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#1. Loosing Collant- Bad Head Gasket? (long, but worth it) - from Kris Welhart
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 14:37:33 -0600 From: "Kris Welhart" <kris.welhart@cyou.com> Subject: Loosing Collant- Bad Head Gasket? (long, but worth it) Group, Here is the delayed message that recieved responses to the list already. I originally sent it w/ the wrong email address and it was returned to me. So you should read this first and then the replies next, but its probably to late for that advice, doh. Its just one of those days.......... Kris- having a bad Monday 95 M3 94 325i Hey Mike, I think that we might be able to help each other out (w/ help from the group) and help some people in the future. I have a 95 M3 3.2l- OBD1. I have overheated to the red 5 times, all at the track after 20 min of hard driving and it is not reproducible on the street. I have not lost much coolant either, but I have never owned a BMW that did not need to be filled sometimes. I have called and talked to all the big shots, Turner, Korman, local dealers, etc and I have gotten all the answers in the book. "That's interesting!" is not the answer that you want to hear. What I have figured out, minus everyone has different opinions, is that there are a lot of possibilities, but some things remain constant from the guys I trust. Here are ways I've heard to determine a blown head gasket: Leakdown/ compression does not tell you anything. Exhaust Gas Sniffer test should tell you something (I passed). You might be able to pull the spark plugs after a spirited run and look for coolant residue or flow inside the cylinders (most likely #6). I have not tried that yet, and engine must be very hot. There may be some leaking down the backside of the block (again #6). A head bolt may be loose or cracked (??). You probably won't see milky oil (I don't) and muddy coolant (no again). Could be caused by running lean (doubt it from the black smoke puffs) and white smoke might be present (not me). I have not heard from many people that have had head gaskets go, but one response was that if you overheat the gasket will have to be replaced anyways. Here is the whole response,snipped some- "Well it idled roughly. Power was down, gas mileage was down. It lost coolant to the point that I had to add a little every few fillups. Finally there we a couple specs of oil in the coolant expansion tank... It never overheated while I had it. The PO overheated it sometime in the past." I definitely do not have any of those symptoms, but I would like to know if anyone has overheated and not had to replace the gasket?? I have also heard some very bad stories and concerns about the x50/ 52 block. Some are warping the head, breaking head bolts, warping the block itself. Not what I like to hear. I would like to hear from anyone else that had a head gasket go also. Here are some of the things that I noticed after replacing the t-stat, waterpump, radiator, and hoses (I also have an aluminum t-stat housing): I overheated at Road Atlanta and tried an open (gutted) t-stat, no luck. Drove home 650 miles that way at operating temp. That did not seem right to me because when I bought the 325i the t-stat was stuck open and never got to operating temp (first tick, maybe). I swapped radiators last week between the 94 325i and 95 M3 w/ open (gutted) t-stat in the same day at approximately the same temperature and it did run cooler w/ the 325's radiator. But not cold enough to convince me that the problem was solved. I then swapped back and bought a new radiator, t-stat, hoses, waterpump and overflow cap. I bought a 88deg (I think 80 is to cold) t-stat which was superceded by the 92 deg that was in the car. It was for a 95 M3 and hard to find. I bought a metal impeller waterpump, which has also been superceded by the plastic impeller (Nice move BMW) which was also hard to find. Upon removal I noticed a major difference. The impeller blades were much larger on the new pump and the design is much cleaner. I do not know the brand of the old pump but the new one is a Graf. The flow was also much, much, much better. I could bleed the system at idle where before I had to raise the RPM's to about 3000 and then hold it there. I am doing an oil analysis as we speak. Any and all help is appreciated. This post is long because I have been dealing w/ this for 6 months and it is getting old. My next event is in April and I will then see if it is fixed. I also plan on running water wetter. The story and history of the overheating would take a book to write out so this is a summary and some things were left out, by choice and mistake. Thanks for reading this far. Kris W. 95 M3 - sick 94 325i - getting lots of seat time
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#2. Aquamist 1S install - from Kit Wetzler
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 12:48:53 -0800 From: Kit Wetzler <kitwetzler@mindspring.com> Subject: Aquamist 1S install The install was really easy. Take 1 Aquamist 1S kit. Either 0.7mm or 1mm jet (I have the 1mm jet). Drill and tap an M8 x 0.75 hole in the supercharger piping. (This tap is really hard to find, but luckily, one is included with the Aquamist kit) Mount the pump somewhere, I found a good place for it in front of the shock tower. It's best to mount it below the level of the water, but this is where active Autowerke mounts it, too. You'll have to drill a couple of holes for this, at least one on each side of the pump. Run the 6mm line from the washer bottle to the pump. Cut the end of the line off at a 45 degree angle, to make sure that it neve suction seals itself to the bottom of the bottle. Drill a slightly smaller than 6mm hole in the washer reservoir (at the top) and run the line into it, making sure it rests at the bottom. Don't forget the inline filter. Fill the reservoir with water, or water + a bit of washer fluid concentrate... make sure that the concentrate you use is just mostly alcohol. Run the relay and power to the pump. Hook up the harness to the boost sensor, and use a mity-vac to set the boost sensor to about 2-3 psi. attach the 4 mm line to the pump and trim to length. Point the 4 mm line from the pump, cap off the jet and go for a drive to make sure the aquamist squirts under boost. You may have to suck on the line to prime it, but be careful, washer fluid tastes bad... and can make you very very sick with ammonia... (ask me how I know. ) Once you've confirmed it squirts, uncap the jet and attach the 4 mm line from the pump to the jet. That's it. Please email me with questions. Took the car a day or two to figure out that it had more knock resistance... but it feels really healthy right now. The real test will be when it gets warmer. This system works basically
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#3. Re: Camera Mount - from Vern Anderson
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 15:58:58 -0500 From: "Vern Anderson" <vernon_anderson@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Camera Mount Ahmad, I have a TCKline rollbar and I've used the I/O Port camera mount for the last two years. It is a great mount, vibration free, very adjustable. I paid about $90-100 for mine, got it from HMS Motorsport. Vern Anderson -------------------- 5 -------------------- Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 13:18:34 -0500 From: "Ahmad Lutfeali" <m3_racer99@hotmail.com> Subject: Camera Mount I am looking for a decent video camera mount. Do not have the rear headrest, however have an Autopower Rollbar with cross brace. What are my options? (sources/vendors). Thanks in advance.=20 =20 And if anyone has one sitting around that they would not need, shoot me a private email. =20 Ahmad A. Lutfeali =20 =20 =20 =20
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#4. re: euro HFM and injectors... - from Tim Gergen
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 21:24:25 +0000 From: "Tim Gergen" <tgergen@hotmail.com> Subject: re: euro HFM and injectors... you wrote: Subject: Re: [E36M3] Subject: Larger injectors for 1995 M3 Huh? I know plenty of people not running larger injectors with the bigger HFM. Where did you get your information? Mark I say: Jim C. told me this directly about two years ago. He stated that the stock injectors would be pushed well past 80% duty cycle with the euro HFM and required chip...he stated that upgraded injectors would be needed to prevent lean conditions and possibly premature injector failure, etc. I bet there is an archieve of those posts at unofficalBMW or somewhere...there was much discussion about it a few years ago and various boards.....when Jim used to post a lot. Tim _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
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#5. Re: Jacking Rear of Car and tire mounting? - from Neil Maller
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 16:41:40 -0500 From: Neil Maller <neil.maller@gte.net> Subject: Re: Jacking Rear of Car and tire mounting? on 3/25/02 3:33 PM, "Nickerson, Joe" <joe.nickerson@lmco.com> wrote: > Is it Ok to Jack the rear of the car up by the rear Diff? No, not the diff itself. But you can use the subframe that loops down under the diff. You need a fairly long and low reach jack to get to it. Neil 96 M3
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#6. Re: Camber Shims - from Roger Baker
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 13:59:10 -0800 From: Roger Baker <rbaker@velodyne.com> Subject: Re: Camber Shims Wow, Korman charges $35 for 4 bolts & shims!!! I bought a bag of each from an industrial supply house (yes, high grade bolts & hardened washers) a while back for about the same price. Which does mean if people were nice I could probably be talked out of some for the cost of shipping. They added 1/2 degree more neg camber. -- Roger NSimon1111@aol.com wrote: > > Chris - > > I have some camber shims (hardened washers and longer bolts) that I bought > last year from Korman and never used (instead swapping strut hats to get more > camber). As I recall, they cost around $35 and I'd be willing to sell them > for a bit less. Contact me offline if you're interested. > > Neil > Wash, DC > 99 M Coupe
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#7. RE: [E36M3] re: euro HFM and injectors... - from Robert S. Hatrak II
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 13:59:44 -0800 From: "Robert S. Hatrak II" <hatrak@ix.netcom.com> Subject: RE: [E36M3] re: euro HFM and injectors... Ok, if this is indeed a point that apparently many of us missed, who wants to start a group purchase? We'd need to do it through Suzy, but I imagine quite a few of us could leverage our buying power. Rob -----Original Message----- I say: Jim C. told me this directly about two years ago. He stated that the stock injectors would be pushed well past 80% duty cycle with the euro HFM and required chip...he stated that upgraded injectors would be needed to prevent lean conditions and possibly premature injector failure, etc. I bet there is an archieve of those posts at unofficalBMW or somewhere...there was much discussion about it a few years ago and various boards.....when Jim used to post a lot. Tim
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#8. Front plate mounting - from David Ripton
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 17:41:24 -0500 From: David Ripton <dripton@wizard.net> Subject: Front plate mounting "Eric Trela" <eric@trela.com> wrote: > 1. I was ticketed ($50.00) yesterday for not having a front tag on my 95 > ///M3 and am unsure of how to mount one on the car. I live in Maryland > and I purchased the car used as a BMW certified car from a local > Maryland dealer over 4 years ago and have not made any modifications to > the car. Is there a bracket or something else that I need to be able to > attach the plate? Can't do it the way the car is now (as it came from > the factory). http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e36/exterior/e36_license_plate_mount.html -- David Ripton dripton@wizard.net
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#9. RE: Camera Mount - from David Hogg
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 17:53:44 -0800 From: "David Hogg" <springwood@blazenet.net> Subject: RE: Camera Mount The I/O Port mount is the cat's pajamas for your application, at a reasonable price. Dave Hogg
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#10. Re:[E36M3]Light Flywheel - from Chris Papademetrious
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 18:23:44 -0500 From: Chris Papademetrious <chrispitude@yahoo.com> Subject: Re:[E36M3]Light Flywheel At 02:03 PM 3/25/2002 -0600, you wrote: >I recently installed the Rogue LW FW on my 97 M3/4. > >NO idle chatter! I was shocked. I previously installed a "custom LW FW" >in my 95 and had lots of idle chatter....so i was really amazed that the >Rogue was QUIET. Tim, this part matches my experiences with the R.E. flywheel too. If I listen, I notice some slight noise at idle if I rev the motor. At a regular idle, nothing really sounds different. I'm surprised that the idle noise was enough to make other people take their flywheel out. I guess different flywheels really are different! >I also installed a Sachs clutch and P Plate (stock, not HD) at the same time. Is this a solid or sprung cluch? Is this different from the stock BMW assembly? Please excuse my ignorance here. >I have not noticeed any resonance either, at any rpm. This is definitely a problem in my car. If you read the active traffic on this topic at: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=25758 you'll see that different cars really do seem to react differently to light flywheel installation. I guess I'm unlucky, although I think it's amusing that my resonance drives me bonkers, yet some people have pulled their flywheels due to idle chatter (that I don't have). - Chris
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#11. MPG goin' south! - from eevans@planetc.com
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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 18:34:02 -0500 From: eevans@planetc.com Subject: MPG goin' south! My '95 M3 w/ 68K on the clock has suddenly gone from getting around 18-19 mpg in town to my latest low of 16.5 mpg. I have the Jim C. Euro intake, shield, and ITS filter. Could a dirty air filter cause the degradation in mpg? It's not filthy, but could use a bath. TIA Evan