Messages

1

Engine + Driveline / Intake cam ajustment

« on: June 27, 2011, 05:02:08 PM »

My 1991 M42 failed emissions this year (Utah changed its emissions law and now includes a test at idle). It turned out my intake cam was advanced 7 degrees, as best I could tell using a protractor. I moved the intake cam back such that both cams were aligned with a straightedge (having no tool available) at TDC. I passed emissions easily and now have a nice smooth engine instead of a rough idle.

Centerpunch marks on the intake cam and sprocket indicate the PO had horsed around with various positions.

Fortunate for me I first tried to replace the vacuum and coolant hoses. I say fortunate because the plastic coolant pipe crumbled at all four connections  upon removal. The throttle heater and vacuum hose delete worked out nicely, too.

2

For Sale / 1991 318is Missouri

« on: February 11, 2010, 09:07:41 PM »

Does it have any rust? Is the paint original (besides the door)? Do you have any more photos?

3

M42 Buyer's Guide / What is the curb weight of a 318i vs.318is?

« on: February 10, 2010, 11:29:56 AM »

and im pretty sure ALL american 318is had a 4.10 LSD

Both my cars have open diffs.

4

Engine + Driveline / I got it bled OK.

« on: December 15, 2009, 02:04:41 PM »

First, I cracked the radiator cap while still warm (not hot). I could hear a lot of gurgling from alongside the engine on the driver's side. Coolant filled the expansion reservoir to overflowing, which then stopped when I opened the bleed screw. Obviously there were trapped air bubbles.

Next, mostly out of curiosity, I confirmed that the heater core had no blockage by removing both heater hoses from firewall and using a length of hose to blow air through heater core. By the way, the heater valve default seems to be open for this red car (old p/n 64111386707), as the valve is broken and won't close when the temp control knob is turned to "blue. The default is also open (that is, with no 12V power) for a used valve I picked up at the boneyard a few months ago. (This is opposite to that reported in post #74, above).

Third, as I describe in my previous post, I disconnected the upper radiator hose from the radiator, pointed the open end skyward, and with radiator cap and bleed screw removed, filled the open end of the upper hose until I could see coolant. Then I squeezed the lower hose repeatedly. I filled the upper radiator hose to the brim and reconnected it to the radiator. I filled the expansion tank to the brim and followed purcell's procedure (cap and bleed screw still open), started the engine, warmed it up, and revved it to 2000 or so rpms for several minutes while my wife watched the temperature gauge. The coolant level dropped nearly to the kalt line. While still revving the engine, I closed both the bleed screw and reinstalled the radiator cap. (Whenever I would stop revving the engine the coolant level in the expansion tank would rapidly rise, threatening to overflow.)

The next time I change and refill the coolant I plan to also disconnect the lower radiator hose and fill it, according to one of the suggestions earlier in this thread. Maybe that will eliminate the need to repeatedly squeeze the lower hose.

5

Engine + Driveline / my experiences (long)

« on: December 10, 2009, 01:04:35 PM »

Bought both of these cars a couple years ago with high miles (180 &200k). Both immediately got new radiators, water pumps, and tstats, but still have the stock "vacuum hose nightmare under the manifold". On the red 91 318is, the temp needle would occasionally go to the red--symptoms similar to when my e32 735 had a blown head gasket. I swapped water pumps and tstats, and bled it many times, etc, etc., and finally had the engine rebuilt last year. It was OK on the temp for a while, but then the needle started creeping to the red, mainly on hot days this past summer. After horsing around with bleeding it for a week, again swapping water pumps and tstats, and eventually just trying to get the lower rad hose hot, I tried an experiment. I removed the upper radiator hose and substituted a piece of clear vinyl tubing in its place. I could see bubbles flowing. With the vinyl hose attached to the engine and disconnected from the radiator, and the disconnected end pointing up toward the sky, I poured coolant in. Then I pumped the lower radiator hose by squeezing it repeatedly. LOTS of bubbles came out of the upper hose, and then the coolant level dropped and I was able to pour another HALF GALLON of water into the vinyl hose. I reconnected the hose to the radiator, bled it, and it ran perfectly at the middle (12 O'clock) mark. Figuring the vinyl would fail, I re-installed the rubber upper radiator hose and bled it. In the following weeks the temp needle was mostly steady in the middle, but would occasionally creep toward the red. One day I gave the dash a smack, and VOILA! the needle jumped back to the middle.

Lessons: The temp gauge (or cluster circuitry) is definitely flaky (I've tightened the ground nut twice to no avail). Air bubbles keep the water pump from doing its job, and I had gotten a serious air bubble or pocket in the system when I swapped the water pump. And I might have also had a few bubbles left over from the engine rebuild--who knows? Maybe I need to let the coolant flow out of the bleed hole for a much longer time (I need a bigger drain pan and lots of 50/50 coolant on hand). And last, its hard to say if I wasted money on the engine rebuild.

Questions: I like the concept of rigging a tube to bleed coolant directly back into the reservoir--has anyone solved that puzzle? (iamcreepingdeath?) And why doesn't the little hole that spurts coolant into the top of the overflow reservoir serve to bleed the coolant? What is its purpose?

New problem: Fast forward 5 months. Last week, with cold weather forecast, I replaced the weak, dilute summer coolant with new bmw blue 50/50. It was a hurried job and maybe I didn’t bleed it enough. It is now in the teens and 20s outside and although the temp needle stays mostly in the middle, the heater doesn't stay warm--air coming out of the vents fluctuates from 50 to 100F, seemingly at random. However, the black 318is, which generally is slow to warm up but hasn't tried to overheat for over a year, barely got its temp gauge needle out of the blue last night on a three-mile drive, and yesterday its heater also blew air that fluctuated from cold to warm, all day long (100 miles), just like the red car was doing.

More questions: Maybe it is time for the old cardboard-in-front-of-the-radiator trick? Could that strange bypass valve many of us have between the heater hoses be part of the problem? Does removing the hose nightmare expedite bleeding? Will I ever learn how to bleed these engines?

6

General Topics / Best way to properly bleed cooling system

« on: June 23, 2009, 11:02:25 AM »

Ken: Nice summary; just to clarify, is the engine shut off during step 7?

7

Interior / Reupholster sport seat?

« on: June 22, 2009, 06:14:53 PM »

My first attempt to post a photo--completed seat, with factory anthracite cloth--about $450 total for back and bottom.

8

Interior / Reupholster sport seat?

« on: June 22, 2009, 06:08:44 PM »

I put a set of BMW factory cloth replacement covers on my driver's seat recently. I looked at Purcell's website about rebuilding seats to see how to take them apart. It is a bit tricky the first time but Purcell's instructions are sufficient. I think you will need to remove the seat back from the bottom--at least I did.  I pretty much took the seat completely apart.  The cushions and bolsters are attached with hog rings and tabs on the steel frames. I took photos and made sketches before prying the hog rings off with needle nosed pliers. I'm not sure the effort was worth it, but the hog rings I found at upholstery shops were either much heavier (too big and very hard to use) or lighter (too small). (Rings are available from the dealer, too, but by then I didn't want to wait). I also cut some off with nippers (much faster). The fabric/vinyl is held to the foam cushions with long, thin staples. My staple gun didn't work at all, so I pulled and re-inserted all the staples by hand--it worked fine. The bolster covers slide right over the foam and are held in place by long wires and hog rings--no staples. I got the hog ring pliers at an auto parts store. The seats turned out better than I expected. I replaced my worn foam with foam from a pair of junkyard seats. Good luck.

9

Engine + Driveline / CV joints were bad

« on: December 13, 2008, 11:16:15 AM »

CV joints on the red 318is were toast--boots were torn. I bought a pair of used axles, had new boots installed, and it seems the problem is solved, based on a drive around a few blocks.

Am looking forward to rebuilding/replacing CV joints on the black car (318is).

10

Engine + Driveline / Clutch Judder & Axle Tramp

« on: December 10, 2008, 12:34:03 PM »

It's interesting that several people are having this problem.

Both my 200k miles 318iss do it, especially when backing up a gentle incline. The black one has since I bought it 2 years ago. A very good mechanic couldn't find any problem. I wonder if the judder caused a new $26 flex disk to deteriorate so quickly (like 10k miles). It still does it with the new $46 flex disk, just not quite as bad.

The red car was perfectly smooth when bought last year, but ever since I got an engine rebuild and a new clutch a few months ago it does the same judder--worse in reverse. Just last weekend I noticed that it now has cracks in the flex disk and that one of the CV boots is torn and that CV joint is very loose.

The driveshaft U-joints and diff mounts on both cars look and feel good, but who knows for sure? One mechanic told me that it could be the flywheel, and that it should have been replaced with the clutch.

We have got to narrow this problem down--trial-and-error will obviously break anyone's budget. I'm not enough of a mechanic to keep taking my driveline apart, and am about ready to give up and buy a (low mileage) e46.

11

M42 Buyer's Guide / two cars; too long

« on: February 11, 2008, 06:09:42 PM »

Years ago my brother visited us in Wyoming and I privately snickered at his "cheapish" 1991 318is, which of course he loved. I was raving on about my '90 735i--certainly great on the open road. Two years ago we moved from wide-open Wyoming to urban Utah and my wife and I decided to downsize. We first tried a 91 535i beater but it didn't get any better gas mileage than the 7, and it was only a tad more nimble. During a trip to the Pacific Northwest we saw my BMW-mechanic brother-in-law's three e30s, one of which is a track 318is, and another a nice 318is he found abandoned in a vacant lot. Then I found this website. I got the bug. Bad.

I started looking on ebay and autotrader, and after a few weeks I saw an Autotrader ad for a charcoal 318is about 15 miles from home. I called and arranged to meet that evening. It was dark by the time we arrived, and another shopper was still there, trying to decide if he could get it past his wife. We test drove the car; it seemed to run OK if a bit rough, and with a broken exhaust pipe it was hard to know. I tried to look it over objectively--the windshield was cracked and the driver's seat was roached but the rest of the interior and exterior was otherwise good: i.e., no rust. The other buyer was still lurking around, talking on his cell phone. My wife loved it so I just told the seller we'd take it. $2500, full price.

The seller was a high school kid who bought it from an acquaintance who was fixing it up until he was disabled in an industrial accident. The kid decide to stick with his VW Golf instead. I left a down payment, wrote up a bill of sale with signatures, we made a photocopy, and I brought cash and got the car and title the next day.

In the daylight it turned out the underside was massively coated with oil and gunk, but the leakage was mainly from the cam position sensor and p/s lines. Since then it's been exhaust, windshield, license plates, radiator/fan clutch, bad idle/air control valve, coil pack, control arms, and junkyard seat--and then the speedo croaked. I'm currently into it for about $2000 in parts, but that might include tires and 15-inch wheels and more tires.

Meanwhile I noticed a post here at M42 club from a member in Washington state regarding a friend's red 318is on Craigslist in the SF Bay Area. The photos looked great so I emailed for more photos. After a couple of days I realized the seller lived 25 miles from my brother. I phoned and had a nice chat. Once again, there was another interested buyer, this time in San Diego. So I said I'd buy it, full price ($2600), assuming it was as advertised. My brother test drove it, phoned me to say the car was great and so was the seller, who was with his wife and two kids. We figured they wouldn't cheat me  so I wired the money, my brother picked up the car a few days later, and I flew out, got the car, and drove if back to Utah. So far almost no problems except new radiator and goofy speedo.

We love both cars and they should be ready for autocrossing by spring. Meanwhile the red car sees 500 miles per week with my wife's job.

12

How-To's / Excellent instructions, Zoso! Here is another tip:

« on: February 06, 2008, 02:01:07 PM »

Excellent instructions, Zoso! Regarding this step of yours:

"I could not get the top steering wheel trim off, but I managed to pull it out of the way and get the trim piece behind the wheel off."

At first I couldn't remove either the steering column top trim or the flat trim piece behind the wheel (i.e., behind the steering column top trim piece and below the cluster trim piece). I called a BMWCCA TSA rep (Thanks Carl!) and he said the airbag cars are very difficult, and people often break the trim piece during removal. I removed the signal and wiper stalks (4 screws) and still couldn't get the trim pieces off, so I moved the top column trim piece as far as it would go and then bent the flat piece enough to expose and remove the 4 screws along the bottom of the cluster (one side at a time). Next I removed the 2 screws on top of the cluster trim piece, and with the cluster trim loose I was able to remove both it and the flat trim piece.

The top of the cluster snagged on the underside of the dashboard until I used a small screwdriver to carefully pry and lift the edge of the dash for clearance. The towel I had on the steering column moved as I jostled the cluster out and it looks like I might have made a small scratch on the face. Next time I'll secure the towel with string or tape.

Now I need to decide where to send my cluster for speedo repair. Once fixed I need to repeat the procedure with our other 318is.

13

Electrical / Thanks; Plug wire/connector resistance?

« on: July 24, 2007, 09:23:15 PM »

Thanks guys, my meter was reading erratically below 1 ohm, so I bought another multimeter. While I'm at does anyone know what the spark plug wire and connector resistance should be? (Guess I need to buy yet another Bentley manual.)
I get 6.3 to 6.55 k Ohms on my 4 plug wires/connectors.

14

Electrical / coil resistance test; anyone know the ohms?

« on: July 23, 2007, 08:54:18 PM »

Does anyone know of a coil resistance (impedance) test? Does anyone know the ohms? I was told by a Roundel TSA rep there is no test for these coils. From a few forum posts here and PMs I heard to check the outer two pins: it should be under 0.8 ohms (about 0.3 or 0.4 up to 0.7 ohms). I get 1.0 to 0.9 on all four of my old coils. I tested a new Bremi coil and got 1.3 ohms.  I was guessing I had a bad coil because of a bad intermittent engine misfire.