Hello all!

I’ve been a lurker here for a while now trying to absorb as much as I can about these wonderful little cars. I’ve been in the VW world for 20+ years but drove a friend’s ’09 MCS and now I’m just hooked. I am more than likely going to buy an ’05 MCS from an acquaintance of mine, it has 75k miles on it and is bone stock. My plan is to do any maintenance the car needs to be reliable first, mods after that. I plan on changing the brake fluid to ATE Super Blue as I do Track Days at Nelson Ledges but besides that, what would you recommend as far as maintenance to make her a reliable daily driver?(waterpump, t-stat, etc???) I planned on running one track day before doing any modding but the Way pulley package will be my first mod, (any reason why he doesn’t include a new tensioner with it? Should it also be replaced at 75k miles?), then a 19mm rear sway.

Thanks for the insight, this place is even better than the VW scene…

Cheers,
Chris

 

Chris, most of the PM issues on an '05/75,000 are really something that can wait until you do your planned pulley mod:

Belt / changes with pulley anyway
Tensioner / up to you, but again if you feel you should, wait till your in there doing the pulley. (my stock tensioner lasted over 175,000 on my '05)
Plugs / need to be colder with the different pulley anyway.

As far as other items @ that milage:
Top Motor Mount / either bad or not, look for signs of leakage, not leaking=leave it alone
Wires & Coil / no problems, let them be (still running my stock coil @ 188,000)
Power Stearing Fan / no problem, leave it alone - not working, do your reasearch before just replacing it, could just be a bad fuse.

Other than that there's really not much I can think of, esp if your buying from someone you know. The "original" brakes & struts should be due near this milage depending on his driving habits, just ask.

I'm sure someone else will think of something I overlooked.

Good Luck & Welcome.

 

I would check the lowe control arm bushings and for oil leaks from the pan gasket and/or crank sensor gasket.

Also while you are in there check the water pump, some start making noises around 70K and the SuperCharger may need to be checked for fluid loss.

 

Also the thermostat gasket. Check for leaks around the housing, even as small as a couple drops. Flush the coolant after you change it to clean it out.

Check the powersteering hoses to for any signs of cracking or leaking. One of mine was leaking at 56k miles and the car was bone stock, so I replaced both.

If you're doing a pulley, I would save up and do everything while you're in there, that way it's a once and done for quite awhile. Way Pulley package is good, if you want to purchase a new tensioner, pelicanparts has them for like $110 shipped for OEM ones. But you should consider picking up the ATI Super Damper and possibly a new idler pulley (its pretty cheap as well, like $28 from pelican) This way you can just replace supercharger pulley, crank pulley, idler pulley and tensioner all at once and not have to worry about doing the process over again if something else fails there.

Would suggest getting some Kingsborne wires from Way when you order pulley package and change plugs, stock coil works fine, but if you want to upgrade, screamin demon also from Way.

Change transmission fluid, pretty easy job, at some redline and it will feel like new again!

I did exactly what your doing, bought my 06' bone stock with 55k miles and at 56k I had 2 small leaks, got underneath and decided to do ALL of it at once and make sure the car was mechanically 100% before ANY mods other then supercharger pulley. Some jobs can be a headache and a few parts a little pricey, but overall I am amazed how affordable parts can be for a car produced by BMW!

P.S. Good choice on Waymotorworks, I've ordered 4-5 times from him and still have a laundry list left to buy!

But as mentioned, most of it can be handled if you do a