What'd you do to your BMW today?

[thegreatestben 14]

Have done that before on the gf’s barina after replacing the head gasket. Missed a trans connector which stopped it from shifting out of first…

Dog stepped in my fresh silicone around the new tiles when the census man turned up at the front door 😡🤬 so took the z4 out to blow off some steam (and cobwebs)

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by thegreatestben

[elias 253]

On 12/30/2022 at 9:17 PM, euroriffic said:

Got my new oil cap today.

Started fitting the Racetech seats in the compact and battled with where to mount the seatbelt receiver. I’m too skinny for it to work going over the top into a e30 one, so tried to make the rear middle seat one work, but having to thread the belt through the side hole to click it in is a bit awkward. 
So is on the rear seat mount bolt currently till I can find a better/longer option for one to come through the hole. 

 

I went through the same thing with my 135i, ive settled on using the rear seat belt receiver and threading the seatbelt through the seat hole. According to my cert guy it is acceptable to extend the receiver using a steel flat bar as long as appropriate size/material/thickness and hardware is used. Might be easier than finding one with longer webbing.

[Cement 871]

Not a major thing, but a major impact when I've been starting the car with a jump pack for the last month !!! Soooooo good having a new battery

[euroriffic 609]

Have been forging ahead with the e39. Has its first new warrant and rego since 2014! 
Was failed second time round  on the broken inner mirror surround, so temp fixed that with some expanding foam and a layer of epoxy, and a rear arm outer Spherical bush. So replaced both left and right arms and now good to go.

 

following day had it booked for a detail and now have it looking brand new…ish. Paint was all dull and stained, but that’s all gone, but now can notice all the deep chips and scratches. So will get some touch up paint and try tidy them up a bit. 

Next issue Issue to sort last night was no lower cluster lights around the lcd display. Gauges are all lit but not there. So pulled it out to replace the lamps but tested them first and all working, so had a google and everything I found was for the while dash, not just that bit so back to square one. Also tried the “piezo trick” to fix the missing pixels. Managed to get one line working but then it killed the whole display. But a power cycle fixed that and my fixed line wasn’t going again. So need to replace the ribbon, or the whole cluster to sort the lighting issue as well.

oh, also started wrapping the wood trim with a brushed alloy. Not sure if I’m sold on it or not.  

 

[euroriffic 609]

Swapped pulleys on the compact so is now making 9psi. Seeing a man about a tune tomorrow. Should be rowdy!

[Cement 871]

Not quite a BMW but close enough ... been helping my brother with his R53 Mini, including spending an insane amount of time bleeding the clutch on the feckin thing !! The internet helped yet again and provided a 3D printable pressure bleeding cap, works super well

In the legitimate bimmer camp I used the little Bissel Spot Clean Auto to clean my passenger seat ... I'm REALLY hoping this was a coffee somebody managed to spill through the thing !!!

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

Tidied up some crap in the garage, and found a race car hidden underneath. So decided to do a little work on one of the panels, smoothing and sanding.

[C-130 Hercules 571]

On 4/10/2023 at 6:21 PM, euroriffic said:

Swapped pulleys on the compact so is now making 9psi. Seeing a man about a tune tomorrow. Should be rowdy!

Is that a SC14? 

[euroriffic 609]

On 5/3/2023 at 4:04 PM, C-130 Hercules said:

Is that a SC14? 

That it is!

went for a tune…but belt wasn’t tight enough so Melted it and destroyed it. 
also intake temps were hitting about 120-130, so looks like it’s time to add a water to air cooler integrated into the manifold.

[C-130 Hercules 571]

2 hours ago, euroriffic said:

That it is!

went for a tune…but belt wasn’t tight enough so Melted it and destroyed it. 
also intake temps were hitting about 120-130, so looks like it’s time to add a water to air cooler integrated into the manifold.

So, how are you cooling it at the moment? 

[euroriffic 609]

16 hours ago, C-130 Hercules said:

So, how are you cooling it at the moment? 

 Not. Just start from the sc in. 

[akapjay 41]

Reconn'd a M50 single vanos unit.

Wasn't too difficult, and immensely satisfying feeling the shaft play before and after.

Bought this kit: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175584427927
Followed ECS diy: https://blog.ecstuning.com/diy-bmw-single-vanos-rebuild-kit/

[dirtydoogle 383]

Accidentally got another after being less masochistic for yonks. Cleaned it, made the wife clean it. Will probably clean it some more. And then count all the fun issues that come with E61 life.

Does fit the car seat better than the TT did...

[Spudooli 18]

Our F22 N55 is not quite 9 years old, done 72,100km and I today I had to spend the first money on it that's not tyres or brakes, but for a bloody oil leak. A cam cover gasket oil leak.

Every time I watch a Youtube build video of any model BMW, seeing a bloody robot sploodging goo on some surface that you just know is going to leak in 72,100km I shake my fist, bloody.

That's its first strike. Two more and it's being replaced with something newer.

[balancerider 758]

@Spudooli BMW's have never been renowned as oil proof but wonder if the fact the petrol ones run so hot (for efficiency purposes I guess) tends to aggravate gasket wear? B58 is starting to get to the age where leaks become apparent also I suppose.

[KwS 2425]

Don't own a bmw/euro if you don't want to be fixing leaks. 

[dirtydoogle 383]

7 hours ago, balancerider said:

@Spudooli BMW's have never been renowned as oil proof but wonder if the fact the petrol ones run so hot (for efficiency purposes I guess) tends to aggravate gasket wear? B58 is starting to get to the age where leaks become apparent also I suppose.

This is the key. Last 2 M57s were at 270km and 455km without any leaks or cooling system issues

[gjm 3258]

2 hours ago, dirtydoogle said:

This is the key. Last 2 M57s were at 270km and 455km without any leaks or cooling system issues

M47 - same.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

2 hours ago, dirtydoogle said:

This is the key. Last 2 M57s were at 270km and 455km without any leaks or cooling system issues

I always thought diesels ran hotter than petrol, as no issues with pre-ignition due to the fuel injection controlling the timing? May have changed with turbo / DI petrols I suppose.

[dirtydoogle 383]

1 minute ago, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

I always thought diesels ran hotter than petrol, as no issues with pre-ignition due to the fuel injection controlling the timing? May have changed with turbo / DI petrols I suppose.

Too hot = NOx, so typical kept relatively cool (cool = non euro car running temp) 

Has been the case since E39/E46 era for BMW, and it's just an emissions related thing. 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

1 minute ago, dirtydoogle said:

Too hot = NOx, so typical kept relatively cool (cool = non euro car running temp) 

That is true, which is why the injection cycle is controlled to keep the temp of the flame front under control and temps down.

However, when you talk about the running temps of engines I think more of the oil / coolant / engine body temps (some cross correlation from the cylinder temps I know) as being the “running temp” rather than the temp in the ignition stroke. Would thatalso have more of an effect on gaskets as well, with the temps affecting the expansion/contraction of the various parts?

My totally un-educated guess is that the “liquid” type gasket materials start to harden over time from the repeated heat cycles, and then crack rather than stretch.

FWIW my M57 had quite a few leaks, but was older rather than high kms.

[dirtydoogle 383]

The diesels run lower coolant temps from that era. And yes that's why they leak less, heat cycling at critical temp levels for gaskets and components.

PA66 "plastic" does not survive in glycol with 100 degrees C, it begins to absorb coolant and begin a brittle glass fracture failure mode. Which is why Jap cars for example have significant lower failure rates with PA66 components compared to same era cars that are designed for better emissions. There's an interesting paper on it somewhere 

And everything M62/M54 onwards run very high standard temps, to reduce emissions. M62tu for example runs a ~108c thermostat, most M57 are 88-91c

[gjm 3258]

35 minutes ago, dirtydoogle said:

And everything M62/M54 onwards run very high standard temps, to reduce emissions. M62tu for example runs a ~108c thermostat, most M57 are 88-91c

Mercedes M116/M117, used up to the early 1990s, run a 80-84C thermostat.

[Eagle 1662]

2 hours ago, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

My totally un-educated guess is that the “liquid” type gasket materials start to harden over time from the repeated heat cycles, and then crack rather than stretch.

Yeah Renault era Nissans are bad for it, eg timing chain covers which isnt a cheap repair labor wise.  

I prefer the older style gaskets they used on the 80's BMW's etc. They may not seal for as long as rubber type ones but they tend to seep rather than go brittle and leak badly.

[dirtydoogle 383]

7 hours ago, gjm said:

Mercedes M116/M117, used up to the early 1990s, run a 80-84C thermostat.

My Camry Hybrid is supposedly 82c also. And is original PA66 components and no leaks of any sort (except happiness) at almost 510km.

Should probably think about giving that a water pump...