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#1. Re: [E36M3] Some New Brake Pads to Consider - from donna seeley
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Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 14:40:50 -0700 From: donna seeley <dlseeley@earthlink.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Some New Brake Pads to Consider Yeah, different cars and different braking styles. I like PF-90s on E36 (the only track pad I used), didn't like them on the E30. Donna On Monday, August 5, 2002, at 12:55 PM, peter@guagenti.com wrote: >> FWIW, I used two sets of KFP Gold on my E30M3 race car and hated >> them. I > <snip> >> and was instantly happier. YMMV with E36s... > > This seems to be consistent feedback about pads in general. They > usually work > well on some cars, but don't work well on others. Wasn't there an issue > with > Porterfields working pretty poorly on the E30? > > -p >
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#2. polishing wheels / felt polishing bobs - from Jason Leung
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Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 15:08:09 -0700 From: "Jason Leung"<jhleung@earthlink.net> Subject: polishing wheels / felt polishing bobs Hmm. That seems like an esoteric and needlessly expensive way (particularly with the grinder) way to polish wheels. That and those polishing bobs are not only expensive but very small. I recently polished a set of aluminum wheels. Go to Home Depot's Tool section and buy a set of buffing wheels that go on your electric drill. The pack comes in three or four sizes from about 2" diamter to about 5" diameter. This will cost approximately $7 and includes black, tripoli, and white polishing compounds. (Assuming that you are polishing the aluminum and not just buffing.... if you are buffing don't use the compound...just use your 3M Glaze stuff) Anyways this method costs $7: cheap. I polished my wheels here: http://home.earthlink.net/~jhleung/Citroen/Exterior.htm#Wheels -Jason '92 332i turbo >Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 14:25:22 -0700 (PDT) >From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> >Subject: Felt polishing bobs > >So I was looking to polish my M forged wheels the >other day. I've been using >the BMW brush which is pretty stiff and abrasive >so the clear coat is now a bit >dull. I used some 3M hand glaze on a small spot >and the spot looked real nice, >but the thought of doing the whole wheel made me >cringe. I remember seeing >Griot's Garage where they polished an aluminum >mag wheel. Uh....$32 for 7 felt >bobs? OUCH! > >So I found some info that I thought I might pass .along...not sure if it's the >absolute cheapest, but hey...it's cheaper than >Griot's! > >http://www.durofelt.com/image_7.html > >I figure I'll get the IR die grinder: > >http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/IR-308.html > >Whaddya think? > >Not affiliated with any of the companies... > >>Chester
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#3. 95 Fuel filter - what a pain - from Paul Elliott
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Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 18:51:00 -0400 From: "Paul Elliott" <elliott.paul@worldnet.att.net> Subject: 95 Fuel filter - what a pain >>Replaced the fuel filter on my '95 M3, build 4/94, today. What a pain in the ***! My filter was located above the left front motor mount and is very difficult to access<< Thank goodness its easier to access on the OBDII M3s...Its approx. under the driver's seat, and can access just from underneath. Paul Elliott --------------------------------------------------------- '99 White M3; < 45K miles; Dinan stage II SC kit with 6" RMS crank pulley: 11 psi; AA Water Injection; Fikse FM-10s; X-Brace; Dinan Koni Suspension; Stygar SS and Clutch Stop; Sound by Polk, Excelon, JLAudio
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#4. 95 Fuel filter - what a pain. - from Paul Elliott
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Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 18:54:09 -0400 From: "Paul Elliott" <elliott.paul@worldnet.att.net> Subject: 95 Fuel filter - what a pain. Lowell, >>I hate to tell you this, but your fuel filter really should have been replaced years ago. I'm sure it is part of the Inspection II. << Believe it or not, its not part of ANY Inspection! I had mine done at about 38K miles, and in the future, Im going to get it done along with Inspection II, to which I already have to add 2 more services BMW deems are not necessary: Transmission and differential fluid changes! Paul Elliott --------------------------------------------------------- '99 White M3; < 45K miles; Dinan stage II SC kit with 6" RMS crank pulley: 11 psi; AA Water Injection; Fikse FM-10s; X-Brace; Dinan Koni Suspension; Stygar SS and Clutch Stop; Sound by Polk, Excelon, JLAudio
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#5. Rear Suspension Clunking - from Paul Elliott
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Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 19:01:26 -0400 From: "Paul Elliott" <elliott.paul@worldnet.att.net> Subject: Rear Suspension Clunking >>Over the weekend, I checked the shock mounts and towers for cracks as well as the rear trailing arm mount holes and found no visible cracking (my original fear). << I probably put that fear into you, when I found exactly that, as being the cause of my clunk..The circumstances were different though, in that my 'clunk' occurred over broken pavement, and yours occurred during turns. Does it sound like its located within the cabin, ie, near the rear speaker, or rear headrest if you have one? Or, does it sound like its somewhere under the car, in the suspension itself? Mine was very definitely in the cabin....could have been coming from teh C pillar, the head rest struts, or the rear speaker area...Or of course, in the area of the RSM. AS a matter of fact, I left the car off at the dealer today, for the srvc, where he will have their body shop perform some weld on reinforcements, to silence the beast forever! At least theyre doing it under warranty, which I gathered from them, is not always the case. But, whereas the srvc writer told me they would be reinforcing both rear shock towers, I later spoke with the vp of srvc, who informed me, 'you know, we usually dont do both sides in a case like this; only the one thats got the problem...'. Frankly, that doesnt bother me..Id rather have no more third party welding going on than is necessary to fix whats broken. If and when the other side acts up, I'll take care of it. I dont really blame them for not wanting to go looking for trouble on a warranty repair. Im just happy theyre doing at least the one at no charge. Paul Elliott --------------------------------------------------------- '99 White M3; < 45K miles; Dinan stage II SC kit with 6" RMS crank pulley: 11 psi; AA Water Injection; Fikse FM-10s; X-Brace; Dinan Koni Suspension; Stygar SS and Clutch Stop; Sound by Polk, Excelon, JLAudio
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#6. Felt polishing Bobs - from Paul Elliott
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Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 21:06:41 -0400 From: "Paul Elliott" <elliott.paul@worldnet.att.net> Subject: Felt polishing Bobs Chester, >>Whaddya think<< Well, with a set of Fikses, Ive gotten real familiar with billet polishing techniques...And Ive come to the conclusion that the white cotton loose type wheels from the Eastwood Company are tops, and more effective than the bobs, for the main reason that the cotton leaves which comprise the wheel are loose enough so that they will in effect 'surround' the various wheel surfaces...Both will turn pitch black in short order, so I usually figure on using one bob or wheel per session, and then chucking it, cause I havent found a good method of cleaning them...As for polish, I find that Mothers metal polish followed by Mothers Billet polish simply cannot be beat. There are other metal polishes which are as good as the first, but the latter one listed is truely unique....Good luck! Paul Elliott --------------------------------------------------------- '99 White M3; < 45K miles; Dinan stage II SC kit with 6" RMS crank pulley: 11 psi; AA Water Injection; Fikse FM-10s; X-Brace; Dinan Koni Suspension; Stygar SS and Clutch Stop; Sound by Polk, Excelon, JLAudio
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#7. [E36M3] Ripped Weather stripping - HELP! - from Colin_S_Whelan@rrfc.raytheon.com
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Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 21:42:55 -0400 From: Colin_S_Whelan@rrfc.raytheon.com Subject: [E36M3] Ripped Weather stripping - HELP! Hi Group, Well, the weather stripping on my passenger door opening ('98 M3 coupe) ripped today, as I rolled up the window, right near the upper left hand corner of the window! I have no idea how, it must have just gotten caught, or the rubber dried out or something. Interesting, it happened right at the seam. This is the weather stripping the window slides up under when the doors are opened and shut in the coupe. Unfortunately it's all one piece, around the whole door opening. The car has one week of warrantly left and I'm trying to get the dealer to order the right part before I bring it in. Is the part number 51711977728? This same piece of weather stripping is also the "mouse hair" trim on the interior of the car. The dealer says there are two colors, silver and black. My trim looks dark grey. Is the "silver" that they refer to actually dark grey? Can anyone confirm? Thanks, Colin '98 M3 coupe...ripped weatherstripping.... :(
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#8. Re: [E36M3] Ripped Weather stripping - HELP! - from Chester Wong
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Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 19:40:43 -0700 (PDT) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Ripped Weather stripping - HELP! The part number you want is indeed 51 71 1 977 728 The color is "Scheifer". The "Schwarz" (black) one is 51 71 2 138 958. Chester --- Colin_S_Whelan@rrfc.raytheon.com wrote: > Is the part number 51711977728? > > This same piece of weather stripping is also the "mouse hair" trim on the > interior of the car. The dealer says there are two colors, silver and > black. My trim looks dark grey. Is the "silver" that they refer to > actually dark grey? ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better http://health.yahoo.com
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#9. Re: [E36M3] Passenger seat snafu - from Andrej Dolenc
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Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 23:22:31 -0400 From: Andrej Dolenc <adolenc@erols.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Passenger seat snafu > The passenger seat of my '95 M3 is suddenly refusing > to fold forward. What's this cost to fix and how much? > I predict that passengers going through my side to sit > in the back will start to drive me mad.... Jay, I recently had the same thing happen on my '97 M3, the passenger seat refused to fold forward. The culprit is a broken cable in the seat itself. With the help of this list, particularly Steve Cooperman, I got instructions on how to fix this cable myself. First off, what you need is: Bowden Cable Part# 52 10 8 187 999 Then, what you need to do is dissasemble the back of the seat to gain access to the cable. Steve forwarded me these instructions for installing the Power Lumbar Support, they contain info on how to take the seatback off. Once the seatback is off, you remove the existing cable (a few clips to pull off) and put on the new, unbroken cable (replace the clips). Removing the seatback is harder than replacing the cable. Instructions are below. Hope that helps, Andrej '97 M3 ----- Andrej, I developed these instructions for my buyers when I did the BMW Power Lumbar Support group purchase. The instructions that you need are in the article. This will make your project very easy to do. Have fun. Steve Cooperman '98 M3/2 Tucson, AZ ***This is the writeup that nobody wanted to publish*** Power Lumbar Support Installation Tips- presented by Steve Cooperman 1/17/00 We are reporting alternate installation techniques for the BMW power lumbar support accessory kit. Lumbar support has been available to European buyers but was not introduced to the United States market. The BMW part number is 52.10.9.404.379 and it fits E-36 models from 9/94 on. This is a collaborative effort based on the installation experiences of members of Suzyıs M3 Digest who were participants in the first and second group purchases for this kit. In no particular order, the contributors are Jim El Nabli, Garrick Louie, Wayne Miller, Shawn Roberts, and Steve Cooperman. Common sense should be used by the person installing this accessory kit since they are responsible for any unexpected results. This information supplements the BMW instructions and includes tips that can simplify the installation process. It will make more sense after you have read the instructions. The BMW instructions are printed in several languages. To simplify things you can photocopy the English instruction page, cut out the instruction sections and tape them over the German text. This is easier than flipping pages back and forth to compare written instructions to the illustrations. To remove the headrests, sit in the seat backwards (facing the seatback). Push upwards while moving the headrest front to back. The front/back movement helps the bars slip out of the spring loaded stops. Sitting backwards allows you to brace the backrest with your knees or legs so the seatback doesn't get too traumatized. You may need to recline the seatback a little to get clearance from the roof as you remove the headrest. Moving the seat forward and to its highest position gives greatest access for the installation. Remember to disconnect the battery cable before disconnecting any wires. If any sensors are disconnected while the power is on you may set a fault that requires a dealer to reset the airbag warning. The seatback levers must be removed. These are the levers that release the seatback so it can fold forward. They pull straight out. Use a screwdriver to pry them out but donıt pry against the cover piece below the lever or it may break. I used two small blocks of wood on both sides of the lever and two flat blade screwdrivers to pry out the lever from the seatback. Hold the lever halfway up and pry from the top and bottom using even pressure. The wood blocks are taller than the plastic piece so that they act as a fulcrum instead of the breakable plastic cover. Another technique is to hold the lever halfway up and use a 3/8" wide slotted screwdriver to pry the lever straight out from behind using your hand as a fulcrum. The covers under the seatback levers are removed next. Do not try to pry the covers out of the seat because they will break. The covers are retained by two clips on the top and bottom ends. These clips go into the seat and are held by barbed ends that clip around a piece of plastic. To remove them, place the tip of a flat blade screwdriver inside the opening and flat against the plastic clip and follow it to a plastic cross piece. Stop when you reach the cross piece. Push upward on the top piece and rotate the screwdriver outward to pull that end out. Repeat with the lower piece and push downward to release the barb and rotate outward. You only need to move the clip about 1 or 2 mm to release the retaining clip. It doesnıt take much pressure and you will not damage anything. There are two screws at the bottom corners of the backrests that must be removed. They are Torx head screws (T-20 size). Using a Torx bit with a ratchet handle gives easy access to the screws. The BMW instructions in the F 36 51 524 P illustration tell you to remove four clips. Apparently not all cars have these clips. If you canıt find them, donıt worry about it. Remove the cover at the bottom/back of the seat to make the power plug easily accessible from the back. You need to remove this cover to route the wiring from the bottom to the lumbar support motor. The Torx screw that holds it in place is large (T-30). The other end of the cover plate is snapped in place and pulls off. Pull downward and it comes off. Install the lumbar cushion as directed by the illustrated instruction. Do not attach the pump motor with the zip ties until the power cable has been routed from under the seat to the seatback. The BMW instructions instruct you to insert the lumbar support cushion ³in the direction indicated by the arrow². The arrow is imaginary as far as I can tell. The lumbar cushion is placed in the seatback from the bottom of the spring toward the top. Here is what I did. I pulled the lower spring (the one that extends across the backrest) back and inserted a 1.5 inch block of closed cell foam at the extreme side positions between the seat spring and the back of the cushion. This moved the spring back enough to be able to insert the lumbar cushion. The blocks need to be far enough to the side so that the lumbar cushion will fit between them. Wood or any other kind of spacer should be ok to push the spring away from the seat. Make the spacer as thick as needed but use the smallest thickness possible to avoid overextending the spring. The next problem is that the seat cushion back is foam and is grippy. The lumbar cushion does not want to slide over it. I used a sheet of paper between seat cushion and the lumbar cushion to make it easier to slide the lumbar cushion in place. Don't forget to remove the paper after the lumbar cushion is installed. It is difficult to feed the lumbar cushion into the space available between the seat cushion and the springs. I had to feed the cushion in at about a 90 degree angle to the seat back and then pull it through a fraction of an inch at a time. Your fingers will fit through the wire supports just enough to do this. You will be adjusting and feeding from the bottom, then pulling up from the top to keep things smooth. Finally it will be in place and you can hook the top tabs around the wire to keep it in place. The support wires are wrapped around themselves at the frame and have the ends sticking out. These ends can puncture or cut your hands so use caution in this area. The BMW instructions direct you to remove the seat from the car and to remove the seat cushion for the lumbar installation. We have found that these steps are not necessary. The technique to avoid these steps is outlined below. Remove the Torx screw (T-30) and unclip the plastic cover (as described above) from the very bottom of the back of the seat (the one that covers the motor). Move the lower part of the seat all the way forward and recline the back of the seat all the way down on the rear seat. Feed the socket to the pump motor through the hole in the lower seat frame that the heater wiring runs up. You'll need to pull the lower cushion toward the front of the car to reveal it. Run the socket along the path that the seat release cable travels and you've done the hard part. It is easy to remove the cover plate for the actuator switch. The cover is retained by clips on the ends of the cover. Push the retainer clips toward the center of the plate with a screwdriver and it comes out very easily. Use an inspection mirror to help visualize the area. All manipulations can be made from the side or back of the seat. Instead of laying upside down to view the underside of the seat, sit on the floor outside the car and use an inspection mirror. If you need more access space, you can unbolt the seat (two bolts and two nuts) and just tilt the seat back to the rear. This really isnıt necessary, but you donıt have to lift the seat out unless you really want to. The power supply connection can be confusing. The instructions describe power plug ³d² connecting to the plug housing for the electric seat adjustment. I interpreted (incorrectly) that it plugged into the seat adjustment switch. WRONG!!! There are two power plugs (plug/socket) in the lumbar support wiring harness. You should remove the power supply plug coming from the floor to the seat. Connect the plug from the wiring harness to the (now empty) seat power socket. Snap the wiring harness socket housing to the plug that you just inserted into the seat (they have attachment points on the side of the plugs to do this). The power supply from the floor plugs into the socket from the wiring harness. A different explanation of the power supply connector is that it is a Y-splitter (similar to a computer when you need to add a CD-ROM drive and add a Y-splitter to the power supply). This may help to visualize what is required for the power connection. It is easier to route the wiring harness for the actuator switch through the hole in the seat and then connect the plug to the switch. Then simply push the switch into the mounting hole and snap into place. There is a plastic cover piece attached to a power plug on the wiring harness. It is not needed when installing in a car with power seats. Miscellaneous information: Under tools and materials required, there is a universal knife mentioned. Nobody has figured out what is to be cut or why. One thing that is confusing about the lumbar cushion itself is that they are the same for both sides, meaning the hose comes out on the right facing forward, although you would expect them to be "mirror-inverted." This puts the pump's wiring connector on the left side of both seats although on the passenger seat, the seat harness comes up on the right side. This turns out to be a non-issue as there is plenty of cable length. I feel that the inspection mirror is the key to not removing the seats. Actually seeing how the parts fit together is necessary (for me anyway). Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 13:16:56 -0500 From: Andrej Dolenc <adolenc@erols.com> Subject: Re[2]: [E36M3] Part number for seat cable *laugh* I'm in the same boat on my '97 M3. The seats might be slightly different in that at least one person I talked to (with a '95 M3 I think) was describing his seat, the torx bolts that hold in the seatback were on the top of his seat whereas on mine they were at the bottom of the seatback. But despite removing those torx bolts, I don't see how to release and remove the seatback release levers. Once the levers are off apparently you can just slide / pull the seatback off and you'll see the cable in there. Andrej '97 M3
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#10. 235/40 Yokohama AVS Intermediate on stock ('98) front rims? - from Mo Karamat
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Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 22:41:45 -0400
From: Mo Karamat <karamatm@optonline.net>
Subject: 235/40 Yokohama AVS Intermediate on stock ('98) front rims?
Hans,
Hello.. Yes they will, I called Yokohama, and verified with them that the
tires would fit my rims. I have a 98 with the stock staggered setup. I
bought the same tires in 235 40 17 all around.
hope this helps
Mo
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Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2002 21:40:40 -0700
From: Hans Bouwmeester <hbouw@pacbell.net>
Subject: 235/40 Yokohama AVS Intermediate on stock ('98) front rims?
Hi,
I noticed the TireRack is selling the Yokohama AVS Intermediate tires
for $65 each. Quite a steal since I will only be using them to get to
and from the track. My question now is whether the 235/40 size will fit
my front stock rims (1998 E36 M3)? They don't have the 225/45 size...
Thanks in advance!
Hans Bouwmeester.