all these people down here complaining about how unreliable the e46 is and I'm just thinking about my dad's 400 thousand km e46 touring that took us everywhere and never had any issues

People crack me up. One doesn't buy an old BMW because they are cheap and need little-to-no maintenance. You buy them because you love them, you like working on your car, and you know that properly running, there is no better driving experience. If you don't want to work on or maintain your bimmer, go buy a Honda, stay out of e46 forums, and Stan from a distance.

Summary of video : replace everything 😂

If you do all of this work by yourself, and buy the parts online you can do all of that for a pretty low price! You guys have no idea how much I’ve saved doing all the preventative maintenance and maintenance by myself on my BMW E39... and these cars are pretty simple and straight forward to work on, but you have to enjoy this stuff to which I do. These model year Beamers are very nice and reliable if you maintain them and are a pleasure to own and drive, nothing like driving these ultimate driving machines

I was literally taking notes on this video, my car came with no maintenance records and I am basically replacing all of these items mentioned in this video. Great Help Jason. Take care

get this.. i bought my 2000 328Ci for $400 Cdn with 150k on it back in 2012 and basically pampered it and maintained every fluid it needs changed and now i have 250k on it and still runs like a charm.. BMW are great when owners are good. it helps too when you it's ok to get grease on your sleeve from time to time to avoid expensive labors... Thanks Jason to all your DIY bimmer videos coz they help a lot ! i'm planning on keeping this 2000 bimmer until 2025 to say it's been well taken cared for.. Cheers =)

Have you thought about doing a quick vid about tools every e46 owner should have?

Good advice. This is most of everything I did w/my used BMW, fluid and cooling are the must do. You can chase down the oil leaks when they appear.

Initial estimate is about $1,200 in parts/fluids that he recommended assuming a mix of genuine BMW and off-brand items. If you go pure BMW parts then it will be at least 50% more. If you replace the radiator, that is an extra few hundred also (again dependent on off-brand vs BMW). Really not bad considering that can get you another 100k miles, I might add on the subframe reinforcement though.

I bought my self 330 ci clubsport on 160 th miles 3 years ago,used it daily now 179 th miles , I only change the engine oil ,service and tyres since I bought it , never have a problem, car still pull like a beast.

Thank you. Your channel is a necessary staple in my E46 ownership. I appreciate you so much.

For markets with Diesel versions (318d and 320d) you eventually will have to replace the turbo. Intake manifold is advised to either remove flaps or add stronger ones, replace injector tips if the car is "smoking" and with excessive consumption and check dual mass flywheel for manual gearbox models as this can be a costly repair (flywheel + clutch disk).

Excellent advice @ShopLifeTV! For others, if you don't love fixing your own car, and you are not a competent DIYer, never buy a used BMW. They're fun to drive, easy to work on and rewarding engineering masterpieces.

Very nice vid thanks! I like your approach regarding preventive work, its just common sense. Just got my first ever BMW, E46 323ci. 185,000 miles. $200!!. Virtually nothing has been done to it other than basic servicing, just! But she runs very sweetly! Making the parts shopping list now!

Happy to see you mention other fluids such as diff fluids. I feel like a lot of people just forget about anything besides oil and wiper fluid… or well maybe spare coolant with these

Thanks for the video. I have done most of these repairs that you mention on my 2003 330i that I purchased in 2012. You are not kidding about the vacuum line, I had a hose that was deep in the engine that was pinched and causing me problems. Once replaced, however, everything was back to normal. More videos, please!

Yo bro I just got my 3rd e46. I have also a 2000 328i with 302,000 miles looks great rides and runs great. But I just paid $7599 for an 02 e46 325i with 33,000 miles on it and I'm beautiful shape inside and out!

I can't stress enough your point on checking the DISA valve. I replaced my MAF sensor, both 02 sensors, and intake boot before I realized that the flap on the inside was cracked. Rough idle solved after the DISA was changed.

I have to admit this young lad knows what he's talking about. I'm a a big e36 coupe vert enthusiast. But I also have a s54b32 vert, the last 1 of the production line. Fully loaded.

I always keep coming back to this video, your channel combined with e46fanatics really helped me out. I'm on my 3rd e46 right now

Thanks a lot for making this vid man, I think this will help a lot of us to get our cars straight. I'm sure that I am going to be referencing this vid a lot over the next few weeks

Please keep at it with these videos! Very informative and immeasurable value in addition to reading forum posts

I watched this video roughly 18 months ago when I got my 325i. It was in a minor front end accident, smashed headlight, bumper, and a very slight bend to the engine frame rail. Took it to a body shop and we put it on a rack and straightened it back out properly. The expansion tank was pushed into the front of the engine so it smashed all the pulleys behind it, replaced all of that, complete cooling system rebuild, thermostat, radiator, water pump, all the hoses, fresh fluids, everything. Then came a mistake on my part, it didn't have wipers on it, just the metal handles, and I wasn't paying attention one day and they were up for some reason, and when I opened the bonnet, they smashed the windscreen, so that got replaced as well, new bumper and headlight, and I'm finally ready to fire her up, dead alternator lmfao I didn't mention, I'm from Trinidad and there is no such thing as fast shipping to here, so there's a few months of nothing happening, just waiting for parts in this story, and the alternator took the longest to get here, 3 months just waiting for it, and it was expensive af, roughly 800usd after shipping and taxes. Finally, after more than a year of nothing, I installed all the new parts, fresh fluids, bled the cooling system, car doesn't want to start, dead fuel pump. Got a new one locally at stupid expense, roughly $400usd, car starts but won't idle. IAC was clogged up, blasted it with 2 cans of carb cleaner and it was as good as new, reinstalled everything and put in a brand new MAF as well, car started right up and idles smooth as silk, like unbelievably smooth for how much headaches it gave me to get to that point. Home stretch right? Wrong. It's overheating if it runs for more than 15 min. In fixing the front end, I had accidentally vented the AC refrigerant, so the AC was empty. Little did I know at the time, if your AC isn't properly charged, your electric fan will NOT turn on, regardless of whether or not you are overheating, which is baffling logic, but apparently that's the way it is. So I recharged the AC system and boom, the fan kicks on immediately. So that's the overheating problem solved right? Wrong. So I'm thinking it has to be air in the system, so I jack up the left side of the car and I fully bleed the cooling system and took it for a drive, still overheating. I'm noticing the electric fan isn't running all the time, and the car is overheating, the fan is turned on by a signal from the coolant temperature sensor on the lower radiator hose, so I'm thinking that must not be working properly, so I buy a new one and replace the old one, which looked like it went through hell. Took her for a drive, still overheating, this shit makes no sense. I'm starting to suspect a headgasket leak. So I got a spill proof funnel, filled up the coolant and watched for bubbles, and fuck my whole life, it's constantly bubbling. (This is an example of why this is not a foolproof test for a headgasket leak and I was just scaring myself, I did not in fact have a blown headgasket or a lifted head) So I'm thinking I'm screwed, so I'm just constantly rethinking everything that happened, trying to puzzle everything out, and I kept coming to the same conclusion, but I really didn't want to believe it could be that. So even on the highway, it still overheats, if you're smart, you figured it out already. I couldn't believe it would be that, because I put a brand new one in, but those are the symptoms of a stuck closed thermostat. Not wanting to believe the obvious conclusion, I decided to test it, the thermostat is supposed to open at 95c, so it should pop right open in a pot of boiling water, and even after 15 minutes in the boiling water, that brand new Mahle thermostat never budged. Fresh thermostat (A Premium lmfao I got it locally and I was impatient so I just bought it) installed a little over a week ago and the car is running perfectly, zero issues whatsoever, *knock on wood* KZfaq decided to randomly recommend me this video again for some reason so i thought I'd drop by and say thanks, your videos have really helped me a lot in my journey with this car, without you and others here on youtube, I don't know if I'd have ever gotten this car fixed, and for sure not as inexpensively as it ended up being. The maintenance parts really aren't that expensive and everything in this car is actually fairly straightforward to work on, and the car drives really nice, it doesn't have the most power in the world but it's still nice, definitely worth saving and keeping around.

recently torn 330 apart, rings, bearings, exhaust valve guides, at 200k km's finally the oil burning is gone ;)

Your advice is very beneficial. I love the old BMW's. I used to have an E46 and now have a E90 and E39 and did everything you mentioned before I put the car on the road. One thing though, I don't recommend that transmission fluid for automatic GM cars. I would still to the BMW transmission fluid made for GM transmission.

Man, your videos have been such an amazing help to me. I've got to know a lot more about my E46 thanks to your videos. Thanks for doing an awesome job!

Very informative and spot on to new comers. I've had two e46's myself and love them both. They're great cars IF you take care of them!

Man all your videos are so in-depth, I appreciate all your content

I got a great deal on an e46 recently. 190000km, full service history. Previous owner brought from a used car dealer in 2014. Since 2014 she had only driven the car 5500km and in the time she wasn't driving it, it stayed serviced, garaged and cleaned. Auto transmission, cream leather, no woodgrain 320ci. 2.2L i6

The people from BMW must love this guy....All he does is talk you out of buying one!!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely great tutorial !!! Keep doing that great work with the E46 model. Great car and many people would appreciate to see tutorials and greatful infos. Thanks

nice job with the tips on maintenance of fluids. also don't forget that the power steering reservoir tends to leak so it's good to replace it and the hoses when doing the oil filter housing gasket

Subbed. Nice stuff. Still have my 2000 323i with 106k miles and in excellent physical and working condition. Still turns heads

I bought a northern e46. 328i. I had to literally replace everything from wheel bearings, inner and outer tie rods, sway bar bushings and links, calipers, rotors, pads. Needed alignment and wheels balanced. Valve cover gasket/grommets, washer fluid pump, it needs new struts, plugs. Coil packs where fine. Much more to come I’m sure.

Thanks for sharing this video. I am in the process of getting all of this done . I have a 2000 323i

I recently bought a 325i 99,000 miles I’ve been watching your channel I learned quite a bit. Subscribed. FYI he’s not lying change the whole cooling system if not you’ll be stuck like chuck waiting for a tow truck. 250.00. Stupid tax.

Just bought a 2003 330i, only two things really wrong with it was valve cover gasket and evap system. Both replaced from seller before purchase! Think pulleys may be bad because it whines but great reliable car other than that and picks up real good.

I recently picked up a nice 2002 silver 318i SE e46 here in the UK for £1200, only 98k miles too. The dealership included a free service and MOT, these cars here go for good prices

Just got my e46 for 4K with 110000km or 68000m really happy on the purchase super great condition

Fuel filter, Ive had my e46 since new and I've changed it 2 times going on the third I have a 192,500 miles and done basically everything else. And with the more miles I usual do 5w40 and one 15w50 depending on where and how I'm driving that little bit helps a lot

this channel > JR garage love how you actually talk and explain things to your viewers rather than just show us 3 of same porsche 944's.... oh one has an ls swap. so cool. so fast. sike.

replace water pump and t-stat every 60k and all belts, all pulleys and tensioners and fan clutch on auto trans model every 80k, auto trans fluid 60k and 30k if you drive in stop and go city driving, use valvoline max life trans fluid from walmart, red jug . power steering reservoir has a filter built inside so it should be replaced every 80k and put the maxlife trans fluid from walmart in the power steering. change engine oil and filter every 3 to 5 k, depending on how you drive city or highway to keep engine seals and gaskets soft, and keep timing chain well lubed. seals in the vanos from leaking. 5w30 or 5w40 full synthetic oil. 0w40 may be fine for europe, or minnesota maine wyoming, may be to thin for texas arizona florida, australia hot climates. all vacuum hoses replaced, every 10years. radiator and hoses should be replaced every 100kmiles. one piece of info you need to know. donot let the engine run hot or overheated. if your temp gauge starts going past the halfway mark theres something wrong , get it checked out. if your e46 overheats stop driving and have it towed do not keep going, it will ruin the engine.

Couple of things to point out. The oil viscosity really depends on your climate and do u have a diesel or petrol car. U should switch every filter in your car, defenetly the diesel filter if u have diesel one. Automatic transmission should have filter replaced and ALL the oil change. Thats more then one can

Don't forget to change fuel pump also... It's cheap $150 for the original (VDO) and easy to do yourself it's right under the back seat on the passenger side

Thanks so much man , always giving great tips and information that saves all of us lots of money. When ever you get the time you should post about the common areas of oil leaks on e46's. Thanks again bro!

idk if im weird but i really like the beginning and end watching the car drive. its just such a good looking model. reasons i love my baby but hate the maintenance

Just bought 2005 tourer 2.5 Ltd 325i water pump went within weeks turns out was electric pump much dearer than expected, warranty covered it but agree change them before they go. This one has only done 83,00'miles or 133,575k Good video thanks

ive always wanted an e46, but in the US, they just had hella miles. found one in tokyo 4 months ago: 2000 320i with 31k kilometers on it, 21k miles. so it doesnt need much of the stuff you mentioned. had to replace the rotted intake duct, which was creating a massive vacuum leak and causing it to stall. i also had to replace both cam position sensors. ive driven it 10k kilos in 4 months, way about the 7k kilos which is the japanese yearly average. what a steal that car is. and i only paid 120,000 yen, around 1100 bucks. the only problem is, parts are uber expensive here in japan. belts, pulleys, thermostat and housing in Japan is about 1200 bucks. got them at oemimmer.com for 200 bucks, shipping is 30 bucks. oh, one of the window regulators in the back went out since i got it. but i was expecting that. i heard that window regulators fail regularly in the e46s.

Great video and thank you for posting. Recently just purchased an 03 325i, and with the mechanical background I have, plan to do everything myself. The fluids you went over helped a lot with choosing which to go with, only thing I've had trouble finding is the Pentosin MTF2, the advanced near me didn't have it so I'll just have to order it online. Ran an OBDII scanner on the thing and pulled some codes like P0313, P0171, P0174, P0491, and P0492. Since I pulled these and going over your video I plan to do the vacuum and Cooling systems immediately before using the car. Also got some OEM NGK plugs for the thing and a few various other things I plan to put in. Hope to use some of your other DIY vids to my advantage here. Thanks again!

I just did all these in 2024 on a 323i very helpful stuff here

You are my hero. Thankyou in keeping my 325xi now

You're a lifesaver, thank you for this video. I'm about to buy myself a 3.0 diesel :D

Loving these videos.. Brand New to the e46 family highly recommended

its videos like this that prove i truly bought more than i could handle😂

Things to when you get your pre facelift e46 step 1. Hit a speed bump as hard as you can to test the rear subframe

Basically replace everything, got it 👍🏼

just did the cooling system refresh. heat works really well now! Thermostat was stuck open and the engine would not stay warn in the deep winter at speed. #cold. going to do fluids next spring or if I get a warm day here. Did oil a couple months ago. #frozennorth

First thing i had to fix on my e46 was my thermostat, i havent gone to the extent of what was said tho. then again i just found this channel.

a aluminium expansion tank and aluminium cooling parts would be nice so they never need replacing lol

Lil tip from when I had an e46 coupe. If you double press the unlock button an straight away open drivers door the window will roll down so you can get in the car easier if some douche has parked too close to you ;-

I was going to comment about the CCV delete, but you got it dude! Great video! Thank you 👍🏽

Just discovered this and im so happy to have found it, nice info

Thanks for all the videos you make . You sure make your viewers feel like the belong. I am a KZfaqr and I am subscribed. Ryan

i'd also add a new engine temp sensor when doing the cooling system. it's cheap and easy fix while you're already in there.

Thanks Jason, your tips are very helpful ! Bravo to you

2001 E46 for $750...sheared off upper bolt on alternator side belt tensioner..gonna be an easy fix. Wouldn't have bought the car if I hadn't watched your videos. Subscribe to this channel...best wishes

just bought a E46 and leave in the Caribbean but it's working ok for now but we'll change all the stuff thanks bro

I bought a e46 back in April of 2018, and it wasn't till 8 months later that I got it running. My total went for 7.5k. And just last week, the rack and pinion snapped while removing a tie rod

I feel like I'm one of the luckiest people in the world every time I here somebody say what they paid for there car, I paid £300 for my e46 with 96000 miles on the clock!

You have great helpful videos. I have a E46 2000 323ci. All the best

Just replace the engine with a new one it's cheaper.

Would you be able to do a tutorial on how to replace the cooling system?

Nice. Thanks! Was just putting together a todo list to refresh my ZHP.

Like he said Coolant system overhaul i repeat Coolant system overhaul!! This will save you BIG money in the long run for owning a E46!!

Knock on wood, I got my m52 e46 like a year and a half ago. Bought the car knowing it needed a clutch so I replaced that and an alternator eventually and that’s basically it. I daily and drift it best car I’ve owned

This is why you ask for receipts and service history when you buy it. You can get a feel from the seller, if he/she doesn’t know or care much about the car and none of The aforementioned info isn’t available, be like this guy and assume it hasn’t been done for 5 years

Thanks so much!!! I love my 2002 325ci and this is a fantastic video and helps a lot!

Just The Video I Needed ! Thank You Bro !

Some comments. Oil filters&Oil All E46 models do not use same oil filter. For oil my recommendation goes for 5W-40 oils when we are speaking about M54 or M52/TU engines. Any good quality full synthetic will do job fine. Power steering fluids There is also E46 models with CHF 11S powersteering fluid which is yellow. In my country E46 was sold CHF11S fluids in. There is green sticker in power steering fluid reservoir which says chf 11s only. So you should not ever use ATF in CHF system. Or CHF in ATF. simple. Valve cover gasket When you have valve cover off for gasket replacement, it is already half way done for vanos seal replacement. Again ,easy job and lot of benefits. Cannot really recommend enough. Worn seals will cause all kind of problems and lack of low end torque.

Good vlog. Just bought a 05 330xi. Want to do the maintenance. Was well maintained as a fleet car. Want to figure out what to do to get the most out of it without changing it to much. It's automatic but that's ok in west L.A. traffic. Thanks for the vlogs though.

very informative video, thanks...I just got a 325xi, love her but work is being done

Hey Jason! I recently bought an e46 for myself and wheat ahead and ordered everything for the cooling system. Thanks for the tips! I'm going to attempt a DIY so let's see how this goes. Also, do you think you could get a video up for another common e46 failure? Window Regulators lol

I bought my 2004 E46 Coupe recently from a childhood friend. He did all the maintenance regularly, every single year, and there is a record about it in one of the books. So basically he was maintained really good. But when i bought it and went to the mechanic, to do all the things you mentioned in the first step, he said "There is a recommendation by BMW to not change the transmission fluids" and it literally says that when you open all the covers underneath the car. It says "Lifetime oil" something like that. I also didn't change oil in the differential, cause he said it shouldn't be the problem... About the differential i will change it next summer, but what about the oil in transmission? Should i not listen to the BMW engineers? Gotta mention it again, my close friend really did all the maintenance regularly, cause he is a "car and Bmw fanatic".

If the clutch fan is the least bit loose Change It while you're changing the water pump. If it let's loose $$$$$$.

Yes, people can find these used cars at very affordable prices because, as they age, their original owners don't want to spend more and more money in maintaining these cars. This is especially true if they are not do-it-yourselfers and rely on the dealership.

picked up an e46 328i 4 door... 20" rims and only 170,000 kms. $1000 and it runs ;D hahahaha needs a service though, helpful video for all the maintenance I need to do

Should I replace the car as well?

“You can get a e46 for 3-4000$” lol I paid 900$ for my 330xi and ran and drove, just needed serpentine belts, which he had new, has 234k as well..

Great video! I'm about to pull the trigger on a 100k mile E46. Had a thorough PPI done by a reputable German indy shop. The guy there told me he would buy this car (which is a good sign lol). I have basic wrenching experience but nothing too crazy, brakes, exhaust, air-box, spark plugs etc... am I going to regret this being my first summer toy I "maintain myself" ? lol

I'm buying a 325 ci convertable nxt week am I gonna need to do all this it has dne 116k miles full services runs smoothly

Great vid! Would love to see a vid or a series of vids doing this maintenance!

one upgrade u need to consider, replacing or retrofitting projectors in the headlight unit if there not already fitted as standard. my god just done my headlights & there a million times better then halogen bulbs... next it's main beam & fogs

Hey dude would it be possible to add a list in the description of all the things needed for both the manual and the auto versions? It would help :P

Very good information Thanks for the detailed recommendations

You are the best bro!

Literally changed my mind about buying one..... Is this a mechanics guide only

Great stuff man! Really helpful

in my country the standart e46 still cost about 8000$/9000$

nice, my dad works at mann+hummel :D

*I used Pentosin NF and distilled water to top off my coolant, works great also*