New M3 owner! Need maintenance tips...

[panda-R]

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Hi yall!

Picked up a new to me 2009 6MT Alpine White / Fox Red Sedan a few days ago. The car is in excellent condition with dealer service records. The only thing I have concern with is the "higher mileage" on the car as I picked it up with 124500kms (77361 miles) on it. Throttle actuators have not been replaced and the previous owner has not done any oil analysis on it.

What would yall recommend to tackle at this age for this vehicle? I'm planning to do the BE Rod Bearings and motor mounts at the same time. Anything else that is common on these vehicles?

As with any thread, here are the mandatory pictures.

[XKxRome0ox]

i'm taking my new-to-me '08 e90m3 in for the following maintenance items this weekend:
rod bearing replacement
motor mounts
spark plugs
oil change

car has 58500 miles on it now (just passed the 1000 mile milestone with the car)

and as a bonus
stoptech brakes up front
wheels (from 220m to 513m)
alignment

[Rob_M3]

Nice car and welcome to the club. You're gonna love the car. What exhaust is that? I would just get all the fluids changed as a piece of mind. Rod bearings is not a must but that's up to you. I got mine done when I got my E90.

[Agent-GHQ]

Yuck! Hate the red interior in general but welcome to the family! If you plan to keep the car for at least 5 yrs, I’d suggest you do the RB and other components while you’re in the area

[panda-R]

Originally Posted by Rob_M3

Nice car and welcome to the club. You're gonna love the car. What exhaust is that? I would just get all the fluids changed as a piece of mind. Rod bearings is not a must but that's up to you. I got mine done when I got my E90.

Thanks! Most of the fluids and spark plugs were done from the dealer recently as I have the service records. I guess maybe just plan for throttle actuators whenever they come up. The exhaust is a Super Sprint Race. I need to clean that up though!

[panda-R]

Originally Posted by Agent-GHQ

Yuck! Hate the red interior in general but welcome to the family! If you plan to keep the car for at least 5 yrs, I’d suggest you do the RB and other components while you’re in the area

Yeah I have a love hate relationship with Red leather but the rest of the car was right. My wife on the other hand loves the red so it was easy to convince her to let me buy this car!

[PACarGuy]

If there's no records of these being done, I'd do engine coolant, MT fluid, diff fluid and replace drive belts as well.

Also check front suspension components (LCA's, thrust arms, sway bar links) for sloppy bushings and ball joints, and check wheels for straightness.

[wyatth]

Originally Posted by PACarGuy

Also check front suspension components (LCA's, thrust arms, sway bar links) for sloppy bushings and ball joints, and check wheels for straightness.

At what rough point do suspension components need a refresh? Coming from the E46 M3 world, RTABs were due around 50K and the rest was advised around 100K depending on use.

[Mvy]

consider throttle actuators as well

[XKxRome0ox]

Originally Posted by panda-R

Yeah I have a love hate relationship with Red leather but the rest of the car was right. My wife on the other hand loves the red so it was easy to convince her to let me buy this car!

if you were local, i'd swap my black leather interior for your red

[PACarGuy]

Originally Posted by wyatth

At what rough point do suspension components need a refresh? Coming from the E46 M3 world, RTABs were due around 50K and the rest was advised around 100K depending on use.

When I did my PPI on my '12 last year (it had 53K on it at the time), the tech suggested changing the front lower control arms and front sway bar links because they felt sloppy. I did those within a couple of months. Definitely tightened up the steering response. At the time the tech said the thrust arms were "OK", but I went ahead and changed them 6 weeks ago when I had the RB's done because the subframe was out anyway, and it didn't add extra labor.
He also noticed my ZCP wheels were not quite "true" and needed to be straightened. After 50K miles, you'd expect wheels to not be perfect.

As for shocks, mine still seem pretty solid so not thinking I'll mess with those till at least 80K.

[spazzyfry123]

While you're changing out the rod bearings and all, might as well change out the power steering reservoir. An OEM one is like $50 or something and they tend to leak over time.

[panda-R]

Thanks y'all. Very helpful stuff! I'm gonna try and tackle all the stuff that is easier with the subframe out when I do the RBs.

[Nikru274]

Originally Posted by XKxRome0ox

i'm taking my new-to-me '08 e90m3 in for the following maintenance items this weekend:
rod bearing replacement
motor mounts
spark plugs
oil change
alignment

YES, first things I did 6 months ago after purchasing mine..almost in order too.

[zstreet86]

Don't listen to some of these haters. My fox red interior is honestly my favorite part of the car asthetically. Great find!

[CalgaryX3]

Welcome fellow Calgarian! I too have an AW sedan. Loved the FR interior so much so that I ordered the car with extended. Love the red leather!

[GotV8?]

nice looking 4 door and welcome to the 'M' clubhouse; I pushing 55 k mileage on my ride, will be doing BE rods and motor mount as well....already replaced both Throttle body actuators through FCP which are reasonably priced with a lifetime replacement!!! Enjoy the sound and the drive. Happy motoring!!!

[NeverL8]

Originally Posted by Agent-GHQ

Yuck! Hate the red interior in general but welcome to the family!

Did anyone ever teach you that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say nothing at all?

[SYT_Shadow]

very nice!

I love the fox red interior. Very very nice

I would not worry about throttle actuators at all. When the fail they fail and it's ok, nothing bad happens

It's a good idea to replace the rod bearings and the engine mounts while you're down there. Other than that it should be smooth sailing

My brother and I double-tracked an E46 until 170k miles when we sold the car, only replacing rod bearings.
We've put over 100 track days on our E92+E90

[BimmerMan33]

Power steering reservoir leak is very common on these cars, but need not replace the reservoir! Just change the rubber O ring seal for the reservoir cap, maybe costs $1

[Abdul]

All the suggestions seem accurate. Make a list and prioritize. These cars are easier to maintain than most people make it seem.

Congrats on the purchase!

[Abdul]

I would not worry about throttle actuators at all. When the fail they fail and it's ok, nothing bad happens


I agree with this statement. Even though I sell Throttle Actuators, I don't want to make it seem like these are "must replace" item after 40k miles.

My only problem is that when they fail, it can drive you crazy! At first, the limp mode is intermediate. Then the car is always in limp mode. If you don't have an extra car, this can be very frustrating. So recently, I've seen ///M owners just replacing their units as a precaution just to avoid the hassle of being stuck on Limp Mode without an extra car. I also have noticed people who track their cars regularly buying am extra set of actuators just in case the actuators fail on a track day.

Other than that, if you can easily have access to a second car at the time when the actuators fail, then just wait it out till they fail.