[uucdigest] Wednesday, August 27 2003 Volume 03 : Number 6702
_________________________________________________________________ | | 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] Compression Vs. Leakdown testing? [uuc] cam oil seal replacement RE: [uuc] Compression Vs. Leakdown testing? [uuc] RE: Someone hit my BMW! Advice sought... Re: [uuc] e34 540i Suspension Woes Re: [uuc] RE: Someone hit my BMW! Advice sought... FW: [uuc] RE: Someone hit my BMW! Advice sought... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 18:05:36 -0700 (PDT) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [uuc] Compression Vs. Leakdown testing? M50TU? 100k miles? condition? Shouldn't you be asking about life after break-in? Yeah, my car is getting tired at 214k. I need to put in some front wheel bearings, and the floor mats are getting pretty worn. Motor and tranny are pretty solid. You'll find that block to be pretty bomb-proof unless you've done bad things to it. Marc Plante E36 325i, 214k Vienna, VA ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 19:55:40 -0700 (PDT) From: igor koruga <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] cam oil seal replacement Hi all, I have a small oil leak/drip by cylinder #1 on my 86 325. It was suggested to me that cam oil seal might be leaking ( I looked and can not determine with certainty if it is head gasket or oil cam seal). I am tying to plan for all the tools/parts that I will need if indeed it is bad cam seal ( I will also change water pump and timing belt while I am in there). My question is : do I really need press (as stated in Bentley) to seat cam oil seal and o-ring in the seal housing? If not how else can I do it? This will be my first time doing this, so any tips and tricks are greatly appreciated. Regards, Igor 86 325 BMW CCA GGC __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 23:42:02 -0400 From: "KMS - Brett Anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Compression Vs. Leakdown testing? Compression test is to tell if an engine is dead, or not dead. It won't tell you anything in between. Leak down test is a diagnostic aid, and gives a good indication of the overall health of the motor. It is possible, and in fact, quite common, to have good compression in an engine, with high leak down. So the engine runs like shit, but a compression check will show all is fine. Case in point, Kathy's race car. Compression was 165 +/- 10 psi across the board. Well within factory specs. However, #1 cylinder had 80% leakdown from a cracked valve. If you can only do one, do the leak down. Not that you should have anything to worry about at this early stage of your engine's life. Brett Anderson KMS > -----Original Message----- >On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Can someone please explain the difference in objectives between > compression testing and leakdown testing? > I want to assess the health of my 100Kmile+ M50TU, before doing any > freshening/upgrading. >Which test provides the most info? Would there ever be reason to do both? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 00:26:07 -0500 From: Neil <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] RE: Someone hit my BMW! Advice sought... I tried to ignore the ever-popular insurance-bashing thread this time despite some of the curious comments made and inaccurate advice given, but it didn't work... <snip> Say someone else rear ends the same not-repaired car. Could not the driver of the 2nd at fault car claim that since the car was not properly repaired then they are not liable for any damages? </snip> Yes. It's called prior damage, and *in most states*, the person/insurance company who is responsible for the newest damage does not owe and will deduct any overlapping prior damage from the current damage. If your bumper was damaged to the point where it needed to be replaced, and was hit again, you will not get paid for the bumper again. This also applies to prior poor or incomplete repairs as well, and does not matter whether you had been paid for the first loss or not. Regarding other comments made: After an accident, you should be paid the amount that would cover the repair in question, plus rental for that repair period. No more, no less. The way to get started is with an estimate (a key word), which is usually paid before repairs begin. If you actually repair the car, any difference between what has been already paid and what is owed by the company will be figured as the repairs progress, and paid at that time. This typically results in a lower-then-expected initial estimate, and shouts of 'rip-off' and 'cheat'. If you do not repair the car, the hidden damage can not be found, and will most likely not be paid. In contrast, many shops will estimate what they believe is likely to be needed as the repairs progress, rather than what is actually known to be needed. In some cases, it is based upon experience, and in some cases they are merely padding the estimate, either to make money for themselves or the car owner. Sometimes they'll write whatever estimate you want them to write. No insurance company will pay you for suspected damage, especially when you are the only one suspecting it (you and the shop who wrote the estimate for you, that is). I won't even get into "devaluation" (AKA diminish value). Oh what the heck. I've already come this far... What makes your car so unique and special that a few thousand dollars worth of repair would ruin it's resale value - other than the fact that it's yours? For the majority of us, the answer would be not a darned thing. I mean "you" in a figurative sense here. I'm not picking on anyone, and the average repair is a few grand. Even my swell Euro E28 M535i would probably not be devalued noticeably if it were damaged, and (here's the kicker) repaired properly, and there are only a large handful of them rolling around the US. Expensive does not necessarily equal valuable, rare or special. Here's the one tip I always give: No matter how fair/unfair it seems to you, or how righteous you feel you are, shouting, threatening or belittling the adjuster, company, or industry as a whole and small claims court will only embitter and entrench the adjuster, and make them less likely to seek a compromise. Yes, I work for an insurance company, and no I don't really care if you disagree or have anecdotal evidence to the contrary. Vive la difference. Neil ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 11:44:17 -0500 From: Sean Cordone <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] e34 540i Suspension Woes I'd still check the thrust arm bushings. I had a set last about 25-30k miles (before I went to the 750iL bushings) on my 540i. Symptom was clunking on braking - I never got the shimmy on light braking that usually heralds impending bushing failure that time. --SC John Barfuss wrote: > Well, not quite yet, but starting to have a disconcerting light > clunk/rattle in front suspension. Mostly noticeable over rough > pavement, but I can also hear by turning steering wheel back and forth > aggressively. My first thought is tie rod ends (I replaced control > arms/bushings (BavAuto combo), shocks (with Bilsteins) and tie rod > ends back in 99, 40,000+ miles ago). Are tie rod ends usually the > first to go? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 11:59:58 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [uuc] RE: Someone hit my BMW! Advice sought... "Dennis Wynne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Another thing I was wondering about. > Say someone else rear ends the same not-repaired car. Could not the > driver of the 2nd at fault car claim that since the car was not > properly repaired then they are not liable for any damages? Dennis, Yes, they could, but it's not that simple. If you read your insurance policy carefully, most state a contractual obligation to repair the car to the pre-accident state. There is nothing in the policy that promises to repair the car to an "as-new" state. That wording leaves a lot of room for interpretation. For example, it open the door for an insurance company to pay for equal wear junk-yard replacements or asian parts instead of buying brand new OE components. Granted, they rarely bother to do that with new cars, but if you got rear-ended and need a new $1K diff on your 200K mile E30, all bets are off. In your example, an insurance company will be obliged to repair the car to the pre-second accident state. That may be very hard to accomplish if you rear end had already been re-arranged by the first accident. So what they will likely do is deduct the estimated cost of first accident repairs from the check for the second accident. OTOH, if the first accident damaged another area of the car not touched by the second one, you will be getting two checks for the full amount of repair of both areas. The cute part is that the checks for two accidents can easily exceed the totalling threshold for your car. Yet the two claims will be processed independently. Ask me how I know ;-) > I mean if the energy absorbing "shocks" under the bumper cover were > blown and not fixed, then how can the 2nd driver be responsible for > the damage to the car? Valid point. > The same thing comes to mind when I see folks riding around without > the mandated seat belts on - or some of these kids who take off their > airbag steering wheels and replace them with some trick "racing" > steering wheel. Even if the accident is "my" fault, if they have removed > the airbags or are not wearing seat belts should "I" be held liable? At > least there should be a limit on the liability, don't you think? Hey, if you hit me, I _deserve_ all the money I can get sue from you because I'm so unique and special. ;-) Seriously now, issues of commons sense and fairness aside (bg), the liability is derived from the contract between the insured and the insurance company. AFAIK, insurance policies carry exceptions for blatant criminal acts (as in crashing your car during a bank robbery), but not for acts of stupidity. So even if you drive off a cliff with your toe on the steering wheel while scratching your ass and snorting coke, you might still be insured. > A lot of the SUV roll over deaths involve folks tossed from the vehicle. > If they had been wearing a belt they may have walked away. So should we > let the tire and SUV makers off the hook a little bit because these folks > chose not to utilize a key safety device? Very good points. OTOH, something tells me that the insurance companies would have used it long time ago if it had legal traction and was cost effective. alex f ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 13:51:04 -0400 From: "Dennis Liu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: FW: [uuc] RE: Someone hit my BMW! Advice sought... trying again... - -----Original Message----- From: Dennis Liu [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 9:15 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [uuc] RE: Someone hit my BMW! Advice sought... Very interesting post, Neil. I agree with you on everything. Until you reach the point on diminished value claims. You wrote: >What makes your car so unique and special that a few thousand dollars worth of repair would ruin it's resale value - other than the fact that it's yours? For the majority of us, the answer would be not a darned thing. I mean "you" in a figurative sense here. I'm not picking on anyone, and the average repair is a few grand. Even my swell Euro E28 M535i would probably not be devalued noticeably if it were damaged, and (here's the kicker) repaired properly, and there are only a large handful of them rolling around the US. Expensive does not necessarily equal valuable, rare or special. ____________ It's this point with which I completely disagree. Maybe a well-driven (used) E28 M535i (fabulous car, I had one and loved it) would, as a percentage basis of its current value, be worth slightly less in case of an accident and then a repair. But you're kidding when you apply your theory to cars in general, no? Take a brand new E46 M3. You've just taken delivery of it, you drive it off the lot, and you get rear-ended by a tractor-trailer. $30k worth of damage. A great body shop does all of the work, and it drives and looks like new. BUT. It's still been hit, and hit hard. Maybe Carfax as a note of it in its records. If you want to sell this car, is this car worth the same as the EXACT SAME CAR that was just delivered to a customer, but without an accident? Of course not. If you were a buyer, and a choice between a 2003 M3 with 150 miles and a 2003 M3 with 150 miles and a big accident (albeit repaired impeccably), offered at the same exact price, wouldn't you chose the former? You might chose the latter IF the latter were somewhat cheaper. Maybe $500 cheaper, maybe $3000 cheaper, maybe $5000 cheaper. Whatever that difference is, that difference IS THE DIMINUTION IN VALUE. Is this an extreme example? Maybe. But the same principle applies. Whenever you're trying to sell a used car, one that has been in an accident, no matter how well repaired, will, virtually always, be worth SOMETHING less than the same car that hadn't been in an accident. If I've been in an accident, where I am not at fault, why SHOULDN'T I be compensated for my loss?!? I'm curious to hear your reply, Neil. Again, I agree completely with your other points, and can't really figure out why a diminution claim isn't appropriate. vty, - --Dennis - -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Neil Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 1:26 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] RE: Someone hit my BMW! Advice sought... I tried to ignore the ever-popular insurance-bashing thread this time despite some of the curious comments made and inaccurate advice given, but it didn't work... <snip> Say someone else rear ends the same not-repaired car. Could not the driver of the 2nd at fault car claim that since the car was not properly repaired then they are not liable for any damages? </snip> Yes. It's called prior damage, and *in most states*, the person/insurance company who is responsible for the newest damage does not owe and will deduct any overlapping prior damage from the current damage. If your bumper was damaged to the point where it needed to be replaced, and was hit again, you will not get paid for the bumper again. This also applies to prior poor or incomplete repairs as well, and does not matter whether you had been paid for the first loss or not. Regarding other comments made: After an accident, you should be paid the amount that would cover the repair in question, plus rental for that repair period. No more, no less. The way to get started is with an estimate (a key word), which is usually paid before repairs begin. If you actually repair the car, any difference between what has been already paid and what is owed by the company will be figured as the repairs progress, and paid at that time. This typically results in a lower-then-expected initial estimate, and shouts of 'rip-off' and 'cheat'. If you do not repair the car, the hidden damage can not be found, and will most likely not be paid. In contrast, many shops will estimate what they believe is likely to be needed as the repairs progress, rather than what is actually known to be needed. In some cases, it is based upon experience, and in some cases they are merely padding the estimate, either to make money for themselves or the car owner. Sometimes they'll write whatever estimate you want them to write. No insurance company will pay you for suspected damage, especially when you are the only one suspecting it (you and the shop who wrote the estimate for you, that is). I won't even get into "devaluation" (AKA diminish value). Oh what the heck. I've already come this far... What makes your car so unique and special that a few thousand dollars worth of repair would ruin it's resale value - other than the fact that it's yours? For the majority of us, the answer would be not a darned thing. I mean "you" in a figurative sense here. I'm not picking on anyone, and the average repair is a few grand. Even my swell Euro E28 M535i would probably not be devalued noticeably if it were damaged, and (here's the kicker) repaired properly, and there are only a large handful of them rolling around the US. Expensive does not necessarily equal valuable, rare or special. Here's the one tip I always give: No matter how fair/unfair it seems to you, or how righteous you feel you are, shouting, threatening or belittling the adjuster, company, or industry as a whole and small claims court will only embitter and entrench the adjuster, and make them less likely to seek a compromise. Yes, I work for an insurance company, and no I don't really care if you disagree or have anecdotal evidence to the contrary. Vive la difference. Neil ------------------------------ End of [uucdigest] V3 #6702 *************************** | | 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 . 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