Lifted Diesel F30 Daily Driver?

[Jdesign]

Some cars just have a weird way of finding me. I was not looking for an F30, but then again, I am always looking for cars to buy and sell. After buying a 2008 Tahoe hybrid on a whim to tow my boat, I came across a listing for a unique Alpine white over Saddle brown fully loaded 2014 BMW 328D Xdrive that was lifted, deleted, and tuned. The listing stated that the owner was looking for a truck or Tahoe to trade. I messaged him thinking how dumb I would be to get rid of all of my tow vehicles (after just selling my other Tahoe), but at the same time smart because of the value difference and the possibility of finally retiring my civic hybrid of 327k miles. 

Fast forward a week later and I am a proud owner of another diesel BMW, and what better way to really prove a new cars "worth" other than to take it on a 3K mile road trip through the smoky mountain's.  I did some preparation, fixed some things, and fully inspected the car before I left, but safe to say I made it there and back without an issue.  I was thoroughly impressed by the cars capability by not only climbing up the side of a mountain with a bunch of heavily modded trucks, but keeping up with some other newer BMWs on the tail of the dragon.

For now, Im not really sure what the future may hold for the car, but I plan on keeping it for awhile. I have some thoughts in my head of lowering it back down, but for now, Im just going to do some preventative maintenance and fix some of the odds and ends that it needs. This thread will probably be more of a log for me to keep track of such.

Here is what is done to the car:

• Center Line Wheels 18x8 +35 (1 of 1)
• TOYO TIRES 225/55/18 Open Country
• Black Label Lighting 30" Single Row Light Bar
• D.H. VinylWorx Graphics
• Buzzken - 328d DPF/SCR delete
• JR Auto Stage 3 Tune
• Rising Tuning lift & level kit
• black kidneys
• trunk spoiler

 

[m42b32]

That's awesome! How is it lifted? 

[Jdesign]

3 minutes ago, m42b32 said:

That's awesome! How is it lifted? 

I updated the post. It has spacers and Bilstein's.

[YoungCR]

What did you get for fuel mileage? This is crazy awesome. 

[SteelBlue]

Was this car up in Appleton? I feel like I have seen it before, but maybe I am just imagining things.

[GunMetalGrey]

Those wheels though

[Jdesign]

15 hours ago, YoungCR said:

What did you get for fuel mileage? This is crazy awesome. 

I was squeezing 50 out of it on my way down. I had it in eco mode, was coasting a lot, and was very light on the throttle. Once I hit some rain, I gave up and started laying into it. In the mountains on and off road I got a solid 37-38 using the throttle as an on and of switch 😆

3 hours ago, SteelBlue said:

Was this car up in Appleton? I feel like I have seen it before, but maybe I am just imagining things.

Yes. The original owner that modified it worked at Fitment Industries. he sold it to the owner I purchased it from in Neenah. 

2 hours ago, GunMetalGrey said:

Those wheels though

Sewer caps*  (honestly they are centerline 849 PANGEA's) fitting for the lift and tires. 

[patsbimmer1]

2 hours ago, Jdesign said:

Yes. The original owner that modified it worked at Fitment Industries. he sold it to the owner I purchased it from in Neenah. 

This is explains a lot because the Black Label Lighting is a Custom Offsets only brand.

This thing is so fucking cool.  I'm not a big one for graphics but the lower black piece and the mountain scene around the back wheels is really fitting for this car.  I love it.

[Jdesign]

Maintenance Update! 

This car was overdue for some general service. I placed an order to do the 150k service interval. I’m taking full advantage of the FCP lifetime fluids and parts. I am doing a complete fluid flush and brake service. Here is a list of what I ordered;

• BMW 5W-30 Oil Change Kit
• BMW Coolant/Antifreeze (2 Gallon)
• BMW G1 Hypoid Differential Fluid (500mL) x2
• BMW G2 Hypoid Differential Fluid (500mL) x2
• BMW GA8HP45Z GA8HP70Z Automatic Transmission Service Kit
• BMW Zimmermann Brake Kit
• DOT 4 TYP 200 Brake Fluid (2 Liter)
• BMW Air Filter
• BMW Cabin Air Filter
• BMW Fuel Filter
• BMW Jack Pad

 

 

I did realize that the rear trailing arm is missing a rock guard. and the rear diff vibration damper is failing. I will have to order these as well.

• BMW Vibration Absorber (40Hz) - Genuine BMW 33316798890
• BMW LEFT CONTROL ARM COVER 6796137

 

[Jdesign]

I completed the service interval and noticed a few extra things that I wanted to address. I somehow managed to overlook the transferase fluid flush, so I ordered fluid for that from FCP. I also noticed oil weeping from the back of the VC, so I snugged the bolts and cleaned everything really well to decipher where the leak is coming from. So far I think its from the O-ring on the oil filler neck, so I ordered a replacement. The car never had TPMs sensors in it when I got it, and it warns me every time I drive it. I ordered TPMs sensors and installed them, I just need to get them programmed to the car now. 

I also ordered new pads and rotors for the rear. When I took the car on the tail of the dragon, I noticed that when the brakes got really hot, one of the rear calipers would drag. I summed this up to sticky slides, and pulled the slides out, cleaned and greased them when I got home, and all seemed well. I never really checked the pads and rotors closely as the PO said he did the rear brakes. So when the car was in the air this last time, I noticed the rear pads were "Brake Best" brand and one of the rotors was starting to crack. Thus I ordered the parts. NOW what I didn't notice the first time I greased the slides was that one of the guide pins was ever so slightly bent. THIS is what is causing the rear brake caliper to drag when it gets hot. I never would have noticed this, but when I went to clean the slides this time, I chucked the pins in a drill and used a brillo pad to get them polished clean. I noticed the very subtle bend in the pin check all the others, and decided to order a new one.

FUN FACT; Chrysler Pacifica, Fiat 500L, and 2020 Honda Accords use the same caliper slides as most BMW's from 2010-2015 

Here's a list of the additional parts:

• Transfer case fluid
• Rear discs
• Rear pads
• Valve cover O-ring
• Rear brake guide pin 
• TPMS sensors 

Front brakes all done

Test fitting the OZ Hamann's to see what specs I will need to make them work.

Failed Breather hose. 

 

My repair, as the part is damn near impossible to find. I found one in Europe for $240. I figure this wont crack like the brittle plastic did and I could fix it right away. Judge me all you want for using worm clamps.

Took a look at the crank pulley when I flushed the coolant. Seems like these have the same issues as the M57's with the rubber failing. I will have to add this to my list. 

The car drives much better now, too bad the season is almost over. I haven't decided if I want to drive it in winter or not.

 

[Jdesign]

 

[Jdesign]

Update, I have been driving this on and off through winter.

I started to notice that I have a SZL code a few months ago that comes and goes which is related to the stalks/steering wheel. Apparently the harness or clock spring fails and throws this code. This would explain my hit or miss heated steering wheel. I will have to order a new SZL once I determine the part number on mine as it looks there are quite a few options depending on the options/ packages that are factory (20+ some options in RealOEM). 

I scanned all the codes again this morning and found a laundry list awaiting (30 some odd codes). 😑

My Comfort access stopped working, which was why I scanned the car again. I have a fault for a bad ground in the REM (Rear Electronic Module) which I suspect is the culprit. I cleared the codes and now the trip function on my gauge cluster display disappeared lol. Ah yes, the future is here. I will update this again when I actually start to dig into the ground issue in hopes to resolve this. For now, I just wanted to document this to remind myself of why I like older cars. LOL

...

After more research on the CA issue, it looks like it might be a weak battery. I will have to test this theory. What I didn't expect to see, was multiple threads about people replacing LED drivers in the trunk/tail lights/interior with non-OEM, causing interference with comfort access, in turn disabling it.  Seems like the cheaper ones from Amazon or eBay lack shielding. Insane to think that's enough to cause an issue. Looking at the wiring on this car, I will say its obvious that the wires are a very small (optimal?) gauge and the sheathing jacket is quite thin too. I assume this is to save cost and weight, but in turn causes a lot of wiring issues, yay.

 

[YoungCR]

Well that’s pretty wild and unfortunate 🙄