[e90_enjoyer]

Hi all, wall of text warning:

I am interning in the SF Bay Area (silicon valley) and bought an '06 330i/6 to get around while I'm here. I plan to drive it back home to Texas in June when my internship is over.

I bought it for $5300, has 130k miles. I knew it needed a bit of work - namely wheel spd sensor, headlight module, and DISA Valves - but may have made a huge mistake, lmao.

I took it to a local (well known) shop, for an oil change, brake flush, and to get a quote on the DISA replacement (can't do major service where I'm at)

I received a $15,000 (yes, 15 thousand dollars) estimate to fix what they found wrong.

I told them to hold off and just do the fluids - I'd decide later. Next morning they're saying the car is running rough and won't hold idle. I headed over to the shop and sure enough, damn thing wont start. How lucky that it decides to quit while at the shop..

So I let them diagnose it, and sure enough the DISA gave up, likely stuck choking the manifold off. Not crazy about the fact that it failed in their possession and not while I drove it 300 miles this weekend, but I wasn't sure what else to do :/ $1600 lesson learned

Anyway, there's a laundry list of things they found, I'll attach the inspection and the crazy estimates below.

I was hoping you could tell me what needs to be done ASAP and what can hold off a few thousand miles so I can DIY them at home?

I am tackling the OFHG + belt/pulley/tensioner, air/cabin filters myself this weekend, it seems simple enough to do in my parking garage. I'm thinking the VCG/OPG + suspension issues could wait, but wanted a 2nd opinion. There is no oil burning smell at all. Will likely have the WP/t-stat done before the trip.

Thanks in advance!

Inspection with photos: http://email.myshopmanager.com/c/eJw...4q5zCP1BxKoM50

Estimates are attached in PDF below:

[Fiasco]

So first off, this shop sounds pretty scummy. For several reasons, first off:

1) If you drove the car 300 miles the previous weekend and then it quit during its overnight stay at this shop, it sounds like they broke it on purpose to get a job. This is partially your fault too for leaving your car overnight at a shop for a brake flush and an oil change.

2) A $15,000 quote? Really? They quoted you parts and labor for a bunch of hoses that are likely fine. $250 for a coolant flush? Quoting $2200 for a replacement of all four 02 sensors when all of them could be fine? This shit is slimy and irresponsible.

3) On the inspection, with regard to the OFHG they wrote "Upper radiator hose will likely break when removing to do this job." This is the cherry on top because not only will it not break when you do this job, it doesn't even have to be removed to do the job (I've done the job myself and I can confirm this.).

So ya, these guys are dishonest. That being said, your car is in really rough shape. This is why I always preach getting a PPI before you get into one of these (which you clearly didn't do). Most of those leaks can be fixed but it wont be cheap unless you do it on your own. One big thing i'll draw your attention to though is your oil filter housing itself. It looks like theres a big crack in it right on the weakest part of it (that lower bolt).

This usually happens when the car is owned by an idiot that notices OFHG is leaking and then tries to fix it by tightening the bolt. You have an issue there because when you switch the OFHG that piece might break right off completely. Its a $350 part. It could be worse though, i've seen e90's with a crack on the other side in that spot (cylinder head)

So ya, if you like the car you can do the OFHG, struts and the VCG yourself, Oil Pan gasket is a big job. I wouldn't have that shop do any work on it.

[andy_06xi]

Regarding the Control Arm Bushing replacement -- FCP Euro has OE Lemforder arms for about $91 each (vs the $133 your shop is charging for just the bushings). Doing the complete arms would save you some of the $487 labor charge as well (or enable DIY).

[andy_06xi]

One other note -- they're recommending replacement of the Valve Cover -- but on the 2006, the valve cover is Magnesium and should be fine.

[e90_enjoyer]

Originally Posted by Fiasco

1) If you drove the car 300 miles the previous weekend and then it quit during its overnight stay at this shop, it sounds like they broke it on purpose to get a job. This is partially your fault too for leaving your car overnight at a shop for a brake flush and an oil change.

2) A $15,000 quote? Really? They quoted you parts and labor for a bunch of hoses that are likely fine. $250 for a coolant flush? Quoting $2200 for a replacement of all four 02 sensors when all of them could be fine? This shit is slimy and irresponsible.

3) On the inspection, with regard to the OFHG they wrote "Upper radiator hose will likely break when removing to do this job." This is the cherry on top because not only will it not break when you do this job, it doesn't even have to be removed to do the job (I've done the job myself and I can confirm this.).

This usually happens when the car is owned by an idiot that notices OFHG is leaking and then tries to fix it by tightening the bolt. You have an issue there because when you switch the OFHG that piece might break right off completely. Its a $350 part. It could be worse though, i've seen e90's with a crack on the other side in that spot (cylinder head)

Thanks for the reply!

1) I agree, shop has been terrible w/communicating and I am waiting on my car to be ready so I can pay and GTFO. Prices are insane, will not be coming back. I really find it hard to believe they drove it onto the lift with no issues and all of the sudden the DISA gives up and they can't move it off.

2) Yeah, there's a ton of unnecessary things I feel like they just tacked on for no reason. The bump stops in the rear are definitely old but the shocks definitely have life left in them - I feel absolutely no floatiness whatsoever from the rear or the front. Same goes for the FCABs, I will wait until I get this thing back home to just throw some new arms on.

But yeah, not getting a PPI is 100% on me, I figured car was cheap enough I could figure it out as I go - live and learn.

A few questions: can the VCG wait until I get back to replace? I'm going to clean it up this weekend and see how much is actually seeping. I smell 0 oil burning, even on spirited drives, but if it's going to cause issues for a long trip I'm going to suck it up and have it done.

2nd: is there any reason a used OFH wouldn't work? They're going for $50 on eBay and I'd be using a new gasket of course.

Originally Posted by andy_06xi

Regarding the Control Arm Bushing replacement -- FCP Euro has OE Lemforder arms for about $91 each (vs the $133 your shop is charging for just the bushings). Doing the complete arms would save you some of the $487 labor charge as well (or enable DIY).

Thanks for the heads up, will likely grab these later.

[Brian86]

Don't go back.

In their defense... this is in San Francisco. I bet people there with BMW's pay for lists like that all day long.

The prices & suggestions are probably more related to the opportunity cost of not working on some other car.

------------

So ya got the DISA valves done. That's good. They should have replaced the oil separator assembly while the intake manifold was off. c’est la vie.

Basically everything on there you can manage and fix at your leisure, and most of it never fix at all if you're in a tough spot. These cars leak oil. However the cooling system is much more robust than previous BMWs. If it ain't leaking or throwing codes, don't mess with it.

Oil filter housing is the next important thing, because it damages the belt and N52 crank pullies have a habit of eating belts and ramming them through the front main seal. Even this can be managed if you try to keep it clean and replace the belt at every oil change if you're stuck. The other danger with the OFHG is mixing oil and coolant due to internal leakage.

Belt tensioner and idler should be inspected visually. If the belt is riding on the center of both of those pullies and they aren't making noise they should be fine. The tensioner arm tends to twist when the arm bearing wears and the belt will be riding off the edge of the pully.

[e90_enjoyer]

Thanks for easing my mind Brian

However, now the shop is saying my DISA valves are actually okay and whoever took the manifold off last didn't plug everything in all the way + left an evap tube undone, causing a huge vacuum leak. They put everything back together and now are saying the DISA Valves are okay, and are only charging me labor for pulling the intake manifold/reinstalling.

Now the story is that they feel a misfire on cyl #2 and need to replace all 6 plugs + cyl2 injector, to the tune of $908 ($480 labor, like $150 for plugs and $250 for the one injector)

This reeks of BS. I dropped the car off without a check engine light on, the only DME code was a shadow code for an unresponsive DISA #2 valve, and of course the DSC code for bad wheel speed sensor.

All of a sudden a misfire, vacuum leak, and bad injector happen in the 3-4 days it's been at the shop?

I'm tempted to have them just put everything back and give it back, but then I'm afraid it's going to end up running worse and I'll have no recourse. To think this was Steve Dinan's shop at one point..

[Fiasco]

Originally Posted by e90_enjoyer

Thanks for the reply!

1) I agree, shop has been terrible w/communicating and I am waiting on my car to be ready so I can pay and GTFO. Prices are insane, will not be coming back. I really find it hard to believe they drove it onto the lift with no issues and all of the sudden the DISA gives up and they can't move it off.

2) Yeah, there's a ton of unnecessary things I feel like they just tacked on for no reason. The bump stops in the rear are definitely old but the shocks definitely have life left in them - I feel absolutely no floatiness whatsoever from the rear or the front. Same goes for the FCABs, I will wait until I get this thing back home to just throw some new arms on.

But yeah, not getting a PPI is 100% on me, I figured car was cheap enough I could figure it out as I go - live and learn.

A few questions: can the VCG wait until I get back to replace? I'm going to clean it up this weekend and see how much is actually seeping. I smell 0 oil burning, even on spirited drives, but if it's going to cause issues for a long trip I'm going to suck it up and have it done.

2nd: is there any reason a used OFH wouldn't work? They're going for $50 on eBay and I'd be using a new gasket of course.



Thanks for the heads up, will likely grab these later.

No worries, just get one done on the next car. Like Brian said VCG can wait if it's just an oil sweat. Best way to tell is exactly how you mention, clean it up and see if it's pissing anywhere, if not it'll be good for some time but don't forget about it.

Used OFH is definitely an option, I didn't bring it up though because I wouldn't do that to my car. If you wanna go that route you totally can but just be aware of the risks of used parts, and try to find out what it came off of and how many km's it had.

Originally Posted by e90_enjoyer

Thanks for easing my mind Brian

However, now the shop is saying my DISA valves are actually okay and whoever took the manifold off last didn't plug everything in all the way + left an evap tube undone, causing a huge vacuum leak. They put everything back together and now are saying the DISA Valves are okay, and are only charging me labor for pulling the intake manifold/reinstalling.

Now the story is that they feel a misfire on cyl #2 and need to replace all 6 plugs + cyl2 injector, to the tune of $908 ($480 labor, like $150 for plugs and $250 for the one injector)

This reeks of BS. I dropped the car off without a check engine light on, the only DME code was a shadow code for an unresponsive DISA #2 valve, and of course the DSC code for bad wheel speed sensor.

All of a sudden a misfire, vacuum leak, and bad injector happen in the 3-4 days it's been at the shop?

I'm tempted to have them just put everything back and give it back, but then I'm afraid it's going to end up running worse and I'll have no recourse. To think this was Steve Dinan's shop at one point..

Sounds like they are getting cold feet for trying to charge you to fix something that was never broken, and now they've turned their attention to an actual wear and tear item that they can get away with making some money on. Any type of rough idle or misfire should first be diagnosed by changing all the plugs before touching any injectors unless they have visually failed (this can be checked). Plugs and coil packs was the first job I did on my E90 and it was a nice primer for my OFHG job. Do it yourself, it's very doable. Tell them you want your car bolted back up and that you'll be back right away to pick it up.

[e90_enjoyer]

UPDATE:

They offered to do the plugs/injector at cost of parts. I didn't really want to spend the money, but I went ahead for peace of mind. Totaled out a bit over $1500..whatever.

I went ahead and did the OFHG, belt, idler, and tensioner this weekend with some Harbor Freight tools. Took me about an hour and a half. So far, belt looks great, no leaks whatsoever. Have put about 30 miles since, drives great. Going to do the wheel speed sensor and an alignment soon.

Only thing that worries me is I did not prime the oil pump when replacing the OFHG, - but I feel like it would have blown up by now if there were any issues.

So next up is the VCG when I get back, and after that I may just sell the car honestly. As great as it drives I think I'd rather grab something less complex, cheaper to run, lol.

EDIT: forgot to mention the OFH was not cracked - old grease and gunk just dried up and looked like a huge crack. Brake cleaner and a rag, wiped right off.

[edycol]

If you can tackle OFHG and belt yourself, you can tackle DISA valves and 90% of other stuff.

[POBEP]

Originally Posted by edycol

If you can tackle OFHG and belt yourself, you can tackle DISA valves and 90% of other stuff.

+1 ^

VCG
You will see/smell oil burn when it is time to replace it.
If it is just a sweat - leave it alone.
The job "appears" to be a complex effort, but it is not.
I took my own pictures during disassembly - it helped a lot.

SF Bay Area BMW shop
Locating honest, knowledgeable and reasonably priced mechanic is not a trivial effort.
I can afford to pay local rates, but can not stand the lack of labor quality or BS
It was the prime reason why I shifted to DIY.
The shop I use to go to told me that my N52 WP is about to die and must be replaced ASAP.
This was 5 years ago - my E91 is still running on factory WP (13 years/104K miles)
Eventually, I found a fantastic place in RWC where I take my BMW's for items that require lift access.

Your estimates
Run away from this place.
Labour cost of $97.50 to replace cabin air filter ...
It takes me 5min, out of which is 3min to get my toolbox and socket.

[e90_enjoyer]

Originally Posted by edycol

If you can tackle OFHG and belt yourself, you can tackle DISA valves and 90% of other stuff.

Oh definitely! I consider myself pretty handy, I did a ton of stuff to my old E28, and my Miata back home. I just don't have a real space to work in currently lol, I can only do really minor stuff in my parking garage if I hurry.

I ended up renting out a shop called DIY or Die over in SJ and got a lift/tools for a few hours. Did the wheel speed sensor, SMC/AHL module, new bulb, air, and cabin filters. The wiring for the H7 flash-to-pass bulb was really chewed up but I electrical taped the sh*t out of it and it seems to be holding up. I'll fix it good when I get back. Car is almost ready, cleared all the major DSC faults and now chasing the AHL/SMC error which keeps coming back and I can't seem to program the new one for some reason. I'm thinking the connector is dirty/corroded..but don't want to take it all apart again lmao.

I appreciate the guidance from you guys, was kind of freaking out but we got somewhere in the end