[uucdigest] Tuesday, August 12 2003 Volume 03 : Number 6654
_________________________________________________________________ | | 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: [uuc] Re: E30 Power Antenna [uuc] Re: Dealer experiences (Was E36 software updates) [uuc] coolant change issues [uuc] Re: E30 Power Antenna RE: [uuc] E34 Electrical Problem [uuc] Re: <E30> M3 springs raise 325i (!) [uuc] looking at 2000 M5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 11:10:49 -0700 (PDT) From: John Bolhuis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Re: E30 Power Antenna On Tue, 12 Aug 2003, Stan Jackson Jr. wrote: > installed it in one of the cars. After removing the broken > antenna I popped open the case. Nothing obvious. When I looked inside my broken antenna, it looked ok until I got to the inside of the main drive gear. The plastic nub where the spring engages it to turn was broken off. I don't think you'll see this until you get it further apart. I don't think there's a fix or a replacement part, unless you're exceedingly clever. - -- "It is an honor to be Cookie Monster." -Sesame Street spokeswoman Audrey Shapiro ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 11:16:02 -0700 (PDT) From: Joe Tan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Re: Dealer experiences (Was E36 software updates) Since we keep hearing about bad experiences at the dealers all the time. Let me just be fair and say something positive about one of them. 6 months ago I lost my radio code and after disconnecting my battery to do a steering wheel replacement I was locked out of my radio. I went to the 2 nearest BMW dealers with the radio SN to ask them to lookup the code for me. One of them wanted $60 and the other one wanted $50. My conversation with the SA: ME: I lost my radio code. Can you please help me look it up on your computer? SA: We have to take out the radio with a special tools and get the SN on the back of the radio. It's going to take 30min for the job which is $50 Me: I already have the SN on a piece of paper. All you need to do is type it in the computer in front of you right here. SA: Sorry, can't do. Our policy does not allows us to do this for free. ME: So your policy is against helping your customer? SA: Nope. sorry. Granted it was not a lot of money. but it was against my principal to pay $50~$60 to someone to spend 2 mins to type in a few letter on the computer. Someone on the list mentioned that Allison would do it for free. I drove 30 mins to Allsion and just handed them the SN and got out of there in 5 min and didn't pay a cent. Now whenever I need some parts I rather drive 30min to a dealer who is willing to help their customer. Joe '98 M3/4 - ------------------ re: E36 software updates + dealer experiences: In February '99 I had the crankshaft position sensor recall performed on my E36 //M3. That included an ECU remap regarding O2 sensor issues which I advised the dealer not to perform as my ECU was already no longer stock. I should point out that the aftermarket remap I had made a noticeable difference from the initial 6/97 code my car was delivered with. Also that the recall first was available in late '98/early '99. A few months later, my car was in at the same dealer for RTAB repair under warranty. When I got my car back, the engine didn't seem much different except I found the redlines had reverted to stock. I ran some 60 to 80 third gear timings to verify that. Better than when the car was stock, but on the slower side for the aftermarket remap. It turns out that Allison BMW, Mountain View, CA, had done the O2 sensor remap with niether my permission nor advising me when I picked up my car. Their sneakiness in attempting to earn a few extra warranty bucks from BMWNA also was shown by them not placing the sticker under that hood that was supposed to be done when the recall was performed. Now that "the dealer formerly known as Allison" is owned by a national chain, its not even worth passing intestinal methane at. So to kill two birds with one piece of silicone, the first bird chirped that the final stock mapping for the //E36 M3 is an improvement over earlier burns, is similar to what the aftermarket tuners will give but with less spark advance so that it does not require 91 octane. It will keep your engine stock if you compete in a class that does not allow the ECU to be remapped. If you have a '99 //M3 as listed by the posting asking about remaps, check your production date. I also have a sneaky suspicion that the aftermarket remap now in my //M3 may be same as the latest factory remap with just higher redlines and the spark advance bumped up. While the second bird tweeted a reminder when bringing your car in for servicing, to specify that nothing else is to be done to your car whether there is cost involved or not, since its commonplace for dealers to do no cost to the customer warranty and recall work on your BMW without asking permission or advising you later, and under many state's laws, that practice is legal if there is no cost to the customer. Happy remapping, 'jk __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 11:34:52 -0700 (PDT) From: David DeBord <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] coolant change issues - --0-1790693547-1060713292=:29336 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii I replaced my broken radiator drain plug with a new one. I dumped 1 gal of BMW coolant in, and it only took about 1/2 gal of distilled water. I assume that having the car on a ramp on one side to access the engine drain lug) must have left some liquid inside. I filled just past the Kalt fill line. I run the engine for a while with the heat on, but no heat comes out. Engine heats up till needle is in middle of temp gauge, like usual. Took a short drive & started overheating about 5 minutes later. Stopped to cool down but it is holding at about the middle. Start car & turn on heater again & try to see if I can get air out of hoses. Heats up real fast. Wait again & try to get home. Shut car off at intersections (freaked out the other night traffic!). OK, what do I do now? How do you get the air out? Can you fill the radiator completely? I thought the "fill line" was maximum. Why no heat from heater? CONFUSED & STRESSED OUT! d - --0-1790693547-1060713292=:29336 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii <DIV><FONT size=2> <P>I replaced my broken radiator drain plug with a new one. I dumped 1 gal of BMW coolant in, and it only took about 1/2 gal of distilled water. I assume that having the car on a ramp on one side to access the engine drain lug) must have left some liquid inside. I filled just past the Kalt fill line. I run the engine for a while with the heat on, but no heat comes out. Engine heats up till needle is in middle of temp gauge, like usual. Took a short drive & started overheating about 5 minutes later. Stopped to cool down but it is holding at about the middle. Start car & turn on heater again & try to see if I can get air out of hoses. Heats up real fast. Wait again & try to get home. Shut car off at intersections (freaked out the other night traffic!).</P> <P>OK, what do I do now? How do you get the air out? Can you fill the radiator completely? I thought the "fill line" was maximum. Why no heat from heater?</P> <P>CONFUSED & STRESSED OUT!</P> <P>d</P></FONT></DIV> - --0-1790693547-1060713292=:29336-- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 11:38:38 -0700 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] Re: E30 Power Antenna Stan, you can buy a new mast for your existing antenna for about $25. I got mine from Double 02 Salvage in Hayward, CA (510-782-2002), but I'm sure you can get one locally. Since you have the balky mast out, try some penetrating oil (Liquid Wrench, PB Blaster, etc) and see if you can free up the sticking mast section. I think you'll find that the problem is not in the motor. The only mast lubricant that I've found to work is the factory stuff, which comes in little use-once-and-throw-away packets. The other things I've tried, recommended on various mailing lists, don't last long enough, like what you said. HTH, Scott Miller GGC BMW CCA 1990 325i, new mast 1 year ago 1991 325iA, gonna need a new mast too >Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 01:24:57 -0400 >From: "Stan Jackson Jr." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [uuc] E30 Power Antenna > >I've got a pair of 1988 E30 325iX cars. Both have power antennas that have >been balky over the last couple of years. If one sits too long or gets >gummed up in the winter, I help the antenna by pulling it up while it is >trying to rise. Then I lubricate it well. This never seems to last, >however. Recently, both antennas decided that only three sections were >going to go up. This time, no amount of pulling or lubricating could >convince the antenna to fully rise on either car (I think it is the third >section that won't go up). I happened to have one spare antenna, so I >installed it in one of the cars. After removing the broken antenna I popped >open the case. Nothing obvious. > >Is there likely to be a simple fix? Is it worth the time to delve into one >or both of these broken antennas further? I've seen new ones for over $100 >(gulp), but I'm sure they sell fairly inexpensively at junkyards. Attempt >to repair or just junk them? > >Any recommendations for a better antenna lubricant? > >Thanks, > >Stan ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 14:44:25 -0400 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [uuc] E34 Electrical Problem My 91 525i had this same malady 3 months ago. The piece is identified in Bently's as the fusable link. I called the local MB dealer to see if they had one on a Sat that fit(they did), since the nearest BMW dealer was 50+ miles away. They were very nice about it and gave me the fuse. Im wondering how many other 13 year old components will be showing their age soon? Steve Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 00:45:22 -0400 From: "KMS - Brett Anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] E34 Electrical Problem The 80 amp inline fuse at the battery is bad. It's cracked, won't look bad until you undo the screws securing it, at which point, it will fall into two pieces. It's in an inline holder, about 12 inches from the positive terminal of the battery, on the smaller of the two positive cables. Brett Anderson KMS > -----Original Message----- > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Steve & Barb > Conner > We have a 91 525i which has recently developed a bit of an electrical > problem. All of a sudden, the following items do NOT work: radio, > power seats, moon roof, power door locks, power windows, OBC driver and > center console display. All fuses are OK and appear to have 12 volts on > them when the ignition is on. This is too many things not working at > once to not be related. Can anyone give me a hint as to what might be > going on? Does anyone know anything about a component called > 'electronic power protection relay'? It shows up on several pages of > the schematic and might be related, who knows. Thanks for any tips. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 14:02:15 -0500 From: "Weimer, Matt J." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Re: <E30> M3 springs raise 325i (!) My '86 325i has only two options, A/C and power sunroof. I am assuming at this point that my car must weigh very closely to what yours measured. I think the main weight savings is in the small steel bumpers with no shocks, manual windows/locks and no ABS. Unfortunately my car does not have the factory M-Tech suspension. The rear bar on this car is 13.5mm and the front bar is 20mm, yes a strange sized rear bar that seemed to only be on the early Euro "i" motored cars. I did look up the spring codes and did not find anything particularly special about them, no mention of M-tech or anything. The original shocks on the car were Boge's. Thanks for the good info. Matt Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 00:12:46 -0400 From: "Mitchell Morrison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Re: <E30> M3 springs raise 325i (!) FWIW my 85 euro 2 door 325 weighs 2480. Dealer A/C Dealer CL Sunroof 5 spd w/ spare and 25 liters of fuel. You may have factory sports(M-Tech) suspension. Check the rear bar for 14.5mm dia. Most bushings have a date code so you can tell if it's original. My car also has the 1" shorter rear Bilstein shocks that came w/ the M-Tech suspension. Lastly check the spring codes since there out. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 09:03:01 -1000 From: Jay G <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] looking at 2000 M5 hey gruppe, i'll be looking at a 2000 M5 lease return later this week...no idea on the mileage or condition just yet, but dealer said they're gonna make it a CPO car (i know, i know, big deal)...anything to look out for??? any defects/recalls i should be aware for this year M5??? any and all help/info greatly appreciated...thanx in advance! ------------------------------ End of [uucdigest] V3 #6654 *************************** | | 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 . BMW technical information, special tool sales/rental | http://www.koalamotorsport.com | |==================================================== | | Taylor BMW - http://www.taylorbmw.com - Doc Bimmer! | |==================================================== | Turner Motorsport Inc . The Ultra-High Performance BMW Specialist | 207 Elm Street, Amesbury, MA 01950 | 978-388-7769 / fax 978-388-4202 | http://www.turnermotorsport.com | |==================================================== | | UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning | and home of the Ultimate Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! | 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com |__________________________________________________________
