At 160k the service was just the regularly refreshed items; oil, air filter, oil filter and cabin filter. Business as usual with the oil, Castrol Edge that I get at a good rate from Costco, and the filters were all EuroCarParts sourced.
Read on to find out why Castrol Edge is no longer business as usual.
After 16,000 miles the oil was looking decidedly worse for wear.
As was the air filter, which was restricting majority of a tree and a small bird from getting into the engine.
Luckily, Henry was on hand to clear things up. Using a little AutoGlym Vinyl and Rubber Care the intake, engine cover and cabin filter cover were looking much more like it.
That concludes the first service, fast forward one year for the next. Business is unusual this time in regards to the oil, after receiving a sign from the automotive gods (Costco didn't have any oil), I swapped out the regular Castrol Edge for Valvoline SynPower. I also managed to source an elusive vortex type oil breather filter, which Sytner Coventry said wasn't available any more...Cotswold Hereford BMW managed to source it just fine though. To round off this bumper service I replaced the fuel filter as well as the usual oil, air and cabin filters.
Anyway on with the show, whilst the oil was draining I got on with removing the oil breather filter. It's not that much more involved than replacing the air filter, which it sits next to, just a bit more fiddly to get it out. I also found you need to undo the coil pack rail to give you some wiggle room.
You can see below the old loo roll type on the left and the vortex on the right, and then the full vortex assembly underneath.
Using the supplied BMW seal I got the new filter in and secured, and all other filters swapped too.
Job done.
I did promise more info on the reason why Castrol Edge is no longer my go to oil, so here goes. It was immediately evident on start up that the engine ran smoother with the Valvoline oil, the note of the engine was quieter and just generally improved. The test drive re-enforced my opinion, the car was smoother and pulling better, quite surprising with just a brand change. My findings were then backed up with factual science when my girlfriend noticed the difference as well.
Result.
15 Comments
Hi Mate, a little off topic but I'm looking to buy some new side indicators as you did in an earlier blog post.
ReplyDeleteYou said you got them from Euro car parts, can you remember which ones they were? As there is a £5 after market version, and a £15 ULO version. The ones you bought looked mint.
Thanks.
Hi mate,
DeleteHaving to refresh the memory a bit, but judging by the part number on the box it was these:
- N/S Repeater
- O/S Repeater
But I wouldn't get them from eurocarparts, go for their online sister company, they are about £4 cheaper each.
- N/S Repeater
- O/S Repeater
You may also be able to find a discount code to make it even cheaper! :)
Hope this helps,
Andy.
Sorry for the delayed reply mate, thanks a bunch for the help!
ReplyDeleteHey Andy. Love your blog. Just bought a 330d 2002 as well and getting some preventative maintenance done on the car. I want to change the serpentine belt as I dont think it has been done in a while. Any tips on this? Thanks. Colin
ReplyDeleteHi Colin,
DeleteThanks glad you like it, hopefully it'll prove useful to you in future. Glad you're liking the car too, good shout on getting some maintenance done, so many people neglect their cars.
To be quite honest, I had to google what a serpentine belt was called, I'd never actually heard their correct name. Any-who, check this post, you'll have to scroll passed the parts that don't apply to the belts but it should help you familiarise with the job :)
Thermostat (Coolant) - Removal and Replacement
Cheers,
Andy.
Thanks a lot. And here I thought I had gone through every one of your posts! Have you still got the 330d? I did think I saw a post about you selling it on
ReplyDeleteNo problem, haha yeah there are a fair few posts now. Don't forget to click on Service Guides at the top, there are some more posts on there.
DeleteUnfortunately not, I would have loved to keep it but I upgraded to an E92 335i and couldn't justify keeping both. Never fear though, there are still a number of jobs left to type up. So more content is on it's way. Also the E92 has kept me busy so I'll be making another site for that.
Cheers,
Andy.
Awesome. You must be loving the power from the turbo 6. Always loved bmw's 6 cylinder petrols. Just so much smoother than the others. Hope you enjoying it! Is it as reliable as the 330d was? How many miles on did you sell the 330d at?
ReplyDeleteOh yeah... it's fast, like really fast. Unfortunately, I got sold a pup, and it cost me quite a sum to put right. Both turbo's replaced, high and low pressure fuel pumps, gaskets, brakes, the list goes on. But it's almost back to it's prime now, just a few niggles left. It's such a nice car, both to look at and drive.
DeleteThe 330d was sold at 182k miles I think, and showed no signs of it's age engine wise, power was still plentiful. If you look after yours there's no reason you couldn't get well into the 200's out of it problem free.
Sounds like quite a bit you had to do. Is your (and your dad's) line of work anything to do with the automotive trade or do you just enjoy tinkering with this kind of stuff?
ReplyDeleteI'd say we're partly avid enthusiasts of tinkering and partly perfectionists that trust no one to do the job right lol. However, I've since got a job in automotive industry, in the pre-production quality department of a major OEM.
DeleteSounds like the perfect fit! Well done. I do love to tinker with my car, just preying that it doesnt go bang from something I did......
ReplyDeleteWhat Valvoline oil was it XL-III C3 or Extreme MST. Thanks !!
ReplyDeleteHi there,
DeleteI've checked all my receipts and can't find any suffixes in addition to just plain SynPower.
For my E92 335i, I asked the OpieOils.co.uk team which of the two options that you've mentioned, they recommended, and they suggested MST. It's BMW Long Life approved so I can't see why it wouldn't be suitable for the E46 330d too.
Failing that, shoot the guys at OpieOils a shout and they will point you in the right direction.
Hope this helps,
Andy.
Hi, many thanks for your reply. Much appreciated.
DeleteRegards. Rad
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