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I do appreciate over engineering to a point. I know older 80's Mercs S-Class are notorious for just going forever with fairly basic maintenance, along with the E28(as long as the rust doesn't get a hold of them. But some of them are just silly engineering.
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Aug 7, 2014 18:05
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Maybe it's just the more extreme climates in the Americas (especially the extreme heat) that cause the plastic parts in BMWs to be more failure prone. You don't hear nearly as much hullabaloo about the GDCS from Europeans, and even in the more temperate North American climates BMWs don't seem to be blowing up their cooling systems every 60k miles like a lot of the internet claims. There's nothing like an Arizona or Texas in Europe where ambient temperatures will regularly be 100+ F for weeks on end.
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Aug 7, 2014 18:09
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Guinness posted:Maybe it's just the more extreme climates in the Americas (especially the extreme heat) that cause the plastic parts in BMWs to be more failure prone. You don't hear nearly as much hullabaloo about the GDCS from Europeans, and even in the more temperate North American climates BMWs don't seem to be blowing up their cooling systems every 60k miles like a lot of the internet claims. Well, my car is in unreasonably good condition, always garaged, maintained and 80k of almost all freeway driving in the Midwest since 2003. I had a low coolant message about 2 weeks ago, followed by a CEL for a stuck thermostat last week. When I pulled the radiator, there was definite signs of weepage from the core, explaining the low coolant. So in my case I had two failures that were not related to the plastics. Not unreasonable for a 11 year old car, but the fact that conventional wisdom (and the dealer, etc.) says to change it all... well, that just doesn't look good for the manufacturer's reputation.
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Aug 7, 2014 18:35
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EVERYWHERE 
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God I wish my fan clutch loosened that easily. I hammered the poo poo out of my box wrench trying to loosen it without the pulley holder, gave up and ordered the 20 dollar tool on eBay.
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Aug 7, 2014 18:43
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First it was the plastic water pumps to blow, now the electrics. Granted the southwest is hell on everything. I regularly see vehicles with manufacturer plates here for stress testing.
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Aug 7, 2014 18:49
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Getting the crankshaft bolt off was way harder for me than getting the clutch nut off. Now that I've refreshed the GDCS it actually runs on the cold side
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Aug 7, 2014 18:56
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I've never used the fan clutch tool. A phillips head screwdriver between the shaft and the bolt heads with the handle wedged against the crank pulley has always worked for me. You might bend the screwdriver but I love defeating BMW special tools with free/cheap solutions.
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Aug 7, 2014 19:03
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So I had an issue yesterday where my vent hose popped off the expansion tank, after changing my GDCS. It spewed a lot of coolant and the mechanical fan blew it all over the place. I got it cleaned up and called it a night. Tonight, I had to drain some coolant to get everything reattached, refilled it, started it briefly to help bleed it. Finally got it bled, went to start it again. CLICK CLICK CLICK. Dash lights up, starter doesn't seem to turn at all. I assume I drained my battery too low to start running the heater for the 15 minutes or so while I was bleeding it? Or did I short something when coolant blew everywhere in my engine bay? e: I don't have access to a multimeter but I can buy one this weekend. PaintVagrant fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Aug 8, 2014 |
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Aug 8, 2014 03:15
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How hard is it to remove the crank pulley for the A/C on an E36? Mine has a suspicious ding in the pulley wall. Which I can only assume is the reason why the A/C belt decided to gently caress off and go AWOL.
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Aug 8, 2014 04:08
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PaintVagrant posted:Tonight, I had to drain some coolant to get everything reattached, refilled it, started it briefly to help bleed it. Finally got it bled, went to start it again. CLICK CLICK CLICK. Dash lights up, starter doesn't seem to turn at all. How old is your battery? I generally jump to the battery first if I know it's 3+ years old. (The average age of most of my battery deaths here in the southeast) Are you near a parts store? Most of them will charge/test your battery for free. Easier to pull and test the battery than to start tracking down shorts, so I'd personally start there.
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Aug 8, 2014 04:57
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Viper_3000 posted:How old is your battery? I generally jump to the battery first if I know it's 3+ years old. (The average age of most of my battery deaths here in the southeast) No idea the age, but I can look at the battery again tomorrow. I will definitely pull it and get it tested somewhere, but it happened too late for that tonight. From various googling, almost every answer was "charge/replace battery" so lets hope that's all thats wrong.
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Aug 8, 2014 06:07
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Ziploc posted:How hard is it to remove the crank pulley for the A/C on an E36? Mine has a suspicious ding in the pulley wall. Which I can only assume is the reason why the A/C belt decided to gently caress off and go AWOL. Its only held on by 6 bolts (crank nut doesn't need to come off), the difficulty is going to be getting a socket on there without hitting the rad/fan shroud. I've only done it with the motor out of the car.
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Aug 8, 2014 12:38
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I couldn't imagine attempting that without pulling the rad. Though my rad/cooling fan come out together and are attached.
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Aug 8, 2014 13:18
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GDCS is done. Spark plugs are done. I'm down to a very short list of periodic maintenance work on the car. I think the only thing I have left is a fuel filter, probably not needed at 80k miles, but I'll do it sometime in the near future.
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Aug 8, 2014 18:20
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I completed my GDCS last night after work. Having the special tool was definitely very helpful, I'm glad I decided to get it. I was tempted to do the e-fan conversion (I've done them before on other cars, most notably my 1986 Mercury Capri) but decided to just go with OEM for OEM. I'm not going to own this car forever, and I don't feel like giving the next owner (or their mechanic) a surprise. After getting everything back together and bleeding the system (one of the many threads I read on the subject suggested putting the battery on a charger while I was bleeding, so I did), I noticed the temperature on the dash was whack. It was solidly 70F out, and the thing was reading -15F. Consequently, the AC was blowing hot air, not cold. It made the shake-down drive a little more hurried than I would've liked. After getting home and doing some googling, I now know what that thing dangling off my passenger side wheel well area is (ambient air temp sensor). I went back out and spliced the wires together, now it reads 122F which for my purposes will do what I want it to do while I wait for Amazon Prime to deliver my ambient air temp sensor kit by Dorman. The Mustang was very glad to be back in the garage, and I was glad to not terrorize the neighborhood late at night when going out for fifthmeal.
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Aug 8, 2014 18:41
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mechaet posted:(one of the many threads I read on the subject suggested putting the battery on a charger while I was bleeding, so I did) Wish I had read those threads 
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Aug 8, 2014 20:38
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 Ah, last time I rolled fenders I used newspaper and a jack handle.
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Aug 8, 2014 21:08
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What changes were done to the 1-Series in 2011/2010? I keep googling but I can't figure out for which actual model year and what was done.
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Aug 8, 2014 21:12
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Crustashio posted:Its only held on by 6 bolts (crank nut doesn't need to come off), the difficulty is going to be getting a socket on there without hitting the rad/fan shroud. I've only done it with the motor out of the car. revmoo posted:I couldn't imagine attempting that without pulling the rad. Though my rad/cooling fan come out together and are attached. Yea, I was going to take the rad out anyway to put the A/C belt on. I'm not sure I can put it on without.
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Aug 8, 2014 22:11
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Moved from the N54 platform and twin turbo to the N55 platform and single turbo.
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Aug 8, 2014 22:14
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Nitr0 posted:Moved from the N54 platform and twin turbo to the N55 platform and single turbo. Yup, for the 135i but what about the 128i?
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Aug 8, 2014 22:23
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Tab8715 posted:Yup, for the 135i but what about the 128i? I think they went to a newer version of the N52 at some point. Not much changed.
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Aug 8, 2014 22:31
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Nitr0 posted:Moved from the N54 platform and twin turbo to the N55 platform and single turbo. if I had to choose between the two, I'd go for the N54. I've had to fix way too many weird problems with the N55. Had one in a F10 where the cylinder 4 connecting rod went through the block. I couldn't take the torque converter off because the engine was seized so I couldn't get to all the bolts. I had to disassemble the whole thing because BMW didn't want to pay for a new torque converter. I also had to rebuild an N55 when the VANOS adjuster units failed and the piston and valves fought one another. BMW didn't want to pay for a new engine, but that one ran fine after fixing it. Still, rebuilding engines is not something I like doing as a flat rate technician. Unless of course if it was after the warranty expired.
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Aug 9, 2014 03:45
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Any general advice for buying my first BMW? I want an M3 within 20-30k range. Located in the South (GA, SC, NC).
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Aug 9, 2014 12:18
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Howard Phillips posted:Any general advice for buying my first BMW? I want an M3 within 20-30k range. Located in the South (GA, SC, NC). Pre-purchase inspection. You need one from a euro shop if you aren't buying CPO. Look for the seller who has an immaculate car and every maintenance receipt ever. Are you sure you want an M-car and the doubled cost of parts/maintenance/labor that goes with it? A 330 is a very capable car and is going to be much cheaper over the long run to own/operate. Have you looked at what common wear items cost as compared to what you drive now? BMWs are maintenance hogs compared to Hondas/Toyotas/GM Products. These aren't cars you can just put gas/oil/tires in and go. They are however a hell of a car in the corners.
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Aug 9, 2014 14:21
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They build BMWs in SC so I'd expect to be able to find plenty of selection in that area. Don't settle.
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Aug 9, 2014 15:13
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I'm from Columbia sc but I drove to Orlando to get my e46 m3. Markets that have good selection are Atlanta, Charleston, Charlotte, Greenville, Savannah. Charleston I see a lot of cool cars at reasonable prices. Seems like a saturated market. I was looking at e92s a little but it seemed you were picking the bottom of the barrel for 30k so I went for an e46 to save some cash. Personally I don't think you should pay more than 20k for one in the 60-80k mile range with all service records (coupe with manual of course). I payed 16 for mine and couldn't be more pleased. I just need brakes and sticky tires so I can stretch its legs a little.
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Aug 9, 2014 17:27
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I'm a loving idiot. I've managed to strip the head smooth on the tiny 5mm Allen bolt that holds my passenger side wheel speed sensor in. Fortunately it's a raised head so I can cut a line down it for a flathead screwdriver but it's very cramped there regardless of the direction the front wheels are pointing. Could I use a hacksaw blade alone and a lot of patience? I'm going to see if my dremel can fit inside too and if so get a cutting disc.
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Aug 9, 2014 18:05
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Ziploc posted:Yea, I was going to take the rad out anyway to put the A/C belt on. I'm not sure I can put it on without. You can do both the A/C and accessory belt without even removing the fan. I'll never do it that way again though.
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Aug 9, 2014 18:20
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Yes those belts are a real PM item because you don't ever want to just wait for them to fail. You're not going to be replacing them on the side of the road.
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Aug 9, 2014 18:37
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Cojawfee posted:I think they went to a newer version of the N52 at some point. Not much changed. Yea, I swore I saw a list on 1-series addicts that listed minor changes but it looks like it really doesn't make a huge difference... Now, I just got to find one...
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Aug 9, 2014 19:01
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You bastards have made me spend a semi-idle afternoon at work browsing classified ads for E39 540s. Like I really need a second Bavarian money pit in my life. On the other hand, V8! 
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Aug 9, 2014 21:41
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MrChips posted:You bastards have made me spend a semi-idle afternoon at work browsing classified ads for E39 540s. Like I really need a second Bavarian money pit in my life. Buy an e39 540i 6 speed touring (wagon) ! If you want more enabling, youtube "straight pipe e39"
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Aug 9, 2014 21:48
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MrChips posted:You bastards have made me spend a semi-idle afternoon at work browsing classified ads for E39 540s. Like I really need a second Bavarian money pit in my life. Everybody should own a 540 at least once. Mine came into my life by chance, turned me into a fanatic.
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Aug 9, 2014 21:50
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I haven't posted in AI in some time, but this happened about a half mile from my house today. Also fits in with the E39 540 chat.   The upper and lower control arms were still attached to the wheel. I think the only thing holding it to the car was the e-brake cable.
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Aug 9, 2014 21:53
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8ender posted:Well, it might be time to send my E34 to the wreckers. Two deals to buy it for less than $1000 have fallen through, and nature is kicking its rear end in the form of lots of rust. I'm probably going to strip it of the valuable parts like the gauges, sport seats, LSD, etc and send it to heaven. Maybe I'll make a nice rolling chair from the seats. I'll probably cry while sitting in them like a big pussy.  I feel it, too, man.I like that rolling seat idea, but I've got to pack to move in less than a month and the priority is to get this carcass out of my responsibility. Guinness posted:Maybe it's just the more extreme climates in the Americas (especially the extreme heat) that cause the plastic parts in BMWs to be more failure prone. You don't hear nearly as much hullabaloo about the GDCS from Europeans, and even in the more temperate North American climates BMWs don't seem to be blowing up their cooling systems every 60k miles like a lot of the internet claims.   SD 135 Towed 1 by Execudork, on FlickrWe get about a 75 C range of temperatures over a year, on top of the hundreds of degrees of heat cycling of anything in a car's engine. I think the lack of GDCS complaining from Europe stems from annual inspections and a higher average level of basic maintenance. Not that there aren't people who poorly maintain their cars, but they're outnumbered by people who keep closer to an annual regime due to inspection requirements. That's just a guess on my part. **** Parts from the above-pictured car are now in boxes and ready to ship. revmoo, Xy Hapu, Televiper - please PM or email me your addresses and I'll get these things out the door. My email: martinbrummell AT the google mails Ballpark shipping estimates based on FedEx ground: revmoo: $65 Xy Hapu: $25 Televiper: $160 - assuming I can walk into the FedEx ground office here with the bumper/moustache taped together with some padding plus the box that everything else is in.
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Aug 9, 2014 21:54
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revmoo posted:They build BMWs in SC so I'd expect to be able to find plenty of selection in that area. Don't settle. Pretty sure they only build the lovely suv models there now
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Aug 10, 2014 01:07
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SUVs and Z4s.
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Aug 10, 2014 01:11
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Thanks for all the input. Will definitely look around and read up on the pre-purchase inspection. And yes I do want an M after driving around with my friend's M3 I know I want one. Used to own a 97 Saab 900 SE Turbo. While that baby wasn't on BMW level the parts and repair situation was more challenging. With that said I got an itch that can only scratched by shifting and accelerating M3s.
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Aug 10, 2014 01:44
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Does it have to be an M3? For 30K you're looking at an E46 M3 which has 340HP. For the same price, you can get a more modern 335i which has 300HP. Add in 500 bucks for a tune and you're looking at way more than 340HP.
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Aug 10, 2014 02:18
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