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Today on my Bimmer I...

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819K views 11K replies 438 participants last post by  tomwas 
#1 ·
ive seen this type of thread on my toyota forum and it ends up being good.:thumbup:

anyways i'll start i guess, today i cleaned the wii out of my car and attempted to put my grilles in:)
 
#9,791 ·
Mmm yes BBS RK's. :D

Tyler, hooray! Nice work. I'm hoping I'll have the same smile to wipe off my face once I pick the M up from RRT.
 
#9,792 ·
Found and fixed the gas leak on Eddie's '87 E30 yesterday (hose wasn't on the fuel filter all the way and the hose clamp was loose). Yay! :thumbup:


Then today i take the 633 to the gas station and fill it up......and it's dripping gas out the filler neck when topped up. :mad: :(

Checked the mileage on the 6er....19 mpg, which isn't bad at all for the way I drive it. :eeps:
 
#9,794 ·
:rofl:

Well, I hoon the heck out of it most of the time. Lots of really 'vigorous' short trips. I did a 250-ish mile trip back in February, drove it like the (not so) little old man I am, and got almost 26.
 
#9,795 ·
Today I pulled the e36 into the garage. Retrieved the floor-jack and paused while I stared at the parts that needed to be installed. I pondered how much work those transmission cooling lines were going to require. I then assessed the amount of effort the valve-cover gasket was going to take. I almost decided to tackle the power steering lines.

I then decided the e46 was being neglected. The driver is on spring break somewhere in the Caribbean, so I should make hay while the sun is shining. Pulled Uma into the garage, jacked her up, popped the hood, and lost all interest.
 
#9,797 ·
I got new tires. Yokohama Advan Envigor. I LOVE the wet handling these tires have. Can't believe how affordable they are as well!
 
#9,804 ·
Ugh, I hate headliner work. Such a pain. Even worse on a sedan. I still haven't figured out how to pull the damn thing out of the sedan.
 
#9,805 ·
I re-did the one on my E34 and it was a mild pain to remove/reinstall. Considered removing the M3's before installing the rollbar and chose to leave it in. If I want to take it out now, it'll involve some box cutters. No way is it coming out in one piece :rolleyes:
 
#9,808 ·
I just replaced my lighted one with the shorter zhp one. I liked the lighted one, but no matter how much care i took it seemed like eventually the motion from shifting gears caused breakage in the wires.
 
#9,810 ·
Today on my Bimmer I bought everything I will need for an oil change including 7 quarts of Mobil 1 0W-40, might need to buy one more quart, I can never remember how much it takes. A funnel, oil collector, and a big ass socket for the oil filter cap, I really miss the metal one on my 325. Already had the filter thanks to Jay. Also bought 3 pints of Seafoam, buy 2 get 1 free. Put 1/3 in the intake, 2/3 in my oil, and a full pint in a full tank of gas. Let it soak in my intake for probably a lil longer than 5 minutes, but I hardly saw any black smoke when driving it after. Either my engine is really clean or this stuff doesn't work that good? I remember doing this in my E30, and it made a LOT of black smoke before it cleared up. Part of the problem I think is this stuff actually making it to the engine, if you look at where that vacuum line is going into the intake manifold and see the big jump the fluid would have to make to get to the cylinders, and in ALL the runners? I just don't see it happening. Would be better if it was a spray I think, but then you might not get it to collect and soak. I don't know.
 
#9,813 ·
...Changed my oil. I felt bad prolonging this, but the budget has been tight. Oil was pretty black looking, I think I'll do an early oil change next time. Reset my oil light too, because we all know how important that is.
 
#9,814 ·
How many miles did you put on the last oil? And in all reality, I bet you didn't harm anything. Proper synthetic oil allows for a decent buffer to extend the oil's service life.

Meanwhile, we've got sunny skies and temps in the 50s this weekend, and I still have not received my engine & trans mounts or trans & diff fluids which I ordered last weekend. Turns out free shipping is sloooooow. I was hoping to have a marathon car wrenching day this weekend, but it isn't going to happen. :(
 
#9,816 ·
Sorry to hear about your slow shipping. I wanted to thoroughly clean my car but apparently we are supposed to get snow on monday and tuesday??? I find it hard to believe, but I can wait...

To answer your question I finally hunted down my mileage photo after I got the previous oil change, because I don't like stickers in my windshield... I went over more than I thought I did, now mind you this is 99% highway miles, but I'm still upset it was left for so long. 8000 miles between my last oil change :eeps:!!! Judge away if everyone must, but at least I'm enjoying that slippery engine fresh oil change feel again. Does anyone else notice that or do you think its all in my head? I find whenever I do an oil change it takes longer for my car to decelerate in gear. Also, I don't know if its something to do with the weather or what but I was driving on the highway tonight and getting amazing mileage according to my gauge... On a still air day, flat highway, going 110km/h my gauge was reading at approximately 5.8l/100km, which is lower than usual for me.
 
#9,817 ·
This is great news! Daughter's e46 is a nest of blown speakers. She wants them taken care of first. She is learning that audio has nothing to do with getting from point a to b.
 
#9,821 ·
Haven't a shed, but have built plenty of shelves in the garage. All are filled with cooking appliances and what not. SMDH
 
#9,820 ·
I know, my tool storage has always been chaotic. Despite being a very organized and orderly person, for years my tool storage has basically amounted to a heap of tools - the ones which got used the most were kept on top of the heap, and if I needed something else, I had to go digging for it. Huge PITA. Basically, it's what happens when you don't have a garage or basement... Now things are a lot more organized, which not only makes finding stuff easier, but also frees up space since everything is on the walls and not laying around. I've also got two more walls of pegboard which I put up in the shed which you can't see in the photos. Lot of empty space right how, but I have to buy some more hooks and bins, etc.
 
#9,822 ·
for years my tool storage has basically amounted to a heap of tools - the ones which got used the most were kept on top of the heap, and if I needed something else, I had to go digging for it. Huge PITA.
You just described my workbench, right down to how much of a pain it is to find anything on it. To shame myself into doing something about it, I may post a picture of it soon. It's truly awful. :(
 
#9,825 ·
This is what I did Saturday:

New Chapter member Alan Pate from Fairhope, AL bought a really nice 1987 325is a while back. It's a gorgeous red 5-speed coupe. When he drove it to the monthly meeting in (January? February? I can't remember) we asked him about the last time the timing belt, belt tensioner and water pump were replaced. Replacing the timing belt every 60,000 miles or 4 years is VITAL on the M20 engine. Neglecting that one item can ruin the head if the belt breaks. The water pump and tensioner need to be replaced at the same time. Since Alan didn't know when the belt was last changed on his E30, we suggested that the club do a "work session" to use it as a learning opportunity for Alan and anyone else that wanted to see how to perform that basic task. The work session was scheduled for March 15th originally, but several of the people that wanted to attend couldn't be there that day, and that was the weekend of the annual Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival. The town was going to be full of people (turns out it rained cats and dogs all that day, too), so it was rescheduled for the following Saturday, March 22nd.

On a gorgeous, "Chamber of Commerce" morning six of us gathered at Alan's beautiful new home at 9am (I was late after waiting for the post office to open so I could mails some time-sensitive parcels, and arrived at 9:30). Beside Alan, the group included Cliff Pike, Mike Paquette, Jeff Hackman, Ray Sells, and me (Ken Kanne). (Jim Ramsey showed up just about the time the pizza was ready. Something mysterious about that! LOL!!!) We took turns disassembling the cooling system and other parts to allow access to the timing belt, tensioner, and water pump. Alan had bought a belt, hose and water pump kit from Autohaus of Arizona (www.autohausaz.com). Mike, Jeff and I did most of the tearing down, Cliff was designated parts cleaner, and Ray and Alan lent a hand when not "watching and learning". We proceeded at a pretty leisurely pace, and took time out to eat the pizzas and chips Alan had provided. The reassembly went smoothly, and by 3 PM the car was back together and running smoothly. We left Alan with a serviced car that won't need that job done again for many years. By the way, although the old belt looked pretty good, it WAS starting to delaminate on the toothed side, and the old tensioner had put clean rub marks on the back.

If you own a BMW with an M20 engine, CHANGE YOUR TIMING BELT if it has over 60,000 miles OR 4 years on it. Even if the car has been parked for years, the belt is still subject to break if put back into service. The belt "takes a set", and subsequent running will flex it where it was bent while asleep all that time. All the more reason to drive your Bimmer! That's what it was made for!

Here are some pictures of the day....

Jeff and Mike taking out parts:



Ray dives in while Jeff advises:



Cliff was kept busy most of the time cleaning parts as they came off the engine:



Car owner Alan Pate (left) compares pictures of the work with Ray Sells:



Cliff and Mike working on the reassembly:



I'm happy to be in a BMW CCA local Chapter that has many "hands-on" guys. Next month we're getting together to drop the new engine and transmission in Eddie's 1985 325e. Upgrading to an "i" engine.
 
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