The BMW UUC Digest
Volume 2 : Issue 373 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Re: How to check ball/control arm joints on an E36?
Re: People Who Know Nothing About BMWs
Anybody got an E36 325iC for sale?
Re: Alignment <long>
Re: Alignment <long>
Re: How to check ball/control arm joints on an E36?
Re: How to check ball/control arm joints on an E36?
e30 control arm gone bad after 6 months?
Re: People Who Know Nothing About BMWs or math jokes
Re: Limited Use Insurance?
Re: Alignment
Will a M5 3.6 crank fit a stock M30 block and rods?
E36 sunroof fix
Oil pressure gauge and sender questions
Re: Oil pressure gauge and sender questions
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 21:16:14 -0700
From: jkerouac <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Mark Andy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: How to check ball/control arm joints on an E36?
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
May I extend the thread to include how to check for shimmy due to
wheel bearing problems, where the shimmy is exaggerated on braking?
There was some shimmy on braking on my '97 E36 with 40k mile old pads
and rotors, now with new Zimmerman rotors and Hawk pads the shimmy is
just as bad, but with a faster period of oscillation than before. And
the Hawk pads squeek embarassingly awful enough to replace them first
excuse I get, while the old Mintex pads never made a peep, though Mintex
did fade easily.
Both the prior and recent brake job I used a liberal application
(after all I _am a liberal ;-) ) of the Bavarian Autosport anti-squeel
paste on the back of the pads. Aso cleaned the new rotor surfaces with
Castrol Super Clean and a Scotchbrite pad. This time, in addition to a
full brake fluid flush, I removed the caliper pistons and cleaned them
and the inside of the caliper chambers.
So after all that work this shimmy is horribly frustrating.
If its wheel bearings going bad, is there a DIY shade tree method
without needing special pullers listed on any of the unofficial BMW sites?
tia,
Barry
Mark Andy wrote:
>Howdy,On our '93 325is, we get a little steering wheel shake at times on the
>freeway. Its on the level of what an out of balance tire has caused me
>with other cars in the past. So I rebalanced the wheels. No change.
>So we started looking at other things.
>We can see some very slight movement in the ball joint when we shake the
>tire side to side, along with a good bit of movement if we pry between the
>ball joint and the wheel. It was around then that we figured there's
>probably a real method to check the outer ball joint and inner control arm
>ball joint/bearing.
>Bentley didn't have a method though, and neither did the Mitchell repair
>software my buddy has at the shop. Each had replacement procedures, but
>nothing on the diagnostic end.So. How do you know when the ball joint and/or control
>arm (with the associated inner joint) need to be replaced?Thanks!Mark
>
>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 01:37:43 -0400
From: "Rich Dorffer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: People Who Know Nothing About BMWs
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Bzzzt... that would be the 0 degree V6.
Geez, some people.
Regards,
Rich
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of M Kittock
> Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 11:17 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: [UUC] People Who Know Nothing About BMWs
>
>
> I got a chuckle out of the local newspaper when the E36 325i came out. I
> don't pay much attention to the auto section of the paper but curious to
> see what the mass media says about bimmers. I was living in CA at the
> time, and the San Jose Mercury News auto writer got invited to a
> media gig,
> and wrote how he like the BMW V6....
>
> Mark
> '96 328i -- would that be a 360 degree V6?? :)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 01:59:47 -0400
From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Anybody got an E36 325iC for sale?
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Looking for a friend, wants a reasonably priced but good
condition E36 325iC. Automatic or manual,
colors/mileage/condition all to be taken into account in
price.
Proximity to Ohio a plus.
No salvage, rats, or non-working tops please!
High-priced garage queen M3s need not apply, the budget is
for a 325iC.
Write me off-line if you have something -
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Rob
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 23:13:38 -0700
From: John Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Alignment <long>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> What? Why would toe in in the front cause less tire wear than zero toe?
The idea is that you want roughly zero toe while the vehicle's moving,
and the drag on the front tires tends to stretch the rubber bushings in
the suspension in the direction of toeing out slightly, so you get zero
toe while the vehicle's rolling by dialing in just a bit of toe-in. How
much depends on how much rubber is in the suspension.
John.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 10:19:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mark Andy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Alignment <long>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Howdy,
On Tue, 21 Sep 2004, John Miller wrote:
> > What? Why would toe in in the front cause less tire wear than zero toe?
>
> The idea is that you want roughly zero toe while the vehicle's moving,
> and the drag on the front tires tends to stretch the rubber bushings in
> the suspension in the direction of toeing out slightly, so you get zero
> toe while the vehicle's rolling by dialing in just a bit of toe-in. How
> much depends on how much rubber is in the suspension.
Ah.
Ok, cool, that makes sense. Thanks!
Our car right now has GC cc plates, stock outer and inner ball joints, and
non-centered (M3? Aftermarket w/Poly?) control arm bushings. Presumably
the only rubber there would be those bushings, correct? And thus toe
change due to drag should be minimal?
Mark
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 05:06:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: Carlos Lopez <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Mark Andy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: How to check ball/control arm joints on an E36?
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--- Mark Andy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> We can see some very slight movement in the ball joint when we shake
> the tire side to side, along with a good bit of movement if we pry
> between the ball joint and the wheel.
I would say that's an indication to change the control arms. If you
don't know the mileage on them definitely replace them. One method
I've seen experienced shops do is to take a large pair of pliers (like
water pump ones) and squeeze the joint to check for vertical play also.
Some of the movement I've seen when you simply yank on the tire is the
control arm bushing especially if you have the stock E36 one.
BTW recent discussion on another list mentioned that the outer ball
joint on E36 325i control arms are rubber insulated, good for noise,
bad for performance. The E36 M3 ones were recommended instead with the
outer ball joint solid mounted to the arm. In your case if the rules
allow it. :-)
Carlos
88 325is
93 325is
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish.
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 10:30:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mark Andy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: How to check ball/control arm joints on an E36?
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Howdy,
On Wed, 22 Sep 2004, Carlos Lopez wrote:
> > We can see some very slight movement in the ball joint when we shake
> > the tire side to side, along with a good bit of movement if we pry
> > between the ball joint and the wheel.
>
> I would say that's an indication to change the control arms. If you
> don't know the mileage on them definitely replace them. One method
> I've seen experienced shops do is to take a large pair of pliers (like
> water pump ones) and squeeze the joint to check for vertical play also.
> Some of the movement I've seen when you simply yank on the tire is the
> control arm bushing especially if you have the stock E36 one.
Yes, that was my inclination as well. Of course, I'm quite poor right
now, so I wanted to verify rather than doing my standard "well, its an
older car, probably needs to be changed anyway..." :-)
Next question then... On the non-M3 e36's you can get the outer ball joint
as a replacement part for ~$22 or a complete control arm with both the
outer and inner ball joint for ~$100. The full arm appears to be the only
factory way to replace the inner ball joint.
Which is the better way to go on a 150k mile car? I've got no idea what
sorta maint the previous owner with these items. They look like they
could be original to me (though he did put in offset control arm bushings
at some point...)
> BTW recent discussion on another list mentioned that the outer ball
> joint on E36 325i control arms are rubber insulated, good for noise, bad
> for performance. The E36 M3 ones were recommended instead with the
> outer ball joint solid mounted to the arm. In your case if the rules
> allow it. :-)
Not legal in STX, unfortunately. We saw some rubber there, but figured
that a ball joint wouldn't be rubber mounted and that it was just a weird
boot or something. The outer ball joint is rubber mounted? Really?
Of course, I'm not convinced I'm going to continue to care about that for
next season... :-) Does the M3 control arm have a hole for the non-m3
swaybar link mount?
Mark
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 09:18:52 -0400
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: e30 control arm gone bad after 6 months?
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Is it possible that the control arm, I replaced (did both sides along with all links,
bushings, new dampers, springs and even housings) a mere 6 months ago could be bad.
Specifically, the ball joint (which came pressed in) on the passenger side sounds like
its clunking when I reach a certain "stress point", whether its steering input or
weight transfer. Has anoyone experienced this before? Any other sugestions of what
may be my problem? As always, thanks!!
Dave
'84 325e
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 09:42:42 -0400
From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: People Who Know Nothing About BMWs or math jokes
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Rob said 300 degree, which made me think he maybe didn't get that the
joke was re: the 'angle' of an in-line 6.
Then Rich says '0 degree V6' which is pretty much the same thing as a
360 degree V6. In radians, I guess it would be a naught V6, or a 2*pi V6.
Somewhere in there Ben pipes up re: his 180 degree V4.
Now, fire up your calculators and tell us the total angle between the
cylinder banks of a 4620 degree V6. (Rob knows?)
-Jay
brain not always firing on all 5 cylinders either
***********
> Bzzzt... that would be the 0 degree V6.
>
> Geez, some people.
>
> Regards,
>
> Rich
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of M Kittock
> > Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 11:17 PM
> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Subject: Re: [UUC] People Who Know Nothing About BMWs
> >
> >
> > I got a chuckle out of the local newspaper when the E36 325i came
out. I
> > don't pay much attention to the auto section of the paper but curious to
> > see what the mass media says about bimmers. I was living in CA at the
> > time, and the San Jose Mercury News auto writer got invited to a
> > media gig,
> > and wrote how he like the BMW V6....
> >
> > Mark
> > '96 328i -- would that be a 360 degree V6?? :)
>
> Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________________
> 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: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 09:01:48 -0500
From: Neil Maller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Limited Use Insurance?
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Thanks for the various suggestions on this subject. Sorry for the delay in
responding, but I've been rather busy replacing my M3's head gasket, and
it's amazing the amount of stuff you have to peel off the car to do that.
To close a couple of open loops:
Yes, it was me, not one of the other Neils on this list (at least three of
us that I can think of) that once referred to the WRX as a sh!tbox. A fast
one, to be sure, but still...
And responding to the peanut gallery regarding the choice, which wasn't a
question I asked:
> The Cooper S as fun factor to price ratio????? I'd think there's much
> better deals out there. Hell, for the $25k you're going to dump on a Cooper
> S (prolly more) you could any number of fun cars. WRX, stock (yes, Neil
> resist the urge to modify) E36 M3, Mcoupe or roadster (older cars), TypeR
> integra, maybe even a RSX TypeS, close to an RX8......Those would all be
> choices I'd make first.
i) The point is to get a new car, not used, not a fixer upper,
not a project. I already have a highly modified performance car.
2) I like the Cooper S, and so does everyone I know who owns one.
It's practical, fun and reasonably priced.
c) When my wife comes to me and says "Let's buy a Mini Cooper S so
that you don't have to drive the M3 in winter any more," I'm sure
as, err, WRX, not going to say no! Are we all clear on that point?
<vbg>
Neil
96 M3
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 09:06:13 -0700
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Alignment
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Taking a cue from my lesson at Conversion Techniques, I suppose I should
start by asking how much your control arm bushings deflect? I can't
explain why, but my understanding is that toe-in (which is always specified
by the factory) results in longer tire life and straighter tracking.
Scott Miller
GGC BMW CCA
>Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 23:19:20 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Mark Andy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Re: Alignment <long>
>Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>Howdy,
>
>On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>> I also said that I'd like to go back to zero front toe. I've run zero
>> front toe on several cars as a compromise between toe-out for autocross
and
>> toe-in for normal driving/tire life. Last time I had zero toe on this
>> particular car, it wore out the front tires prematurely, so John had
dialed
>> in some toe-in. But my last tires wore fine, and I wanted to experiment
>> with zero toe again. John said, "I don't recommend it".
>
>Wait.
>
>What? Why would toe in in the front cause less tire wear than zero toe?
>
>I'm being serious in that question... Currently I run ~-3 deg camber and
>1/4" toe out in front for autox and knock camber back to ~-2 deg (bringing
>toe back to 0") for the street. If its better to have toe in for street
>tire wear, that'll also let me reduce camber for the street more, which
>should also be a good tire life thing.
>
>So... Is toe in on the street better for tire wear?
>
>Mark
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 09:17:53 -0700
From: "JS Nord" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Will a M5 3.6 crank fit a stock M30 block and rods?
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Just poking around on a some possible ways to build up a M30b35 engine.
Curious if you can swap in the crank from a US spec S38 M5 (3.6). Can this
crank accept the stock b35 rods or do you need to use the M5 rods as well?
While I haven't done all the requisite research, it's my understanding that
S38 crank is lighter (as well as forged) than the stock b35 crank. Is the
stroke the same as well? Anyone tinkered around in this area?
thx!
Jeff
90 535i
_________________________________________________________________
Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee�
Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 11:24:32 -0700
From: "Reed Nicholson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: E36 sunroof fix
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
In case it happens to somebody else...
The sunroof in my 98 M3 stopped working suddenly--pushed the switch and
nothing happened. After checking the fuse and seeing that it was good, I
popped off the little access cover with the switch in it. I could hear a
clicking noise when I pressed the switch. So, I rapped lightly on the
little motor with the handle of my screwdriver, and the thing started
working again! Been fine for two days now. Just like banging on a starter
motor with a hammer, I guess.
Reed/Seattle
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 18:29:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Peter Thoeming <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: uucdigest <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Oil pressure gauge and sender questions
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I have a 93 325is with the M50 motor and I wish to
start adding some oil temp/pressure, water temp, and
voltage gauges. I will not be spending $380 for the
BavarianAutosport or BMP gauge assembly, but I have
two questions regarding install of an oil pressure
sender/gauge.
I noticed that they typically show a 0 to 150PSI oil
pressure gauge in the ad for there 3 gauge in-dash
product, but if I read my Bentley correctly, the 325is
has about 7 PSI idle and maxes around 60 PSI at
WOT/MAX RPM. Maybe I misread something.
1. Wouldn't I rather have a 0 to 80 PSI gauge for
greater resolution for bone-stock and 0 to 100 PSI for
racing (if I shim the pressure regulator)???
2. Who knows the exact thread pitch and style of the
stock oil pressure switch that fits into the back of
the oil filter housing and do you know where I can buy
the adaptor? Is it 12x1.5 (probably not 1/4" NPT, what
is it?)?
Thanks - making my own VDO gauge assembly for about
1/3 the price (I hope),
Pete
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 19:04:04 -0700
From: Jim Bassett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Oil pressure gauge and sender questions
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
At 06:29 PM 9/22/04, Peter Thoeming talked about:
>1. Wouldn't I rather have a 0 to 80 PSI gauge for
>greater resolution for bone-stock and 0 to 100 PSI for
>racing (if I shim the pressure regulator)???
0 to 80 PSI for either application is fine - I have that in the '93 325is
race car (in addition to oil temp and water temp).
>2. Who knows the exact thread pitch and style of the
>stock oil pressure switch that fits into the back of
>the oil filter housing and do you know where I can buy
>the adaptor? Is it 12x1.5 (probably not 1/4" NPT, what
>is it?)?
That I'm not sure of.
I will say I got all my senders, oil dist. block, gauges, and wiring
harness from Eastern Motorwerks:
http://www.easternmotorwerks.com/
Hope that helps,
Jim Bassett
1998 M3/4
1993 325is #44 JP/A5
------------------------------
End of [bmwuucdigest] digest(15 messages)
**********
