[uucdigest] Thursday, March 2 2000 Volume 03 : Number 370 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | For all available Digest commands including unsubscribe/subscribe, | visit the BMW UUC Digest page: http://www.uucdigest.com | Send SUBMISSIONS to [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Complaints? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you must. | Visit http://www.bubbaclub.com | www.bimmers.com - "serving enthusiasts on the 'net" | Visit http://www.bimmer.org - ultimate BMW bulletin boards! | Subscribe to the Zionsville Autosport Parts Digest: | http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/majordomo.htm ����������������������������������������� In this BMW UUC Digest: Re:[uuc] Choose your Chips - Carefully ! [uuc] Track Tires and Fitment Re: [uuc] Poodle-Mania [uuc] <e28> soundproofing [uuc] Drivers School Insurance Coverage - Update [uuc] Even more new M3 Pics [uuc] E21 320i no start confusion side [uuc] E34 engine problem [uuc] E28 M5 gauges in ashtray area [uuc] <E28> Yooouuu light up my life... Re: [uuc] Books on suspension tuning.. [uuc] get off the bucks Re: [uuc] <all> pre-purchase inspections [uuc] RE: <WOB> Absurdity [uuc] RE: <all> pre-purchase inspections ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 09:19:30 -0500 From: "jlee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re:[uuc] Choose your Chips - Carefully ! Thanks Duane, i knew i could count on you for some experience with this. I've also done alot of looking into and yeah, Autothority's software looks pretty good, and they are so damn close to us, its sooo convenient, but i will hold out for the Jim C...waiting to see if Currys gets the software, or maybe the man himself will show up. jeff ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 09:23:56 -0500 From: "Duane Collie" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Track Tires and Fitment ><<Anyone have experience in this area or can point me to a site? Are >235/40-17's the practical limit for the 325? Is rolling the lip on the rear >fenders enough or do you need to flare the whole fender a bit? Is it >necessary to scrape the sound-deadening/rust-proofing gunk out of the >fender lip before rolling or is that best left in place?>> >I have a '92 325i sedan. The 235x40x17 fit without rub on 17x8 wheels. >Henry Ahhhh....be careful here! Fitment depends on OFFSET of the wheels and contour of the shoulder of the tires, as well as that particular tire manufacturer's way of measuring the tire! A 225 Kuhmo is a hellva lot wider that a 225 Yohohama for example. Then, you get into track tires like BFG G-Forces and you find the tread surface is mostly flat with a squared off shoulder rather than rounded over like on an A032R. That squareness will cause you great misery if you don't allow for it. A 8" wheel with 42mm offset will fit fine. A 8" wheel with 38mm offset should be pretty good, depending on the tire used. A 8" wheel with a 35mm offset is gonna cause problems and you'll be rolling fenders. It's more than reading sizes on the tires! - - Duane < Been there, done that The Sled ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 09:25:52 EST From: "Steven Reed" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Poodle-Mania You'd never see a MOPAR parts builder/tuner who joked around like this... <g> Steve >From: "Steve D'Gerolamo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: [uuc] Poodle-Mania >Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 08:18:38 -0500 > >If you want to learn more, there's the "other" Jane Goodall story: "Poodles >in the Mist". Pay no attention to fictional accounts like "Greystoke: the >Legend Of Tarzan, Lord of the Poodles" or "Mighty Joe Poodle". Those >ridiculous '60s movies (such as "Poodzilla vs. Mothra" and "The Poodle from >the Black Lagoon") have no bearing in reality whatsoever. The ultimate way >to learn is to watch The Discovery Channel during "Poodle Week" (highest >ratings of the year). >==================================================== >Poodles are perhaps the smartest of the canines...not as humorous as a >flock of weiner dogs and not as macho as Rottweillers (even Martha S. >herself is partial to the Rotts for Tots "Carl" books). SD > >========================================= >Steve D'Gerolamo - The Ultimate Garage >201-262-0412 / [EMAIL PROTECTED] / http://www.ultimategarage.com > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 07:22:21 -0600 From: Scott Ferguson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] <e28> soundproofing Good Morning, Y'all. I know this question is pretty much contrary to normal UUC thought, but I've gotta ask anyway. I'm curious as to what other e28 owners have done to cut down on the interior noise level. I know it won't ever be as quiet as Duane's sled, but I'd like to reduce the level of injector noise getting into the cabin. This tick-tick-tick-tick noise on the highway ain't cool. I've already sealed up all the tiny holes in the firewall where wires and tubes pass through, and that made a significant difference. What's next? The door weatherstripping is cushy and soft, but could it be deformed enough to admit noise? I'd like to steer clear of heavy solutions like Dynamat, tar, sound-absorbing wooly mammals in trunk.... Thanks, Scott 1985 535i 250,000 miles and ticking like a Timex... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 08:36:52 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Bob Fluharty) Subject: [uuc] Drivers School Insurance Coverage - Update Thanks to all who responded to my plea. Extreme measures were not necessary - State Farm agent called back late yesterday to tell me coverage includes schools as long as it's not racing. (But we knew that). It just wasn't a question she had ever been asked before, but her supervisor clearly had. By the end of the day yesterday I had 4 useful and informed responses, including one from an actual State Farmer. Thanks, Guys, I really appreciate the help. Bob ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 09:41:38 EST From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] Even more new M3 Pics These have a close up of the gauges. No, I wasn't on the Honda page. A friend sent it to me. http://honda-acura.rely.net/ubb/Forum25/HTML/002974.html Tony '95 M3 '00 Explorer ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 08:43:43 -0600 From: "Christopher J. Kolaitis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] E21 320i no start confusion side Hey Matt, It is easy for a 320i passenger to get confused on side's. BMW did change the rotation direction for the distributor, causing many unsuspecting drivers and passengers to become confused after they took their car in for service. Good luck and keep looking under the driver side as I previously wrote. Best Regards, Chris, Windy City Club Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 13:25:40 -0800 (PST) From: Matthew Shaw <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] E21 no start <snip> Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2000 07:25:12 -0600 From: "Christopher J. Kolaitis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] E21 no start or the little engine that could'nt Try the fuel pump under the car, driver side along side the exhaust system. Why the BMW engineers put the fuel pump right up next to the exhaust system, where it would get hot and freeze up and stop I will never understand. <snip> FYI, the muffler on a 80-83 320i is on the opposite side of the car from the main fuel pump. If there was a muffler on the passenger side, it was put there by someone else, not the factory. (the orig location for the muffler is on the drivers side) - - -Matt ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 09:58:44 -0500 From: "Phemister, George" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] E34 engine problem Don Eilenberger writes <<<<<<<<<<<Subject: [uuc] e34 535 engine nightmare The mechanic is hungry.. the litanity of faults he's giving you sound like horsepucky: 1. Gears worn to points? What gears?? The sprocket which the chain rides on are manufacturered with points. If you can find a friend locally who has owned/serviced motorcycle dirt bikes.. ask him to show you how a sprocket should look when good, and how it looks when worn out.. 2. Chain worn and bust injectors?? HUH?? The injectors couldn't care LESS what the chain is doing. They are electrically operated and nowhere near the cams or chain or even valves. 3. Chain worn? How is he telling this? 4. The rails and oil pump? What 'rails'?? And the oil pump? Well.. if there was an oil pump failure - it could explain some of what he claimed to have seen - it might explain camshaft failure but I'd also expect bearing damage and lots of other things. The only known 'bug' in the big-6 is the hollow bolts which hold the cam-shaft oil-rails in place (and the rail's are not a part which will wear out) backing out - allowing oil leakage and eventual failure of the cam due to oil starvation. This should not effect the timing chain or sprockets (unless the camshaft seized - and I think you'd notice this).. I'd suggest getting a second opinion - even if it's just a knowledgeable friend stopping by to see the disassembled engine. It really sounds like either poor communication with you - or a very hungry mechanic. BTW - the big-6 is known to typically last 175-250k miles with no major problems. At about 250k - it might need the rings refreshed and a few new seals. That's with normal maintanence (regular oil changes, good coolant).>>>>>>>>>>> While I agree with Don overall, the cam oil bar feeds the chain at the front, so conceivably oil starvation could have affected the cam and chain. The cam sprockets do wear out, which is more obvious if you compare a new one to the old one. There is a plastic rail to guide the chain, and the tension bar. They can be inspected for signs of chain flap. A badly worn chain will start to rub on the covers, so I'd look for signs of wear on those to clarify the diagnosis. I'd clean out the tension piston and bleed properly, just in case that was the problem (again, it needs oil to operate from the oil bar). I believe the chain can be changed without pulling the lower timing cover, if the original has the removable link, should that need to be done. Look for signs of serious (i.e. grooves) wear on the chain rollers. The main thing to consider is the wisdom of replacing a few worn parts on a mid mileage car, and ignoring the rest. A question of balance. If the oil pump really is toast, and has been for a while, everything else in that engine will be in trouble too. In which case it's time to rebuild completely or find a used one. I'd be inclined to bolt it up and keep going. Have the oil pressure tested (or install a gauge after) to confirm that problem. The chain is unlikely to break - and it'll get pretty noisy first. George ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 10:22:45 -0500 From: "Cagann, Alexander" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] E28 M5 gauges in ashtray area Morning list. I am interested in putting VDO gauges in my E28///M5'er. In my old 535is I put a volt and oil pressure gauge in place of the ashtray...it did no harm to anything and was easily retrofitted back to OE condition. However, I would like three gauges instead...like I saw in a photo from the Bimmer mag many moons back. The article was actually about installing a mass air flow sensor, but the M5 interior photos showed it had three gauges in the ashtray area....doing away with the lighter as well. I am thrown if I should go in and cut the leather clad console to install a gauge package....resale affected? Just soliciting opinions on this issue....perhaps I should just put two in so nothing is permanently affected?.... Alex Cagann ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 09:55:59 -0500 From: Andrej Gaspari <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] <E28> Yooouuu light up my life... The Hellas on my 2002 do have problem with the high/low separation, but those on my E28 533i do not. The latter provide extraordinarily good light, particularly on high beam, with 80/100w bulbs in the lows and 55w in the highs. > Finally, if anyone's used both the Cibie flat face 5.75" and Hella 5.75" > high/lows, did you notice a difference in their aiming between high and low? > Specifically, I've been told that the Hellas have a bit of a 'beam separation' > problem, where if they're aimed properly on low beam, the high beams are up in > the trees, and if they're aimed well on high beam, the low beam's too low, and > that the Cibies do not exibit this tendency. Of course, I've been told this by > someone selling the (significantly more expensive) Cibies, so I'd kind of like > an unbiased opinion. :) > - -- - -AEG ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 07:40:24 -0800 (PST) From: "I.L. Eberhart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Books on suspension tuning.. I think one of the books was, "Tune to Win" by Caroll Smith. You can also check the automotive section at Barnes & Noble. I saw several books on suspension tuning there. Lastly, talk to Leo Franchi. He's put together a couple of software tools that help with suspension tuning. I mean this guy Leo was a driver on race teams with David Hobbs and Willie T. Ribbs as well as others. Leo and David were racing the E30 M3 when it first hit our shores. Plus he's currently working on some of the fastest club racing cars in the Midwest, and most of these cars are E36s. Phone number is on his website http://www.MidwestMotorsport.com Hope this helps. - - Chip __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 11:33:30 -0500 From: Matt Curry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] get off the bucks Why are you putting on used struts that have been sitting around in a junk yard? Get off the bucks!!! New ones are not that expensive. Having them rebuilt will probably cost about the same as new ones by the time you pay for shipping. Don't be penny wise and dollar stupid. Let me know and I can probably get you a pretty good deal on some. Matt Curry Curry's Auto Service, Inc. 703-502-0400 Subject: [uuc] Need help with sticking Bilsteins I need to find out why my front Bilstein sports are nearly seized. They were good used from a club-member's 533i, but they sat in a junkyard for a while, on the car. Has anyone ever rebuilt or taken one apart? Can I remove the nut from the bottom of the yellow shock body without depressurizing/ruining the shock? I'm guessing there are only some spacers/bumpstops in there, and the rest of the damper assembly (top) is self-contained. I know I can have them rebuilt, but that leaves too much downtime. Please reply to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and to the digest. I read every one, but sometimes I miss things ;^) Thanks for your help! James Muskopf james_535@yahoo ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 10:31:26 -0600 From: Michael Weishaar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] <all> pre-purchase inspections I definitely concur. Mine is not a BMW story, but a lesson learned all the same. You may remember a while ago I was asking about buying a Civic vs an older Bimmer for my GF. She was driving an 84 gold Plymouth Reliant, and it was near death. She had just recently decided to go back to school for her masters, and literally had negative money. I decided I would buy her a car, just a daily driver, something that would get her through the next few years. It was between a Civic and an older Bimmer. The Bimmer lost out, simply because any type of future repair would probably wipe her out financially. I found a 91 Civic DX, just under 100k for $3200. It had some dings here and there, but was OK. It idled rough, and when I asked the guy if I could have it checked out by a mechanic, he said no problem. Well, I was kind of in a crunch to get it, so instead I offered him $2500 as-is. He thought about it, and took it. Sweet deal. So the rough idle got worse, even after replacing the timing belt, which is what I thought the problem was, since researching these cars showed that they usually went south at about 80k. Hmm, it is probably something simple, right? WRONG. Took it to a mechanic, and cylinder 2 had about 70 lbs of pressure. Welcome to rebuild city, population - me. Was it worth $3k for the rebuild? Hell no. Traded it in (got $500) for a 97 Jetta. Paid an extra $800 for the 100k warranty. We just got the plates in on the (*^&*& Civic 3 days before we found out about the rebuild situation. THAT is how fast a car deal can go sour if you don't have someone check it out beforehand. Michael 88 M3 97 Jetta Rob Levinson - UUC Motorwerks wrote: > > I can't stress enough the importance of a pre-purchase inspection. > <snip> ... spend the small dollars now so the big bucks don't leave > your wallet later. > > - Rob Levinson ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 08:33:18 -0800 From: "Jerry Chyo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] RE: <WOB> Absurdity Rob wrote: > 1999 ///MKyra, diamond schwarz, soon to be modified Bummer for her. You know you're going to have to look into those long soulful eyes the morning you take her to be, er, "Modified". Jerry Chyo '88 M5 '72 tii PS I pointed out a Touring to the SO last night (After telling her that a few Bimmer Buddy's had purchased same. Keith and Rob) and now she wants one. Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 08:44:35 -0800 From: "Jerry Chyo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] RE: <all> pre-purchase inspections Rob wrote: <snip> > A pre-purchase inspection isn't the type of thing where you just bring the > car to the local Sunoco station and ask the grease monkey to > "check it out". > That will most likely lead to a quick scan for dripping radiator > fluid, good > tire tread, and a $100 bill for no valuable information at all. <end snip> Absolutely. I have backed out of more cars than actually purchased because of pre-purchase inspections. I usually try to get the seller at the shop so the mechanic can point out problems and give a general cost of repairs. Always use a reputable shop too. If you take the seller to some ramshackle garage with dirty rags and empty 55 gallon barrels laying around, what the mechanic has to say will carry less weight. If the shop is immaculate and orderly, then the impressive looks add weight to the diagnosis. When I bought the M5 the buyer was asking a (I thought) crazy $24k (for a 50k car 5 years ago). It was way more than I was willing to pay, but I figured the shop would be able to give a fair value (Bimmer only shop). If the seller was spot on, I was out $100 and on to the next car. The shop owner said that he had seen two other M5's sell recently in comparable shape for around $16k. I offered $15k and got it for $15.5. FWIW Jerry Chyo '88 M5 '72 tii No Poodles or Sheep ------------------------------ End of [uucdigest] V3 #370 ************************** _________________________________________ | Please visit these UUC-approved BMW parts vendors/service providers: | (listed alphabetically) | Bonneville Motorwerks . http://www.bonnevillemotorwerks.com | Circle Tire Co. 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