Inspection II prep

[franco209]

My 41k miles M Coupe out of warranty last year and inspection II is coming up about 1k miles. After visited the dealership and an indy shop, i decided i will do it myself. Here is the list I came up with.

Transmissioin
Royal Purple Synchromax--$30.48
Drain / fill plug 23117531356--$12.42
8mm Hex short--$6.62

Diff
SAF-XJ + FM Booster 83222282583--$135.00
Drain plug 33117525064--$3.27
Fill plug washer 07119932112--$0.07
14mm hex short--$9.74

Brake
Brake Fluid 81220142156--$10.80

Engine
Oil Kit --$90.00
Fuel Additive 82140413341--$11.00
Spark Plug - DCPR8EKP 12120022902--$61.92
K&N air filter 33-2292--$45.88
Vanos Filter Kit--$14.00
Shim Kit--$380.00
Gasket Set--$95.00
Microfilter 64319195193--$32.29
Gasket Ring 07119963129--$0.14

Total: about $1k w/ shipping and tools.
Targeted DIY date: first weekend of March. Am i at the right track?

[blender]

nice work! suggest you bounce this off ron stygar as he would be a good 2nd opinion.

[santov]

Looks good, but a couple of questions-

Why replace the refill and drain plugs bolts on the diff and tranny when you can get new washers? Chances are they're still in good shape. IF I was going to spend the cash I'd go with magnetic drain plugs for the diff- BavAuto #SS M22X1.5

I'd suggest Mobil1 for rear diff fluid. I had great results in my LSD Jeep SRT8 and I just put it in my Z4 3.0si. It's priced pretty cheap compared to the boutique brands. I plan on changing my diff fluid every 25k miles anyways, not because the fluid reaches end of life, but to drain out any junk since the diff doesn't have any filtering, esp clutch material from your LSD.

I'd reconsider the K&N air filter. The stock ones do a better job of cleaning. The HP gains on a K&N is negligible. I'd rather have better filtration.

A few tweeks should save you even more cash.

[franco209]

Thanks for the reply.

I think all 3 plugs have a build-in gasket (I might be wrong) and just in case I strip any one of them, thats why I put them in my list.

For diff oil, I got the slow turn noise from my diff. According to some posts, SAF-XJ + FM Booster is way to fix the problem. (I wish I could save that money -- $135)

K&N is almost the same price with the OEM. I just want to give it a shot since I didn't see much review of it.

Also about the magnetic plug for the diff. I seen a huge debate about it. Some people said it won't work that great since the oil is much thicker in the diff. Some said it will create a bigger chunk of debris.....

[Z4Murder]

for the transmission drain/ fill plug... are those two seperate pieces? your list looks pretty complete to me. makes me consider doing this myself when the time comes

edit: also for the diff. fluid: only the cars with the slow turn noise need the fm booster? otherwise it's just saf-xj?

[santov]

On my 3.0si the fill plug and drain plug are exactly the same. The both had washers/gaskets that are replaceable. If the old ones are in good shape (threads and head) replacing the gaskets is plenty good. I don't think upgrading the lower drain plug to a magnetic one will hurt anything, it will just catch hold and metallic debris.

[franco209]

M Diff oil--
For what I understand, SAF-XJ + FM Booster is only needed if you have the slow turn noise issue. Rather than that, 83221467993 is the oil you need for our M diff. ($10 per unit compare to $45 per unit).

Plugs--
M diff drain: Screw plug with O-ring (33117525064)
M diff fill: Hex bolt + washer (07119905641 + 07119932112)
M Tran drain / fill: 2x Screw Plug With Gasket Ring (23117531356)

Reference: RealOEM

If anyone interested in doing the inspection II themselves, i will take some pics when I do mine next month.

[KevinC]

Definitely skip the K&N. A smart fly could find his way through that thing.

[Z4Murder]

Originally Posted by franco209

M Diff oil--
For what I understand, SAF-XJ + FM Booster is only needed if you have the slow turn noise issue. Rather than that, 83221467993 is the oil you need for our M diff. ($10 per unit compare to $45 per unit).

Plugs--
M diff drain: Screw plug with O-ring (33117525064)
M diff fill: Hex bolt + washer (07119905641 + 07119932112)
M Tran drain / fill: 2x Screw Plug With Gasket Ring (23117531356)

Reference: RealOEM

If anyone interested in doing the inspection II themselves, i will take some pics when I do mine next month.

Awesome, thanks Franco. how many liters do we need for the diff?

also, please do take pics when you do yours.

[007MCoupe]

nice. hope it works out well for you. I've got my appt for my insp 2 this saturday. there's no way i could afford to do all of this myself right now.

[franco209]

Just a reminder, make sure you ask for the valve adjustment spec result. I heard stories about some tech skip this procedure.

Again if your car have diff noise, ask for the oil I mentioned above $$$.

The flat tire kit they tend to forget to change it out also.

Hope everything goes well

[franco209]

Z4Murder,

Our diff takes about 1.5 litter. Here are the pics of the SAF-XJ + FM. I am getting 3 for them.

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-M3-...aign=postreply

[franco209]

Originally Posted by KevinC

Definitely skip the K&N. A smart fly could find his way through that thing.

Just want to get this clear. Lots of member are using AFe, Gruppe M already, isn't that they are the same kind of filter with K&N (non-paper)? Is K&N really that bad?

Please advice before I pull the trigger on it.

[Z4Murder]

Originally Posted by franco209

Z4Murder,

Our diff takes about 1.5 litter. Here are the pics of the SAF-XJ + FM. I am getting 3 for them.

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-M3-...aign=postreply

ok, yea i heard about them changing the 1 liter bottle to .5 liter bottles. i gotta make sure i order the right quantity.

Originally Posted by franco209

Just want to get this clear. Lots of member are using AFe, Gruppe M already, isn't that they are the same kind of filter with K&N (non-paper)? Is K&N really that bad?

Please advice before I pull the trigger on it.

well, i was doing lots of research and was planning on buying th k&n with rpi scoop. that is until, i scored a used gruppe-m, which has a k&n cone filter actually. k&n is a great company for air filters, and i haven't heard anything negative until this thread.

[SCHMOUPE]

so here is what I heard from my very reputable indy shop: $950! With what you're saying, they are barely making money on Inspection II. What's the disconnect here. I guess i should ask them to list what they change

[r4gs]

i'm about to have my inspection I done by an independent in san ant, and i was quoted $617.09. awesome price! have the gruppe m with k&n cone filter as mentioned above, and am not sure what's the deal with k&n?

[franco209]

Well I don't think I want to list what the dealership gave me ($40 per spark plug...and so on).

With the indy shop, he quote me $500 for value adjustment, $130 oil change + other labor + parts and taxes...... The main reason I am doing it myself is because I will have no car to use while it would be in the shop.

From my list, the expensive parts are the shim kit $380, diff oil $135 and tools(which i can keep).....

Also I may able to rent out my shim kit for any Z member who want to do theirs.

[SCHMOUPE]

Originally Posted by franco209

Well I don't think I want to list what the dealership gave me ($40 per spark plug...and so on).

With the indy shop, he quote me $500 for value adjustment, $130 oil change + other labor + parts and taxes...... The main reason I am doing it myself is because I will have no car to use while it would be in the shop.

From my list, the expensive parts are the shim kit $380, diff oil $135 and tools(which i can keep).....

Also I may able to rent out my shim kit for any Z member who want to do theirs.

makes sense since I'd think an indy shop already has the tools and the shim kit so that's 400+ taken out of your total. So they will be eating 350-400 on labor. Great list nonetheless and I can go over the details with them when I drop the car off and make sure they are on board with all of these

[Z4Murder]

yea please keep us all posted on parts lists/ labor quotes for your inspections. good refference. thank you!