don't break like that? surely some company made a better than oem coolant hoses that are way more durable than 8 years, especially for this chassis?
I dunno
Uro brand makes an aluminum one but for only one of those pipes. Not sure how good it is tho
@@burntnougat5341 oh I see, thats cool
I did the cooling system and realized the two expansion tanks I’ve used have failed due to rubbing against the belt. I know my radiator is sitting properly but I can’t figure out why
Thanks for making these videos.
Good video. I definitely believe in replacing all of the low quality plastic parts with an aluminum/metal upgrade and OEM rubber hoses with the high quality silicone ones (if available) is a must to increase reliability to make ownership easy as possible.
I have experienced that same leak under the intake manifold on my old E39 525i, except it was a slowly seeping leak. But the cooling systems in both the E46 and E39 are total crap! The plastics used for the hose fittings, radiator tanks, etc., quickly get brittle, crack and leak. In the nine years I owned that E39 I replaced the radiator, coolant reservoir, upper and lower hoses (one of them TWICE!), water pump (TWICE), the coolant lines under the manifold. BMW really built some unreliable crap in the early 2000s.
Did you ever get a ticking noise for like 2 seconds when cold starting you e46? i replaced the small oil non return valve on the filter housing and the chain tensioner and still does that.
It started to happen when i changed the oil, i put 5w30, the only thing i didnt do was changing the 2 small oring gaskets on the oil filter cap(it doesnt come with the filter on this engine).
Its really driving me nuts.
Dang the plastic coolant pipes didn't last very long. Looks like I'll be replacing mine every 4 years or so
I recommend replacing the native tank cap with 2 Bar, put the diesel cap on 1.4 Bar
Where did you get that windshield sun cover? No suppliers here in Europe for that ...
Damn, Kid! I just replaced everything when my cooling system grenaded, and now you tell me that that cheesedicky plastic hose is going to blow in a couple of years! AAAAAK....
Love to see you still have the e46 . Thought you only had the e 90.
Can you share the info regarding E46 coolant o-ring set, I have an E46 with M54 engine, thx.
Damn, at least it was an easy fix. I just had to spend months trying to figure out what ended up being cylinder wash. Had no compression after sitting for a few months an couldnt figure it out until a week ago....
last summer of 2023 I replaced those two plastic coolant pipes with Febi brand on my 99 323i with fresh antifreeze and my car is running so smooth like new. Thank you for your video.
Weird that a/c went out...I don't know how the cooling system has any impact at all on the a/c system
not weird at all. most car a/c systems will shut down if the coolant gets too low, otherwise you'd permamently damage your a/c system, same way with how the a/c compressor just stops turning if you have no AC gas in the system to prevent damage too
@MultiLittlePsycho low coolant has no impact on the a/c system...I understand how low refrigerant levels shut the a/c compressor off but I dont understand how coolant levels can affect the a/c system at all...
@50sKid- Curious on your thoughts on e46 CCV by-pass/ m56 cover conversions, don't know if you have thought of doing this??
duuuude, you scared the crap outta me. but i dont think i have to worry about those hardlines, i have only 100k kilometers on my 2000 320. thats just 70k miles. how difficult is it to get that intake manifold off though? glad youre back on the road, well, and on youtube.
Same thing happened to me last week in my E46. I was my cooling reservoir hose along with cooling reservoir.
The pinch clamp on the ps hose isn’t crimped fully. That’s your problem. There should be about a 1mm gap when you’re done crimping. It’s still a better clamp than a worm gear clamp because it applies equal pressure all around the hose.🎉
I did my complete system on my E46 about two years ago, and my plastic hose leaked again. Pulled the intake, and it was cracked. It just happened to me this week also.
Do you have a video showing us how to remove the intake manifold
Which Brand did you used for the replacing 2015??
They make the upgraded coolant hoses out of metal. To avoid changing them often. Mine lasted 5 years and cracked again so I got the upgraded version made of metal
I just did all this work on my e46. Had a leak coming down the oil pan.
why did it start having so many leaks? this scares me of e46 ownership, as I was shopping for one
My car pops out of 2nd gear aggressively. Do you know if doing the detents on it will fix it? ZF 5 speed
I love this issue and diagnostic type video
What about silicone hoses, have you tried them before?
Another popular BMW TH-camr says only use Genuine BMW hard coolant lines. He says other will leak at the orings
True enough
These cars need total cooling system change periodically- lots of plastic fittings that get brittle over time- Do header tank and clutch fan as well
Hey Jason, got this strange missfire on my e39 525i, 174k miles, only on cold start just like you used to have on the e46, i found out that nr2 coil has no spark when its misfiring in that cold phase, not everytime, when engine hot if i unplug nr2 coil it has spark, compression was good, might have a headgasket leak, this car is new to me and the red flag is that it had mostly water in the coolant system and barely any antifreeze, any tips thanks
Glad it wasn't as bad as it could have been! E46 & 36's FTW!
I don't know for you, but I kind of get fed up with my 330ci as there is always something to fix and I never get to enjoy my car long enough after some repair before something else need some repair....but at least I can warch your videos and see how bad I'm screwed (got to replaced the air/oil separator and hoses next)
early 2000 bimmer with leaks lol when you get one you need to put some money on oil/coolant system and you should be good for a good time
6:43 ... Topaz brand?? Stick with Genuine BMW on the two hard pipes. Not worth it to try anything else ... even Febi is junk these days for this application.
What a good idea there should be a red flashing light or some audible warning.
,,,these HVAC heater pipes have tendency to crack / split,,,there is one heavy duty made out of aluminum,,,,,