Reddit mentions of BMW 3 Series (E90, E91, E92, E93) Service Manual: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

Another great resource are the Bentley's service manuals. I picked one up for my E82 (a lot of shared parts with the E90) and it has a ton of great information and step-by-step instructions on some major services.

actually he wants this one: http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/tech_main_e90.htm

the 335d is an e90 not an F30

also this. that book is your new god now. I've had ones for my e30, e36, and e46, it gives you a good description on how to do damn near anything and every bolt's torque value. It is worth far more than the $100 they charge for it.

oh, and OP, Beamer is the motorcycle, Bimmer is the car.

If your actuator needs replacement, do it yourself. That was literally the first job I ever did on my 2008 328i. You can do it.

It is a PITA, and can be time consuming (especially depending on how good the adhesive holding your moisture barrier is), but there's really nothing you can honestly screw up or make worse unless you drop the window glass...which isn't an expensive replacement anyway =)

As long as you have the right tools, get the correct part, and have a bunch of door fasteners handy (because every other one is going to break, they are a PITA too), it's a super inexpensive job that doesn't even require too much in the way of tools.

Edit: I dug back through my archives and pulled the relevant resources I used. Should be similar for a 2006 I imagine.

• The front actuator set I bought. Don't know if the 2006 uses the same part number, but decent reference at least.
  
  
• The door panel fasteners that I keep handy for work involving the doors. Again, at least a reference.
  
  Helpful DIYs and videos:
  
  http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=477507&page=3
  
  http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6713414&postcount=40
  
  https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/BMW-3-Series-E90/BODY-Door_Panel_Replacement/BODY-Door_Panel_Replacement.htm
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em9TdvaB0_8
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaEunU4T7Qk
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMPTAypu4R4
  
  
  And of course, your relevant Bentley manual is always a good thing to have.

If you have access to a shop with a lift and vaguely-competent help, then there's no reason you should stress over the potential big-ticket replacement stuff. The much-maligned HPFP can be accessed after maybe an hour's worth of disassembly. The water pump would probably be more work (no firsthand experience), but a lift would make it much more pleasant. Any job you might need to do, there's probably a DIY available online.

The scanner issue is easily solved; you can do basic troubleshooting with Carly and a bluetooth OBDII dongle. Alternatively, if you want to go the JB4 route, you can add the JB4 bluetooth adapter and read codes to your phone with the JB4 app (my preferred method).

If you intend to do your own work, you should also invest in a Bentley repair manual. Alternatively, you could probably find a free download online for the thing, but to be frank, if you think $100 is a steep investment, then maintaining a 335 may not be for you. I prefer to have a physical book I can lay out beside me while I work.

All in all, I've had my 335 for about nine months now. Here's a rundown of compulsory work I've done to it:

• Replaced all vacuum lines to fix underboost condition ($30 for 15' of silicone hose)
  
• Replaced both vacuum canisters when new lines didn't fix underboost condition ($71 for two canisters)
  
• Replaced low-pressure fuel pressure sensor ($76)
  
• Replaced exhaust VANOS solenoid ($121) (only ever threw a code at the track, kind of a preventative replacement)
  
  I've also invested about $2k into performance stuff and associated costs; most of that was from a set of KW coilovers and the required alignment afterwards. Then there was the JB4 and a few other items.
  
  Overall, I love the car. The turbo system has been finicky, but I think mostly I've been cleaning up negligence by the prior owner there. With the JB4, the car is pretty damn quick, and it's plenty of fun on the track as well.
  
  My name is /u/N546RV, and I own an N54 335i out of warranty.

At that mileage you may want to have a look at your engine seals. In particular the valve cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket.

If you're a DIY kind of guy, pick up a Bentley manual. It's basically the bible for your car.

Like someone else said, e90post.com. Great section of DIYs there. There's also a good section where you can get the BMW software for diagnostics and programming. A little finicky to get set up, but once you do, it can be a life saver. My e90 went into Transport Mode randomly and without the software, I would have had a trip to the dealer.

/r/bmwtech is a good place too.

My impression of you seems to be that you don't have very much mechanical experience. I would for the sake of preperation, with the assumption you'd want to repair it yourself,buy a a bentley manual or visit this website. I would also encourage you to purchase a code scanner. At the minimum, this would put you in a leveraged position. As you wouldn't rely on your stealership or a joeSCHMOE as much as you normally would to tell you what's wrong with your car. I find people who buy bimmers either have the money to have them repaired and not dent their wallet or have the know how to repair it themselves. There's nothing wrong with the first type, but I wouldn't be caught dead waiting for someone to change my tire. I encourage you to learn more about your engine, to take things apart. Whatever you may hear may be hear-say. Your car is definitely different than the others.


Good luck!