I’ve had enough. (And still having) M43 Saga

[Zephyr]

Did you replace the plastic tube as well? The bit with O rings and the metal springy bit inside?

Thanks for pointing this. No, unfortunately not. Did not know there was something in there and just ordered the gasket. Ive seen it when I opened the case and it looked solid so just put it back. I will replace it, its a cheap part, so will also order this.
seems that ten years in storage practically killed every rubber part in this vehicle.
seemed like a good idea to pay extra for a low mileage car, but a bad idea to get one that hasnt been on the road for so many years.

 

[Zephyr]

Changed the thread title. Decided to keep this as a log of what I am doing with this car.
so, ordered an new filter gasket and rubber (not available) went and picked an oem water hose (the previous one did not look good) discovered more happiness on another deteriorated rubber foam thingy next to the radiator, an unidentified plastic piece of trim inside the rear glovebox, (probably a leftover from when I replaced the rear speakers - oem catalogue says cover left stowage box), tried to relocate the bluetooth module so I can have access to the usb and memory cars slots and discovered something strange in the exhaust.
it seems to have two tips and this is quite interesting. Part number indicates Z3 and 318ti so it could be one from a M44 engine.
Finally stopped and had a smoke, admired the lines of the Z3, compared it to the vulgar 118, and went to the liquor store to get a bottle of fizzy wine for the wife who was already “in a mood” as I woke up at 6:30 and dived into the engine bay.
maybe I should reconsider my retirement and leave this year, I need to spend more quality time in my garage.

 

[Zephyr]

I had the strangest vision during the past night.
as I was peacefully sleeping, i felt a strange presence in the room and i opened my eyes full of fear.
A weird man was standing in front of me, he was wearing an armour made of sponge and he was holding a bucket and a brush.
I am @andyglym he declared, punisher of owners who drive a dirty car.
ok I said, can you please punish my wife who is sleeping next to me, and drives the filthiest car in Europe?
He took a look at her, and said… naaah had she been a high thigh strong gazelle I might consider some punishment but I will just let her be a part of your punishment for life.
then he raised his hand and with a deep tone in his voice he said: You hath to clean thy Zed or you will be forever damned.
then he took another look at my wife and left mumbling “he is already forever damned, next time I have to think of something worse”.
Woke up and made a coffee. I had to obey the orders that the omen gave me.
so here it goes…

 

[Zephyr]

Step one, engine bay cleaning. Covered some parts with plastic bags and foamed the whole area.

 

[Zephyr]

Rinsed the engine bay and jet washed the undercarriage. Pretty difficult with such a low car.

 

[Zephyr]

Time to don the wheels. Magma! Pure magic

 

[Zephyr]

Foam, rinse, soap, rub, rinse, dry, vacuum… two full hours spent there. Almost felt like having sex…. Maybe better. Its been a long time. Cant remember. Probably better.

 

[Zephyr]

back in its nest. A day well spent.
next task: replace once again the oil filter housing hasket and the rubber thingy inside it.
Cheers

 

[andyglym]

Great job. A clean car is a happy car, more powerful, aerodynamic and faster too

Not sure about me in your dreams though, I consider that a nightmare as I'm a bit strange

 

[Zephyr]

Great job. A clean car is a happy car, more powerful, aerodynamic and faster too

Not sure about me in your dreams though, I consider that a nightmare as I'm a bit strange

No. A nightmare is the missus wearing that face plaster white gauze that is supposed to make the skin tighter asking for a kiss.

 

[Jam03]

I have serious garage envy. From some angles it looks like it’s too low for any car to get in! Sounds like a day we’ll spent.

 

[Zephyr]

I have serious garage envy. From some angles it looks like it’s too low for any car to get in! Sounds like a day we’ll spent.

Both garages are extremely low and the ramp angle is the worse design I have ever seen.
we bought this house recently and started renovating the interior first. I am still waiting city council approval to remodel all the exterior, the pavement and the ramps, but they seem to be very busy (masturbating in groups they call council meetings) and it will take a while. (Had to wait four months to get approval to cut a dead tree, so you get the idea).

 

[Mus Musculus]

Both garages are extremely low and the ramp angle is the worse design I have ever seen.
we bought this house recently and started renovating the interior first. I am still waiting city council approval to remodel all the exterior, the pavement and the ramps, but they seem to be very busy (masturbating in groups they call council meetings) and it will take a while. (Had to wait four months to get approval to cut a dead tree, so you get the idea).

Eh, my wife is an Architectural Designer and Building Control Surveyor for the Buckinghamshire County Council (not our local one). I can tell you that approval for any works around here are not particularly faster...

 

[Zephyr]

Decided to have the wheels refurbished so called some salvage yards for a decent set of 17” ones and found a (replica) rear pair in excellent condition

https://www.car.gr/parts/view/7432750-zantes-aloyminioy-bmw-85x17-et40-2-temaxia

called him and asked it the fronts were also available and they are.
This will be a total of 350€ off my wallet, but I think is a smart move since I can fit my perfect tyres on them and let the refurbisher take his time on my wheels.

so as I was having a chat over the phone with this seller, he told my he has a crashed Z3 with an M43 engine that has four single throttle bodies, an intake, a camshaft and a tuned ecu by a German company called DBillas and he will sell the kit for 1.500 €.
Checked that company online and seems well respected. Their (obsolete now) kit consists of all of the above claiming to be plug and play with an improvement of 30hp total to the M43/1.9 engine.
I got tempted, I admit and willing to make the 240km total trip to him just to collect the wheels myself and have a look at the kit.
anyone heard of this before?

Throttle body kit for BMW E46 1,9 8V 87kW M43TÜB19

Throttle body kit for BMW 318i E46 1,9 8V 87kW M43TÜB19 power increase : 15 kW / 20 HP…

dbilas-shop.com

FlowMaster BMW 318 is, 318ti M42B18 E36 | ohne ABS | 03.020.410/2 ohne ABS

BMW 318 is, 318ti M42B18 E36

dbilas-shop.com

I have no idea on what individual throttle bodies do exactly and not quite sure on how an ECU swap would be hassle free, but still tempter to give it a look.
what say you?

 

[Zephyr]

Still confused. I cant for the life of me understand why bmw went this route with the M43 air induction.

so many curves and unnecessary stuff. The whole thing seem very complicated compared to the M54 system.

both suck air from the front side, both rest in the same location, but in the M43 one the air has a mile of tunnels before it reaches the airbox and on top of that the hoses sit on the top of the readiator.
thinking of getting an M54 airbox and get rid of all that weird setup.

 

[Andyboy]

It was designed to be both quiet and draw cold air in. It works very well.

 

[Zephyr]

had a read with the computer. Seems I hove some codes in the so called “shadow memory” not currently active but stored in the ecu’s cache memory.
no way to erase them no matter what trick I do.
probably bmw has its own way to do this but my software reached its limit.
I will keep an eye on this screen in case something new appears.

 

[Broad Ambition]

Another option instead of going down the M54 airbox route is to get rid and replace it with a K & N induction kit as per:-

Griff

 

[Andyboy]

Then you get extra noise and hot air from the engine bay.

 

[Broad Ambition]

Only extra noise I've noticed is on opening the throttle from idle and you really have to listen to hear it, kinda disappointing really, I was hoping for an increased induction note,

Re the hot air - the M54 has air ducting next to the rad from the front so cool air is still brought in from the front, plus of course with the airbox assembly removed the filter can draw air 360 degrees, I have noticed an improvement in pick up across the range, if it does get too hot in summer (We will see) a simple heat shield will sort that out

Hope this helps

Griff