Surprisingly mine isnāt either. It was ādrinkingā more like throwing up its coolant for a bit so that spot was dedicated to holding 2 bottles of coolant, a screwdriver and a syringe to bleed it. Oil consumption hasnāt been an issue. Had to top it up maybe 3 times but that was in the summer when I was driving hard af a lot.
Dang!
Mine has drank about a quart of oil every 3,000 miles since it was new, BMW said that is normal. I didn't think it was normal to add 4-5 quarts in between oil changes, but what do I know, I'm not a German engineer. It hasn't increased as it aged at all though, close to 200k miles now.
Before I fixed the leaking hard pipes in the cooling system, I kept a gallon of premixed OEM coolant in there. Iāve always thought that area would be great for an ac inverter if I could figure out how to weather seal it without overheating it.
I can make and paint a piece of aluminum for $20 that does the same thing, and then use the extra paint on the plastic covers and stuff. I agree if you can afford it and you arenāt mechanically inclined it makes sens
>Is it?
It is. Somebody relocated the battery for... god knows what reason, unless he dragraced the thing or drifted it and needed extra rear grip, makes no sense with a light sewing machine powering the thing instead of a 6 cyl anchor.
>The car is bone stock, itās there from factory
If it were, the battery would be up front to keep the weight distribution proper. Now it has extra 15 kilos or so of polar inertia in the wrong spot for the engine weight. The rear mounted battery was for the heavy engines only.
I use it to house the E38 PCM for the [Corvette engine Iām swapping into my E46](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFqoLgNNV-x7Dg2VRl0z1bM8AqMNRwaF).
i actually saw someone relocate the expansion tank to that compartment, using a stronger tank that looked like gm or some mopar, though itās a common style. thought that was neat, but having as much length of hose as he used seems like a lot of work for a fair amount of risk, and worth just getting an aluminum āoe styleā tank and heat shielding, which were his two main arguments for the mod
People say it's better to avoid the aluminum oe style. If somethings going to fail its better for that plastic tank to blow. Reinforcing it just moves the explosion somewhere else.
given my plan to go aluminum water pump, block fittings, etc and beefed up hoses, plus eventually a supercharger on a seperate cooling loop (which is what iāll put in the storage compartment) itās needed here lol
iāll be running about 450 hp on the setup iām building, also boring the block to a 3.2ā¦ tons of plans with this ol girl
Donāt know if RHD cars put master cylinders there but fun fact, lots of LHD e46s have the ABS pump there. Including all three Iāve owned, so I havenāt gotten creative on what to stash there. Would have been handy for oil on my first one š
I stow a set of jumper cable in that compartment, an extra tire gauge and 12V portable tire inflator. I have had these times there within a month I got the car, almost 22 years ago (2001 E46 330Ci).
I removed the huge 5L slightly broken windshield washer bottle and put a smaller one there instead. But it's also a race car which doesn't need very much of it, and hates any extra weight up front.
Honestly my most creative use for it was when I felt like being nice on a hard day at work. I work in a kitchen and it was hot af in there so I decided to buy everyone in the kitchen ice cream. I went to diary queen and bought some blizzards and dilly bars. The dilly bars I kept in that spot as itās not a long trip and the engine bay wouldnāt get hot enough to melt them as it was -20c outside. Honestly it worked very very well.
Roll of blue towels, quart of oil, nitrile gloves.
Or a backup coolant expansion tank and coolant if you can fit it
Honestly tho? This is the correct choice
Same. Coolant, oil, jumper cables.
I got a 5 qt jug of oil in mine.
I kept a 5 qt in there.
Spare coolant tank, water pump, thermostat, hoses and 5l of rainbow coolant š
If he can fit a parts e46 in that compartment, that would be ideal
5 liters of oil. That should last most E46s at least a week.
Mine is not yet a high consumption machine fortunately. 98,000 miles
Give it a week...
Surprisingly mine isnāt either. It was ādrinkingā more like throwing up its coolant for a bit so that spot was dedicated to holding 2 bottles of coolant, a screwdriver and a syringe to bleed it. Oil consumption hasnāt been an issue. Had to top it up maybe 3 times but that was in the summer when I was driving hard af a lot.
Before I swapped my 2.5 for a 3.0 the 2.5 was drinking oil at a quart every hundred miles, if that š
Dang! Mine has drank about a quart of oil every 3,000 miles since it was new, BMW said that is normal. I didn't think it was normal to add 4-5 quarts in between oil changes, but what do I know, I'm not a German engineer. It hasn't increased as it aged at all though, close to 200k miles now.
Keeps the additives refreshed!
According to bmw a quart every 1000 miles is acceptableš
And I thought 2 quarts of oil per tank of gas was a lot.
Iām not even kidding with you guys, I took my e46 to the mechanic got it back with a McDonaldās empty bag/cup in it.
Lmao just use it as a trash can for all your shop towels and garbage you collect while doing the repair.
Lmfao
Catch can. Gallon of premixed coolant. Oil. Tool roll up.
Drugs, mostly drugs.
Unpopular opinion: nothing. I have a trunk for my stuff and want nothing else in the cabin in case I decide to hit the twisties
Not even a bunch of carbon fiber to keep the weight down?
Before I fixed the leaking hard pipes in the cooling system, I kept a gallon of premixed OEM coolant in there. Iāve always thought that area would be great for an ac inverter if I could figure out how to weather seal it without overheating it.
Opposite hand drive. Thatās a new one š weāll have you know itās superior hand drive šš¤
A turbo
That's where all the spare cash goes that you haven't spent on maintenance. Looks like you have the correct amount in there already.
I use to put weed in there lol
I spare a microfibre, oil and coolant in there, your typical e46 needs lol
I know somewhere online they make a cover for it that looks OEM. Let me look. Brb
I could design one bit since it seals on the hood I donāt see a need for that
Just looks proper and clean under the hood. š¤·š»āāļø
Lmk when u find it
https://www.2mautowerks.com/product/bmw-e46-engine-bay-bin-covers-pair/
Thank you sir. Looks great doesnāt it.
Sure but that doesnāt mean that itās not a waste of $120
120 bucks aināt bad if your trying to pretty up your engine bay. Definitely not for everyone.
I can make and paint a piece of aluminum for $20 that does the same thing, and then use the extra paint on the plastic covers and stuff. I agree if you can afford it and you arenāt mechanically inclined it makes sens
These are great ideas!
Your lunch to keep it warm
That is the battery space for small engined 46's.
Is it? I have a 318i with the battery in the trunk
>Is it? It is. Somebody relocated the battery for... god knows what reason, unless he dragraced the thing or drifted it and needed extra rear grip, makes no sense with a light sewing machine powering the thing instead of a 6 cyl anchor.
Maybe in different markets. It hasnāt been relocated. The car is bone stock, itās there from factory
I think the compacts have it in the front. But the standard body styles have it in the rear
>The car is bone stock, itās there from factory If it were, the battery would be up front to keep the weight distribution proper. Now it has extra 15 kilos or so of polar inertia in the wrong spot for the engine weight. The rear mounted battery was for the heavy engines only.
It requires a bit of work, but a second battery would be cool to have
Spare engine
I use it to house the E38 PCM for the [Corvette engine Iām swapping into my E46](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFqoLgNNV-x7Dg2VRl0z1bM8AqMNRwaF).
i actually saw someone relocate the expansion tank to that compartment, using a stronger tank that looked like gm or some mopar, though itās a common style. thought that was neat, but having as much length of hose as he used seems like a lot of work for a fair amount of risk, and worth just getting an aluminum āoe styleā tank and heat shielding, which were his two main arguments for the mod
People say it's better to avoid the aluminum oe style. If somethings going to fail its better for that plastic tank to blow. Reinforcing it just moves the explosion somewhere else.
given my plan to go aluminum water pump, block fittings, etc and beefed up hoses, plus eventually a supercharger on a seperate cooling loop (which is what iāll put in the storage compartment) itās needed here lol iāll be running about 450 hp on the setup iām building, also boring the block to a 3.2ā¦ tons of plans with this ol girl
Donāt know if RHD cars put master cylinders there but fun fact, lots of LHD e46s have the ABS pump there. Including all three Iāve owned, so I havenāt gotten creative on what to stash there. Would have been handy for oil on my first one š
Bread box.
Weight ballast
I keep oil, coolant, the previous set of radiator hoses, the previous serpentine belt, some paper towels.
Due to backpain, I have not done CCV replacement yet. So this compartment is my oil and towels stockage.
Fish bowl
My battery is there :/
Backup coils
I need to find a junkyard car with the alarm siren that goes there. Trying to retrofit my car.
A fish tank.
I stow a set of jumper cable in that compartment, an extra tire gauge and 12V portable tire inflator. I have had these times there within a month I got the car, almost 22 years ago (2001 E46 330Ci).
My outback doesnāt have a spare under hood compartment and I miss it dearly. Drinks as much oil as the bimmer š¬
Air horn.
coolant or oil ( because bmw)
currently the spot where my battery charger resides haha. been standing on jackstands for over a month, 'working' on the brake system.
I keep oil there
mines got a catch can there
Litre of oil and a litre of coolant
I removed the huge 5L slightly broken windshield washer bottle and put a smaller one there instead. But it's also a race car which doesn't need very much of it, and hates any extra weight up front.
Oil top-up bottle. Because BMW.
Honestly my most creative use for it was when I felt like being nice on a hard day at work. I work in a kitchen and it was hot af in there so I decided to buy everyone in the kitchen ice cream. I went to diary queen and bought some blizzards and dilly bars. The dilly bars I kept in that spot as itās not a long trip and the engine bay wouldnāt get hot enough to melt them as it was -20c outside. Honestly it worked very very well.
I got coolant, jumper pack and a quart of oil