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I'm looking at the e46 clutch bleeding procedure, and it says you need to take the slave clyinder out & compress the piston with a ($120) special tool. I know it's arguable as to whether this is necessary, but if you are doing it that way, are you supposed to just jiggle it free from the bellhousing and then try to position it with the bleed screw at the top? Since the clutch line goes through the bracket that holds the CDV, I wouldn't have thought you can really move the cylinder around too easily. Anyone tried bleeding it this way? I'd be pressure bleeding it this time if that makes any difference.
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Nov 11, 2008 01:40
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frozenphil posted:I'm doing the waterpump and fan clutch in my E36 tomorrow and I was wondering if there is anything special I need to look out for or if it is just as straight forward as it appears to be. I have the fan clutch holder tool as well as the 32mm wrench, so I should be good to go. I tried using the two tools, and failed miserably. Supposedly you only need the wrench, and a nice hard quick hit with a hammer. I gave up and had a dealer do it because Im an incompetent oaf. I hope you fare better. As an aide, I suddenly have squeaky belts. Both drive belts are a mere three months old, so Im thinking its a pulley. Im going to get under there tomorrow with a stethoscope and see if I can determine its one of the pulleys, but might it also be one of the tensioners? Are these difficult to replace (unbolt/bolt back on?)
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Nov 11, 2008 02:17
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CornHolio posted:Are these difficult to replace (unbolt/bolt back on?) I replaced the main tensioner without a clue as to what I was doing and I don't remember it being overly hard or taking very long. I think it was just like 3 bolts and it came off.
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Nov 11, 2008 02:28
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Can anyone recommend an independent bmw mechanic in the san gabriel valley, or LA in general? My Z4 needs brakes and maybe a few other things done and New Century BMW is just ridiculously expensive.
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Nov 11, 2008 04:23
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Ok so as I'm getting more and more into the idea of autoX and general motoring fun, I'm getting fed up with my FWD infiniti. It's a 5 speed, its got pep but I really like the looks of the e36 4 door 325s. Add in the fact that I'd get almost 50 more hp, RWD and something I wouldn't mind spending money upgrading. Is it possible to get a decent one under 4k? If it's any lower should I steer far and clear? I've always loved the look of BMWs and I'm at the point in my life where I can consider buying/upkeeping one. Would appreciate any advice you guys have for this bmw newbie.
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Nov 11, 2008 07:21
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I have a question with regards to a 1998 528i. Lately when I first start the car in the morning, it's making a horrendous whining noise which gets momentarily worse when I take sharp, low-speed turns (like a 90 degree right out of my driveway), and I can feel a bit of a vibration through the steering wheel. By the time it warms up though, the symptoms are gone. Any ideas on what I should do about this? Here's a picture for the hell of it.  Click here for the full 480x640 image.
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Nov 11, 2008 07:53
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irreverent posted:I have a question with regards to a 1998 528i. Lately when I first start the car in the morning, it's making a horrendous whining noise which gets momentarily worse when I take sharp, low-speed turns (like a 90 degree right out of my driveway), and I can feel a bit of a vibration through the steering wheel. By the time it warms up though, the symptoms are gone. Any ideas on what I should do about this? It's either the serpentine belt or pulleys or both. The noise is the belt slipping, it may just be worn out, or the tensioner pulley may be failing. The vibration is the belt slipping and the PS pump conking out when it does.
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Nov 11, 2008 17:48
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So i found a spot of empty highway over the weekend and decided to get up to about 100, and at about 95, the whole car started to shake. It wasnt TOO violent but definitely enough to make me slow the gently caress down. The shake felt like it was coming from the engine, as the peddle seemed to be shaking the most. The car revs at about 3k when im going 70 mph (which im not even sure is abnormal). And i have low idle fairly often. Are these things symptomatic of something? (e36 m3)
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Nov 13, 2008 01:39
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I changed the water pump and the fan clutch, get everything buttoned back up, top off the fluids. Hmmm, only able to get a gallon back in the system when nearly 2 gallons came out. Oh hey, no heat! loving thermostat is now stuck closed. It was previously working fine, but it decided to take a poo poo after replacing the water pump and fan clutch. I originally just ordered the waterpump because that was all that was bad; then the fan clutch poo poo out when I pulled into my drive way to replace the waterpump. I ordered the fan clutch and delayed the repair another week only to find out the thermostat took a poo poo too. Do yourself a favor and just replace all 3 if you have to replace any one of them.
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Nov 13, 2008 02:50
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frozenphil posted:I originally just ordered the waterpump because that was all that was bad; then the fan clutch poo poo out when I pulled into my drive way to replace the waterpump. I ordered the fan clutch and delayed the repair another week only to find out the thermostat took a poo poo too. Do yourself a favor and just replace all 3 if you have to replace any one of them. If you don't have the aluminum thermostat housing I suggest you buy that too, lest the plastic one crack in half when you go to tighten down the last bolt. Also, not having the mechanical fan in there saves soooo much time and effort.
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Nov 13, 2008 02:54
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I love getting boxes full of car parts in the mail! I know what Im doing this weekend!
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Nov 13, 2008 04:18
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CornHolio posted:I love getting boxes full of car parts in the mail! I got a similar box today! What is your plan for getting the LCABs installed (I think that's what are in that little blue box)?
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Nov 13, 2008 04:27
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Sterndotstern posted:I got a similar box today! What is your plan for getting the LCABs installed (I think that's what are in that little blue box)? No, those are my upper shock mounts. I need to inspect my LCABs though. Not too sure how I would replace them if they need it.
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Nov 13, 2008 04:30
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frozenphil posted:Do yourself a favor and just replace all 3 if you have to replace any one of them. That's the problem with the coolant system. You replace the part that's leaking, and the leak moves somewhere else or some other problem pops up. At work, we will usually write the car up for the pump, the t-stat, and the upper and lower hoses. If it overheated without cooking the engine - the radiator, temp sensor, and reservoir/level sensor/cap, too.
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Nov 13, 2008 04:44
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Track Car: Click here for the full 1024x686 image. Street Car:  Click here for the full 640x480 image.  Click here for the full 640x480 image. I also have an '89 325i convertible, but I can't seem to find any pictures of it. I have more pics if anyone cares.
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Nov 13, 2008 05:26
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Well I was getting an exhaust leak into the cabin and too much noise so I knew I had to tighten my header collectors again. Went under the car and ended up turning 2 of the nuts about 5 times total (and almost impossible to do so at that). What do you know? No more exhaust leak, no excess noise, and a lot more torque which is noticeable right away. I don't like the way the exhaust on 540s is.
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Nov 13, 2008 07:06
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I have a '92 525i automatic M50 Non-VANOS(shut up it was cheap, ok). Would getting a chip like a dinan or bavauto or anything really be worth it? I can only get 10% ethanol 91 octane gas around where I live. 
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Nov 14, 2008 01:29
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Lowclock posted:I have a '92 525i automatic M50 Non-VANOS(shut up it was cheap, ok). Would getting a chip like a dinan or bavauto or anything really be worth it? I can only get 10% ethanol 91 octane gas around where I live. I definitely noticed the car having more pep after installing a Dinan chip. Look around for a used one on bf.c or similar. I ended up paying $35 for mine. Oh, my car is also non-vanos, but it's a 3 series and manual, soooo...
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Nov 14, 2008 01:36
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:I definitely noticed the car having more pep after installing a Dinan chip. Look around for a used one on bf.c or similar. I ended up paying $35 for mine. Was there a M50 Non-VANOS 3 series? I thought they were all M52s or whatever. That's a good idea. I didn't figure a lot of people would sell used chips. Thanks. Oh and what kind of gas are you running?
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Nov 14, 2008 01:39
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'92 was M50NVs for the E36 93-95 was the M50tu VANOS 96-99 was the M52 I run 93 octane (yay florida). 91 should be fine, that's usually what most after market chips are tuned for. I would just run a can of seafoam through the brake booster to try and clean off any carbon deposits that could cause hotspots and therefore detonation. Just remember that the NV engines don't have a knock sensor.
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Nov 14, 2008 02:26
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Jivesauce posted:Street Car: Do you happen to know what level of tint you have?
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Nov 14, 2008 02:40
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Taken from M5Boardcom. The following is the carbon build-up due to Secondary Air System (SAS) on an E39 M5 and the pictures are of a BMW Master Tech removing it. 40+ hours of work. Be afraid, be very afraid. I'm tempted to rebuild my engine just after looking at these pictures... Link Here Xenoid fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Nov 14, 2008 |
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Nov 14, 2008 02:52
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Xenoid posted:Taken from M5Boardcom. The following is the carbon build-up due to Secondary Air System (SAS) on an E39 M5 and the pictures are of a BMW Master Tech removing it. 400+ hours of work. Be afraid, be very afraid. I'm tempted to rebuild my engine just after looking at these pictures...
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Nov 14, 2008 03:04
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Awesome. I've found plenty of cheap chips on ebay. Now I just need to find which ECU I have. So uhh... anyone know where it is in an E34? Behind the glovebox maybe? I'm trying google, and not getting what I'm looking for.
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Nov 14, 2008 03:24
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Lowclock posted:Awesome. I've found plenty of cheap chips on ebay. Now I just need to find which ECU I have. So uhh... anyone know where it is in an E34? Behind the glovebox maybe? I'm trying google, and not getting what I'm looking for. I had the ebay chip from the seller eurosport64 before I got the dinan chip. For $50ish shipped it wasn't a bad deal at all. As for where your ECU is, no idea.
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Nov 14, 2008 03:27
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krysmopompas posted:He said it was just 40+ hours, but that's still pretty bad. I'm going to give my baby an Italian tuneup and pour out a can of Seafoam for its dead homie. Oops I guess I was thinking in terms of dollars of hours of work when I read it a few days ago. I hadn't read it since then. Still he says "I believe the job pays just over 40 hours with additional cost from machine shop cleaning and further inspection." so that's at least $5000 in labour (at a $125/hr dealer) so far, excluding the machine shop and final inspection costs. Whoever is paying for this is a moron. He could have gotten an LS2 put in there for less. It's certainly what I would consider doing if my engine were to blow. Doctor Grape Ape posted:I had the ebay chip from the seller eurosport64 before I got the dinan chip. For $50ish shipped it wasn't a bad deal at all. Xenoid fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Nov 14, 2008 |
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Nov 14, 2008 03:40
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ynotony posted:Do you happen to know what level of tint you have? Unfortunately the previous owner had it applied so I'm not sure. I'll go over the receipts I have for the car and see if I can find anything, but I don't recall seeing that particular piece of paperwork in there, sorry. Edit: I checked, no dice. Sorry
Jivesauce fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Nov 16, 2008 |
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Nov 14, 2008 08:10
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:I had the ebay chip from the seller eurosport64 before I got the dinan chip. For $50ish shipped it wasn't a bad deal at all. Can you really tell the difference between the two chips? I found the ECU, down in a cubby under the hood.
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Nov 14, 2008 08:16
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I'm sure this question has been asked here before.... I tried looking through page after page and didnt see a response, so sorry if this comes up a lot. I am looking at possibly test driving or maybe even buying a 3 series. What is the difference (power wise) between the 2006 and 2007 BMW 3 series? I know the 06 was only available in the sedan form and the 07's can be had as a coupe... it looks like the 2006 330 had something like 250hp but the 2007 (328) only has 230ish hp? Is this right? Did the old 325 become the new 328 and the old 330 become the new 335 (w/ turbo engine)? I'm just wondering because I have driven my roommates 1995 M3 quite a bit and would like whatever car I get to have at least that much power (I believe those were rated at around 240hp).
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Nov 14, 2008 08:28
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Xenoid posted:Oops I guess I was thinking in terms of dollars of hours of work when I read it a few days ago. I hadn't read it since then. Still he says "I believe the job pays just over 40 hours with additional cost from machine shop cleaning and further inspection." so that's at least $5000 in labour (at a $125/hr dealer) so far, excluding the machine shop and final inspection costs. Whoever is paying for this is a moron. He could have gotten an LS2 put in there for less. It's certainly what I would consider doing if my engine were to blow. I'm not going to touch the carbon buildup issue, but this is a mix of engineering fault, as well as improper maintenance. There have been select reports of engines using 91+ octane gas showing heavy carbon buildup, but not many. Most cars with this problem have suspect backgrounds. Facts are that the carbon build-up issue in the cylinders should not occur with proper octane gas and revs > 3k. Regarding the CES light showing up for the Secondary Air System fault, it's a worry. This doesn't seem to be easily solvable through preventative maintenance. It doesn't effect engine life or performance, but will throw error codes due to this channel being blocked during cold-starts. Other than re-chipping the car with a different firmware to ignore this problem (creating terrible emissions for 20-30 seconds on cold mornings), there doesn't seem to be much else out there to handle this. As for the E39 chips, the Jim Conforti Shark Injector is not fluff. It's available for the E36 and E39. <$400 http://www.bimmerzone.com/BMW_Shark_Injector.htm It's no joke on my E39 M5. Dyno gains are impressive:  And the "butt dyno" gives a totally different, fantastic feel for this car.
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Nov 14, 2008 15:09
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Has anyone ever used any kind of CarSoft (or ebay clone) interface? These things look insanely cool for being like $45. I'd love to be able to monitor live data on the carPC I'm working on. Mine is a '92, so I'll miss out on OBD2 stuff like ecu flashing, but drat, I didn't know a vehicle specific setup could be so cheap.
Lowclock fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Nov 15, 2008 |
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Nov 15, 2008 01:27
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usurper posted:As for the E39 chips, the Jim Conforti Shark Injector is not fluff. It's available for the E36 and E39. <$400 usurper posted:Facts are that the carbon build-up issue in the cylinders should not occur with proper octane gas and revs > 3k. 
Xenoid fucked around with this message at 11:07 on Nov 15, 2008 |
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Nov 15, 2008 01:47
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX posted:I'm sure this question has been asked here before.... I tried looking through page after page and didnt see a response, so sorry if this comes up a lot. Your horsepower figures are correct. Don't pay too much attention to the year unless you are thinking '09 when the car received a facelift and new idrive and stuff. Just focus on the model numbers. Also you shouldn't get hung up on the BMW marketing horsepower figures, so I am not going to mention them. Also "fast" means different things to different people so I am putting it in quotes. The 325i will feel underpowered for you. The 328i and 330i will definitely be hovering around the same power as the M3, but will feel different considering they weigh another 200-300lbs and are bigger and more refined. BUT, depending on how you drive the M3, the 330i/328i might feel just as "fast". I am pretty sure you'd be happy with the 330i especially because in the last 10 years BMW engines have become generally much smoother and better all-round (not just peak power ratings). They have more power in more places and so they feel much quicker in everyday driving situations. But again this depends on how you drive the car. And the 335i is a rocket. ynotony fucked around with this message at 17:52 on Nov 15, 2008 |
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Nov 15, 2008 17:44
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Yay, my new rear shocks are in! Pretty drat easy to install, too. Old and Busted  New and awesome  +10 HP  I replaced all the gaskets, bump stops and shock mounts as well.   The bump stop on the passenger side was in terrible shape. The shocks themselves weren't much better. Anyway, a question. I torqued the lower bolts to their specified torque once the car was on the ground, like I'm supposed to. I noticed afterward that the Bilstein instructions say to use Loctite on the threads, though the Bentley manual said no such thing, only to make sure the threads were clean. I put anti-seize on these threads. Is this a problem? The car does handle noticeable better, I think. It's hard to tell since its just the rears. The better handling might be in my head. Also, since I had the trunk liner pulled back, I remounted my amplifier, which was held on by tie-wraps thanks to the previous owner.   I ended up removing the bracket and the amplifier and reattaching everything. Unfortunately, I left the wiring alone.  The previous owner left a light-gage blue wire, a light-gage black wire, a heavy-gage red wire (with no power to it, so if its battery its not hooked up) and four audio cables. None of it is hooked up to anything. On the plus side, they did put in those shock mount reinforcement plates, so I guess that makes up for it. In all, a pretty good day. Now as soon as my new tensioner comes in, I can fix the annoying squeak from my belt drive. CornHolio fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Nov 16, 2008 |
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Nov 16, 2008 03:29
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CornHolio posted:I put anti-seize on these threads. Is this a problem? Woah, actually yes, that kind of is a problem. Your kit should've come with self locking nuts; did it not? If it did, you shouldn't need Loctite, if it didn't than maybe that's why they were requesting that you do. In the future I would probably recommend not using antiseize type stuff on suspension components.
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Nov 16, 2008 04:15
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Pimpsolo posted:Woah, actually yes, that kind of is a problem. Your kit should've come with self locking nuts; did it not? If it did, you shouldn't need Loctite, if it didn't than maybe that's why they were requesting that you do. In the future I would probably recommend not using antiseize type stuff on suspension components. It came with nuts for the top, but the bottom just threads into the (insert part of suspension here). I think on the Z3 it needs a nut, but not on mine:  So basically I need to pull the bolts out, clean them, and put loctite on them? How will I ever get them out without air tools? CornHolio fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Nov 16, 2008 |
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Nov 16, 2008 16:18
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Yeah, I don't believe you need to worry about the bottom one so much as the top two. You should keep in mind that all Loctites are not created equally, and there are versions which create a very minimal bond that is relatively easy to break with a standard ratchet, but not easy to accidently unscrew. The alternate option would be to head to your local hardware store and pick up some self locking nuts, which is what your car would've come with from the factory. You should also make sure that your kit didn't come with them and you just didn't notice, although if the instructions say to use Loctite, they were likely normal bolts.
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Nov 17, 2008 04:43
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I've been two wheels only (motorcycles) for a while now, but the wife has decided she's tired of running all the errands herself, so I need to buy a car. I do all the wrenching on my bikes, and while I know they're simpler than cars, I'm comfortable with things like valve adjustments and electrical troubleshooting, so I think I'll be okay on a car. The car will be a daily driver, but I'm not opposed to high mileage if it's well cared for, and downtime for maintenance is no problem. I'd prefer four doors (I need to put a car seat in the back from time to time), but that's not a deal breaker. Is it reasonable to get a nice E46 for $10,000 (this doesn't include the $1,500 I'll spend to get the car ready to drive)? Anyone got a line on one near Columbia, SC?
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Nov 17, 2008 04:44
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predictive posted:The car will be a daily driver, but I'm not opposed to high mileage if it's well cared for, and downtime for maintenance is no problem. I'd prefer four doors (I need to put a car seat in the back from time to time), but that's not a deal breaker. Is it reasonable to get a nice E46 for $10,000 (this doesn't include the $1,500 I'll spend to get the car ready to drive)? Anyone got a line on one near Columbia, SC? To be 100% honest, you're talking to a guy here who had just about the same budget and did purchase an e46. My opinion here is with $10,000 you're only going to be looking at early model, higher mileage versions which are much more prone to failure (see torn subframe) and if you think the subframe problem is sensationalist then feel free to browse e46fanatics and see all the airbag lights, sensors, abs failures, balblablblabla. My wholehearted recommendation would be to point you toward a pristine e36 with that budget. E36s will also have mostly cheaper parts, are easier to work on, less things to break and are pretty much just as good of a car. Look at it this way, with that budget you could have a late production (with the kinks worked out) PERFECT e36, or a heavier, first or second model year, high mileage car with more things to go wrong, and more expensive to replace. Just my two cents.
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Nov 17, 2008 04:52
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Pimpsolo posted:My wholehearted recommendation would be to point you toward a pristine e36 with that budget. While our E46 330i was a wonderfully very competent daily driver, I cannot stress how much better a well-maintained E36 M3 (sedan or not) is to drive. The 330i we sold at 114k mi for $14k and bought a '95 M3 for $8500 with enough left over to make it perfect. The '95 had 89k mi. In short, listen to that man.
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Nov 17, 2008 05:08
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