What have you done with or to your M3 today?

[6ixSpd]

Originally Posted by KrPa

Big weekend for me! Finally got everything together to tackle changing the rod bearings, motor mounts, and an under drive pulley for some additional fun!

The job was done laying on my back in the garage, but with someone passing you tools it really wasn't too bad. I took some pictures documenting the process, overall it took about 2 days working at a relaxed pace.

Doing it on your back on stands in a single car garage, now that's commitment!

[Epoustouflant]

I did a thing 😁

[m3gang]

Originally Posted by fatalelement

It was somewhere north of ~70k, but I can't be sure because when the dealership salesman told me they were done by the dealership is inaccurate per their own records. It has over 120k miles and has definitely had the plugs done at least once, as one of the coil pack plastic pull knobs was badly damaged by someone who did it before. It had them changed a few thousand before 40k, per BMW, and no proof they were changed after. So I am assuming they were not. I once had a misfire on a hard downshift rev, but otherwise I did not really sense anything off (until I changed them and realized the difference it made).

However, I would really not use my egregious maintenance failure as a benchmark - my engine also made it to 117k on original bearings (just barely), when some engines went almost 100k earlier. Plugs can absolutely cause misfires. Service rec is like 37.5k I think? From now on I'm doing 25k given how much of a general smoothness/startup difference it made, and while it's annoying to do, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than a shop to do it yourself. A bit over 200 bucks every year isn't a bad consumable.

My recommendation would be to swap the coil to another cylinder (a 30min job max if you've never done it), unless 4 is in the back - can't remember the order on these - which is annoying, so call it an hour.

If the misfire moves with the coil, it's the coil (which is a bummer because they're not cheap), if not, it's the plug.

Thank you so much for the long reply, I really appreciate it. Yeah, unfortunately it seems like cylinder 4 is the worst to get to since it's the rear passenger cylinder. I already ordered new plugs and I will try swapping coils too. Thank you for your help!

[Cyberdemon]

Just got the car back from a full paint correction and ceramic coat, looks fantastic. Still a few spots I'll eventually need to respray but shines fantastic for a 10 year old car. Now to find some time to take real photos.

Now on the list - all the maintenence. Power steering fluid, diff service, brake flush, new plugs are all way overdue. Good thing FCPeuro is having a sale.

[stefan_e36]

Originally Posted by fatalelement

Yeah, this was probably close to 90k by the time I changed them. Far from ideal. Valve cover leak is very light but I'm not surprised that the plugs looked this way given how long they were in.

Previous owner did not record the change but the selling dealership said they were done recently, but when I finally had them pull the records, that was incorrect (which was why I did this immediately). Stupidity on my part.

I generally keep good self service records but I wrote down that I did it when I had not. It was planned and I did not indicate that as I normally do in my notes so when I took it to a specialist for another engine service I misremembered that it was done. Dumb, but the engine seems to be doing fine and is definitely smoother on starts now.

Also decided to change sparks, the old ones looks like this (37k km):

[SRB_Mpower]

Originally Posted by XKxRome0ox

my sister's e92 328i got crushed by a huge oak tree falling on it
thankfully it fell into the street and not into their house!
and no one was hurt

a healthy looking tree falling over from the base of the trunk without any rain/wind...
must have been diseased and rotting away inside
time to check the trees on your street!

this happened in south pasadena

OMG!!

[PACarGuy]

Just finished my first ever paint correction and polish, or at least my best effort at it, lol. Spent I don't know how many hours over the last 5 days doing full wash, decon, clay, cut and polish, IPA wipe and then finished off with The Last Coat as a protectant and gloss enhancer. For my first time it's not too bad but a pro would have definitely gotten more defects out. I didn't want to get too aggressive as I was afraid of damaging the clear coat, though it seems these BMW clear coats are really quite hard and pretty forgiving. I could probably repeat with a more aggressive compound and pad and get it even better but I'm pretty happy with it for now. Hell of a lotta work though, and spotting defects on a grey car is a major PITA.

[rhyary]

finished trackday
The usual mess to clean up

[Space Fox]

Originally Posted by PACarGuy

Just finished my first ever paint correction and polish, or at least my best effort at it, lol. Spent I don't know how many hours over the last 5 days doing full wash, decon, clay, cut and polish, IPA wipe and then finished off with The Last Coat as a protectant and gloss enhancer. For my first time it's not too bad but a pro would have definitely gotten more defects out. I didn't want to get too aggressive as I was afraid of damaging the clear coat, though it turns out these BMW clear coats are really quite hard and pretty forgiving it seems. I could probably repeat with more aggressive compound and pad and get it even better but I'm pretty happy with it for now. Hell of a lotta work though, and spotting defects on a grey car is a major PITA.

Looks stunning!

[PACarGuy]

Originally Posted by space fox

looks stunning!

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[pbonsalb]

I agree, Looks Great! I have never done anything like that. My car is lucky to go through the car wash occasionally and get one of those once a year car polishes.

[PACarGuy]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

I agree, Looks Great! I have never done anything like that. My car is lucky to go through the car wash occasionally and get one of those once a year car polishes.

Thanks! I've never done a machine polish before but with the pandemic and spending so much more time at home, and after watching countless YouTube vids (like Obsessed Garage and his series on detailing his E92 M3), I decided to give it a go.

Got myself a Porter Cable 7424xp 6" polisher and a smaller Zota 3" polisher, some Lake Country pads and a couple of different compounds and went to town. Of course, I practiced on the other cars first before I laid a finger on my baby

[mrspecter]

Bad news is I'm getting some low speed rubbing/vibration while cornering. Believe it is my rear differential. I think last time I flushed the diff fluid I forgot to add the friction additive, so that may be the culprit. Anyone aware of how long I can run it before it may become a problem, meaning permanently damage something? Ideally I'll get it taken care of soon, but regardless I'd like to be aware.[/QUOTE]

What differential fluid did you use? The OEM branded one should already come with the friction modifier mixed in i believe. I'm also planning to do a rear differential flush soon and I'm a bit worried about screwing up and getting this grinding noise as well.

[RebL]

new plugs, mpowermotorsports throttle actuators and fuel breather valve. feels like a new car!

[sterile stork]

Originally Posted by Epoustouflant

I did a thing 😁

You did a very good thing!! Looks proper. By chance do you still have the cut-out template??

[MikeHawk7]

Fixed the carbon fiber roof & differential pinion seal leak (thank you 2M Autowerkes!), threw in Amsoil Severe Gear 75W-140 fluid (awesome, no friction modifier needed), and installed the Induktiv wireless charging pad, IND's M button, and crooked crystal start/stop button .

THAT PEELING FEELING

[MikeHawk7]

Originally Posted by mrspecter

Bad news is I'm getting some low speed rubbing/vibration while cornering. Believe it is my rear differential. I think last time I flushed the diff fluid I forgot to add the friction additive, so that may be the culprit. Anyone aware of how long I can run it before it may become a problem, meaning permanently damage something? Ideally I'll get it taken care of soon, but regardless I'd like to be aware.

What differential fluid did you use? The OEM branded one should already come with the friction modifier mixed in i believe. I'm also planning to do a rear differential flush soon and I'm a bit worried about screwing up and getting this grinding noise as well.

I just put in Amsoil 75W-140. No modifier needed! Ending up using less than 2 quart pouches. Tested by doing 10+ parking lot circles in both directions; feels good, zero noise.

OEM Castrol SAF-XJ shouldn't need modifier either.

[DL335D]

Originally Posted by MikeHawk7

Fixed the carbon fiber roof & differential pinion seal leak (thank you 2M Autowerkes!), threw in Amsoil Severe Gear 75W-140 fluid (awesome, no friction modifier needed), and installed the Induktiv wireless charging pad, IND's M button, and crooked crystal start/stop button .

THAT PEELING FEELING

What phone mount are you using?

[CTMike]

Originally Posted by MikeHawk7

Fixed the carbon fiber roof & differential pinion seal leak (thank you 2M Autowerkes!), threw in Amsoil Severe Gear 75W-140 fluid (awesome, no friction modifier needed), and installed the Induktiv wireless charging pad, IND's M button, and crooked crystal start/stop button .

First I've heard of the Induktiv charge pad... now it's on MY LIST. Thanks

[djschmitt]

Originally Posted by MikeHawk7

installed the Induktiv wireless charging pad

Did you start with the coin tray or cigarette lighter? This is on my list of mods and I have a cigarette lighter as stock. My main concern is damaging the panels when I start popping them off.

[XKxRome0ox]

changed oil and filter
changed transmission fluid (but forgot to replace the strainer)
changed cabin filters
changed angel eye bulbs

feels good man

[XKxRome0ox]

before

after

i got some cheap bulbs from pep boys (there's only one yellow H8 bulb that shows up on their website)
it's very YELLOW
i like it