The BMW UUC Digest Volume 1 : Issue 32 : "text" Format Messages in this Issue: Re: San Diego Re: San Diego Re: Valve adjustment and engine compression? Re: Valve adjustment and engine compression? Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? Re: Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? Re: Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? Re: Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? Re: Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? compression <WTB> Used Illuminated E36 M3 Shift Knob WTB: Oil Pan, Diff M3 Transmission Oil? Re: M3 Transmission Oil? More Carfax info
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 15:41:00 -0500 From: "chet.dawes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: San Diego Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Kathy/Brett, In the 'Gas Lamp Quarter' downtown area of San Diego, there is a great restaurant (albeit pricey) called Croce's. It's the work of Ingrid Croce (wife of the late Jim Croce-Time In A Bottle) and is truely excellent food and atmosphere. There is usually local Jazz talent playing on weekend nights. The 'Gas Lamp' has lots of cool shops/bars, etc too. Call ahead for reservations if you're interested. No affiliation-just a satisfied customer (I can still remember what I had and how it tasted more than 2 years later) Visit the Hotel del Coronado if that's not where you are staying, it's pretty cool! Chet Dawes **************************************************************************************** Note: The information contained in this message may be privileged and confidential and thus protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you. **************************************************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 17:53:25 -0500 From: "Kathy Lyle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "BMWUUC Digest" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: San Diego Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> A big thanks to everybody who responded, on the list and privately, with lots of good ideas about places to go while we're in SD this weekend. We now have a dinner reservation at George's at the Cove on Brett's birthday and are really looking forward to seeing the sights around Coronado, the Gaslamp District and maybe Catalina Island if time permits. We've been to the zoo once before but it's been a few years so that may go back on the list too. (Surprising note: the Cincinnati, OH zoo is ranked second in the US behind San Diego's; it's old and very charming if you ever get a chance to go.) Thanks again, Kathy ---- Kathryn M. Lyle, CPA, CVA Lyle & Associates CPA www.lylecpa.com Creating Business Value ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 15:50:54 -0500 From: "Robert G. Conway" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Valve adjustment and engine compression? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 09:36:56 -0800 Olivia Teich wrote: >Yesterday I was informed that compression in three of my six cylinders >is a little low. The readings were: 150 140 150 120 110 150, though I >may have the order slightly wrong. This was done at a shop I >had never >been to before (and I wasn't exactly thrilled at an hour and a half >inspection taking over three hours). > Olivia, You didn't specify the year, but I assume that this is an E30 ic with the M20B25 motor. In any event, those are not good compression numbers. It is possible but unlikely that a improper valve adjustment could cause this, but this could only happen if the valves were adjusted too tight and were not closing fully - and in this case you would see very, very low compression. I suggest that you bring the car to a competent shop to perform a leakdown test. This will not only provide an indication of wear (like a compression test) but will pinpoint what is causing the drop in compression. This is especially important if there is a suspicion that a valve is not closing fully. Both these tests should be performed on a hot engine, and if it took your shop 3 hours to do a compression test, this could invalidate the results. These are important diagnostic tests; choose your shop carefully. I'm sure there's a list member who could recommend a good shop in your area. Good luck! Bob NJBMWCCA #128312 '99 M3 Coupe '97 M3 Coupe '92 325is '89 325i (Track) '88 325is (Track) '88 325is (R&T) '89 Suburban ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 17:00:53 -0800 From: Olivia Teich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "David A. Leonard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Valve adjustment and engine compression? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Thanks Bob and David, My bad (and good guess on your part) -- it is a '93 325ic, the last e30 convertible model. The three hours the shop took was actually for a pre-purchase inspection, not just the compression test. It was about a 30 minutes drive getting there, so the engine would have been warm, at least if they didn't wait until the end of that time period. It is entirely possible that the numbers were just flukes, and this was the buyer's shop choice, not mine, and I have no idea who reliable they really are. I appreciate the advice and will talk to my shop about rechecking the valve adjustment as a start. I certainly agree with you that this isn't something that needs fixing now, so maybe this just isn't the car for this potential buyer... Thanks again everyone! Olivia '93 325ic <- for sale On Nov 25, 2003, at 12:50 PM, Robert G. Conway wrote: > Search the > ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 09:36:56 -0800 Olivia Teich wrote: > >> Yesterday I was informed that compression in three of my six cylinders >> is a little low. The readings were: 150 140 150 120 110 150, though I >> may have the order slightly wrong. This was done at a shop I >> had never >> been to before (and I wasn't exactly thrilled at an hour and a half >> inspection taking over three hours). >> > Olivia, > > You didn't specify the year, but I assume that this is an E30 ic with > the M20B25 motor. In any event, those are not good compression > numbers. > It is possible but unlikely that a improper valve adjustment could > cause > this, but this could only happen if the valves were adjusted too tight > and were not closing fully - and in this case you would see very, very > low compression. I suggest that you bring the car to a competent shop > to perform a leakdown test. This will not only provide an indication > of > wear (like a compression test) but will pinpoint what is causing the > drop in compression. This is especially important if there is a > suspicion that a valve is not closing fully. Both these tests should > be > performed on a hot engine, and if it took your shop 3 hours to do a > compression test, this could invalidate the results. These are > important diagnostic tests; choose your shop carefully. I'm sure > there's a list member who could recommend a good shop in your area. > Good luck! > > Bob > NJBMWCCA #128312 > '99 M3 Coupe > '97 M3 Coupe > '92 325is > '89 325i (Track) > '88 325is (Track) > '88 325is (R&T) > '89 Suburban > > _______________________________________________________________________ > ___ > In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW > CCA. > > UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the Ultimate > Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! > 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 16:00:41 -0500 From: "The Corbs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Recently discovered that the incredible "bargain" that I got from a friend of mine is a poorly executed "clip" job which both AA and Redline down here in S.Fl tell me is beyond retrieval because the unibody is now diamond shaped. Makes for very unpredictable behavior at speeds over 50mph - doh. Friend purchased it a year earlier from a local "dealer" on autotrader - paid full market for a '97 M3 with ~50k miles, hence my lack of caution. Options are: 1. Sell the whole thing for parts 2. Part it out 3. Transplant the drivetrain into another E36 or E30 roller - currently 66k miles on it, apparently in relatively good shape. Option 3 is very attractive if the economics are right particularly into an E30 M3 roller. Any thoughts/BTDTs/legal position? Thanks John Corbs ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 16:02:56 -0600 From: Dennis Wynne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "The Corbs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Man, that hurls! Just for grins (since we were just talking about it), get someone to run a CarFax on it to see what it shows. I friend had a similar problem with a VW Cabriolet he got from his wife. From a private party in the local paper. The car drove a little loose, but no big deal. He went to trade it and the dealer checked the CF and found it had been totalled. I think when they then look under the car they saw where it had been subject to a lot of work. I guess the "private party" was not on the up and up. Dennis 01 M5 silver/black At 04:00 PM 11/25/2003 -0500, The Corbs wrote: >Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >Recently discovered that the incredible "bargain" that I got from a friend >of mine is a poorly executed "clip" job which both AA and Redline down here >in S.Fl tell me is beyond retrieval because the unibody is now diamond >shaped. Makes for very unpredictable behavior at speeds over 50mph - doh. >Friend purchased it a year earlier from a local "dealer" on autotrader - >paid full market for a '97 M3 with ~50k miles, hence my lack of caution. > >Options are: > >1. Sell the whole thing for parts >2. Part it out >3. Transplant the drivetrain into another E36 or E30 roller - currently 66k >miles on it, apparently in relatively good shape. > >Option 3 is very attractive if the economics are right particularly into an >E30 M3 roller. > >Any thoughts/BTDTs/legal position? > >Thanks > >John Corbs > > >__________________________________________________________________________ >In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. > >UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the Ultimate >Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! >908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 14:23:41 -0800 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: "The Corbs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I would recommend an E36 transplant, but if you are going to transplant to an E30, please don't pick an E30 M3 and butcher it. The car is rare and does not need an S52 to make it fun. There are thousands of E30 325is that you can buy and but an S52 in. Regards, Bora 1989 E30 M3 #236 JP BMWCCA CR >-- Original Message -- >Recently discovered that the incredible "bargain" that I got from a friend >of mine is a poorly executed "clip" job which both AA and Redline down here >in S.Fl tell me is beyond retrieval because the unibody is now diamond >shaped. Makes for very unpredictable behavior at speeds over 50mph - doh. >Friend purchased it a year earlier from a local "dealer" on autotrader - >paid full market for a '97 M3 with ~50k miles, hence my lack of caution. > >Options are: > >1. Sell the whole thing for parts >2. Part it out >3. Transplant the drivetrain into another E36 or E30 roller - currently 66k >miles on it, apparently in relatively good shape. > >Option 3 is very attractive if the economics are right particularly into >an >E30 M3 roller. > >Any thoughts/BTDTs/legal position? > >Thanks > >John Corbs > > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 17:32:36 -0800 (PST) From: "Neil N." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I agree wholeheartedly. I, too, am very sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience, but two wrongs don't make a right... Neil -------------------------------- I would recommend an E36 transplant, but if you are going to transplant to an E30, please don't pick an E30 M3 and butcher it. The car is rare and does not need an S52 to make it fun. There are thousands of E30 325is that you can buy and but an S52 in. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 19:55:06 -0800 From: "Marco Romani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "The Corbs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> If you do option 3 on an E30 M3 the E30 M3 Gestapo will probably knock on your door at 3am and take your first born child as punishment for defacing the "real" M3 Marco -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of The Corbs Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2003 1:01 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [UUC] Crooked E36 M3 - What to do? Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] Recently discovered that the incredible "bargain" that I got from a friend of mine is a poorly executed "clip" job which both AA and Redline down here in S.Fl tell me is beyond retrieval because the unibody is now diamond shaped. Makes for very unpredictable behavior at speeds over 50mph - doh. Friend purchased it a year earlier from a local "dealer" on autotrader - paid full market for a '97 M3 with ~50k miles, hence my lack of caution. Options are: 1. Sell the whole thing for parts 2. Part it out 3. Transplant the drivetrain into another E36 or E30 roller - currently 66k miles on it, apparently in relatively good shape. Option 3 is very attractive if the economics are right particularly into an E30 M3 roller. Any thoughts/BTDTs/legal position? Thanks John Corbs __________________________________________________________________________ In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the Ultimate Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 16:49:16 -0500 From: "David A. Leonard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED];, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: compression Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>>Yesterday I was informed that compression in three of my six cylinders is a little low. The readings were: 150 140 150 120 110 150, Yes>>> In general, compression should be within 10 percent on all cylinders, and even across the whole engine. 110-120 is a little low, but it can be caused by carbon on the valves. If the two cylinders that are low are next to each other, the head gasket could be suspect. If this was the case, then fixing the head gasket would be recommended. I would recheck, as you may well find that the compression problem has fixed itself after running the car a while..we see this with aircraft engines all the time. Putting oil in the spark plug holes will eliminate the rings as a cause , using the regular compression test. As to putting out rated power, it is very common for engines to put out rated power with a little low compression. If it were mine, I'd probably run it and not worry about it, and just recheck the compression, particularly if the engine was not using oil or coolant. The condition of the plugs on the low cylinders could give a mechnic some clues.. if they are steam cleaned, and the engine uses coolant, the head gasket is indicated. The valve adjustment can affect the compression as well, if a valve was set too tight, it could be closing later, and lowering the compression. I'd probably readjust the valves, then check the compression again. If it is still low, squirt in oil and recheck, if it comes up, the rings are worn (not likely) then if still low, leakdown check.(probably only if the head gasket is suspect, otherwise it may need a valve job, but I'd probably run it and watch it.) A "leakdown check" would be the next check if the compression doesn't come up. This would allow a mechanic to listen to the intake and exhaust, and determine where the leak was. It is usually not worth fixing all the things wrong with a car you are selling..you probably won't recover your money..better to just take it on the chin, or hold your price till the right buyer shows. David Leonard 91 325ic ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:01:34 -0500 From: "Dorffer, Rich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "E36M3" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: <WTB> Used Illuminated E36 M3 Shift Knob Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I am looking for a used illuminated E36 M3 shift knob for a project. Illumination and wiring must work and be in tact but the leather condition isn't important. Thanks in advance. Regards, Rich ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 19:17:19 -0500 From: "Nancy Fluharty" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "BMW Digest" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: WTB: Oil Pan, Diff Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 2 things I need: Oil Pan from an E34 525 (M50, I think 91-96) 2.93 Diff, Limited Slip, E30 case Please respond off-list. Bob Fluharty 87 325is 95 M3 Cincinnati ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 19:28:38 -0600 From: "Dave Swingle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: M3 Transmission Oil? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I'm doing the first trans oil change on my 99 M3 - I'm seeing conflicting information on whether to use RedLine MTL or D4 ATF to replace the BMW "lifetime" stuff. Any suggestions/experiences here? Car is at 62,000 miles. I'm going with RedLine 75W90 in the diff. Dave Swingle ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:34:32 -0500 From: "Langsten" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Dave Swingle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: M3 Transmission Oil? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> D4 ATF Mario L. www.VSR1.com Vintage Sports & Racing, LLC 3 Robinson Rd. Bow, NH 03304 603-228-2888 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Swingle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2003 8:28 PM Subject: [UUC] M3 Transmission Oil? > Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > I'm doing the first trans oil change on my 99 M3 - I'm seeing conflicting > information on whether to use RedLine MTL or D4 ATF to replace the BMW > "lifetime" stuff. Any suggestions/experiences here? Car is at 62,000 miles. > > I'm going with RedLine 75W90 in the diff. > > Dave Swingle > > __________________________________________________________________________ > In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. > > UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the Ultimate > Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! > 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 17:39:26 -0800 (PST) From: David Moore <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: More Carfax info Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I actually work for a company that supplies service information to Carfax and am actually staying late tonite working on yet another project for them. Knowing what I know about the industry I will say that there is absolutely no way that Carfax or anyone could ever know, with 100% certainty, a vehicles full history. David Moore 1995 540i __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? 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