William's 330Ci ZHP Maintenance and Project Thread

[BMWCurves]

I figure I should make a maintenance/project thread for my new (to me) 2005 330Ci ZHP. It probably won't be as exciting as some other project threads in here since I plan to keep the car mostly stock, but should hopefully be interesting and informative nonetheless.

The Basics:
Year: 2005
Model: 330Ci Coupe
Exterior Color: Orient Blue Metallic (317)
Interior: Black leather (N6SW)
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Packages: Performance Package (ZHP). No Cold Weather Package (ZCW) or Premium Package (ZPP)
Options: Heated front seats, Park Distance Control (PDC), xenon headlights, Harman-Kardon sound system
Purchased from previous owner: 03/25/2015
Mileage at purchase: 49,364 miles
Production date: 02/11/2005
VIN: WBABD53455PD99222

A Little Background:
In July 2014 I was driving across the country to move from Philadelphia to Portland in my 2003 BMW 330Ci and had the unfortunate luck of hitting an antelope that jumped out on a small two-lane road just south of the Grand Canyon. The accident totaled the car and I decided once I was settled in Portland, I would look for another 330i/Ci. Once home I had the luxury of taking my time to look for a car, so I wanted a ZHP. After several months of lurking and posting over here in the classifieds, I finally found this car in mid-March in a local Craigslist ad. I met with the previous owners (who were also the original owners), but they ended up selling it to the first buyer that offered their asking price. Unfortunately for me at the time, it wasn't me but was a guy who I was guessing flipped cars. I religiously watched Craigslist for the next week hoping to see it again, and lo and behold, the same car popped up with a mark up in price. I met with the new owner ASAP and we came to a deal on price and it was transferred to me 48 hours later. I am pretty ecstatic, it's in amazing condition and feels great! The original owners purchased the car in Germany and drove it to port, where it was shipped to Portland. For the next 10 years the previous owners drove it to work (a total of 5 miles round trip) and took occasional road trips, amassing less than 5,000 miles a year. They didn't have children so the rear seats are basically untouched, and the car was always garaged.

Current Upgrades/Setup:
Suspension:

• Koni Sport shocks and struts
• Z4M front control arm bushings (FCABs) and rear trailing arm bushings (RTABs) with Vorshlag limiters
• Rogue Engineering rear shock mounts (RSMs)
• BMW strut tower reinforcement plates
• E46 M3 strut bar

Wheels/Tires/Brakes:

• APEX ARC8 17x8.5" ET40 wheels in Hyper Black
• 245/40R17 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires (previously Continental ExtremeContact DW tires)
• BMW Performance drilled brake rotors
• Hawk HPS 5.0 brake pads
• StopTech stainless steel brake lines

Engine/Drivetrain:

• Conforti Shark Injector
• GruppeM carbon fiber intake (previously BMW Performance intake)
• UUC stainless steel clutch line
• UUC modified clutch delay valve (CDV)
• UUC Evo3 short shift kit (SSK)
• UUC Corsa TSE3 catback exhaust
• E46 M3 transmission mounts
• ECS Tuning aluminum water pump pulley
• DrVanos VANOS system (previously Beisan VANOS seals I botched)
• Turner Motorsport Power Pulleys
• E30 1.4 Bar expansion tank cap

Exterior:

• BMW Performance gloss black kidney grilles
• Bimmian ///M tri-color stickers on kidney grilles
• Bimmian painted bumper reflectors
• SunTek Carbon 38% tint
• eBay LED license plate lights ("Festoon 6418 C5W")
• LED front turn signal bulbs (Philips "X-Treme Ultinon T20 Amber LED Y20 (WY21), 180lm - Front turn signal bulb")
• LED reverse light bulbs ("JDM ASTAR Extremely Bright Max 50W High Power 1156 1141 1073 7506 LED Bulbs ,Xenon White")
• Morimoto LED fog lights (Previously OEM (Ziza) yellow fog lights)
• ///M license plate frames (front and rear)
• ZHP Mafia sticker
• Car pro/CQuartz ceramic coating

Interior:

• Complete E46 M3 black Nappa leather interior. Front seats with memory, heat, lumbar and side bolster adjustment.
• E9X rearview mirror with auto-dim, compass, and HomeLink
• DCT Motorsports mixed full/perforated nappa leather steering wheel with ///M tri-color stitching
• Bimmian cell phone bracket with ProClip cell phone mount
• Xtrons PB7646BAP head unit
• BMW auxiliary sound input
• OEM leather parking brake boot
• E46 M3 aluminum and rubber dead pedal
• F10 M5 illuminated shift knob

Coding:

• More accurate temperature gauge
• One-touch close rear windows

Previous Owner's Maintenance:
11/17/06 (6,764 miles) - Wipers replaced, oil and filter changed
04/27/07 (9,640 miles) - Brake fluid flushed/changed
02/08/08 (13,723 miles) - Oil and filter changed
02/13/09 (19,204 miles) - Oil and filter changed, Wipers replaced
04/16/10 (25,740 miles) - Oil and filter changed
04/22/11 (30,977 miles) - Inspection I
06/15/12 (36,653 miles) - Oil and filter changed, safety inspection
08/22/14 (46,756 miles) - Oil and filter changed, safety inspection. Paperwork for an alignment and possibly new tires.
10/31/14 (47,538 miles) - Air bag recall performed, safety inspection

My Maintenance/Modifications Ledger: Not currently being updated because I'm lazy.
03/25/15 (49,356 miles) - Pre Purchase Inspection
03/30/15 (49,547 miles) - Installed BMW OEM Aux Input in rear cup holder
04/14/15 (49,682 miles) - Replaced OEM ZHP 6-speed shift knob
04/15/15 (49,682 miles) - Cooling system refreshed (radiator, expansion tank, water pump, thermostat, hoses, coolant temp and level sensors, coolant flush/bleed), replaced serpentine and AC belts, replaced idler, AC tensioner, and tensioner pulleys, replaced fuel filter, performed oil change (BMW 5W30) and new oil filter, replaced transmission fluid (Redline MTL), replaced differential fluid (Redline 75W90), replaced spark plugs (NGK), replaced cabin microfilter, and replaced air intake filter.
04/18/15 (49,721 miles) - E90 rearview mirror retrofit (compass/auto-dim/HomeLink)
04/19/15 (49,721 miles) - Swapped OEM BMW chrome grilles with piano black BMW Performance grilles
04/29/15 (49,844 miles) - Swapped out OEM alcantara steering wheel for leather/perforated steering wheel from DCT Motorsports
04/30/15 (49,858 miles) - Charged AC system
05/01/15 (49,909 miles) - Coded remote closing windows, one-click remote unlock, raised automatic locking threshold to 28 km/h, one-touch close rear windows, turned of daytime running lights using a PASoft BMW Scanner.
05/02/15 (49,914 miles) - Completed one-touch close rear windows modification
05/13/15 (50,032 miles) - Tinted front and rear windows with SunTek Carbon 38
05/13/15 (50,042 miles) - Polished side markers with BlueMagic Polish
05/18/15 (50,127 miles) - Swapped out amber bumper reflectors for painted reflectors from Bimmian
05/28/15 (50,321 miles) - Replaced broken valve cover bolt plug
05/30/15 (50,331 miles) - Installed Turner Motorsport (StopTech) stainless steel brake lines and installed UUC stainless steel clutch line with UUC modified clutch delay valve (CDV)
06/01/15 (50,331 miles) - Flushed and bled the brake/clutch system with BMW OEM brake fluid
07/14/15 (50,707 miles) - Installed BMW Performance intake
08/03/15 (50,908 miles) - Installed rear LED license plate lights
08/13/15 (51,012 miles) - Installed wheel pin tool in the trunk toolkit, replaced driver's side window switch button, replaced windshield washer pump
08/25/15 (51,140 miles) - Coded the temperature gauge for more useful values
08/29/15 (51,200 miles) - Refreshed the rear suspension with Koni Sport shocks, new upper and lower spring pads, Rogue Engineering Rear Shock Mounts (RSMs), new dust boots, and new bump stops.
08/30/15 (51,200 miles) - Refreshed the front suspension with Koni Sport struts, new strut mounts, new upper and lower spring pads, new dust boots, new bump stops, strut reinforcement plates, and new flange mounting nuts.
09/19/15 (51,487 miles) - Refreshed the front control arm bushings (FCABs) and rear trailing arm bushings (RTABs) with OEM Z4M parts and Vorshlag limiters with the RTABs, installed Conforti Shark Injector, flushed the power steering fluid, parking brake adjusted, and installed UUC Evo3 Short Shift Kit.
09/21/15 (51,513 miles) - Alignment
11/28/15 (52,097 miles) - Installed Bimmian cell phone mount
12/03/15 (52,150 miles) - Installed new Duralast 94R-DLG battery
12/04/15 (52,163 miles) - Replaced brake pads with Hawk HPS 5.0 pads and rotors with BMW Performance cross-drilled rotors.
12/05/15 (52,163 miles) - Applied Bimmian ///M colored stickers to front grille. Sprayed lower mesh grille semi-gloss black.
12/07/15 (52,169 miles) - Repaired sunroof sunshade
12/09/15 (52,172 miles) - Coded off the auto-lock feature and the exterior temperature below 37F alarm. Enabled the relock car if car unlocked but the door is unopened after 2 minutes feature.
12/17/15 (52,285 miles) - Installed ///M-Tech license plate cover in the rear
12/20/15 (52,380 miles) - Installed ///M-Tech license plate cover on the front
12/21/15 (52,423 miles) - Installed BMW all weather mats
12/26/15 (52,788 miles) - Installed ProClip cell phone mount to Bimmian mount
12/26/15 (52,788 miles) - Swapped alcantara shift and parking brake boots for leather boots
01/15/16 (53,160 miles) - Installed Evo/OEM wiper blades
02/08/16 (53,365 miles) - Installed front seats from an E46 M3
02/10/16 (53,376 miles) - Replaced the driver's side outer tail light due to a dim LED in the turn signal cluster
02/29/16 (53,590 miles) - Mounted and balanced APEX ARC-8 17x8.5" ET40 Hyper Black wheels. Shod in Continental Extreme Contact DW 245/40R17 tires.
03/17/16 (53,743 miles) - Installed BMW roundel hub caps
03/26/16 (53,883 miles) - Installed styrofoam cones to reduce rear deck lid rattle.
06/06/16 (54,828 miles) - Oil change with Mobil 1 0W-40 oil, MANN filter kit, and replaced the oil level sensor
07/09/16 (54,979 miles) - Brake fluid flush (including clutch line), replaced passenger seat lumbar air pump, repaired passenger seat heating element ground wire, installed passenger headlight cover.
07/10/16 (54,992 miles) - Installed the passenger side M3 door card, added Noico-branded sound deadening material, installed door clips with foam washers to minimize door rattle, and swapped over my speakers.
07/11/16 (55,010 miles) - Installed the driver side M3 door card, added Noico-branded sound deadening material, installed door clips with foam washers to minimize door rattle, and swapped over my speakers.
07/13/16 (55,044 miles) - Installed rear interior including headrests, rear "door" cards, rear side bolsters, rear seat backs, and rear seat bottom. Swapped over the speakers from my rear "door" cards to the M3 "door" cards.
07/31/16 (55,511 miles) - Placed the car in storage in a friend's family's barn
12/18/16 (55,511 miles) - Removed car from storage
12/19/16 (55,561 miles) - Performed driver's side airbag recall
12/21/16 (55,584 miles) - Refreshed and installed GruppeM carbon fiber intake
12/31/16 (55,884 miles) - Placed the car in storage again
06/18/17 (55,884 miles) - Removed car from storage
06/19/17 - 06/21/17 (55,911 - 55,950 miles) - Installed APEX wheels, LED front turn signal bulbs, LED reverse light bulbs, yellow fog light housings and refreshed fog light covers, and installed an E46 M3 aluminum and rubber dead pedal
06/28/17 (56,103 miles) - Installed E46 M3 strut bar
07/20/17 (56,326 miles) - Installed UUC Corsa TSE3 catback exhaust
07/21/17 (56,326 miles) - Installed E46 M3 transmission mounts and flushed coolant
08/01/17 (56,500 miles) - Flushed brake fluid with ATE SL.6 brake fluid, checked for exhaust leaks, confirmed VCG weeping
08/22/17 (56,957 miles) - Replaced factory plastic water pump pulley with an aluminum pulley
10/28/17 (58,508 miles) - Coded off cold check for front turn signals
11/05/17 (58,552 miles) - Replaced the valve cover gasket (VCG), VANOS seals, and VANOS oil line
01/08/18 (59,853 miles) - Repaired cross threaded right front wheel hub. Tightened loose driver's side door hinge bolt
01/11/18 (59,869 miles) - Installed Turner Motorsport Power Pulley Kit

Planned Maintenance/modifications:
Updated list here

Some pictures from the first couple of days after I bought it:



More recent photos (04/02/16):




Even more recent photos (August 2017):




After the Carpro / CQuartz ceramic coating by Autowerx Detailing (September 2020):

[BMWCurves]

In my previous car, the '03 330Ci, I installed the aux input (part no: 82110149389) in the extra container in the center console. I liked it since you could hide it away, but after several road trips with people in the back, I found it annoying that they couldn't play their music since the aux cable wasn't long enough to reach them. This time around I opted to install it by the rear cup holder. I think it is pretty inconspicuous since the arm rest hides it, it can now reach the rear passengers, and it's cheap to replace the cup holders if I want to relocate the aux port. I did scratch up the cup holder's material a little bit tightening town the nut, but decent otherwise.

[BMWCurves]

Had to delete some posts to get them reordered. I received all of my goodies from Turner Motorsport, both their cooling system overhaul kit and their maintenance service kit (click on them for the link). Plan to knock it all out this weekend:

[johnrando]

Good stuff!

[BMWCurves]

I came down with a cold this weekend but got everything done except for bleeding the new coolant, replacing differential fluid (I broke my makeshift 14mm hex bolt/wrench, so I have to go buy one), and replacing the power steering fluid. Anyone have experience with PS fluid? I've never done it on an E46 before and most DIYs either have you 1. use a turkey baster to pull out the old fluid from the reservoir, pour in some new fluid, turn the steering wheel, and rinse and repeat until the fluid is relatively clear or 2. Release one of the hoses to the PS pump and let that drain then fill up the system with new fluid while turning the steering wheel back and forth to work out bubbles. I assume the second method is the preferred method to truly flush the system, but I'm hesitant.

[johnrando]

I've heard both. Don't have 1st hand experience to tell you which. I'm sure someone will chime in.

[Vas]

Who is that radiator made by?

[BMWCurves]

Behr. It was actually slightly different than the one it replaced. The drain plug is a different fit than the original one, but everything else is the same.

[Vas]

Behr. It was actually slightly different than the one it replaced. The drain plug is a different fit than the original one, but everything else is the same.

Any fitment issues? Thought on quality? Came with a new drain plug?

[BMWCurves]

I will say I had some issues getting everything back together, but I think that just comes with the territory. There were two differences I noticed on the radiator:

1. In the original radiator there is a blue plastic philips screw drain plug that you remove that fits inside a plastic hex-looking housing. In the new radiator, there is no blue plastic philips screw, instead the whole hex-looking housing screws off instead.
2. Where the mounting bracket for the expansion tank attaches to the radiator, there is a small hole near the drain plug that it nestles into just above the plug. In the original radiator this hole was hollow and the radiator drained in a narrow tube within this hole (kind of hard to describe). But in the new one, the hole is "sealed." Doesn't really affect fitment, just something different I noticed.

Overall the quality seems the same. Both have the poor design of having plastic inlets. The one annoying thing is that you have transfer over the bottom plastic bracket from the old radiator to the new one (a new bracket wasn't included with the new radiator). To get it out without destroying the plastic bracket I had to bend and disfigure the old radiator a bit.