BMW E90 DIY Opening Air Filter Box

It was a lazy weekend morning to many, but the thought of wondering what kind of air filter the E90 320i is having, simply kept me awake all night and I couldn't wait for the first ray of sunlight so I can rush down to my porch to have an early date with my E90.. :D Is it CONICAL? .. or CYLINDRICAL? .. or just FLAT.. :p

Here goes..

A cool morning engine.. which is half asleep and I am already all cite up to “undress” her.. :p


2 size 10mm screws at the right of the AF box to be first unscrewed..


Remove the Air Flow Sensor lead rubber boot plug..


Lift up the plug and u will see the leads and the socket. Must unplug the socket before we proceed.. tiny wires.. be extra careful not to injure the wires..


Unplug the following AF buffer box.. (I initially thought that’s just an ornamental cover with a roundel.. :p) must unscrew 3 tiny Torx screws which hang the box to the upper plastic cross-member beam..


Loosen the hose clip connected to the throttle body inlet, unplug and lift the AF box… Voila!… its out of the E90 lio.. :D


Flip the box over and you will notice there are few Torx screw fastening the box together.. 5 of them… if not mistaken.. :rolleyes:


I think this is the BMW OEM code for the replacement filter element..


After unscrewing the 5 Torx screws fastening the AF box, just rip the box open like open a Durian.. :p …the 5 Torx screws are design to remain stuck on one side of the box.. so don’t waste time figuring out how to remove them… they won’t.. :D


This is what I’m looking for.. looks like a synthetic element like the HKS element… minus the oil.. :p


This is the neck of the element.. the air flow sensor is just next to it..


This is the other end… can slide the element out…look at my RED arrow..




With the element lifted off, the air flow sensor is instantly revealed.. be careful not to damage this delicate and vital “organ”.. don’t even think about touching it!! :D If I must find a descriptive word for it, the word would be “G-Spot”.. :D


Close up on the G-Spot.. :D


Macro shot.. :D … or rather MICRO.. :rolleyes:


Take a peep inside the element..


Close-up… amazing sight!


Tons of codes on the element..


See…. It’s a CYLINDRICAL shape.. :p




Let’s do some measurement.. in inches.. :D


A little over 5 inches in overall diameter..


Now in Metric..


8 mm inner diameter… that will be the measurement I need to look for a matching open port K&N.. :D


Now the outer diameter in Metric..


A little short of 14mm..


Inner diameter in inches..


A little over 3 inches..


Now the height.. read the measurement yourself.. :D


With the cylindrical element lying down..




Check this out… the outer synthetic wool layer is wrap on like a sarong kaki !!!! :eek:


We can actually change “SOCK” !!! :eek: which keep the actual element clean.. :eek:


That’s all folks!

Took this opportunity to take a photo of the throttle..






Not forgetting.. the alternator..


No oil stain found over this side of the engine.. what a relief!!

Conclusion
Since the element is protected by a layer of synthetic wool.. I reckon it keeps the air flow very clean (double layer mah!) and keep the combustion chamber extremely clean..

By just removing the wool, I believe we will experience instant performance improvement… if straight away put K&N.. Wow! I cannot imagine how much performance gain we will get.. and it’s a definite gain for sure!!

Anyway… I’m not in a hurry to swap the OEM element out.. kind of admire the OEM technology though.. again I stress.. u will never see JDM filter element wearing socks.. :p UDM rocks!! :rock:

Oh well! I will be looking forward to wash my "socks" once every few months.. :D

BMW E90 320i DIY engine oil change

A friend came over the weekend and ask me to help her replace her fluid.. She confirmed warranty for her 320i is over, so she wish to service outside.. :D I told her I will try because I have not done it to an E90 before.. here goes..

First of all, I was looking for a place to jack. I realized the E90 does not come with a jack because it’s on Run Flat Tire and does not intend for owner to jack the car for replacing flat. So no jack. I took my Toyota jack and start looking for a spot under the E90 to rest my jack. Voila! Found a “jack stand”.. or rather a plastic mount where its meant to support a workshop hydraulic car lift. To avoid breaking the plastic mount, I found a rubber muffler mount in my store and cut it into shape so can slot into the E90 plastic mount as follows to disperse pressure to avoid the risk of breaking the plastic mounting:








Check out the brick I inserted under the tire.. :D Kiasi.. :p and check out those green carpet tiles.. that's my mat.. :D


A look under the E90… Wow! Amazing sight! Reminds me of the Darth Vader’s Empire Mothership carrier.. :D












Once I am comfortable with my reach to the drain bolt, then only I proceed to replace the oil filter.. I should have released the drain bolt first so allowing more time for the oil to drip while I replace the oil filter. I was worry of unable to open the oil filter, so must try opening the oil filter first because if unable to open, I would call off the project.. :D

I first mark the oil filter cover with a masking tape so I know how much to tighten the cap later. I don’t have a torque wrench and I ‘m suppose to tighten it to 25Nm of torque as written on the cap.. :p


Line the cap with a piece of cloth so the filter wrench won't harm the cap.. :D Open with anti close wise rotation just like unwinding a screw..


See how dirty the thing is.. yuukkk.... If I tell u this filter is only 5k km old, would believe me?


Hold the dirty filter element with one hand and tap the central core with your other hand, the element will slide out.. took me quite awhile to figure this out.. almost broke the core while struggled with it.. :p


The el-cheapo Austrian filter I got for her.. :p






Slot the new filter element into the core.. make sure the side with printed code number is facing out.. don't ask why... just follow.. :D Don't forget to replace the oil seal. 3 of them.


Screw the filter back and make sure the cap return to our "mark", well aligned! That's 25Nm I suppose.. :rolleyes:


Now move on to the drain bolt.. not easy to open for a new car because the bolt was bolted onto the pan before they assemble the engine and coated with a layer of paint, thus very tight. Luckily this an old car.. :wink: It's using size 6mm hex wrench. I got my wrench from a bicycle shop.. :p Normal anti clock wise unwinding... DON'T SCREW UP!!! If u break the nut, don't call me!! :D




Some closeup to show u the screw... if you don't have the hex wrench, it will be difficult because of the thin top. Too thin to fit a wrench (its size 17mm). The black finishing is actually the oil sump paint (in&out), painted over the nut because when they paint the oil sump before assembly, the bolt is already in place..again I must stress, it should be very tight for a new car.. I think :rolleyes:


Check out the dirty oil.. what they called BMW-LL :stupid:


If I were to tell you these are 5k km original BMW-LL fluid, would you believe me.. :p :D


If these are good for another say... 5k km... would u pour it into your Kancil or something..? :p :D











Hope u enjoy reading the above! :wink: