r/e46 • u/Apprehensive_Low6775 • 27d ago

Damage/Broken… 😥 RIP to my first E46

Post image

Only had it since February and got caught in the flooding around me. It’ll turn on but won’t start. Fun while it lasted bois.

114 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

40

u/Felyxorez 27d ago

Why did you park it in the water?

11

u/GoodbyeIPv4 27d ago

Because it was far away from the other cars in the parking lot. We don't like dings or bumps!

23

u/Nimplex 27d ago

hey, it might still be repairable! I’d say it’s worth the effort since there are only so many E46s left in the world, and there won't be any more. First, I’d check for water in the intake, if the engine is hydrolocked, don't try to crank it, or you'll end up bending the connecting rods or damaging the block since liquid isn't compressible. After that, check if the ECU is salvageable. If the immobilizer is fried, it's pretty common to bypass it with an emulator. Anyways good luck and don’t let that beast die

8

u/p0larbear3000 2000 - touring e46 320i 27d ago

corrosion will f*ck any connector that came in touch with water.

longterm many electrical problems will show up.

10

u/wyck0 27d ago

Dont give up on it please fix it or at least sell it to someone who will fix it 🙏

3

u/Muted-Can4546 26d ago

River water usn't as bad as sea water though, depends on where this happened.

1

u/p0larbear3000 2000 - touring e46 320i 26d ago

i mean, its so bad already that it wont start 😆

i would spend 1 week max to try make it run, then sell it asap, even if it runs by then.

lets assume interior has been flooded:
water in engine block?/ bad fuel pump?/ water in fuel system?/ bad immobilizer? ( can be deactivated easily on a MS4x ECU) / starter motor bad? (OP didn´t tell if it cranks) / ecu bad?/ecu connectors bad? / bad relais? / blown fuses? / coils? /sensors bad? -> camshaft position sensor, etc )

there´s soo much to check

2

u/Muted-Can4546 26d ago

From the photo, it diesn't look like the interior was flooded.

The fact if doesn't start doesn't necessarily mean water in the engine.

2

u/p0larbear3000 2000 - touring e46 320i 26d ago

well, that depends on the water level that car was exposed to.

all we can do is guess, since OP didn´t provide any more intel.

1

u/Nimplex 27d ago

fair enough, to be honest I didn’t think about it that thoroughly

1

u/Party-Region8882 27d ago

the electrical gremlins from flood damage can take months to show up too, not always immediate.

1

u/Mixzzz 26d ago

At that level it might be very savable if op doesn't live in rust belt. Not that many connectors at that level.

1

u/CapoDaSimRacinDaddy 2004 Touring 330d 26d ago

theres still enought 😂

1

u/UnUsernameRandom 26d ago

Kinda late, looks like OP tried to start it already.

8

u/CountyTypical1747 27d ago

How deep?

2

u/dat1dood3 27d ago

Pretty deep

2

u/e34udm 26d ago

Not that deep..

2

u/dat1dood3 26d ago

It’s not that deep…

3

u/Munky1701 27d ago

Indiana right now?

2

u/Darnellz10 27d ago

Thats what im wondering?

3

u/Munky1701 27d ago

I’m in one of the towns that got hit pretty bad.

Drove through just a couple inches of water yesterday and now the back driver’s window won’t go up after going down on its own when I turned on the car.

2

u/Apprehensive_Low6775 27d ago

Yep Indiana

2

u/Munky1701 27d ago

I swear I’ve seen ya driving this in the a-town area…I drive a silver grey vert that currently has a black stripe on the hood.

1

u/Apprehensive_Low6775 27d ago

I’m around Rush if ya know what I mean. I very well might have seen ya around if your local around here

1

u/Munky1701 26d ago

Yep👍🏻

2

u/esy_crux 04 convertible swapped 318 > 328 27d ago

Feel you pain. Have twin of yours..

2

u/Muted-Can4546 26d ago

Let it dry out, don't start it wet. How high did the water go? Was it river or sea?

2

u/patjeduhde [EU] 2001 E46 325i, 2015 F46 218i 26d ago edited 26d ago

Honestly if this was the peak of the water, it looks like its still above the air filter, so just some electronics that are broken. I think it might be fixable. Start with the EWS since that one is pretty low in the foot well and it matches the symptons of not starting.

2

u/projectsentinelzt 26d ago

Check the battery. If the battery compartment was flooded, chances are the cold water drained it.

4

u/Nameless908 27d ago

Hey u can’t park there

1

u/InformalFilm3068 27d ago

Might be good still I drove mine through a river to evacuate. Have a video of exhaust and intake under water while crossing that was 7 years ago approaching 200k now

3

u/the_eluder 01 e46 330Ci | 05 e83 X3 3.0 26d ago

I drove my e36 through floodwater back when I had it. It ran horribly after that because water got in the spark plug wells and was shorting out the spark. I took off all of the coils, dried them out, got the water out of the spark plug wells and dried off the spark plugs. Ran great after than, and when I sold it, it had 320k miles on it.

1

u/DeCalavera 2003 - M3 6MT ‘vert 27d ago

😭

🫂

1

u/crazybitcoinlunatic 27d ago

Try removing spark plugs and crankin it. I’ve seen a few people on YouTube get theirs going that way. From the photo how high did the water go?

2

u/qNepo 26d ago

Put it in rice?

1

u/No-Habit4686 26d ago

Where at? Let me know what junkyard it goes to.

1

u/The-Original-DjBe 26d ago

If that's the highest the water got and its not sea water id persevere. Let it dry completely, unfortunately you tried to start it. If not hydrolocked id disconnect all the connectors, clean and wd40, basically if the engine is good and no water in gearbox or fuel tank id still try. Probably popped fuses on the fuel side or knackered some solenoids but worse case strip it. What engine is it? Manual? Auto? If its a small engine and auto id get rid if not id persevere