[Bluewater335D]

Morning all,

I have a 36,000 miles 2011 E92 335D - been nursed all it's life - running very well and in great nick and has been serviced to schedule.
We have a X1 which is the "family" workhorse - so the 335D is mainly used for "long runs" - I want to keep the car for a long time and would like to spend some money on it in the form of preventative maintenance.
The only error codes that Foxwell throws up is a problem with glow plug 1 - which presumably mean the car has stopped the regens

As the car is now 8 years old I am thinking about having the following work done.

1). Replace Glow plugs, all 6, and controller.
2). Swirl flaps removed and manifold cleaned
3). Replace all vacuum pipes
4). Replace both thermostats.
5). Replace "red" pipe

I realise that I will face a bill of maybe £2k - but the car is certainly worth it to me.

What do you guys think - anything that I should add to the list, (auto gearbox fluid etc., changed?).
I don't want to wait until I have a problem and feel that once the Indie has the car to do, say the glowplugs, they may as well do other work as this will be less costly labour-wise

[Phil325i]

As it seems you're treating this car as a 'keeper', try googling 'Mike Miller BMW Old School maintenance'. Some think it's OTT, but you can pick and choose. It's an interesting read...

[sam1er]

Gerarbox service and Diff fluid change would be on my list but at 36K, its pretty low mileage so may not need those doing just yet. Power steering fluid change might be worth considering also.

[rasa bmw]

pointless,,,,except for gearbox service

[sam1er]

Originally Posted by rasa bmw

pointless,,,,except for gearbox service

what's pointless?

[rasa bmw]

all this preventative stuff..ok things like brake fluid and other fluids and giving a car a once over on ramps prior to mot etc,,but changing stuff out for nowt is "pointless"

[Sir_Dave]

I must admit, my old 335d didnt really have any major work completed until circa 170k miles, at 36k id probably just be making sure it had its normal maintenance on time.

1). Replace Glow plugs, all 6, and controller - agree, if 1 is gone, the others are close behind.
2). Swirl flaps removed and manifold cleaned - as a DIY, if you are bored at the weekend, yeah, give it a go, but i wouldnt pay someone to do it, probably a waste of time/money.
3). Replace all vacuum pipes - if they are leaking yes, but if not, no point really.
4). Replace both thermostats - again, if the car isnt getting up to temp, yes, of course, but if it is, whats the point?
5). Replace "red" pipe - realistically speaking, its probably leaking a bit (they all do), so you could replace this if you wanted.

Im a firm believer in preventative maintenance, ie "if one has gone, do all of them", but not "none are gone, replace all of them" thats a bit of a waste of money imho.

For reference, the work done to my 335d was as follows, might be helpful. It was sold a couple of weeks ago on 236k miles, still ran beautifully.


335d Service History by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Sir_Dave

I must admit, my old 335d didnt really have any major work completed until circa 170k miles, at 36k id probably just be making sure it had its normal maintenance on time.

1). Replace Glow plugs, all 6, and controller - agree, if 1 is gone, the others are close behind.
2). Swirl flaps removed and manifold cleaned - as a DIY, if you are bored at the weekend, yeah, give it a go, but i wouldnt pay someone to do it, probably a waste of time/money.
3). Replace all vacuum pipes - if they are leaking yes, but if not, no point really.
4). Replace both thermostats - again, if the car isnt getting up to temp, yes, of course, but if it is, whats the point?
5). Replace "red" pipe - realistically speaking, its probably leaking a bit (they all do), so you could replace this if you wanted.

Im a firm believer in preventative maintenance, ie "if one has gone, do all of them", but not "none are gone, replace all of them" thats a bit of a waste of money imho.

For reference, the work done to my 335d was as follows, might be helpful. It was sold a couple of weeks ago on 236k miles, still ran beautifully.


335d Service History by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

vac lines are usually good for 10 years or so,,mine were still fine after 11 years but had them done while manifold was off doing swirls

[E60525d]

Also 1 glow plug error does not stop regen. I had 2 and DPF regen was still working.

[Bluewater335D]

Thanks guys for all your replies - really useful

just put my winter tyres on, Hankook i* cept evo2

got them from France - Pneus online - as could not get them in the UK, (the rears, 255/35/18, seem to be in short supply in the UK for most makes of winters) - really good price and they came in 5 days - £40 to have them fitted

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Bluewater335D

Thanks guys for all your replies - really useful

just put my winter tyres on, Hankook i* cept evo2

got them from France - Pneus online - as could not get them in the UK, (the rears, 255/35/18, seem to be in short supply in the UK for most makes of winters) - really good price and they came in 5 days - £40 to have them fitted

i ave a spare set of wheels ,,and thought about winters,,but here in northumberland (coast) we hardly ever see snow,,and the times we have had it my cars have been fine,,mind you if i drive 3 miles inland the snow will be more like snow and not slush,,i know winters are not just for snow,,but ive never had any probs with normal tyres in winter,,always go for A rated wet tyres now,usually uniroyal,,but experimenting with khumo and nexen.

[Bluewater335D]

Originally Posted by rasa bmw

i ave a spare set of wheels ,,and thought about winters,,but here in northumberland (coast) we hardly ever see snow,,and the times we have had it my cars have been fine,,mind you if i drive 3 miles inland the snow will be more like snow and not slush,,i know winters are not just for snow,,but ive never had any probs with normal tyres in winter,,always go for A rated wet tyres now,usually uniroyal,,but experimenting with khumo and nexen.

I had Khumo winters on our Yeti - drove quite a lot in Europe in Winter - they were very good, especially in the rain.

Weather here, in Hampshire has been below 8 degrees since I put them on, and I think our other car, (an X1), rides better on 17" winter wheels, (BMW 574 Alloys/Pirelli Winter Sottozero's), than the 18" summer wheels -but of course they are not as attractive

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Bluewater335D

I had Khumo winters on our Yeti - drove quite a lot in Europe in Winter - they were very good, especially in the rain.

Weather here, in Hampshire has been below 8 degrees since I put them on, and I think our other car, (an X1), rides better on 17" winter wheels, (BMW 574 Alloys/Pirelli Winter Sottozero's), than the 18" summer wheels -but of course they are not as attractive

yeh,,one of reasons i stick to 18 inch wheels on both my cars,,,also larger more prone to cracking as they have lower profile
and the lower profile on say 19 inch wheels makes ride worse..

[Smokey33]

Don't see the point in any of it apart from the glow plugs, if parts don't need replacing why replace them?

Gearbox oil at 36k? send me 500quid instead ill put it to better use.

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Smokey33

Don't see the point in any of it apart from the glow plugs, if parts don't need replacing why replace them?

Gearbox oil at 36k? send me 500quid instead ill put it to better use.

gearbox needs doing at 60-70k miles,,but i suppose the oil will deteriorate over time also rather than use..id rather pay £400 than £7k for a new box,,or a refurb at £2k+,,or risk a second hand box and it all happening again..

[Phil325i]

Eh? Changing g/box oil DIY will cost about £40...

[ed330D]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Eh? Changing g/box oil DIY will cost about £40...

335D = Auto

fluid plus filter £230 +

not really a DIY, labour £???

I own an 330d auto and the fluid won't be changed prior to reaching 60k miles. No point.

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Eh? Changing g/box oil DIY will cost about £40...

read the OP title,,335d only come in auto/paddle....and its a specialist job,,quite mlabour intensive,,guidelines to follow..and if you dont,,watch the box go pop..

[Andy198712]

what is the exact code your getting for that glow plug? it may be controller and not a plug....

[rasa bmw]

if its the controller module then usually all glow plugs will show a fault

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by Bluewater335D

1). Replace Glow plugs, all 6, and controller.
2). Swirl flaps removed and manifold cleaned
3). Replace all vacuum pipes
4). Replace both thermostats.
5). Replace "red" pipe

1. Yes, yes, if you like.
2. No (why!?), yes.
3. If you like.
4. No.
5. If you like.

You've got an awesome car, presumably in great condition. I'm all for actual preventative maintenance, and time kills some things as well as mileage, but there really is no sense in touching a few of these things unless they're giving you problems; flaps and thermostats, namely.

The flaps are there to make the engine run well at low rpm; they'll help it run cleaner, smoother, and produce more power low in the rev range...OK, you probably won't notice the last one. Mine are still hanging on after 135k miles in my M57 30d. I bet yours are pretty much new!

Thermostats will fail eventually, but won't cause any damage when they do. Fairly simple job to replace if/when they do too, so I really wouldn't touch them without a reason.

One bad glow plug won't stop regens. But definitely a legitimate reason to do some work there.

[Smokey33]

Originally Posted by rasa bmw

gearbox needs doing at 60-70k miles,,but i suppose the oil will deteriorate over time also rather than use..id rather pay £400 than £7k for a new box,,or a refurb at £2k+,,or risk a second hand box and it all happening again..

Its on 36k. Id rather not get run over that don't stop me not crossing the road. Pointless comment.