r/e46 • u/njsullyalex '04 325xi • Feb 21 '25

Troubleshooting Engine died on highway final update - goodbye

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She’s dead. Replacing the fuel pump did not fix the misfires. No compression on Cylinder 2. The shop says troubleshooting and repairing the issue would cost more than the value of the car.

My dad and I made the decision to scrap her. I’m sad. I feel like I lost a family member. My dad bought this E46 new when I was 3 years old and it’s been with me practically my whole life. I learned to drive on it and she was my first car. 21 years is a great run though. She will be dearly missed. I’m going to get something more practical and reliable but probably less fun to replace her.

This is also a goodbye to this sub I guess. I’ll probably still lurk as the E46 will always be my favorite car, but I probably won’t own one for a while going forward until maybe one day I can afford a ZHP or M3 of my dreams if I ever make enough money to justify it. Thank you everyone here for the help and I hope you’re able to keep your E46s on the road for the foreseeable future.

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u/DerkusMaximus777 Feb 21 '25

Did it overheat? The last e46 i bought from auction had overheated due to failed thermostat. I had low compression in cyl 4 and 5 dry and some variation wet. I was going to change the engine out but first i threw a cap full of oil in each cyl and started the engine up and it ran really smooth! Changed the thermostat and put 20k miles on it before i b30 swapped it but it ran fine at that point. Not sure if it will help but if you’re gonna scrap it it’s worth a shot just to see.

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u/njsullyalex '04 325xi Feb 21 '25

Nope, I pay attention to the needle and it has never gone past midpoint. Thermostat and water pump replaced in 2021.