Don't you just hate that shit? Or whoever is making the video, already "loosens" the bolts so to make it look all easy and such. I have an E36 (318Ti) and it took nearly a year to finally get the old starter out because 1) Everybody that had videos skipped important parts necessary and 2) You must have a 1/4 inch E12 female Torx socket. NOBODY ever included that. It is a German tool, as they are the only ones that make a 1/4 inch version of a Torx E12. If you run into problems getting the Torx bolts off without stripping them, order German Torx sockets. The male bolts flare at the bottom, and most other, even American sockets do not account for this and do not fit completely over the Torx head. We're talking like less than a half of a millimeter tolerance, but that space difference causes the Torx heads to get stripped out and German sockets are made with smaller tolerances. German tools are not cheap. Cost me $28 for the one E12 socket (incl shipping). But they are the finest tools made I believe. Once I had the German socket, no problem and got my starter changed out (after disassembling what seemed half the engine to get to it. It was that or disconnect the transmission and remove it. No way without a lift was I doing that). And the starter on my car is the only hard to reach part. Everything else has been no issues. I can't remember the name, but I do remember the company I got my part was in Kansas City. I love BMW but sometimes they do some crazy shit like having the fuel filter inside the tank instead of in the fuel line. Or putting the starter on top of the fly wheel instead at the bottom like in my car. Take care and good luck. (Also another tip when working on BMW cars. "don't box yourself in". Make sure to have plenty of extensions, and step back from the part you are trying to remove. Most likely you will need to find a path to the part that requires a number of extensions to get to it. That seems to come up with BMW's often as well. And BMW loves to use smaller 1/4 inch sockets and ratchets to get to their parts you need to remove. "Nathan's BMW Repair" is another good BMW RUclips channel).
Good video. As BMW made this whole process far more complicated than necessary. A simple in line (fuel line) filter would work the same and simply be under the car. I do recommend getting the tool for the "fuel pump lid". If you search online you can find them for around $15 -20, helps protect the lid & makes things faster. I'm not sure if you can convert to a in line fuel filter since the sending unit and fuel level is part of the filter system and not part of the pump itself it seems. And since the tank is split in two, I'm pretty sure you need a fuel level for each side. Way too complicated and unnecessary. There has to be an easier method to achieve this. I love BMW but this is NOT the best engineering possible. Pain in the ass more like it. I have an E36 and the fuel filter is in the fuel line. No idea why BMW changed it for the E46.
So BMW along with just about all manufactures are in the process of deleting changeable fuel filters. There is no maintenance schedule now on a lot of cars that includes a fuel filter change. I believe it is a combination of things resulting this change. From fuel quality being somewhat better these days and a cost savings for the manufacturing side of things. Either way it is here to stay. Kurt
The fuel filter is built into the fuel pump console. The console is also the fuel tank sending unit and return check valve assembly. Yes in the video you will see the actual fuel pump as it is mounted into the console. To see the actual filter you would have to cut apart the plastic console. Kurt
hi! I changed my filter and regulator today to an aftermarket one and my problem got worse my pressure went down to 2bar. now I wonder what fault you got on it aftermarket one you had.
George, the issue i had with the aftermarket version was that the check valve would not hold pressure. That created a long crank time on a hot restart as the fuel pressure would bleed off immediately. Kurt
The 323 Models are not that common in the USA, so I have not seen one in a very long time. According to my parts supplier you can buy a separate frame mounted fuel filter. Kurt
unfortunately almost all vehicles are going the same way now. I believe it is a combination of saving money in production as well as the thinking that these vehicles will need less maintenance while in service. Todays fuels have changed dramatically over the years and I also think that there are less particles in todays fuels that can cause restrictions. Kurt
@Klassik Automotive Training School Yeah, everywhere in the world, the fuel is getting better and better except here in lebanon. We get the lowest octane possible as the only choice. We hear knocking all the time
That's a hard question to answer. The price is not that bad but it is a higher mileage car and if the previous owners did not keep up on the maintenance you could be in for a lot of work. I would suggest that you have the car checked out by a BMW shop in your area before making the purchase. Thanks for watching and good luck with your car search
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Great video. You went thru the whole process without skipping parts to make the video quicker like most people do.
Glad you liked it
Kurt
Don't you just hate that shit? Or whoever is making the video, already "loosens" the bolts so to make it look all easy and such. I have an E36 (318Ti) and it took nearly a year to finally get the old starter out because 1) Everybody that had videos skipped important parts necessary and 2) You must have a 1/4 inch E12 female Torx socket. NOBODY ever included that. It is a German tool, as they are the only ones that make a 1/4 inch version of a Torx E12. If you run into problems getting the Torx bolts off without stripping them, order German Torx sockets. The male bolts flare at the bottom, and most other, even American sockets do not account for this and do not fit completely over the Torx head. We're talking like less than a half of a millimeter tolerance, but that space difference causes the Torx heads to get stripped out and German sockets are made with smaller tolerances. German tools are not cheap. Cost me $28 for the one E12 socket (incl shipping). But they are the finest tools made I believe. Once I had the German socket, no problem and got my starter changed out (after disassembling what seemed half the engine to get to it. It was that or disconnect the transmission and remove it. No way without a lift was I doing that). And the starter on my car is the only hard to reach part. Everything else has been no issues. I can't remember the name, but I do remember the company I got my part was in Kansas City. I love BMW but sometimes they do some crazy shit like having the fuel filter inside the tank instead of in the fuel line. Or putting the starter on top of the fly wheel instead at the bottom like in my car. Take care and good luck. (Also another tip when working on BMW cars. "don't box yourself in". Make sure to have plenty of extensions, and step back from the part you are trying to remove. Most likely you will need to find a path to the part that requires a number of extensions to get to it. That seems to come up with BMW's often as well. And BMW loves to use smaller 1/4 inch sockets and ratchets to get to their parts you need to remove. "Nathan's BMW Repair" is another good BMW RUclips channel).
That reminds me I have to do the one in my ram 3500 Cummins. Thanks for sharing.
Just go OEM!
Great video. My E90 fuel level readout is incorrect. I wonder how I can determine if the left or right level sender is the problem
You can just check the resistance on each unit. They should be about the same.
Kurt
I’m getting the same vehicle but this is awesome thank you
No problem 👍
@@klassikats I have the same problem with the vehicle I am about to get
So where’s the filter?
Can’t figure it out please help.
Was that the filter or the regulator pressure???
Yes the filter is built into the fuel pump console inside the tank.
Kurt
Thanks 👍
No problem 👍
Good video. As BMW made this whole process far more complicated than necessary. A simple in line (fuel line) filter would work the same and simply be under the car. I do recommend getting the tool for the "fuel pump lid". If you search online you can find them for around $15 -20, helps protect the lid & makes things faster. I'm not sure if you can convert to a in line fuel filter since the sending unit and fuel level is part of the filter system and not part of the pump itself it seems. And since the tank is split in two, I'm pretty sure you need a fuel level for each side. Way too complicated and unnecessary. There has to be an easier method to achieve this. I love BMW but this is NOT the best engineering possible. Pain in the ass more like it. I have an E36 and the fuel filter is in the fuel line. No idea why BMW changed it for the E46.
So BMW along with just about all manufactures are in the process of deleting changeable fuel filters. There is no maintenance schedule now on a lot of cars that includes a fuel filter change. I believe it is a combination of things resulting this change. From fuel quality being somewhat better these days and a cost savings for the manufacturing side of things. Either way it is here to stay.
Kurt
What does the fuel filter look like? That looks like the fuel pump?
The fuel filter is built into the fuel pump console. The console is also the fuel tank sending unit and return check valve assembly. Yes in the video you will see the actual fuel pump as it is mounted into the console. To see the actual filter you would have to cut apart the plastic console.
Kurt
Question? Was the problem long crank starts?
NO it was a surging idle that we were chasing
Kurt
hi! I changed my filter and regulator today to an aftermarket one and my problem got worse my pressure went down to 2bar. now I wonder what fault you got on it aftermarket one you had.
George, the issue i had with the aftermarket version was that the check valve would not hold pressure. That created a long crank time on a hot restart as the fuel pressure would bleed off immediately.
Kurt
Thanks
A 2007 bmw 323i does have fuel filter?
The 323 Models are not that common in the USA, so I have not seen one in a very long time. According to my parts supplier you can buy a separate frame mounted fuel filter.
Kurt
Clearly the guy who designed that never tried to install those. He will be shot at dawn.
Yes I agree.
I still can't understand why they made it so hard to change and why I can't only replace the filter by itself 😬
unfortunately almost all vehicles are going the same way now. I believe it is a combination of saving money in production as well as the thinking that these vehicles will need less maintenance while in service. Todays fuels have changed dramatically over the years and I also think that there are less particles in todays fuels that can cause restrictions.
Kurt
@Klassik Automotive Training School Yeah, everywhere in the world, the fuel is getting better and better except here in lebanon. We get the lowest octane possible as the only choice. We hear knocking all the time
Sorry to hear that and unfortunately not a lot you can do about it either.
Kurt
I found one for sale for 3k and it has 167k miles and the owner says no problems should I get it or not because I know nothing about cars
That's a hard question to answer. The price is not that bad but it is a higher mileage car and if the previous owners did not keep up on the maintenance you could be in for a lot of work. I would suggest that you have the car checked out by a BMW shop in your area before making the purchase.
Thanks for watching and good luck with your car search
This is fuel pump, filter is underneath the car...
Not on these cars.
So where is the fuel filter?
Was it the fuel filter or the regulator?