[uucdigest] Thursday, March 27 2003 Volume 03 : Number 6252
_________________________________________________________________ | | Search the ARCHIVES: | http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] | | Visit Richard Nott's Ultimate BMW Database: | http://www.bmwdatabase.com | | 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. | Technical Problems? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] |__________________________________________________________________ In this BMW UUC Digest: Re: [uuc] S52 longevity [uuc] <E30> Good spark plug socket for M42? [uuc] NuFinish [uuc] Re: Street/track and Track pads [uuc] <E30> Good spark plug socket for M42? [uuc] Re: Now Motronic adaptability [uuc] <fs> 3.8 Liter M5 four spoke M steering wheel Re: [uuc] S52 longevity [uuc] re:tie rod replacement/ Was: bad lower control arms with shimmy Re: [uuc] Track Pads [uuc] RE: OBC relay box location on a stalling 1984 euro-spec 635i? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 13:14:17 -0500 From: "mike" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] S52 longevity It will perform the same as your car, as it is the same motor family, with only slight changes. The extra stress from the higher displacement/HP should be nil. Also have seen 180k mile M3s that were running fine Mike - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Neil N." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 12:34 PM Subject: [uuc] S52 longevity > Gang, > > My 1994 325is has 195,000 miles on it, and runs like a > top. I'm in the market for a 97-99 M3 (white/black or > red/black manual coupe, if you know of one), and - > ruling out the obvious need for proper maintenance - > I'm curious if the S52 motor/drivetrain has proven its > high-mileage reliability. I understand they're > relatively young, but has anyone racked up serious > miles on one yet that would share their experiences? > > Thanks, > > Neil > > __________________________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! > http://platinum.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 13:24:38 -0500 From: "Dorffer, Rich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] <E30> Good spark plug socket for M42? Steve wrote > > The toolkit socket does a satisfactory job but I haven't > yet figured out how to get a torque wrench on it. Does > anybody have any favorite sockets? Yep, a Stahlwille Auto-Torque Spark Plug Socket. The socket itself is a 2 piece design and when you have reached the proper torque (20 NM if I recall correctly), it has a ratcheting mechanism internally that acts like a torque wrench. This works well when you don't or can't use a torque wrench. Pretty trick. I bought one new off of eBay once for cheap. I think they originally cost about $100 (Yikes!) and I don't think they are made anymore so you will have trouble finding one. Actually, I have a couple of Snap-On swivel and straight sockets that I use as well. Regards, Rich - noted tool junkie ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 10:27:26 -0800 From: Greg Cagle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] NuFinish I used NuFinish on our first BMW, purchased new in 1989 (325i). As Gary said, it went on easy and lasted longer than the wax I had been using. And the car (hellrot, if I remember) looked really good - a deep, deep shine. - -- Greg Cagle gregc at gregcagle dot com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 13:34:37 -0500 From: "James Clay" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Re: Street/track and Track pads One thing I forget and have been reminded of a lot recently is there is a group of people that do need a dual use pad and it will work for. I can roast most pads that are stock, dual use, etc in about 2 sessions by driving my normal pace on the track, even with street tires. But I remember when I started doing schools, went to a performance street pad after the first school, and they lasted well for the track and my street driving for 3 events before I took them off with pad still remaining (the squealed but I didn't care at all at the time). If you are still working up to maximizing your braking zones and are on street tires, or if you just go to schools a few times a year for fun, a dual purpose pad may be the deal. I have used Hawk HP Plus on a lighter E30 a couple of years ago and with 3 drivers one day, the pads really held up amazingly well. BUT, the pads squeal on the street in most cases and I took them off my street car for that reason. I had a customer that was an ex-racer that decided to go with Hawk HPS pads on the street/track car we built him (E36, 320Hp, 255 R track tires) and they were gone in a full lapping day. It depends on driving style... As far as Carbotechs go, there are several compounds. I did some testing on one full-race compound for them and they did work fairly well and I did not have any crumbling issues. We also used them on the old tow rig. I don't think they are bad pads at all, but for my preferences, they are not the ones on my car. James James Clay http://www.bimmerworld.com Engineered BMW Performance 540.639.9648 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 13:31:20 -0500 From: "Dorffer, Rich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] <E30> Good spark plug socket for M42? Alex says > > You don't need a torque wrench. You don't have the room to use it on the > 6th cylinder anyway. Use you hand. Sure, there is plenty of room on my E30 M20 motor to use a torque wrench if I want to. I would guess Steve has tons of room on his M42. > Get the spark plug in tight than give it another 30% turn to crush the > washer. I think this is a good rule of thumb too. > What is the official spark plug's torque? 18 ft/#s? Don't go guerilla > over-tightening those things. The worst thing that can happen if you under > tighten is that the spark plug will work itself loose. > If you are unsure, err on the side of under-tighting and check the plugs a > few days later. I think the proper torque is 18 NM - 20 NM IIRC. Judicious use of some anti-seize is a good idea as well. Later, Rich ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 10:41:21 -0800 (PST) From: John Bolhuis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Re: Now Motronic adaptability On Thu, 27 Mar 2003, Gary Derian wrote: > The O2 sensor (aka EGO) can only tell if the mixture is rich or > lean. Not by how much, just what side of the line you are on. > This is only useful for making a 3 way catalyst work efficiently. The EGO can give some information on how rich or lean the mixture is, but if you look at the response curve of the device (voltage output vs. mixture) you'll see that it's wildly sensitive right at the stoichiometric point, and relatively insensitive on either side. That, coupled with small differences in output based on the temperature makes it inadequate as an accurate mixture meter. Still, it's interesting to watch EGO output on a suitable meter. > Full throttle must run to the rich side for maximum power and > cylinder cooling. The EGO sensor is not useful for this > information. At full throttle, the EGO is still making a signal for the motronic of course, but it is my understanding that the signal is ignored completely. Can someone confirm that the motronic doesn't even peek at the EGO output even a little, if only to make sure it's firmly in rich territory? I suspect it does not, as I've seen my EGO output fall out of the rich range at very high RPM (that is, until I upped the fuel pressure a few PSI). - -- "It is an honor to be Cookie Monster." -Sesame Street spokeswoman Audrey Shapiro ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 18:42:54 +0000 From: "R. Clark" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] <fs> 3.8 Liter M5 four spoke M steering wheel I have a four spoke M steering steerin wheel for sale. This is the M wheel that appeared the 3.8 liter E34 M5 and 1995 Canadian spec M540i. As well as E36 M3 models through 3/98. This includes the steering wheel and air bag unit. Please respond via email if interested. This includes the steering wheel and air bag unit. Asking $300 or best reasonable offer. Please respond via email if interested. Thanks for the band with. _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 10:49:48 -0800 From: Jim Bassett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] S52 longevity At 09:34 AM 3/27/03, Neil N. wrote: >My 1994 325is has 195,000 miles on it, and runs like a >top. I'm in the market for a 97-99 M3 (white/black or >red/black manual coupe, if you know of one), and - >ruling out the obvious need for proper maintenance - >I'm curious if the S52 motor/drivetrain has proven its >high-mileage reliability. I understand they're >relatively young, but has anyone racked up serious >miles on one yet that would share their experiences? Well, I've got 126,000+ miles on my '98 M3. By my estimate 8-10,000 of that was track miles. Only engine related mods are JimC SW and intake. Red Line oil every 4500 miles or so while tracking it, now back on the SI intervals during it's track retirement. Tranny & diff fluid still changed every 30K. The motor has always consumed some oil since day one, but within the BMW allowed amount. I had an oil analysis done at around 120,000 miles (oil had 8000 miles on it). In part: "...we found all wear from the engine below average levels and in the correct balance to show normal mechanical parts inside." (Blackstone Laboratories report) I've had minimal drive train issues - leaking rear main seal (track related most likely) and a new clutch at the same time. No diff issues, and the only tranny "issue" I have is when cold the shifter sticks over toward the 5th gear gate, rather than centering. Once warm it's fine. This has been talked about quite a bit on Bimmerforums.com as well as an article (with a possible fix) in the Feb 2003 Roundel. I'll probably address this sometime in the future, but right now it's a minor annoyance. IMO, the drivetrains are very robust/reliable. It's the power steering system, cooling system and suspension that tend to need repair early. BTDT <g>. Hope that helps, Jim Bassett 1998 M3/4 1993 325is #44 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 11:01:21 -0800 From: jkerouac <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] re:tie rod replacement/ Was: bad lower control arms with shimmy Tie rod replacement/ Was: bad lower control arms with shimmy Check the tie rods. Its common for the little ball that connects them to the steering rack to go bad. If you have >75k miles, its a good idea to replace them. Real retail should be <$65. each. Dealer gouging prices are about $110. each. You can pop the old tie rod out of the steering knuckle with one solid zets from a 3 pound mallet on the top of the threaded area. The bent over retaining washer on the steering rack threaded section can be bent out of the way with a chisel struck by same aforementioned mallet. After installation, use the mallet to bent the retainer washer back over the side of the nut. This mallet and chisel will come in handly for many other repairs too, and cost many $$ less then paying to have the job done. Time to do the job meticulously with car on jackstands is about 1.5 hours if you've done it before, 2.5+ hours for the first timer. The metal retainers on the steering rack boot can be reused, but care and patience is needed to remove and reinstall them without damaging them. _Definitely_ do get your front toe in reset after you replace the tie rods. Good Luck, 'jk ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 14:15:34 -0500 From: "Dave Kelley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Track Pads Steve, There are several "Panther" compounds from Carbotech. Please specify which compound you are referring to? I am considering Carbotech Panther XP pads for the track and interested if anyone has any experience? Dave Kelley 98 M3/4 > Jack mentioned Carbotech pads in his excellent post about various > brands, and said he had heard they perform similar to Porterfield R4. > Jack has forgotten the discussion we had a while back. Many of you will > remember this story, but there are some new members that may like to > hear it. I had a set of Carbotech Panthers on my E39 while running in > the 'B' group at Laguna Seca a while back. My fond memory of this > frightening incident was getting on the brakes approaching the Andretti > Hairpin at well over 100 mph, and the steering wheel almost shook out of > my hands. I thought all of my front wheel lugs had come loose. I pitted > immediately to check things out, and the problem was obvious, 'pad poop' > on the rotors. The Carbotech pads had pretty much melted unevenly on > the front rotors. For some strange reason, I had brought the stock pads > with me to the track, so I swapped them back in. My next run session > was just fine with the stock pads. IMHO, the Carbotech pads are not as > good as the stock pads. All of this data applies to my E39, and I have > no experience with any other model. As always, YMMV > > Steve Albrecht > > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 11:24:16 -0800 From: Zenon Holtz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] RE: OBC relay box location on a stalling 1984 euro-spec 635i? Thank you Brett! Your definitive advice is greatly appreciated. I found the detailed wiring info in the archives just like you said. For those playing along at home, the OBC "brain" wires that require jumping are Pin 14, 1.5 green, and Pin 15, 1.5 Green/Red, of the black connector. I'll let the list know if that was the trick or if there is any difference on the euro-spec car. best regards, Zenon 1972 & 1973 2002 British Columbia '02 Owner's Group: http://www.zeebuck.com/02bc/index.htm At 08:18 AM 27/03/03 -0500, Brett Anderson wrote: >The 84 does not have the OBC system that you've read about. > >It has a display unit with a remote OBC computer, that controls all the >functions, including those of the "relay box" of the later unit. > >This computer is directly above the drivers knees, a large silver box with >two long connectors, one yellow, the other black. > >In order to isolate this as being the problem, you'll need to unplug the box >and jump the two wires that kill the ignition. Not sure which ones they are >off the top of my head, but you can either email me via the tech request >section of my site, or look through the archives, Fuerst had posted about >bypassing this OBC module on his 84 733i. > >The car will not start with the box unplugged, you must jump the appropriate >pair of wires. ------------------------------ End of [uucdigest] V3 #6252 *************************** | | In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. |________________________________________ | Please visit these UUC-approved BMW parts vendors/service providers: | (listed alphabetically) | | Autoscope-Motorsports - http://www.autoscope-motorsports.com | |==================================================== | | Koala MotorSport . 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