Quick tale - E85 running lovely since I got him/her (haven't decided which yet) 4 months ago. Drove into town - 15 miles - parked up. Returned to the car 5 mins later - wouldn't start 
Had to call a recovery truck and hand over £100 to get me home. I'm sure I have breakdown cover with cover I have on other vehicles, or with the mortgage, or with the bank account..... couldn't remember for sure so had to fork out to get me home 
Anywho..... I went through a number of tests before making my next decision:
1) - Jump start
2) - Bump start
3) - Knocking on starter
4) - Shouting
5) - Rubbing hands through hair
6) - Took the starter out and took it to my local indi, he tested it - start motor knackered.
I needed a new starter!
Ordered a Bosch starter from ECP, paid £220 (£107 to come back when old motor returned), waited 2 days to collect. Got the starter home, opened the box but noticed there was no neg terminal bolt, only a spade male end. Took the starter back and was told by a different guy that it was the wrong starter. Took full refund, turned around and left.
(I did call BMW for a price - £370 )
Called West Lancs Auto Electrics - http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.co.uk/ - spoke to a nice chap who after a bit of searching came up with a replacement, new and without the daft return policy, with an 18mnth warranty for £76!
To anyone wanting to change there's, I would recommend it. I'm not mechanically trained at all but have been able to do it, I've found it a rewarding way to spend 4 hours.
Here's what I did:
**Unhook the battery**
1) Took out the air filter box and one length of duct that connects to it to give me more room to work.
2) Locate the start motor. I reached right over with my belly resting on the wing and looked down the back of the engine cover. Going in this way allows you to access bolts. The starter can be seen if you look here:
3) Use a E14 torx bit (I got 6 sockets from Halfords for £5.99) to remove the 2 torx bolts holding the starter motor in. They're a right bugger to get too and undo.
4) Slide the start motor off by pulling it towards the front of the car. It's aligned on with a locating pin. You will need to pull hard and swearing helps so set up a blue zone and tell the kids to stay out of it.
5) When it does pop off there are 2 bolts to undo on the front side of the starter motor that hold on 3 cables. One + goes to the +jump bolt, the other goes to the alternator. Undo the smaller black cable also. The motor is now free.
6) Getting the old one out was harder than getting the new one in. I moved the motor out towards me and back past the flywheel housing. I preferred to move slowly rather than jiggle it. It came out eventually.
(Putting it all back together was done as above but in reverse)
I put everything back together and closed the bonnet. Sat in the car... said a prayer... turned the key... nothing!
Remembered the battery!
Reconnected it. Sat in the car, said a prayer, turned the key..... started
So happy.
I hope this post helps others who like me may not be mechanically experienced and are thinking it would be easier to take it to a garage. Don't, have a go yourself.
Just the rotors, pads, calipers and handbrake shoe, coil overs and 19s to fit and finish!
I browsed through the posts here (thanks to posters) and watched a ton of YouTube vids -but tbh the only vid that helped me was this one showing the location: https://youtu.be/4IgdkQxe7Z8
Had to call a recovery truck and hand over £100 to get me home. I'm sure I have breakdown cover with cover I have on other vehicles, or with the mortgage, or with the bank account..... couldn't remember for sure so had to fork out to get me home Anywho..... I went through a number of tests before making my next decision:
1) - Jump start
2) - Bump start
3) - Knocking on starter
4) - Shouting
5) - Rubbing hands through hair
6) - Took the starter out and took it to my local indi, he tested it - start motor knackered.
I needed a new starter!
Ordered a Bosch starter from ECP, paid £220 (£107 to come back when old motor returned), waited 2 days to collect. Got the starter home, opened the box but noticed there was no neg terminal bolt, only a spade male end. Took the starter back and was told by a different guy that it was the wrong starter. Took full refund, turned around and left.
(I did call BMW for a price - £370
)Called West Lancs Auto Electrics - http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.co.uk/ - spoke to a nice chap who after a bit of searching came up with a replacement, new and without the daft return policy, with an 18mnth warranty for £76!
To anyone wanting to change there's, I would recommend it. I'm not mechanically trained at all but have been able to do it, I've found it a rewarding way to spend 4 hours.
Here's what I did:
**Unhook the battery**
1) Took out the air filter box and one length of duct that connects to it to give me more room to work.
- Unclip the plug that is attached to the air box
- Loosen off the spring clip
- Undo the 2 bolts holding down the air box
- Pull out the air box
- Pull off the length of the ducting
2) Locate the start motor. I reached right over with my belly resting on the wing and looked down the back of the engine cover. Going in this way allows you to access bolts. The starter can be seen if you look here:
3) Use a E14 torx bit (I got 6 sockets from Halfords for £5.99) to remove the 2 torx bolts holding the starter motor in. They're a right bugger to get too and undo.
4) Slide the start motor off by pulling it towards the front of the car. It's aligned on with a locating pin. You will need to pull hard and swearing helps so set up a blue zone and tell the kids to stay out of it.
5) When it does pop off there are 2 bolts to undo on the front side of the starter motor that hold on 3 cables. One + goes to the +jump bolt, the other goes to the alternator. Undo the smaller black cable also. The motor is now free.
6) Getting the old one out was harder than getting the new one in. I moved the motor out towards me and back past the flywheel housing. I preferred to move slowly rather than jiggle it. It came out eventually.
(Putting it all back together was done as above but in reverse)
I put everything back together and closed the bonnet. Sat in the car... said a prayer... turned the key... nothing!
Remembered the battery!
Reconnected it. Sat in the car, said a prayer, turned the key..... started
So happy.
I hope this post helps others who like me may not be mechanically experienced and are thinking it would be easier to take it to a garage. Don't, have a go yourself.
Just the rotors, pads, calipers and handbrake shoe, coil overs and 19s to fit and finish!
I browsed through the posts here (thanks to posters) and watched a ton of YouTube vids -but tbh the only vid that helped me was this one showing the location: https://youtu.be/4IgdkQxe7Z8
