What'd you do to your BMW today?

[eliongater 718]

Couriers have got more excuses than woman!

What about a woman courier driver?

[Lewis91 114]

What about a woman courier driver?

About as bad as driving could ever be aside from bus drivers.

[BMTHUG 942]

Some of the best drivers I know are women man. Real talk they will put some of us men to shame. Anyhoo. Did inspection 2 on my car today. Due for a service at 150 k but is now at 145. So got me some magic castrol for her and oem filters. Fuel,oil and cabin filters. The air filter is a KNN item that i put in so its sweet. Oiled and serviced that too. Wheel repairs booked in for Tuesday next week. Just noticed some light scoring on left rear wheel. That could of been from suspension flex when I had that near miss with the courier driver. (Still not accepting responsibility.) Will have to get the third wheel sorted too so more money yay not.

That oil is filthy. Shes bone dry underneth though so bonus. Rear diff mount gone

This one here

[BMTHUG 942]

Oh and also did right rear wheel bearing. It was noisy as hell so finallt getting around to it

Old bearing

New bearing in

That driveshaft though

[BMTHUG 942]

Back to standard wheels this morning for a day or 2. Rims gone for repairs and painting

[Neal 512]

Hit the 100,000 km mark of the E46 M3 SMG over the past week. It's been 52,000 kms of great motoring over the past 3 years.

Have only had to sort rear view mirror and power steering hose. Quite good really for a 13 y/o

[Nobimmer 694]

Got rebuilt head, new seals, crack tested, ported $$$ wahoo can start assembling soon.

[BMTHUG 942]

Got these back today. Good as new

[BMTHUG 942]

and this haha

[handgrenade 189]

and this haha

Not too bad I suppose for the damage!

[BMTHUG 942]

Not too bad I suppose for the damage!

Yeah im not fussed. Cos look who got her shoes back

[BMTHUG 942]

Gave her a wheel alignment today. Got her back to usual specs. Was 10mm toe out on right rear after doing the wheelbearing. She looks so much better and feels more stable

[HSB 282]

Got my bimmer back today!! after two weeks on bus...hit a new high today when there were a number of homeless people on it yelling at each other.

Toy Shop really looked after me, fixed a number of things and got a wheel alignment done for me and sorted my pesky temperamental right headlight. Super super happy and can't recommend John + Welly T.S crew enough!

now someone buy it. hahaha

[gjm 3194]

Started/tried replacing the 'hedgehog' resistor.

For the uninitiated, this job falls firmly into the 'what the f*** were you thinking, BMW?' category.

This resistor, more correctly known as the final stage resistor, controls your fan speed. And it fails. Sometimes it fails gradually, sometimes the fan just stops working. Sometimes you'll find your fan speed surges erratically.

It is an almighty PITA to replace, especially on a RHD car. Those with LHD will find it easier as 'all' you have to do is remove the glovebox and you can get at most stuff. (We'll ignore the contortions required to get into position where you can see/work on what is required.) The rest of us have a little thing called a steering column to contend with.

Rather than re-invent the wheel or write another procedure for this, I have added someone else's work to my Google Drive. It's nearly 5Mb but definitely worth it.

So far, I have proved it is the resistor and not the fan which is at fault. This was achieved by accident, and accompanied by some sparks, when I shorted something, somewhere, against the steering column (via a T20 socket and extension bar) - the fan blew beautifully. At least I'm not looking to replace that.

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE what is involved! Trying to line up a T20 torx bit into a bolt head, while lying half on your side and supporting your upper body weight, with your arm stretched out, in the back corner of the drivers side footwell, avoiding pedals and steering column isn't straightforward. Oh. I forgot to mention - you cannot see, feel or even touch the bolt you're looking for. It's an act of faith that it exists at all.

And you can't use just any torx bit, either - the normal socket type ones are too fat to get even close to the bolt head. You really do need a T-handle set like this one from SCA. I phoned Repco and they didn't know what I was talking about. I have a T20 screwdriver, but it is too long - the steering column gets in the way.

I suspect this part is fitted before the seats or steering column are installed.

Price? BMW want $100+++. I got a Chinese one from eBay for a small fraction of that. I hope it works...

[dkonsta1 109]

New windscreen.... Sexy !!!

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2122]

It is an almighty PITA to replace, especially on a RHD car. Those with LHD will find it easier as 'all' you have to do is remove the glovebox and you can get at most stuff. (We'll ignore the contortions required to get into position where you can see/work on what is required.) The rest of us have a little thing called a steering column to contend with.

Thats the case on a lot of RHD Euro cars, not only in this area but also enigine bay access to stuff etc too.

if its any cosolation there are more people in the world struggling with LHD jap cars than RHD euros!

[gjm 3194]

I have what I hope is the correct tool. It's still a b!tch to do - getting a T20 driver into the head of a torx bolt that you can't see is a tad tricky.

I found a quote online from someone who knew what to expect, and they said it took them 3 hours to get this one screw out.

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

I have what I hope is the correct tool. It's still a b!tch to do - getting a T20 driver into the head of a torx bolt that you can't see is a tad tricky.

I found a quote online from someone who knew what to expect, and they said it took them 3 hours to get this one screw out.

The only thing that prevents this repair being carried out in a reasonable time is if there are any modifications to the vehicle in this area, the repairers body mass, lack of vehicle repair experience, or the right tools to do it. I'm 65 and I can see all the screws and get the correct tool onto each screw in seconds. Body mass is probably the biggest issue.

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

^ Are you calling Graham fat Glenn?

No.... I never said that... there were four scenarios I mentioned... access, body mass, experience and the right tools

[nick496 268]

Split my 'new' sunroof open, thanks to actletpone's thread: http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/52230-e30-325i-alpine/

Mine was also pretty bad, but it all appears to be surface rust. Not sure if I should get it acid dipped or just wirebrush/grinder it myself

[gjm 3194]

The only thing that prevents this repair being carried out in a reasonable time is if there are any modifications to the vehicle in this area, the repairers body mass, lack of vehicle repair experience, or the right tools to do it. I'm 65 and I can see all the screws and get the correct tool onto each screw in seconds. Body mass is probably the biggest issue.

I'm pretty sure Glenn must be smaller than me (and I don't thnk we've met!) The car has been to see Glenn at some point in its life, as indicated by a sticker on the drivers door jamb.

Seeing the upper securing bolt for the stepper motor housing nigh-on defeated me. Absolutely no way on earth I could see the whole head of the bolt, and when I did see it, it was simply impossible to get a tool on to it. No space at all... None. My head was crushed against a pedal bracket, and I was holding the air vent aside with my left hand. I could just see 1/4 of the bolt head. Enough to see it was a torx bolt.

With the correct Torx T-20 t-bar (length really does make a difference ), I could fiddle it into place (not easy with the steering column, stepper motor housing, flexible (springy) rubber-encased cable, and footwell air vent all seemingly in the way) then I had to hold it in position while I adjusted my position so I could hold the tool and not have it slip out of the bolt head.

Having got all of that (finally) out of the way, the hedgehog (final stage) resistor can be removed... Can't it? No. There's a plastic clip that sits over the upper right side of the resistor body, holding it in place. You can get one hand in there... So, do you hold the clip out of the way, or do you pull the resistor body? I squeezed a nylon screwdriver between the clip and the resistor body so I could wriggle the body out a little, the remove the screwdriver, then go back and wriggle the body some more, then reuse the screwdriver to hold the stepper motor linkage out of the way, wriggle the resistor body some more, remove the screwdriver, and finally remove the resistor.

I connected the new resistor hanging off the lead (even this isn't actually easy) and tested - fortunately the fan worked, and speed was variable. So it wasn't a lot of work in vain.

Re-assembly is (unusually) easier than dis-assembly. Or maybe I understood better what was needed? I put the upper bolt through the stepper motor housing before starting anything else, and used a nylon push-fit washer to hold it in the housing. I really did not fancy trying to squeeze that screw back into a hole I couldn't see! It was a faff, but we got there. (The replacement resistor has a plastic body and had to be relieved a little to slip into the hole left by the original, metal-body resistor.)

It didn't take me three hours, fortunately, but it certainly is not an easy or straightforward piece of work. Familiarity would certainly help - I could do it again in much less time, but I am very aware that this is not an easy component swap.

As for size... I'm no rugby player, but I'm 6'1 have broad shoulders and a 46" chest. I doubt that helps. Of course, dark grey carpets in a footwell, with dark grey or black plastics and no lights means you can't see much at the best of times. I used a head torch but found it fouled on the steering column as often as it provided light where I needed it. Then there was the 'do I wear my glasses or leave them off' issue.

And I really must sort the drivers' door check strap. This would be so much easier if the door would stay open on its own!!

I have one or two more pics to show the location of various bits. That troublesome upper bolt can be photographed with a mobile phone, but cannot (in my car) be readily seen. I don't think there's anything new or different in the footwell or under-dash area. The pics really don't imho give an indication of just how difficult it is to reach things - we're talking about the top of the transmission tunnel, in the far bottom of the footwell.

Not easy. But it's done, and I'm sure having a working fan in damp weather means it will have been worth it.

Next up - turbo replacement. It'll be a comparative doddle.

Edited March 22, 2015 by gjm

[gjm 3194]

Rep[laced all four wheels.

Twice.

Because I forgot the tyres have a rotational direction. D'oh!

[MattA 162]

Got the 540 out of the shed and gave it the once over in prep for road trip. Start tomorrow destination unknown (will know when we get there).

Final destination with Beach Hope Thursday evening and home again Sat night.

Just wish a crate in the back seat was still socially acceptable......

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2915]

Took the vert for a little trip out to the beach, make the most of a sunny Sunday afternoon as summer draws to a close and I get ready to store her up for winter.

[Michael. 2312]

Took my 'BMW' for a test drive. Nothing too interesting discovered, although I did do some hard braking tests, exceptionally impressive I must say, the lack of noise dive and stability is quite remarkable.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Michael.