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original topic posting can be found here...
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showth ... ost1312093
EPBB wrote:Hey Everyone. I just hit the 60K mark on my '01 325 XI, and I'm getting ready for my Inspection II. I have searched all over the forums to learn about Inspection II, and thought I'd share what I have learned with the bimmerfest crowd.
As most posts state, basically, Inspection II looks over your car to check misc. engine parts, check for leaks, lube up trunk, doors, hood, etc, oil wheel hub and other things inside the car. A good link for what is done can be found here:
http://www.bimmerzone.com/inspection.htm
Other than that, all they do is change your oil / oil filter, micro filter and air filter. They DO NOT change your fluids (Diff, Tranny, Brake, Coolant), spark plugs or fuel filter (Even though the fuel filter is supposedly a "lifetime" filter, I don't have many high quality gas stations near me, so I would prefer to change it every 50K or so).
My dealer is a really good one, so I usually bring it there, and for the full Inspection II, they want about $510.00. That seems way too much for what they're really doing, so I've decided to do most of the work myself. You can go to this website to get the part numbers you need:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/
Just click the link to enter the main part of the site, enter in your series car (mine is 3' E46), select the body (mine is sedan), select the model (mine is 325xi), select the region (mine is USA), the production date (mine is 05/2000), and then the engine type (M54). Click search for parts, and you can find out what all the OEM part numbers are for your vehicle. I find it to be a good resource.
To do the oil / oil filter, just go to your BMW dealership, and pay around $10.00 for the filter, o-ring and washer, and buy some of your preferred motor oil, and follow this good DIY:
http://www.my330i.com/lof.php#A
To do the Micro Filter, get part number 64319071935 from your store of choice ($30.40 at Circle BMW), and follow this good DIY:
http://www.bmw325i.net/maint_microfilter_replmt.shtml
For the Air Filter, I bought a K&N (Number 33-2231) for around $50.00 at my local auto parts store, and just use the reconditioning kit (Around $12.00) that you can get at any auto parts store every year. Follow this great DIY Link for that:
http://www.bmw325i.net/maint_air_filter_change.shtml
If you want to go overboard like me, you can get the fuel filter (PN 13327512019) and follow this DIY:
http://bimmerinfo.com/diy/fuel-filter/
Also, if you want to do the spark plugs (PN for the NGK plugs is BKR6EQUP), here's a great DIY from fellow 'fest member WAM:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65380
Of course, once this is all done, you can't forget to reset the inspection light, so here's a good link for that (I haven't tried this link yet, but I'm pretty sure this is how I did it the last time):
http://www.gendan.co.uk/articles.php?article=6#bmw
Now even though I'm doing all these things myself, I would still like to go to the dealer and have them look over the car for leaks, cracks in tubing, oil / lube everything up, etc. (The other things included in Inspection II). That kind of stuff would take me too long to do. My dealer said that they would do an Inspection II without parts for $240.00. That's reasonable in my eyes, just so I can have some peace of mind knowing I'm not overlooking something that an experienced eye could catch early on.
Overall, I try to do most things myself, and these are the collection of DIY pages I have gathered over the past year. From these web sites, or searching through the various forums, you shouldn't have any problem finding a good DIY for you.
NOTE: I would just like to make sure I give due credit to each respective DIY page owner, thanking them for their resources.
http://www.bimmerdiy.com/e46
http://www.bmw325i.net/
http://www.my330i.com/garage.php
http://m3.madrussian.net/diy.shtml
If anyone has any thoughts or corrections, please don't hesitate to PM or post. Thanks, and I hope I can save some people some trouble with this info. Later!!! :supdude:
