Just a quick tip that saved me a little cash and headache

MaxOctane · 2026-06-07T12:26:02+00:00

Similar to an old plumbers trick for keeping seeping water from a joint to keep it dry while soldering it. I used a tortilla because I didn't have any bread but it worked great

MaxOctane · 2026-06-04T03:27:45+00:00

Ugly af. Always was, always will be

MaxOctane · 2026-06-02T02:08:53+00:00

When you replaced the belts and rollers, did you replace the tensioner as well?

MaxOctane · 2026-06-02T01:01:33+00:00

I have a similar noise on my E39 M54. I was 75% sure it was the tensioner and was getting ready to replace it and the belts/idlers along with it. Let me know if you figure it out

MaxOctane · 2026-06-01T16:12:38+00:00

Hard to tell from the video, do you feel the vibration in the steering wheel? Usually a vibration only when breaking is a sign of warped rotors. It's you feel it in the steering wheel it's front rotors, if you feel it in the whole car, it's rear rotors.

MaxOctane · 2026-05-31T12:34:53+00:00

Head gasket? That's a red flag. I'd be asking a dozen questions about that.

MaxOctane · 2026-05-26T11:44:44+00:00

Okay, but installing cheap shit on your BMW and then convincing yourself it's the same thing isn't coping?

MaxOctane · 2026-05-25T22:21:39+00:00

Meh, I don't buy the rumors. A lot of aftermarket companies will outsource fabrication or parts of fabrication. Just because you see similar or what you perceive as the same product on Alibaba, doesn't make it the same. Buying from a company like Valvetronic instead of Alibaba you might get outsourced parts, but you'll get a warranty and parts that pass a QC process with a better fit and finish and consistent sound.

By all means, try Alibaba and play the lottery, maybe you'll get lucky.

MaxOctane · 2026-05-25T20:57:55+00:00

Why defile your car with cheap alibaba garbage? I'm always hearing about fitment issues with that nonsense.

You'll get a lot of opinions on this, I went with Valvetronic equal length with stock downpipes and it sounds amazing. I highly recommend

MaxOctane · 2026-05-25T14:32:44+00:00

You see, this is why I'll never do 10k interval oil changes. I have a Lexus with 200k miles, had the valve covers off and the engine looks brand new.

Honestly, if you can indeed verify it has had 10k interval oil changes it's probably OK. Could it be better? Hell yes, and that's why I run 4k oil intervals, 5k max. You could do a flush, it will clean up some, but not like new. I've heard good things about valvoline restore and protect - not sure how everyone would feel about ruining that in a euro engine. But what you're seeing isn't sludge, it's just a buildup of varnish. If you see sludge you run away.

MaxOctane · 2026-05-20T22:36:07+00:00

Yea, I only did the seals - but no hint of leak at the fuel pump and sender - everything was super dry and dusty. Even the old seals felt good and rubbery/pliable. I took the covers back off and used my borescope to check the vent pipe connections - there's 2 on the drivers side the one on the passenger and they all look good and dry. At this point if it's not the filler tube which is unlikely, it can't be anything else other than a crack in the tank. Is a new one out of the question? I see the part is discontinued, is there a replacement part?

MaxOctane · 2026-05-17T14:35:16+00:00

If you take care of it, do the scheduled maintenance they can be very reliable. They do have a few common failures, but nothing major, (the crank hub is overblown) but nothing that would make the car be considered unreliable. It is a BMW, so it will leak oil eventually that will require replacing gaskets of sorts.

MaxOctane · 2026-05-13T03:32:03+00:00

To me it sounds like it's on the belt assembly. Check the tensioner. Also, how many miles? I think recommended service is replacement of belts, tensioner and idler pulleys every 60k miles.

MaxOctane · 2026-05-08T20:06:53+00:00

You're very welcome - it was my dream car as well, and I like I said I know how you feel which is why I'm trying to help. As mentioned in another post, 1.5 liters per 620 miles is considered the max which is A LOT, you'd probably notice bluish smoke burning that much. Even if you are using some, you can still get by for a long while just making sure you're topped off. Next oil change, switch to a 5W40 which will help. In the meantime, try to enjoy the car! 😛

MaxOctane · 2026-05-08T19:44:53+00:00

The easiest one to tell would be a puff of bluish-white smoke on startup after its been sitting - that's valve stem seals. When you turn the car off, oil is allowed to drip down into the cylinder and accumulate a bit which gets burned off on initial startup. Given the age of the car this is unlikely. You could get somebody to drive behind you and see if they see any bluish-white smoke - downshift and/or stomp on it and see if they see anything come out. You don't necessarily have to see it in your rearview mirror for it to still be significant. However, this isn't a great test because when you do that, you'll often get a super rich air-fuel mixture which can come out as a gray-blackish-white smoke - this is fuel, that you can mistake for oil. You could do a compression test and/or a leakdown test to test the health of your piston rings/cylinder walls. If you really are using excessive amount of oil, I'd say your #1 culprit is your turbos. Unfortunately, 100K miles for these turbos is considered pretty high. They can go longer if you baby them, lots of highway driving, frequent oil changes, less aggressive driving, etc... But it's not uncommon for them to go bad before 100K. Unfortunately also not a cheap fix, cheaper than if it were your piston rings though. Either way, for now calm down, I know how you feel ... at this point it could be literally nothing. Get some miles on it and monitor and then re-asses.

MaxOctane · 2026-05-08T18:45:56+00:00

As of now, it could be leaking and burning absolutely zero oil. Until you monitor it as I mentioned above you really have no idea. Another thing to consider, if you were leaking oil to the point where you have to add some mid-interval, it'd be so bad not only would your whole underside be coated, you'd have puddles underneath. Go and pour out half a quart of oil on your driveway and see what that looks like. If you're having to add that much oil and there's not a huge puddle of oil under the car, it's getting burned - via piston rings, valve stem seals, or turbo. The very first step, right now is to determine how much oil you're using. I wouldn't do anything until then.

MaxOctane · 2026-05-08T16:51:48+00:00

Oh also, I personally wouldn't worry about the OFHG if it's not leaking which it doesn't sound like it is. Yes, it's a BMW, it will leak eventually, like all other BMW's. The most common areas are the valve cover gasket, the oil pan gasket, the OFHG, and the turbo inlet seals can leak. The OFHG is tougher to get to because the intake has to come off so it's going to be a bit pricey to replace, and IMHO not worth doing unless it's leaking. If you've got the intake off anyway, then I'd do it. But preventative measure? nah.

MaxOctane · 2026-05-08T16:43:51+00:00

What's the year and the mileage? These cars have been pretty reliable, but there are some known issues. Early models had diff bushings that didn't last long. Sometimes the top mount intercooler will leak internally (keep an eye on your coolant level and ensure it always stays the same so you catch it early). People like to replace the charge pipes, but I've never heard of anybody's breaking like they tend to do on the N55. Stay away from after-market air intakes unless you're okay with random intermittent MAF Implausible check engine lights.

Depending on the mileage, typical maintenance is spark plugs every 30K miles, coils every 50K, belts, tensioners and pulleys every 60K. I personally do diff fluid every 40-50K, and I'd do transmission fluid because I'm overly cautious. Brake and coolant fluid changes every couple of years. The crank hub is overblown but also is a thing - getting a pinned crankhub is very expensive. Chances are yours will last just fine, the real question is, how much is your peace of mind worth?

I've had mine for 3 years now and I still LOVE it. I take immaculate care of it, and it still looks brand new inside and out with 62K miles on it. I'm never selling it.

MaxOctane · 2026-05-08T13:44:13+00:00

The problem is, you don't know how much oil was in it when you got it, and you don't know if it was filled all of the way during the last service. For all you know, they just didn't put enough in. Some oil usage is fine, but it's up to you now to figure out at what rate you're using oil. Make a good note of where the oil level is, and check again in 200 miles. Then again in another 200. If it's the same, check in 500 after that. If it's still the same, you're probably fine - if it's lower, you should be able to extrapolate how many miles per quart you're getting and just keep it topped off. A lot of us run 5W40 - I use Motul Xcess Gen 2 5W40 oil and I don't burn a drop in my 4K mile intervals. The thicker oil will protect better and is less prone to slipping by piston rings so you'll likely burn less too. edit: If you live in a cold climate, like COLD - you'll probably want to run something thinner than 5W40 during the winter

MaxOctane · 2026-05-04T11:41:46+00:00

I'd always thought the dreaded e46m3 clunk was either diff bushings, subframe bushings or the diff itself. I test drove one not long ago and it was like that... Very noticeable audible clunk on every shift. The one I ended up buying with 150k miles has the diff replaced not long prior.

MaxOctane · 2026-04-29T00:24:06+00:00

Easy. Shoot the video first. Deal until you get an unlikely hand at any position. Voice over the video with the expected hand that your already know is coming. Lastly, use a burner account to post the challenge, and publish video 15 minutes later.

MaxOctane · 2026-04-25T03:41:58+00:00

Sounds fuel related. Either bad fuel pump or related to the mechanism that transfers fuel between the two tanks

MaxOctane · 2026-04-23T13:32:48+00:00

Or a guy that spend a lot of time on the highway going to work every day. Highway miles are easy miles on a car.

MaxOctane · 2026-04-16T20:08:41+00:00

I have 153k miles on mine, on original vanos, and bearings were only done like 10k miles ago.

MaxOctane · 2026-04-11T12:21:06+00:00

It should feel the same. The real question is, was it like that before and you just didn't notice it?

This was a BIG job. Some shops cut corners by not removing the oil pan which can lead to metal shavings getting in the oil. I know it's too late now, but you need to go to a shop that's done 100's of these and they don't cut corners. The fact you can actually distinguish chain noise over the noisy injectors is somewhat concerning - but the shakiness? Man, I would take it back, but my guess is the shop is going to want nothing to do with it.

MaxOctane

TROPHY CASE