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#1. Re: [E36M3] Need Help with Cooling Problems (Long) - from Geof McLaughlin
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 09:58:20 -0400 From: Geof McLaughlin <gfmiiilist@attbi.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Need Help with Cooling Problems (Long) Oh boy, I just read Sean Hester's post in the archives and it sounds like it really is the head gasket. I did in fact lose coolant through the radiator cap without it overheating at first, but then finally doing so. There were no other leaks from elsewhere. So, back to the question that I put at the bottom of my post, how difficult is this to do yourself? Tips/suggestions? Thanks! Geof
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#2. RE: [E36M3] Where to buy racing apparel? - from Carey Probst
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 10:05:36 -0400 From: "Carey Probst" <hcprobst@alum.mit.edu> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Where to buy racing apparel? Eric, Depends on exactly what you are looking for. www.bmwusa.com has some racing/M things. BMW CCA club racing at www.motorworks.com BMW/Williams, F1, etc http://www.bmw-online.com/index.htm Carey Probst, '99 M3/2, BMW CCA Patroon and Genesee Valley Chapters Sharked, Stressed, Schrothed, Gauged, Hitched, X-Braced A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. > -----Original Message----- > From: Eric Dotson [mailto:kedots@mac.com] > Sent: Sunday, June 09, 2002 8:05 PM > To: E36M3 > Subject: [E36M3] Where to buy racing apparel? > > > Date: Sun, 09 Jun 2002 19:58:40 -0400 > From: Eric Dotson <kedots@mac.com> > Subject: Where to buy racing apparel? > > Anyone know where to get cool t-shirts and stuff here in the U.S.? I'm > looking for BMW and other F1 gear, WRC stuff, etc, and every web > search I do > only turns up overseas vendors. Who sells this stuff in the states? > > TIA > > Eric > > > > ************************************************************* > List Commands > UNSUBSCRIBE - (in subject line) unsubscribes you from the mailing list. > DIR - sends a listing of files available in the list's GET directory. > GET filename1.ext,filename2.ext - sends the requested file(s). > > To issue a command/request to the server: > Send a message with the command you wish executed as the > subject of the message to the email address e36m3@bmw-m.net. > ************************************************************* > > >
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#3. Air Conditioner Groan and Hum - from morris.michael@tiax.biz
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 10:37:48 -0400 From: morris.michael@tiax.biz Subject: Air Conditioner Groan and Hum Hello List, Starting to warm up around here and have started to use the air conditioning again. My problem: When the A/C is on, I hear a groaning/humming noise that comes from the engine bay when (I think) the compressor turns on. It happens intermittently, and usually lasts for about 10 seconds at a time. Blipping the throttle does not make it disappear. I don't think that fan speed effects the frequency or duration of the hum/groan either. I have checked both the Bently and the archives and have found nothing. About 3 months ago I swapped my belts during a cooling system overhaul. I am confident that they are installed correctly. Any ideas as to what is causing this hum/groan? Compressor Clutch? Belt tensioner? Thanks, Mike Morris ---------------------------------------- Michael Morris Mechanical Engineer TIAX LLC 617.498.5165 (Phone) 617.498.7114 (Fax) morris.michael@tiax.biz ----------------------------------------- **** This is intended for the addressee only and may contain confidential business information. It may not be copied without our permission. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible and delete the material from any computer.****
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#4. RE: Need Help with Cooling Problems (Long) - from Bob Stommel
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 10:04:00 -0500 From: Bob Stommel <rstommel@iquest.net> Subject: RE: Need Help with Cooling Problems (Long) Geof: The problem is most likely a weak head gasket. I know of an independent BMW shop in California that is replacing four E36 M3 head gaskets per month now. You don't indicate the mileage on your engine, but if you are racing it with more than 50-60K miles on it, your head gasket is probably going south. This is a weakness in the E36 M3 engines that hasn't shown up very often in just street driving. Do the following tests: 1. Use an engine block tester to check for carbon monoxide in the coolant. You can get these fairly cheap (around $50) from Eastwood or other automotive tool vendors. 2. Flush the cooling system and run the engine for a few hundred miles. Look for any oil sheen on top of the coolant in the recovery tank. If you find an oil sheen, flush the system again and run it for a few hundred miles. If it shows up again, the head gasket is bad. An oil sheen will usually show up in the coolant before you see any coolant in the oil. A compression and leakdown test will not always diagnose a bad head gasket, so don't rely on those to make the determination. If you have to replace the head gasket, you might want to do some work on the head while it's off the engine. You can't modify the parts in Stock class, but you should at least check to make sure you don't have any bent valves, check for valve guide wear, and put in new valve spring retainers. It's also a good time to replace the timing chain tensioner since it has to be removed as part of the labor anyway. Anything you can do to "freshen" the cylinder head will give you more top end HP for racing. Replacing a head gasket is fairly major engine work, so unless you have rebuilt engines before, it's best left to a shop to handle. HTH, Bob Stommel SPG Motorsports Indianapolis P.S. If you don't need your A/C, you should remove the condensor. It's presents a fairly large restriction to air flow to the radiator. You might also want to hard-wire a switch inside the cockpit so that you can manually turn on the electric fan if needed. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 09:30:50 -0400 From: Geof McLaughlin <gfmiiilist@attbi.com> Subject: Need Help with Cooling Problems (Long) I am encountering some cooling problems on my 1995 M3 that I run in I-Stock in BMWCCA Club Racing and was wondering if anyone has encountered similar problems and might be able to offer some suggestions. I have removed the fan clutch (aka mechanical fan) and have not had any problems with overheating with just the electric fan for the most part. I did overheat once when I spun on the track and then was sitting for a little bit before getting back on my way. I would somewhat expect this after having driven in the upper RPM band and then suddenly coming to a stop with no airflow through the radiator. However, this past weekend at Watkins Glen, I started to smell antifreeze on the first lap of the race and my car started to overheat on the second lap (after having no problems at all in the previous day's race). I slowed down and moved out of the draft to get cool airflow and it did not do anything. I have replaced all cooling system parts (radiator, thermostat, thermostat housing, water pump) except for the expansion tank cap and am currently running a thermostat that is always open (due to it sticking a couple of weeks ago). I also do not have the lower air duct (i.e. underpanel) installed on my car as it was missing when I bought it. It has been suggested that my head gasket may be going, but I would like to attack this problem from every other angle before replacement. It also has been suggested that the excess heat could be a result of a slight lean condition due to the chip that I am running as it tries to cope with adjusting the air/gas mixture between full and part throttle. I plan on installing a new radiator cap and thermostat and install the LTW radiator air duct when I install the LTW splitter. I have been told that removing the AC condensor may help in freeing up airflow to the radiator but really is not necessary. Can anyone provide some helpful tips/suggestions? I plan on testing the car again under track conditions with the changes above in a couple weeks. But if it does overheat, how hard is it to install a new head gasket one's self? WHat else should be replaced while I'm in there? I have been given a quote of $2000 by a very well respected engine builder including installing new guides (and I forget what else). This sounds reasonable, but I'd like to hear others experiences. Thanks! Geof
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#5. [E36M3] Changing Serpentine Belt - from Colin_S_Whelan@rrfc.raytheon.com
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 10:57:02 -0400 From: Colin_S_Whelan@rrfc.raytheon.com Subject: [E36M3] Changing Serpentine Belt Hi Group, I was wondering what the easiest/fastest way to change the serpentine belt is: 1) remove fan, work from the top 2) remove bottom plastic cover under radiator, work from underneath 3) just work from top with the fan in place (anyone try this one?) Thanks, Colin '98 M3/2
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#6. removing spring pads - from Dorffer, Rich
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 11:18:30 -0400 From: "Dorffer, Rich" <RDORFFER@CleIndians.com> Subject: removing spring pads When I removed the springs in my E30, I loosened everything in the rear (removed the shocks, removed the sway bar links, released the parking brake) and I still couldn't get the rear springs out. So, I jacked up one rear wheel at a time (while the car was on jack stands) to compress the coil of the spring some. I then wrapped one of the upper and lower coils with a fabric tow wrap I had in order to keep the coil compressed some. I released the wheel and pulled the spring right out. The new springs were lower and just slid in nicely. YMMV and I am you should not try this at home. Don't blame me if you do and something goes horribly wrong. Later, Rich
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#7. Re: [E36M3] Changing Serpentine Belt - from Chester Wong
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 08:25:28 -0700 (PDT) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Changing Serpentine Belt > 1) remove fan, work from the top Probably the easiest if you have a tool to knock that big nut off. > 2) remove bottom plastic cover under radiator, work from underneath Less easy, but possible. > 3) just work from top with the fan in place (anyone try this one?) I don't even think that this is possible. HTH, Chester ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
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#8. Re: [E36M3] Changing Serpentine Belt - from Matt Henson
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 08:28:01 -0700 (PDT) From: Matt Henson <hensonator@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Changing Serpentine Belt Hi Colin, I don't think that I removed the fan for this (or replacing the radiator, but that's another story). IIRC, You do need to remove the A/C belt, and I think that you need to work from the bottom for that. So once the A/C belt is off, you can probably get the big belt from the top with the fan in place. This is based on my memory, though, so take a look and make sure I'm not losing it. -Matt --- Colin_S_Whelan@rrfc.raytheon.com wrote: > Hi Group, > > I was wondering what the easiest/fastest way to > change the serpentine belt > is: > > 1) remove fan, work from the top > 2) remove bottom plastic cover under radiator, work > from underneath > 3) just work from top with the fan in place (anyone > try this one?) > > Thanks, > Colin > > '98 M3/2 > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
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#9. [E36M3] Mainlining! - from twisty M3
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 08:41:55 -0700 From: "twisty M3" <twistym3@hotmail.com> Subject: [E36M3] Mainlining! Well, I *thought* I was already addicted... Now I'm mainlining!! What a GREAT weekend. I took the Driving Concepts Club Racing School and now I find myself trying to think of what things I currently enjoy in life that I can brush aside to save those funds for my racing future. ;) I'll be the first to admit that I was a bit nervous about taking the school because I wasn't too comfortable with the idea of going wheel to wheel on a track in my daily driver. After the first three laps of our fist session, that nervousness was completely gone. I'll save you from all the details of everything that goes on, if you're unfamiliar with the school, but as soon as we started doing our little mini sprint races, I knew the slope just went to a 90 degree drop. I can't believe how great it was and I surprised myself with how comfortable I felt out there in traffic and passing in turns. I honestly felt like I belonged out there. Doesn't mean I was the fastest guy out there, but I guarantee was having as much or more fun than anyone there. I can't believe that there are people who don't like rolling starts. Crap, those are fun!!! It's probably better to like being on pole, but I really loved starting at the back of the pack when possible and working my way through as much traffic as possible. That's good fun!!! I was thinking that I'd do this school and wait until next year to apply for the license, but I think that plan has changed. I helped out a few friends in an H-Stock E36M3 (only car in class) and two of the three drivers lost their virginity at this race. How amped they were when they got out of the car really rubbed off on me and I was wishing I had a suit and could've just snuck my way out there for a few minutes worth of the race. I think the process will start this week. Gotta look into getting the application out, finding a suit and shoes and then finding people who know/trust me and are willing to take on a rookie as a codriver in some enduros. Anyone looking for drivers??? ;) Jonathan "heroine sounds like more of a hobby compared to this" Lawson _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
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#10. Re: [E36M3] Need Help with Cooling Problems (Long) - from Scott Chan
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Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 08:58:26 -0700 From: Scott Chan <s_chan@pacbell.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Need Help with Cooling Problems (Long) It sounds like the common '95 M3 head gasket weakness. It is very simple to diagnose on the track If you smell or see coolant leaking *before* the temp gauge rises, then, voila, that's your problem. The combustion gasses are leaking into your cooling passages, raising the pressure in the coolant. This causes the cap to relieve the pressure, eventually blowing out so much coolant that you no longer can cool the engine. Only then will it overheat. It is easy to confirm this in the shop with a "head gasket leak detector kit", which is a chemical sniff test to detect CO in the coolant. Any radiator shop and many mechanics can do this; it takes 1 minute or so if your engine has been running. You may be able to buy the kit from a Snap-On truck or other tool dealer. it is a clear plastic tube with two chambers and a squeeze bulb. The chambers are filled with a blue chemical. Stick the tube into your coolant reserve bottle, squeeze the bulb to draw in some gasses, and if the liquid turns yellow, you have combustion gasses in your coolant (i.e., head gasket leak). I don't know the root cause of this common problem, but all the other suggestions are off track. Sorry. Been there, done that.