[Sikbogus]

I have 08 328xi E90 at 170,000 miles and would greatly appreciate any suggestions on what parts I should replace or maintain this year so I too can reach past 200K miles + mark or longer, Any ideas or maintenance list you can post would be great to take a peak at! please help

So far since purchase I have replaced Power steering pump and reservoir, Rear shocks, Front suspension components and oil change every 3000 miles

I will document all installs here and update with photos and receipts has anyone pushed past 300k?

thank you
-Sik Bogus

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by Sikbogus

I have 08 328xi E90 at 170,000 miles and would greatly appreciate any suggestions on what parts I should replace or maintain this year so I too can reach past 200K miles + mark or longer, Any ideas or maintenance list you can post would be great to take a peak at! please help

So far since purchase I have replaced Power steering pump and reservoir, Rear shocks, Front suspension components and oil change every 3000 miles

I will document all installs here and update with photos and receipts has anyone pushed past 300k?

thank you
-Sik Bogus

Do what this guy does and you can go to 400k and beyond.... https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1787346

[hassmaschine]

replace what's broken or worn out. replacing parts just because they have some arbitrary mileage on them is silly.

there's at least a few people here with over 300k. one with over 400.

[Sikbogus]

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

Do what this guy does and you can go to 400k and beyond.... https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1787346

Exactly what I was looking for THANK YOU!

[Efthreeoh]

3,000 mile oil changes is a waste of money and resources.

I don't have an Xi, but last year there were several threads regarding broken front driveshafts on higher mileage E9X. That is one component that you should evaluate for wear.

As hassmachine stated, replace components when they fail. 170,000 miles is not a lot for the E9X as we have come to learn. Spending a lot of money on things that are not yet broken or close to failure will not increase the longevity of your car. Be smart about it.

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

3,000 mile oil changes is a waste of money and resources.

I don't have an Xi, but last year there were several threads regarding broken front driveshafts on higher mileage E9X. That is one component that you should evaluate for wear.

As hassmachine stated, replace components when they fail. 170,000 miles is not a lot for the E9X as we have come to learn. Spending a lot of money on things that are not yet broken or close to failure will not increase the longevity of your car. Be smart about it.

I linked him YOUR maint schedule, as I gather parts for a complete drivetrain and rear suspension refresh on the 325 that it doesn't *really* need. Nobody should follow MY lead unless they're also mechanically touched in the head.

[Lucky1]

Is Mike Miller's old school maintenance guide still relevant? I've been following it and replacing things as they break or indicate pending failure ie noisy pully tensioner whatever. Key for me is I do navigate between two very qualified mechanics for routine jobs and between them they catch a lot of issues when they spend the time to thoroughly inspect the car each time they see it. Before they become big problems. Also keeps each honest. So far works for me.

[ryan stewart]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

3,000 mile oil changes is a waste of money and resources.

I don't have an Xi, but last year there were several threads regarding broken front driveshafts on higher mileage E9X. That is one component that you should evaluate for wear.

As hassmachine stated, replace components when they fail. 170,000 miles is not a lot for the E9X as we have come to learn. Spending a lot of money on things that are not yet broken or close to failure will not increase the longevity of your car. Be smart about it.

The problem with that is I don't want an unreliable car. I use it for long trips, towing my motorcycles to tracks, etc.

I saw a lot of threads about 100k water pump failures so I replaced a probably perfectly good but at some point will die water pump, thermostat, hoses and even radiator because of how much pressure I was putting in the old plastic fittings getting the hoses off. Then when the washer bottled failed I went ahead and did all the rest. At least now I know nothing in the cooling system will let me down.

A year and a half ago I rebuilt the entire suspension, CAs, etc. All that is original are the springs and the sways and it shows, if feels like a brand new car

I'm not driving a 13 year old e91 because of money, but because I still love the car. I'd gladly "waste" money being confident in it and continuing to love it. I'd argue it's not simply wrong to replace based in anticipated wear or failure of it that is what you want out of the car.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Is Mike Miller's old school maintenance guide still relevant? I've been following it and replacing things as they break or indicate pending failure ie noisy pully tensioner whatever. Key for me is I do navigate between two very qualified mechanics for routine jobs and between them they catch a lot of issues when they spend the time to thoroughly inspect the car each time they see it. Before they become big problems. Also keeps each honest. So far works for me.

that was never relevant. Cars are not airplanes.

replacing stuff that is known to fail before it fails is one thing and go ahead and do that if you want. But so much is put on some arbitrary number like 100,000 miles, which in reality means absolutely nothing to the actual condition of the car.

There's a reason you can get low-mile Canadian cars super cheap - they sell them at 100,000km because it's an arbitrary, "high number" that people are scared of. That's exactly how I got my X3 so cheap.

[mainbearing]

Plus all the other fluids like differential and transfer case oils, brake fluid, coolant, ATF and filter. And yes PS fluid too.

Originally Posted by Sikbogus

I have 08 328xi E90 at 170,000 miles and would greatly appreciate any suggestions on what parts I should replace or maintain this year so I too can reach past 200K miles + mark or longer, Any ideas or maintenance list you can post would be great to take a peak at! please help

So far since purchase I have replaced Power steering pump and reservoir, Rear shocks, Front suspension components and oil change every 3000 miles

I will document all installs here and update with photos and receipts has anyone pushed past 300k?

thank you
-Sik Bogus

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

The problem with that is I don't want an unreliable car. I use it for long trips, towing my motorcycles to tracks, etc.

I saw a lot of threads about 100k water pump failures so I replaced a probably perfectly good but at some point will die water pump, thermostat, hoses and even radiator because of how much pressure I was putting in the old plastic fittings getting the hoses off. Then when the washer bottled failed I went ahead and did all the rest. At least now I know nothing in the cooling system will let me down.

A year and a half ago I rebuilt the entire suspension, CAs, etc. All that is original are the springs and the sways and it shows, if feels like a brand new car

I'm not driving a 13 year old e91 because of money, but because I still love the car. I'd gladly "waste" money being confident in it and continuing to love it. I'd argue it's not simply wrong to replace based in anticipated wear or failure of it that is what you want out of the car.

My 16 year old E90 has 413,000 miles on it. I daily it to work 85 miles one way to work 2 or 3 days a week. I'd take it across country tomorrow if need be. Feeling like a brand new car and reliable are different things. A suspension would rarely leave you stranded.

In 2017 we took my wife's then 20-year old Z3 from Virginia to Yellowstone and back. It had 177,000 miles on it. I maintain it in accordance with BMW's 1997-era schedule. I replaced two of the exhaust hangers and the 20-year old spare tire, plus I carried with us two plastic cooling system parts in preparation. I've yet to replace those parts 4 years later. LOL.

These cars have a reputation of being expensive because people like Mike Miller say you need to replace most of the parts every 6 years. It's BS. I have 4 current BMWs and I had an E30 for 18 years from new. I have over 950,000 driving miles between them and over 1.1M miles on all the chassis combined (2 cars I bought used). They don't need the replacement maintenance as much as people think.

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

My 16 year old E90 has 413,000 miles on it. I daily it to work 85 miles one way to work 2 or 3 days a week. I'd take it across country tomorrow if need be. Feeling like a brand new car and reliable are different things. I suspension would rarely leave you stranded.

In 2017 we took my wife's then 20-year old Z3 from Virginia to Yellowstone and back. It had 177,000 miles on it. I maintain it in accordance with BMW's 1997-era schedule. I replaced two of the exhaust hangers and the 20-year old spare tire, plus I carried with us two plastic cooling system parts in preparation. I've yet to replace those parts 4 years later. LOL.

These cars have a reputation of being expensive because people like Mike Miller say you need to replace most of the parts every 6 years. It's BS. I have 4 current BMWs and I had an E30 for 18 years from new. I have over 950,000 driving miles between them and over 1.1M miles on all the chassis combined (2 cars I bought used). They don't need the replacement maintenance as much as people think.

They even seem to do pretty well when entirely neglected. I think every part on both of mine down to the spark plugs were original at @ 200k each, and the 325i even the fluids looked original, the brake fluid looked like coffee but they still worked fine along with everything else. I couldn't find any witness marks where anyone had touched a wrench to them ever. At 16 can't blame BMW too much for the leaks and rusty parts and broken plastic bits, but other than that there were no current mechanical issues. Of course that didn't stop me from replacing everything, but thats more a me thing than a E90 thing.

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

The problem with that is I don't want an unreliable car. I use it for long trips, towing my motorcycles to tracks, etc.

I saw a lot of threads about 100k water pump failures so I replaced a probably perfectly good but at some point will die water pump, thermostat, hoses and even radiator because of how much pressure I was putting in the old plastic fittings getting the hoses off. Then when the washer bottled failed I went ahead and did all the rest. At least now I know nothing in the cooling system will let me down.

A year and a half ago I rebuilt the entire suspension, CAs, etc. All that is original are the springs and the sways and it shows, if feels like a brand new car

I'm not driving a 13 year old e91 because of money, but because I still love the car. I'd gladly "waste" money being confident in it and continuing to love it. I'd argue it's not simply wrong to replace based in anticipated wear or failure of it that is what you want out of the car.

This is kind of where I'm at with them. I don't like any of the cars out within the past 10 yrs or so. I have other old vehicles to drive, I DIY everything and TBH they exist largely as substrates to play with my tools on. So I have a new car budget with nothing to spend it on but more old vehicles or new parts for the ones I have. I'm not concerned about the reliability of these or having economical transportation so much as chasing that new car feeling you mentioned.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

This is kind of where I'm at with them. I don't like any of the cars out within the past 10 yrs or so. I have other old vehicles to drive, I DIY everything and TBH they exist largely as substrates to play with my tools on. So I have a new car budget with nothing to spend it on but more old vehicles or new parts for the ones I have. I'm not concerned about the reliability of these or having economical transportation so much as chasing that new car feeling you mentioned.

I admire you for approach with your two E90s. These cars deserve such attention just because they can last so long. I'd like to think, as an original owner and taken my car to where it is now, is proof of the E90 still gives its owner the longevity experience that BMW is known for.

All 5 of my BMWs have been the same, they age very well and remain a solid platform to take deep into high mileages. Having owned 3 of mine since new, I known better as they age and settle in for the long haul, than if buying used. My two used were at 8 years old and 23,000 and 14 years old at 100,000. The 100,000 E46 cabrio needed some TLC when I bought it, mostly cosmetics like mirrors and missing caps and OE fasteners and fluid baselines. I've since racked 35,000 miles on it in two years, and it seems to fit the experience I've had with my other 4 BMWs. The E46 is not at a cosmetic level to warrant going "3PedalJake" on; I'll keep it mechanically sound though so I can daily it.

[hassmaschine]

heh, yeah I'm probably just cheap and/or lazy. I don't want to dick around with my car unless I really need to. I don't drive a lot these days anyway - mostly to the grocery store or to drop kids off at school. So I put the minimum required work into the car, and so far it's worked out pretty well, I haven't really had major problems or a bunch of broken stuff. I haven't had to do anything except oil changes and tires in probably 4 years.

Right now though I'm pretty sure my DISA valves are going bad. No codes but it doesn't feel right at the transitions, so I'll probably have to pull that all apart soon. I could have replaced them ahead of time, but, nah.

[neilvan]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

There's a reason you can get low-mile Canadian cars super cheap - they sell them at 100,000km because it's an arbitrary, "high number" that people are scared of. That's exactly how I got my X3 so cheap.

200K is the high mileage cross over up here. Generally cars are trash by then due to lack of maintenance and just piled on my the snow and wide variety of seasons. If you can reduce the corrosion down then yes they go longer but it does take a toll on winter driven cars.

300K is very rare and you never see any at 300k (unless its a 1 owner who just loved the car)

[ryan stewart]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

that was never relevant. Cars are not airplanes.

replacing stuff that is known to fail before it fails is one thing and go ahead and do that if you want. But so much is put on some arbitrary number like 100,000 miles, which in reality means absolutely nothing to the actual condition of the car.

There's a reason you can get low-mile Canadian cars super cheap - they sell them at 100,000km because it's an arbitrary, "high number" that people are scared of. That's exactly how I got my X3 so cheap.

Im not doing that, and I dont think the OP wants to do that either.

The forum is useful for helping figure out the PROBABILITY of a failure. The water pump is a great example. Before electric pumps the damned things would last forever and leak or make a bearing noise and wobble when they were failing. A good pump would be a slow, noisy death at 180+k miles and you could limp along until you could get it in the shop. But these electric ones guys have had them fail within 100k and if its the electronics its all or nothing. You start the car once and you have no pump. That WILL strand you.

So I dont think someone is wrong to come in and say, "Im at X miles, what should I be worried about."

As far as me replacing my whole suspension, thats just because Im this odd combination of frugal (not really cheap) and lazy. I do the work myself to save money but I spend the money on better parts, better maintenance, etc on the car. And Im lazy so I dont want to do a job multiple times. Like when I had a coil go, then a couple of months later another. So instead of just having a diesel every 2 months and having to do the work I just bought the rest and did them all. No more frustration.

My shocks made a noise, I pulled them and realized they were GONE. But the car didnt bounce because those control arms do more work to stabilize the car, but that means they were doing more work than they should have. So I just did it all, car is now fresh as a daisy and now I know that unlike my previous gen car, the stock shocks dont last 140k before being completely trashed, so ill start checking them at every 80k, etc.

And yeah I do more than necessary because I want to keep it nice, probably more than most being OCD (I replaced my door handles because of the soft plastic, etc) But now I am openly admitting that Im doing it because I want a new car but hate all new cars.

[ryan stewart]

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

This is kind of where I'm at with them. I don't like any of the cars out within the past 10 yrs or so. I have other old vehicles to drive, I DIY everything and TBH they exist largely as substrates to play with my tools on. So I have a new car budget with nothing to spend it on but more old vehicles or new parts for the ones I have. I'm not concerned about the reliability of these or having economical transportation so much as chasing that new car feeling you mentioned.

LOL, yeah I think Im guilty of "playing with my tools" as well. I got a high-torque battery powered impact wrench recently and I think I've rotated wheels like 4 times just because I wanted to use my new toy.

But really its pride in work and saving money. I'm down to really just one (car) mechanic I trust anymore in town because Im so anal-retentive (I even paint marker suspension bolts, etc) and I dont feel bad buying OE/OEM and doing the "shotgun approach" of replacing other potential wear items when doing a fix because of the money saved on labor.

Fixing my own car and knowing Im going to have a (reasonably) bulletproof car on the other side is therapeutic.

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I admire you for approach with your two E90s. These cars deserve such attention because they just can last so long. I'd like to think, as an original owner and taken my car to where it is now, is proof of the E90 still gives its owner the longevity experience that BMW is known for.

All 5 of my BMWs have been the same, they age very well and remain a solid platform to take deep into high mileages. Having owned 3 of mine since new, I known better as they age and settle in for the long haul, than if buying used. My two used were at 8 years old and 23,000 and 14 years old at 100,000. The 100,000 E46 cabrio needed some TLC when I bought it, mostly cosmetics like mirrors and missing caps and OE fasteners and fluid baselines. I've since racked 35,000 miles on it in two years, and it seems to fit the experience I've had with my other 4 BMWs. The E46 is not at a cosmetic level to warrant going "3PedalJake" on; I'll keep it mechanically sound though so I can daily it.

The nice part about being a super-late adopter is I have access to 16 yrs of OP experience and DIY guides. I just printed out your clutch replacement writeup, will be enormous help as that's one of the projects on deck. I'm also running hassmaschine's excellent tune on the 3SI installed thanks to E92williams's guide. To paraphrase Mr. Sulu's recent comments on Kirk's space trip, it's much easier to "boldly go where lots of ppl have already gone before".

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

They even seem to do pretty well when entirely neglected.

That's true. Most of the neglected E90s I see are still running well. They might have oil leaks, filthy engines, broken window regulators, broken trim pieces, blown shocks and struts, disintegrated control arm bushings, but they still run!

I picked up a high mileage 325i a few year ago that was somewhat neglected, but it was really cheap and I wanted a project since I like working on cars and wanted to teach my kids. After new coils and plugs it was running just fine, but I wanted to refresh the car so here's what I ended up doing as soon as I got it:

• New struts and shocks
• New control arm bushings (thrust arm bushing was worn - vibration when braking)
• New tie rods (possibly not needed, but not expensive and I was getting an alignment for the new control arms)
• Oil Filter Housing Gasket and Valve Cover Gasket replaced to stop leaks
• Oil Separator and CCV hoses replaced (to try and reduce oil consumption - no change after replacement)
• Tensioner and belt replaced (tensioner looked bent)
• Flushed heater core (was blocked and therefore car had no heat)
• Replaced cracked front and rear bumper covers
• Replaced wood dash trim with identical trim sourced from a salvage car - original trim on my car was cracked
• Replaced rear driver side door lock actuator
• OEM Xenon conversion (proper conversion with new FRM, added shutter wires, added leveling wires but didn't install the leveling sensors yet)

All of this stuff is easy DIY with the right tools. Even for someone with minimal experience it's not difficult, especially with all the resources and guides available for these jobs.

Then I drove it a lot, and slowly over the next year some other things started to break which required replacement:

• Radiator started leaking (it was a Behr replacement from the previous owner, only two years old)
• DMTL pump failed and had to be replaced
• Water pump failed (may have been original, with 225K miles, pump still worked - no overheating - but electronics module was causing a BSD bus failure)
• Battery finally failed (9 year old battery, this replaced the original battery which lasted 6 years according to the battery history in ISTA+)
• Alternator failed - original 180A Valeo with over 230K miles. I suspect this would have lasted even longer but the neglected leaking OFHG resulted in a lot of grime/dust/crud accumulating on the alternator, and the slip rings and brushes were disintegrated because of it.
• Blower motor seized - bad windshield seal allowing water to go directly onto blower motor, water -> rust.

My point (and relevant reply to the original post) is that while this sounds like a lot of stuff, none of these failures left me stranded.

Replace what's broken or what is starting to fail. Though lately with batteries on all my cars, not just BMWs, I've been preemptively replacing them at 5-6 years.

If I replace the lower windshield cowl/seal, replace the drivers seat cover, replace the headliner, polish the headlights, repaint the hood, replace the oil pan gasket, and replace the plastic driveshaft ring between the two halves which disintegrated, it would be an extremely clean and nearly perfect E90, but none of that is needed at the moment at least not by me.

I gave the car to a family member since I picked up an extremely clean 330i that currently rides like (and *almost* looks like) a brand new E90, but I wouldn't hesitate to take this 325i on a cross country road trip, though I would strongly consider replacing the fuel pump since the plastic has some hairline cracks which is letting some fuel out.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

That's true. Most of the neglected E90s I see are still running well. They might have oil leaks, filthy engines, broken window regulators, broken trim pieces, blown shocks and struts, disintegrated control arm bushings, but they still run!

I picked up a high mileage 325i a few year ago that was somewhat neglected, but it was really cheap and I wanted a project since I like working on cars and wanted to teach my kids. After new coils and plugs it was running just fine, but I wanted to refresh the car so here's what I ended up doing as soon as I got it:

• New struts and shocks
• New control arm bushings (thrust arm bushing was worn - vibration when braking)
• New tie rods (possibly not needed, but not expensive and I was getting an alignment for the new control arms)
• Oil Filter Housing Gasket and Valve Cover Gasket replaced to stop leaks
• Oil Separator and CCV hoses replaced (to try and reduce oil consumption - no change after replacement)
• Tensioner and belt replaced (tensioner looked bent)
• Flushed heater core (was blocked and therefore car had no heat)
• Replaced cracked front and rear bumper covers
• Replaced wood dash trim with identical trim sourced from a salvage car - original trim on my car was cracked
• Replaced rear driver side door lock actuator
• OEM Xenon conversion (proper conversion with new FRM, added shutter wires, added leveling wires but didn't install the leveling sensors yet)

All of this stuff is easy DIY with the right tools. Even for someone with minimal experience it's not difficult, especially with all the resources and guides available for these jobs.

Then I drove it a lot, and slowly over the next year some other things started to break which required replacement:

• Radiator started leaking (it was a Behr replacement from the previous owner, only two years old)
• DMTL pump failed and had to be replaced
• Water pump failed (may have been original, with 225K miles, pump still worked - no overheating - but electronics module was causing a BSD bus failure)
• Battery finally failed (9 year old battery, this replaced the original battery which lasted 6 years according to the battery history in ISTA+)
• Alternator failed - original 180A Valeo with over 230K miles. I suspect this would have lasted even longer but the neglected leaking OFHG resulted in a lot of grime/dust/crud accumulating on the alternator, and the slip rings and brushes were disintegrated because of it.
• Blower motor seized - bad windshield seal allowing water to go directly onto blower motor, water -> rust.

My point (and relevant reply to the original post) is that while this sounds like a lot of stuff, none of these failures left me stranded.

Replace what's broken or what is starting to fail. Though lately with batteries on all my cars, not just BMWs, I've been preemptively replacing them at 5-6 years.

If I replace the lower windshield cowl/seal, replace the drivers seat cover, replace the headliner, polish the headlights, repaint the hood, replace the oil pan gasket, and replace the plastic driveshaft ring between the two halves which disintegrated, it would be an extremely clean and nearly perfect E90, but none of that is needed at the moment at least not by me.

I gave the car to a family member since I picked up an extremely clean 330i that currently rides like (and *almost* looks like) a brand new E90, but I wouldn't hesitate to take this 325i on a cross country road trip, though I would strongly consider replacing the fuel pump since the plastic has some hairline cracks which is letting some fuel out.

All that is normal maintenance for a car with high mileage and age. I've had my car since new, it's never been neglected and have done all of what you listed except for the headlights, and bumper cosmetics.

The Behr replacement radiators must suck. My OE radiator lasted to 350,000 and did not leak even after at deer hit at 350,000. But I replaced it since it was coming out for the body repair. I replaced it with a Behr. It leaked after about 3 years. I re-pinched the side tank crimps and it's been leak free since.

[andy_06xi]

I have a 2006 Xi with similar mileage. I'm generally of the 'if it's not broke don't fix it school' -- but I did recently preemptively replace:

1) (External) CCV and related hoses -- because I've seen reports of clogging. I was getting some minimal oil burning but may not have been related.

2) Both DISA valves. Because I'd heard they can break and send pieces into the engine. My 'small' valve was throwing codes, and my 'large' valve was stuck open -- but both were in one piece.

I agree with the above advice to check the front drive shaft. The u-joint on mine was bad and the shaft was glowing red. I replaced it with an after market unit as the OEM part was crazy expensive.