-------------------- 1 --------------------
#1. RE: annoying bounce + water logged DME - from Zachary Eyler-Walker
Top
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 16:49:05 -0500 (EST) From: Zachary Eyler-Walker <zwalker@cs.utk.edu> Subject: RE: annoying bounce + water logged DME So, this got bounced the first time I sent it, apparently because of the subject line. Guess it's more important to give a good subject than to clip the 9000 extraneous lines in the message when replying to a digest... Anyway: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 16:24:38 -0500 (EST) From: Zachary Eyler-Walker <zwalker@cs.utk.edu> To: E36M3 <e36m3@bmw-m.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] E36M3 #2815 > 3. Water Logged DME > by: <KResener@aol.com> > -------------------- 3 -------------------- > Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 09:43:18 EST > From: KResener@aol.com > Subject: Water Logged DME > > > Gruppe, > Twice now I've been stopped dead after driving in the rain by water getting > into the area where the DME is (right side of firewall, behind glovebox) in > my '95 M3/2. > Yesterday, it died after driving in the pouring rain for three hours from > Nashville to Louisville just as I turned onto my street. I couldn't have > been more lucky. > Figuring that I've pushed my luck far enough I need to figure out how to > clear the drain that is no doubt clogged or further waterproof the area. > Anyone dealt with this or have any suggestions? I've heard that there's a a > drain under the cowl area that can become clogged? > I used my wife's hairdryer to dry the DME and plug, here's hoping it'll fire > up.... > > Kurt As a data point, the first mechanic who did a pre-track inspection on my car at Curry's Auto in VA talked to me a bit about this, and wound up convincing me to let him pluck out a rubber drain guide that the sort of rain catch pan below the windshield drained into. The drain was hard to see, but basically lives right at the end of the engine, is about the size of a tennis ball or so, and has a wide spout with a flap on it. He claimed that this was what usually got clogged up, and that when it did the overflow would pour onto the DME and cause the problems you're getting. Maybe someone with an ETK can provide more specific instructions, or give some better fix. I wasn't totally sure about removing it -- why would BMW spend money to put in a custom rubber drain if it weren't important -- but it's not obvious what purpose it would serve and the thought of frying my DME swayed me. Good luck getting yours back on line. Zach
-------------------- 2 --------------------
#2. A number of things - from Steve Klein
Top
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 16:18:00 -0600 From: Steve Klein <klein@robinsonad.com> Subject: A number of things Hi Folks- This weekend, I pulled out all the seat pieces and bolsters (which was surprisingly easy) and Leatheriqued 'em really well. In the process, I discovered that I could indeed swap the seat bottom cushions/leather on the black vaders. I had to splice a 6" extension for the seat heater wire on each, but the process was relatively painless, and it feels great being on fresh padding and not wearing out the leather that has taken the brunt of the duty. However, I now have the 2 minute airbag light on the dash (all connections secure) which happened after removing the drivers seat only on Sat., before the seat swap. Since I didn't disconnect the battery, is this just a circuit fault that I need to have reset? Next, while digging into the steering column for the squeaking (which still eludes me) I noticed a black plastic ring outside of the inner sliding contact ring (looking up from the foot well area) that has a single black wire on the bottom heading towards the firewall, and it was loose enough to wiggle around, but didn't look like it was going anywhere. Any ideas as to what this is and how to tighten it? Bentley talks about a screw or two, but that looks like air bag removal. Sunroof: How do I get the liner to slide back so I can inspect and tighten? Bentley says to open enough to get the lip to drop 2-3mm, but the liner doesn't want to budge. Finally (sorry I'm so long winded) as to the removal of the rear deck, are the plastic snaps others have mentioned muscling out the ones holding the trim piece behind the seats? And is there a trick to getting the pillar pieces out? I got the drivers side top loose, but the bottom was resisting so I stopped before the force became fatal. It's been rattling back there, and when I stuck my fingers up through the metal in the trunk, I felt a huge piece of fiber board floating around. Another lister had mentioned using a spray paint to change the purple back to black. Can you tell me what product you were using? Thanks again in advance, Steve
-------------------- 3 --------------------
#3. Re: [E36M3] Spark Plug Tool P/N? - from Chester Wong
Top
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 14:31:16 -0800 (PST) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Spark Plug Tool P/N? BMW tool part number: 12 1 200 (I think this is the thing that has the built in torque spec) 12 1 171 (that's the proper socket) Chester --- twisty M3 <twistym3@hotmail.com> wrote: > Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 12:28:59 -0800 > From: "twisty M3" <twistym3@hotmail.com> > Subject: Spark Plug Tool P/N? > > I'm going to try to call my dealer and see if they have the took kit spark > plug tool in stock, and maybe even just give it to me since it never came > with my car (haha! we'll see about that). > > Does anyone have the P/N for that, so I don't have to stay on the phone with > them forever as they try to figure it out? ;) =====
-------------------- 4 --------------------
#4. Re: [E36M3] E36 radiator:good replacement or same as orig.? - from Reid Conti
Top
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 14:44:09 -0800 From: Reid Conti <reid@conti.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] E36 radiator:good replacement or same as orig.? wait, what's this about the metal impeller reacting with coolant? Ack! Does it eat away at it, or do I just need to change coolant more often? As for the new plastic water pump.. well, I think it's probably a good idea to change pumps every 60k miles anyway. It's an easy job (I did it with the help of a buddy, we both have very little mechanical experience).. the thing is, my plastic pump did not have a destroyed impeller, but the bearings were long gone, I'm surprised it still turned. I imagine that any water pump is going to be prone to failed bearings... - reid On Monday, Dec 16, 2002, at 13:46 US/Pacific, Chris Papademetrious wrote: > Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 16:39:23 -0500 > From: Chris Papademetrious <chrispy@ieee.org> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] E36 radiator:good replacement or same as orig.? > > At 12:36 PM 12/16/2002 -0600, Chester Wong wrote: >> Custom aluminum radiators are available, but they're expensive. The >> metal >> impeller water pump is better in the area of strength; however, it's >> been said >> that the new water pumps are plastic again...something about the >> metal reacting >> with the coolant. Someone on this list said that he was working with >> Fluidyne >> (I think) for custom alum radiators that might be a little more >> affordable. > > The BMW water pump's impeller that went into my car over this past > summer was made of a much stronger-feeling black plastic, rather than > the weak white plastic that the original pump (and its leftover > pieces) were made of.
-------------------- 5 --------------------
#5. GreenFlag Laguna - from jeffreylin@att.net
Top
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 22:58:44 +0000 From: jeffreylin@att.net Subject: GreenFlag Laguna There are still spaces for GreenFlag's event at Laguna Seca this weekend. This is a "open track" style event. See the website at www.greenflagdriving.com for sign up info. Jeff
-------------------- 6 --------------------
#6. Re: Seat Swap - from Steve Klein
Top
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 17:02:49 -0600 From: Steve Klein <klein@robinsonad.com> Subject: Re: Seat Swap Hi, Chris- The procedure was actually very simple once I got the seats out, so starting from there: Looking at the bottom of the seat, there are two torx screws near the front corners of where the padding is. Once you remove those, there are two plastic push clips (just like on the doors, since I don't know what they're called. Guibo anyone?) that are near the back corners. One of the plastic clips is exposed through the plastic tray of the seat bottom, the other is inside a well moulded into the plastic tray. Easy to find with the seat in front of you. Once those are loosened, the entire seat bottom EXCEPT for the knee support, will be free to lift, but FIRST, you must make sure you've unclipped the seat heater plug from the other plug that it is piggybacked onto, since it runs through an opening in the tray. At this point, the cushion folds up and forward over the knee bolster revealing a black, X-shaped metal plate with four more torx screws and large heads. Remove these and the whole seat/bolster combo is free to remove. CAVEAT: on the passenger seat, I lifted slowly because there is a flexible membrane that comprises the pressure sensor (I'm assuming) for the passenger side seat occupancy/air bag system. This remains on the seat tray, separate from the cushion. Test fitting revealed that the heater wire was too short to reach across, so I spliced in about 6" of 16ga. wire to let the plug reach without any stress or binding. I made sure the splices were clean and well wrapped so that no flexing would compromise the insulation. Installation is the reverse, affixing the black plate and knee bolster first, then re-securing the seat clips and torx screws. The back looked symmetrical as well, but since I haven't pulled it apart, I'll let others comment. Hope this helps! Steve Chris Papademetrious wrote: >> In the process, I discovered that I could indeed swap the seat bottom >> cushions/leather on the black vaders. I had to splice a 6" extension >> for the seat heater wire on each, but the process was relatively >> painless, and it feels great being on fresh padding and not wearing >> out the leather that has taken the brunt of the duty. > > > Steve, I've been meaning to do this, but haven't found a clear > procedure. Could you point me to the one you used, or perhaps write > one up for the list if you figured it out yourself? > > Thanks, and happy holidays! > > - Chris > > >
-------------------- 7 --------------------
#7. radiators - from James Clay
Top
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 18:58:00 -0500 From: "James Clay" <james@bimmerworld.com> Subject: radiators Fluidyne will be the hot setup. Full aluminum and excellent fit/quality. I will probably have a list special when they come out. They have been ALMOST available for the last year. Finally, they are making the last part (bung for temp sensor) and have all the CAD made for a jig. Expect the initial run in 30-60 days. If you want one when they come out, let me know. James -------------------------------------------------------------------- James Clay http://www.bimmerworld.com Engineered BMW Performance Genuine and OEM BMW Parts 540.639.9648 --------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------- 8 --------------------
#8. Check engine light after heavy downpour - from Wen Liew
Top
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 16:10:56 -0800 From: "Wen Liew" <wwliew@hotmail.com> Subject: Check engine light after heavy downpour While driving through the bad storm here, I noticed the engine hesitating a little intermittently, almost as if ASC was kicking in. When I had a chance to pull over, I turned off the igniton. Upon restarting the car, the check engine light came on. Intermittent engine hesitation continues but not at all times, sometimes in 2nd, 3rd or 4th. Did the water kill the 104,000 miles O2 sensor? I replaced one at 65,000. Or did the intake ingest water? I have the Mech Tech turbo with the intake mounted behind the passenger side foglight. Any input is appreciated. Wen 96 M3 - choking _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus
-------------------- 9 --------------------
#9. Re: [E36M3] Check engine light after heavy downpour - from Lee E. Piccione
Top
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 19:44:18 -0500 From: "Lee E. Piccione" <leepic@smart.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Check engine light after heavy downpour I had the same thing happen to me. I checked the code and I had water on the inside of the HFM. Let it dry out, reset the code, car runs like a champ... Lee '95 Violet Wen Liew wrote: > Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 16:10:56 -0800 > From: "Wen Liew" <wwliew@hotmail.com> > Subject: Check engine light after heavy downpour > > While driving through the bad storm here, I noticed the engine hesitating a > little intermittently, almost as if ASC was kicking in. When I had a chance > to pull over, I turned off the igniton. Upon restarting the car, the check > engine light came on. Intermittent engine hesitation continues but not at > all times, sometimes in 2nd, 3rd or 4th. > > Did the water kill the 104,000 miles O2 sensor? I replaced one at 65,000. Or > did the intake ingest water? I have the Mech Tech turbo with the intake > mounted behind the passenger side foglight. > > Any input is appreciated. > > Wen > 96 M3 - choking > > _________________________________________________________________ > MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus > > ************************************************************* > 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. > *************************************************************
-------------------- 10 --------------------
#10. Re: [E36M3] Check engine light after heavy downpour - from Wen Liew
Top
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 17:06:47 -0800 From: "Wen Liew" <wwliew@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Check engine light after heavy downpour This list rocks! Thanks to all that replied directly so quickly! The moral of the story is that a low air intake without the pork chops in stormy weather is a bad idea! Just like a swimmer ingesting water through his nostrils ;0 Wen _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus