Your fleet running reports

[Sundayjumper]

a: That's not where the bend is
b; even if it were, there's not space to get snips in there, never mind a grinder/dremel etc.

Finally got it out after half an hour of swearing

But what about the heatshield ?

[mik]

Good stuff. Any idea what it is?

[Beany]

It's part 1 094 623 - a heat shield for the engine support.

There's some crust around where is expect the nuts to be, perhaps someone was in there in the past and didn't put thread lock on them?

This:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/154791361491

Had to tear the shit out of my arm to fish it out from the engine support.

[GG.]

This turned up today:

Enjoy it looking clean!!

[Jobbo]

Enjoy it looking clean!!

Yeah, my car is covered in dust and cobwebs after 2 weeks on the drive. I don't know if there will ever be a time when both are clean at the same time to get a photo

[Swervin_Mervin]

It's part 1 094 623 - a heat shield for the engine support.

There's some crust around where is expect the nuts to be, perhaps someone was in there in the past and didn't put thread lock on them?

This:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/154791361491

Had to tear the shit out of my arm to fish it out from the engine support.

Ahh, so you have RECHTE MOTORHALTERUNG HITZESCHILD. I think that means you have to throw it at a child or something.

[nuttinnew]

This turned up today:

Aaaaaand - wheels look great.

Something about it on these wheels reminds me of Wayne's mirthmobile. Not sure why, but I don't think this is a bad thing

I thought "eh? Looks nothing like them "



but then



I have no memory of them being different front to rear, I only remember the front

[Jobbo]

Aaaaaand - wheels look great.

Something about it on these wheels reminds me of Wayne's mirthmobile. Not sure why, but I don't think this is a bad thing

I thought "eh? Looks nothing like them "

It's not the way the wheels look, it's the stance as a whole.

[Mito Man]

Nice car, and I can't make sense of the reference above at all

[JonMad]

Nice car, and I can't make sense of the reference above at all

This. And also this.

[Mito Man]

My mum took her M6 in to BMW for a service last week and asked for them to check the AC as she dropped it off. On collection they told her they tried to regas but it wasn't holding pressure, their gas has a fluorescent dye but they couldn't see where the leak was and so they will require the car to be brought back for further investigation at their usual rates if she wishes them to repair it.

I told her to let me try with a can of refrigerant from Halfords - it has a sealant and it fixed a pinhole leak in the X5 and my Mito which has held for over 3/5 years respectively. If the leak is so small that trained technicians can't see it then it's worth a try. On Sunday I come down with a can and the second I pump in the gas it comes out in a massive mist right out the lower grill Maybe I should commend BMW for hiring visually impaired people but I don't think it's safe for them to be working on cars...

I remove the the cover for the radiator/condenser which is only a few screws and I see the green dye in a puddle below the condenser. Remove the condenser and it's clear that there's a hole in the bottom where a few bits of gravel have vibrated against the bottom of the condenser and eroded it. It's a bit of a shit design as the condenser just sits in a plastic cradle - really it should be on a bracket so the bottom is protected.


Next I looked at new condensers - BMW want £450 and I'm not impressed with its quality (looks like it's been spray painted by a monkey) plus it will have the same problem again. The only other people selling them are Autodoc who are also shit as they'll probably deliver once summer is over. Eurocarparts are selling a crap one for £350 or something which is also on Autodoc for £150. Maybe ordering from America won't be too silly as it's not that heavy. Find one from an American company with identical dimensions, exceeds OEM specs, it's also black which is a bonus and £60. Although after postage, VAT and whatever other duty ends up at £130. Still cheaper and way better quality so order it.

The crazy bit? It's currently in California and says it will arrive on Wednesday. Takes longer to ship something from Calais nowadays.

[mik]

Blah Blah due blah Evora WIndow blah Regulator Failure

Finally got round to posting something on TheLotusForums in relation to the above, and immediately got a response from someone else citing an identical failure on their car a few years back. They stumped up for a whole new mechanism, but interestingly their car is a Launch-Edition (ie 2009 car), yet the assembly that failed is dated as 2011.... so it obviously isn't the original.

It's also his drivers side that failed - which makes sense as the windows do that 10mm drop when you open the door, and then re-seat against the seals when you close the door. So the drivers door gets far more action than the passenger side.

So either>
1. There is an iffy batch of moulded plastic bits that are failing
2. It's the weak point in the design
3. Its a designed weakness (to avoid blowing the motor if unexpectedly high loads are encountered)

3 is purely conjecture on my part. I suspect 2 is more likely. Maybe I should get one of my clips measured up and get my BIL to print some replacements after all......

[integrale_evo]

Plastic parts get old and brittle and fail. I expect most early to mid 2000s BMWs will have had a window regulator go crunch at some point by now.

[Beany]

Plastic parts get old and brittle and fail. I expect most early to mid 2000s BMWs will have had a window regulator go crunch at some point by now.

I thought E46 window regulators were considered a service item / 'they all do that sir' part anyway?

[Mito Man]

Plastic parts get old and brittle and fail. I expect most early to mid 2000s BMWs will have had a window regulator go crunch at some point by now.

I thought all window regulators were considered a service item / 'they all do that sir' part anyway?

EFA

[Matty]

This turned up today:

Nice.

Those are the temporary wheels while you wait for the correct ones to arrive, right?

[McSwede]

This turned up today:

It looks great!

[Jobbo]

Those are the temporary wheels while you wait for the correct ones to arrive, right?

Funnily enough, I have a few sets of alloys in my eBay watchlist. I know which I want (20” ones, so downsizing) but it turns out you cannot get all-season tyres for them and there are only about 3 winter tyre choices, only one of which is Porsche N-rated. So I’m undecided as yet.

[IanF]

Looks very nice Jobbo. Have they got rid of the silly central grab handles? Always ruined the cabin look for me

[Jobbo]

Weren’t those a Cayenne thing? It doesn’t have them anyway, I’m pleased to say because I agree: