[hoot.]

Hey all, thanks for checking my build thread out.

I've been searching for a new daily for quite some time now, and decided maybe I should take a break from my "manual only" mindset and try something new. Something rare, special, and... automatic. Besides, my manual itch can be scratched by my turbo NA Miata (albeit only in warmer months...)

I was searching for a unicorn. I wanted an M Sport 335d in Le Mans Blue. A pretty rare car. If someone has exact numbers I'd love to know, but I think under 50 in the USA. I kept finding potential leads, but they ended up being too high of mileage, beat up, shoddily modified, etc. But then... I found it.

A car in Texas, with 85,000 miles. Completely unmodified, other than a rear badge delete.
It's got every option I wanted:

• M Sport (duh)
• HK Sound
• Comfort Access
• Black Interior
• Premium Package
• Cold Weather Package
• iPod Connection (6FL)
• And get this... NO iDRIVE. It's a single hump!!!

It's been in the guys family since new, and is in FANTASTIC shape. I got in touch with him to get a PPI done by Terry Sayther down in Austin (excellent experience with them btw, highly recommend!)

The car came back with a couple non-major issues. The front pads need doing, one of the bump stops are deteriorating and a couple control arm bushings are showing wear. There is a code for the DPF differential pressure sensor too (we'll need to repair that at a later date.) When I heard that, I immediately booked a flight to check it out in person, and hopefully drive it home to it's new home in Wisconsin.

When I flew out, I was stunned. The car is perfect, everything was exactly what I wanted. Extremely well kept. I was sold, and paid an (IMO) extremely low price for what the car is.

With the paperwork completed, my S/O and I headed on our way back to Wisconsin. The 20 hour drive was a bit daunting on an unfamiliar car, but we were ready. Coming from my 2 MK4 TDI's previously, my fiancé was quite happy to be in something nicer and newer!

So, here it is. I hope to keep this thread documented with everything I do to the car. Be it the most mundane like washing and maintenance, and the big things like modifications. I'm absolutely stoked to have found the quite literal unicorn of 335d's. I know the numbers are low for Le Mans M Sport cars, but loaded up w/ single hump? It's gotta be under 10! (Now I'm sounding like a Corvette guy lol)

If you'd like to follow along for more photos/day-to-day stuff, follow me on Instagram! I post all my car projects, as well as others' cars when I go out for photoshoots. https://www.instagram.com/tyscarsandcameras

Here are some photos of the car on the drive back. I'll post more beauty shots tomorrow! Side note, if anyone has any name suggestions for the car, or any advice in general, I'm all ears! I'm thinking "Project Austin" in M539 Restorations fashion, lol.

Stopped for lunch at JM's after a bit of driving!


We always stop at Buc-ee's when it's on our path. We don't have any in Wisconsin!


This was taken when the sun finally came back up during our drive. We were about 6 hours out at that point! Home stretch!

[hoot.]

First order of business was a general servicing including oil change & all filters. I also wanted to replace the aging vacuum lines, and replace the bad DPF differential pressure sensor.

The engine air filter was nasty. Glad I got that out of there. Cabin air filter wasn't nearly as bad, but was still happy to freshen that up.



Mann filters going in. Mahle for the oil filter, with LiquiMoly TopTec 4600 going in.



Replacing the differential pressure sensor took, I kid you not, hours. It is SO tucked back there. And not only that, it's attached with a torx screw. Not a bolt. You have to go 1/2 turn by 1/2 turn getting that thing out and there is NO room. I could've just taken the whole bracket out yes, but didn't want to risk breaking any nipples... but I'll get there. In the end, I swapped it out, and all is well. No more code.

Next was the vacuum lines. Very crusty, worn, and brittle. I was trying to be extremely careful with all the plastic nipples, making sure to cut the hoses and not pull. Well... I wasn't careful enough. Cracked the vacuum reservoir/bracket nipple.

Figured I might as well replace it all. I ordered a new bracket/reservoir, a new control valve, and 2 new pressure converters. I also got an intake manifold gasket kit, since that'll be coming off to do the lines underneath.

By the end, everything will be fresh, new, and ready to rock for years to come! I'll be doing that job tomorrow. Could I have just epoxied it? Probably, but I want this car done right, especially since I'll be making more power down the road. Wish me luck!

[PunsGalore]

I would love a 335d.. single hump is the way to go for sure. Enjoy!

[hoot.]

After all my parts were delivered, I set off to refresh the vacuum system on the car. I planned on replacing the vacuum lines, the vacuum reservoir (that I cracked the nipple on,) both vacuum pressure converters, and the vacuum control valve on the turbo side of things.

Started off by taking the intake manifold off. The car had a carbon cleaning recently, so everything seemed pretty clean. Very happy I did all the lines - almost all of them on the turbo side were completely stiff and broke when bent. The lines away from the turbo were in good shape yet!



Got the vacuum reservoir/bracket off. Not as bad as I thought it would be. Replaced the parts on it with OEM replacements from FCP Euro.



Replaced every vacuum line topside that I could. I did not replace the engine mount line, but will get to that next time I've got things apart.

All buttoned up. Even used a red line like factory. Just needed to put the intake manifold back on (with new gaskets of course)




All buttoned up. No more 4530 code. The car runs great. I also pulled the janky JB4 tuner the previous owner had installed on the car. Next is snow tires - getting those on today!

[RealJ22]

Nice build! But I feel bad that you still live in WI.

[hoot.]

Decided this weekend was 6HP service time.

I got this kit from FCP Euro but added one more liter of fluid:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...24117571227kt4

I have a full walkthrough video coming soon, but for now I just have a few photos.

First, took off the underbody shield, drained the fluid, removed the plug adapter (kind of a PITA till I figured out a trick w/ a 45 degree pliers) and dropped the filter/pan.



Dropped the valve body and replaced all 4 sleeves and the bridge seal(not pictured)



Mounted the valve body back up, torqued the bolts down, then mounted a new filter/pan with all new bolts. When filled, I ran through the gears and monitored the transmission temp with ISTA. Once it hit temp, I filled it up while it was running and torqued the fill bolt down. Mission success!



Took the opprotunity to replace the fuel filter while I was down here as well, using a Mann filter & BMW oetiker clamp.



The car shifts so smoothly now. It really wasn't too bad before, but the fluid was definitely original and the seals were a little flattened. I've noticed much better cold shifting as well. The car is happy! Very simple job, just very, very messy!

[hoot.]

Originally Posted by RealJ22

Nice build! But I feel bad that you still live in WI.

It has it's plus's and minus's.

Winter does totally suck, and so does salt... but the other 3 seasons are frankly very pleasant imo! Lots of water to enjoy here in Green Bay and up north. Winter is just a 5 month grind to get car projects done! Not sure where you were at in WI, but I don't mind it up in the NE.

[whyzee125]

Welcome to the e90 world. She's a beauty!

[hoot.]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

Welcome to the e90 world. She's a beauty!

Thanks a bunch! I absolutely love the car so far.

Decided to coat the underbody with WoolWax on Sunday. It's a similar product to Fluid Film (being lanolin based) but seems to be thicker. Hopefully that makes it more durable.

Unsure if I should try and avoid underbody washes, or continue doing them now that it's undercoated. Let me know your thoughts!

I didn't hit the areas under the 2 side underbody panels - will get to that at some point this winter. I ran out of time!

Before:

After:

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by hoot.

Thanks a bunch! I absolutely love the car so far.

Decided to coat the underbody with WoolWax on Sunday. It's a similar product to Fluid Film (being lanolin based) but seems to be thicker. Hopefully that makes it more durable.

Unsure if I should try and avoid underbody washes, or continue doing them now that it's undercoated. Let me know your thoughts!

I didn't hit the areas under the 2 side underbody panels - will get to that at some point this winter. I ran out of time!

Before:

After:

It's okay to wash off the underside, just avoid degreasers or pressure washers! Lanolin undercoatings are excellent.

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

Nice work on this car. This just reminded me that I should probably change the fuel filter on my 2011 335i as well. At 65K, now would probably be a good time. Right? Thank you for subtly reminding me to address this often overlooked part.

[hoot.]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

It's okay to wash off the underside, just avoid degreasers or pressure washers! Lanolin undercoatings are excellent.

Sounds good! I probably won't take it through many automatic car washes with high pressure underbody rinses then.

Originally Posted by Kevin_The_Clean1

Nice work on this car. This just reminded me that I should probably change the fuel filter on my 2011 335i as well. At 65K, now would probably be a good time. Right? Thank you for subtly reminding me to address this often overlooked part.

I would say that's a perfect time to do it! I do mine every 3rd oil change on all my diesels(coming from VW TDI's), ends up being around every 20k miles!

[hoot.]

I'm alive! I unfortunately haven't done a whole lot to the car since my last post. My partner and I closed on our first house in May, so her and I have been very busy!

I did finally get the garage set up enough to do some basic work. The drivers side front wheel bearing was making noise, so I went ahead and ordered 2 new F A G wheel bearings from FCP Euro.



I also picked up some used but nearly new Snap-On ratchets, and was very excited to try them out.



The old bearings were clearly original and actually not *too* bad, but clearly were on their way out. Overall the job was pretty easy. My car is from Texas so there was no nasty rust to deal with.



And here's the final result! Two new, silent wheel bearings. with new bolts of course. There's nothing that drives me nuts more than the pulsing whir of bad bearings. Getting on the road and hearing absolutely nothing but tire noise felt so good!