i lol at e36/46 engine being called bulletproof
 

where every component is made from plastic where its failure will can lead to the head warping lol srsly...

























...i still want one though

thoughts/opinions/experience/advice from owners?

be prepared for lots of fan boy fails..

As much as I like the car I find it funny for owners to call it 'bulletproof' when so many things can happen that lead to its failure. a b18 or a k20, now THATS bulletproof

If you get an early e36 m52 non vanos they can be incredibly reliable. Main problems lie in the cooling system. Radiator necks and plastic water pumps are shit.
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im looking at only at e46 325i and 330i

Consider cooling system maintenance on a BMW inline-six equivalent to changing the timing belt and water pump on a Honda B-series. If you neglect either one, it can lead to catastrophic failure. I've owned both and I would take a BMW M5X motor any day of the week over a B-series. VTEC is fun, but I'm done with the days of screaming engines at 7500 RPM. The inline six sounds great all the way from 1500-5000 RPM.

It costs about 500 in parts every 100K to change the cooling system on a BMW. It costs about 700-800 in parts and labour to change the timing belt in a Honda B-series. I find BMWs way more DIY-friendly than Hondas - just more bolts because of over-engineering.

@op as always.

thanks, this is the kind of post I was looking for. Is it possible to do this kind of work in the garage over the weekend or are there a lot of bmw specific tools required?

The only special tool you'll need is a 36mm fan clutch wrench (and possible counter-holder) to remove the fan and clutch. The cooling system can be changed within a couple of hours with regular tools (just have a couple of torx bits handy). The E46 manual transmission has an electric fan, so there's no need for a fan clutch wrench - the fan comes right out providing enough room to replace the thermostat, expansion tank, water pump, and belts.

5.0 swap!!!


Seriously, the 5.0 is a great motor. Cheap as fuck, sounds nice, great torque around town. You can practically trade a carton of smokes for a rebuildable longblock. Also the T5 transmission is dirt cheap and can be rebuilt to handle 600+ horsepower.

I've done a lot of e46 work with just a $130 socket set, and a jack/stands from princess auto. DIY-ing and owning an E46 = good combo

Just don't mod the car. You'll be fine otherwise.

Ask dhillon09. :)

I thanked you for absolutely no reason other than beer.

*edit*

Thats a lie. Your sig played a large part in it. Such post, much thank, so sig.

i dont think BMW engines are known for bullet proof or durability factor...

They might be bullet proof. It depends on the caliber of the bullets you shoot it with. Most BMW owners eventually get to the point where they want go target practice on the unreliable lump of planned obsolescence under the hood.

You see more Hondas from the 80s or 90s on the road then BMW s
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true, but hondas were sold in much greater numbers than bmws...

My prefacelift 01 325i sedan had a valve cover gasket leak and it started to form a very small oil leak as well. Sorta glad i got rid of it but i also miss it at the same time

Strong post, justified by... nothing more than your opinion?

Thankfully, nobody cares what you think.

Does the E46 still use the top mounted, plastic fuel filter housing? That seemed to be one of the most common failure points on the M5x engines in the E36.

Hey now, be nice.

There is some truth to what he says but he wasn't very specific.

The engine itself, for the most part, is bullet proof. What motor isn't? It's the plastics used and the cooling system that is the Achilles Heel of all BMWs. The equation is as simple as this:

Cooling system components - Scheduled Maintenance = Problems of all sorts

toyota86 has a point too - planned obsolescence. Has BMW ever perfected their cooling systems and plastics? Not in the last, what, 30 to 40 years. When owners don't replace the aging plastic parts, they fail, resulting in catastrophic results with the engine, and then some. BMW wants you to buy the latest and greatest BMW!

Do you mean the oil filter housing? It's metal. Same goes for the fuel filter. It's the coolant over flow tank that is plastic.

nobody makes aluminum upgrade parts?

post some pics of the plastic parts

Aftermarkets made metal parts such as the thermostat housing and water pump (the impeller was originally plastic.)

Although highly arguable, BMW improved the plastics into some kind of polymer later on. Most people at that point bought metal components from aftermarkets so whether the revised parts were better, hard to say and to be quantified.

Er, yeah... the oil filter. :lol Not sure where I got fuel filter from. It's more the lid I'm thinking of. Every car I had looked at buying a few months back had an oil leak from the seal, typically caused by the owner (or shop) over tightening the lid and cracking it.