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#1. RE: What's procedure to disassemble caliper piston using air? - from Dorffer, Rich
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 12:11:53 -0400 From: "Dorffer, Rich" <RDORFFER@CleIndians.com> Subject: RE: What's procedure to disassemble caliper piston using air? Me, me...(raising my hand)...I know :-) Actually, many procedures (Bentley, BMW, on-line, etc.) recommend using a wooden block but I have found a towel works best. I have found that the best method is to leave the bleeder nipple in place and tight, roll up a shop towel and place it in the caliper in front of the piston to buffer it when it ejects (and to avoid damaging it or you), and use a simple blow gun with the rubber tip (which allows it to seal up to the brake line port) to apply air pressure to the caliper. Slowly add pressure to the caliper by having the tip of the air gun facing into the port and releasing air and slowly move the nozzle towards the port, regulating the pressure not by the nozzle, but by the distance the tip is from the port of the caliper while you slowly ease out the piston. It will really pop out with a lot of pressure so try to be careful. Safe, easy and no damage. Along with this, I couldn't recommend highly enough the use of Ate's caliper grease for rebuilding. Good luck finding it though, I have never found it in the US and ordered from the UK earlier this year. Regards, Rich >Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 09:33:37 -0400 >To: E36M3 Mailing List >From: Geof McLaughlin <gfmiiilist@attbi.com> >Subject: What's procedure to disassemble caliper piston using air? > >My name is Geof and I am an air tool newbie. There, I admitted it. ;-) > >Anyway, what is the procedure for popping out the piston in the brake >caliper (off the car) using air? What air fitting do I use? a standard >blow gun? > >Thanks. > >Geof
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#2. Re: Fuel Starvation Kits - from Neil Maller
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 11:14:20 -0500 From: Neil Maller <neil.maller@gte.net> Subject: Re: Fuel Starvation Kits on 6/13/03 8:20 AM, "twisty M3" <twistym3@hotmail.com> wrote: > Okay, so I'm finding this fuel starvation issue to be a real PITA. It's > started happening even before I get to 1/2 tank now, and that's just > irritating. Plus, I'm sure it forces me into a momentary lean condition, > which can't be good. > > I see that Bimmerworld has a couple of kits they sell. If anything, I'd > probably just go with the Stage 1 kit, which supposedly uses all but that > last 2 gallons before starvation. I don't see myself going that low on a > track day, simply because I'm usually in other cars most of the time, but I > still often use at least a 1/2 tank of gas myself when there's enough free > track time. > > It's $349 and supposedly a one-hour install, on the ground with simple > tools. Sounds like something I can handle. ;) Let me know if anyone has > experience/impressions with this kit. I posted about buying List-sponsor Bimmerworld's kit a while back, and since then have installed it. This weekend was to have been its first outing at the track, had it not been for the (unrelated) electrical meltdown problem. You don't say, and I don't recall, what year your M3 is. It matters, as we'll see. According to the knowledgeable James Clay at Bimmerworld, early (pre-M) E36 cars may not be subject to the fuel starvation issue at all, the 95 M3 may or may not be depending on the car, and the 96+ definitely is. (The 96+ OBD-II cars have a different, slightly larger, fuel tank.) If you have a 95 you can opt for the cheaper Stage I kit. We 96+ owners have to buy the (pricier - gee, what are the odds?) Stage II. Since that's the only one I have experience with, it's what I'll describe. Note that none of the above is mentioned on Bimmerworld's web site. Unless you call them to discuss your order you may end up with the wrong kit. What you get is a pair of replacement BMW fuel pump/fuel level assemblies, some hoses and hose clamps, brass hose size adapters, an electrical connector with pigtails, and very brief instructions. A stock M3 has a single fuel pump which picks up only from the passenger side of the saddle-shaped tank. Excess fuel is returned to the driver side from the engine compartment, and a siphon arrangement inside the tank then transfers some gas back to the pickup side. Under the combination of lower fuel level, right hand sweepers, track cornering forces, and full throttle running, sometimes not enough fuel gets transferred back to the fuel pump side. Starvation and hesitation result. Unlike the stock pump, the Bimmerworld-supplied fuel pumps are made with both discharge and return ports. The basic fuel routing to and from the engine remains as stock, but instead of the siphon, the new second pump is used to transfer fuel from the driver side to the return port on the passenger side pump via an external hose which you install. Obviously a full size fuel pump can move a lot more gas than the stock unpowered siphon, and the problem is fixed. Installation is straightforward, if a little messy with dripping gas, with the following exceptions: 1) The instructions are concise to a fault. A diagram would have been worth a thousand words (not that there were anything like that many...). A description, such as mine above, of the kit's function would have helped too. 2) Because the two pumps are identical, and originally intended for stock installation on the passenger side, the ports point in the wrong direction when installed on the driver side. The resulting U-turn hose routing tends to kink the hoses. I had to insert a metal spring inside one of them to resist this. I wonder if right-angled instead of straight hose adapters would have helped? Also, the two piece adapters were loosely assembled as received. I used Teflon pipe tape and cinched them down. 3) The electrical connector with pigtail leads had two identical (green) wires. Since it turns out that the pump is in fact polarity sensitive, this is *inexcusable*. It resulted in my screwing around for a long time with hoses and buckets testing pump function and trying to figure out why it was running but not pumping. While I should have thought more about polarity, in my (slight...) defense I'll point out that depending on type and design, many pumps and motors are insensitive to polarity/rotation. I made the wrong assumption. Once that got sorted out the system worked fine. 4) There's not very much slack in the factory wiring. In order to splice in the additional pump I found it useful to make up a Y-shaped transition harness. And think polarity... Conclusion: the kit is well conceived and should provide a definitive solution to the fuel starvation problem. However better instructions and attention to parts detail would make installation much easier, and certainly save Bimmerworld from unnecessary tech support phone calls. Note: I'm copying James Clay for this. Neil 96 M3
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#3. Re: [E36M3] What's procedure to disassemble caliper piston using air? - from Andrew E. Kalman
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 09:10:05 -0700 From: "Andrew E. Kalman" <aek@pumpkininc.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] What's procedure to disassemble caliper piston using air? Re: >My name is Geof and I am an air tool newbie. There, I admitted it. ;-) > >Anyway, what is the procedure for popping out the piston in the >brake caliper (off the car) using air? What air fitting do I use? >a standard blow gun? Yes, a standard blow gun with a rubber tip to seal against the threads where the brake line mounts to the caliper will work. Put a thin piece of wood where the pads used to go so that when the piston pops out it doesn't hit anything hard. Also, it will be messy, with all the remaining brake fluid spraying around ... -- ______________________________________ Andrew E. Kalman, Ph.D. aek@pumpkininc.com
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#4. Re: [E36M3] What's procedure to disassemble caliper piston using - from Mark Dadgar
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 09:31:57 -0700 From: Mark Dadgar <mark@pdc-racing.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] What's procedure to disassemble caliper piston using air? Andrew E. Kalman at aek@pumpkininc.com wrote: >> My name is Geof and I am an air tool newbie. There, I admitted it. ;-) >> >> Anyway, what is the procedure for popping out the piston in the >> brake caliper (off the car) using air? What air fitting do I use? >> a standard blow gun? > > Yes, a standard blow gun with a rubber tip to seal against the > threads where the brake line mounts to the caliper will work. Put a > thin piece of wood where the pads used to go so that when the piston > pops out it doesn't hit anything hard. > > Also, it will be messy, with all the remaining brake fluid spraying around ... The piston comes out FAST, so be careful! - Mark -- mark@pdc-racing.net
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#5. Running War. . .um, Hot - from Nancy Fluharty
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 12:43:49 -0400 From: "Nancy Fluharty" <fluhar@worldnet.att.net> Subject: Running War. . .um, Hot Followup Q's on my problem, which yesterday became officially an Overheating Problem. Gauge didn't stop at 1:00; kept going right to the red zone. I had to stop several times on the way home to let it cool. Car is now parked til fixed. 1. Bentley says a quick test for the thermostat is feel the top hose. If it's hot, coolant is circulating. When I felt the top hose (right side of the thermostat housing as you face the engine) , it was almost too hot to touch, and significantly hotter than the lower (left) hose. Significant? 2. Looking at the project ahead -- Bentley says loosen the belt-driven fan and spin it off, then lift the fan and shroud off together. But there are 2 hoses passing horizontally through the shroud, a ~1/4 inch at the top and a ~3/4 inch at the bottom. Do these have to be disconnected first? Does the overflow tank come with it? 3. Is it possible to drain the radiator without removing the undertray? (I mean, I know it's POSSIBLE...) I just got that thing all tight and solid. 4. Still wondering why my electric fan never kicked on. Is it because the sensor for that is in the radiator? And if the radiator never got that hot, that supports the conclusion (despite #1 above) that the t-stat is the problem, right? But the sensor for the gauge is in the block? Thanks to all who responded to my first questions. Seems there's been a rash of thermostat failures lately. Damn those clever terrorists! Bob Fluharty 95 M3 87 325is Cincinnati
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#6. Non "M" Replacement calipers - from marc@plante.com
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 09:49:48 -0700 (PDT) From: marc@plante.com Subject: Non "M" Replacement calipers I just installed new calipers on my wife's E36 M3/4, and the replacements I bought were matching ate units, though the spot where the ///M logo is on the stock units was glazed over in some way. Are these seconds? or ore they simply not stock, on the car calipers? Any implications? Marc Marc Plante marc@plante.com
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#7. Re: [E36M3] Re: Fuel Starvation Kits - from Andrew E. Kalman
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 09:53:48 -0700 From: "Andrew E. Kalman" <aek@pumpkininc.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Re: Fuel Starvation Kits Neil wrote Re the Bimmerworld Fuel Starvation Prevention Kit: >1) The instructions are concise to a fault. A diagram would have been worth >a thousand words (not that there were anything like that many...). A >description, such as mine above, of the kit's function would have helped >too. You can find a complete writeup with illustrations and photos on this issue at http://www.pumpkininc.com/content/doc/guide/ag-8.pdf . I did the install without knowing about BimmerWorld's kits. I should probably add a link to their site to the document since their price is reasonable and you get everything you need ... -- ______________________________________ Andrew E. Kalman, Ph.D. aek@pumpkininc.com
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#8. Re: [E36M3] How to deal with long URLs (Useful, but OT) - from Jim Bassett
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 10:26:36 -0700 From: Jim Bassett <jimbassett@attbi.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] How to deal with long URLs (Useful, but OT) At 06:10 AM 6/13/03, Ron Buchalski wrote: >I ran across a website that allows you to take long, ugly URLs and >transform them into something much shorter and readable. The website is: > >http://www.snipurl.com/teindex.php There's also http://tinyurl.com/ (used quite frequently on another list I'm on). Also, for some mail readers (like Eudora, which I use), simply enclosing the long URL in angle brackets <> keeps the link intact and clickable. My 2 cents, Jim Bassett - LONG-time Eudora user
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#9. RE: What's procedure to disassemble caliper piston using air? - from BOOM,BILL (HP-Roseville,ex1)
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 13:34:29 -0400 From: "BOOM,BILL (HP-Roseville,ex1)" <bill.boom@hp.com> Subject: RE: What's procedure to disassemble caliper piston using air? > From: Geof McLaughlin <gfmiiilist@attbi.com> > Subject: What's procedure to disassemble caliper piston using air? > > Anyway, what is the procedure for popping out the piston in the brake > caliper (off the car) using air? What air fitting do I use? > a standard blow gun? Yep, any standard nozzle will work. One tip: I find that if you let most of the compressed air leak out around the hole you're blowing into, you can better control the speed of the piston popping out. It still shoots out pretty quick once past the inner o-ring, so be sure to use something on the other side to cushion it (like a block of wood with a rag in front of it.) If you're interested, there's good caliper rebuild info here: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21842 - Bill
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#10. Re: [E36M3] Non "M" Replacement calipers - from Geof McLaughlin
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 13:36:36 -0400 From: Geof McLaughlin <gfmiiilist@attbi.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Non "M" Replacement calipers At 11:50 AM 6/13/2003 -0500, marc@plante.com wrote: >I just installed new calipers on my wife's E36 M3/4, and the replacements >I bought were matching ate >units, though the spot where the ///M logo is on the stock units was >glazed over in some way. > >Are these seconds? or ore they simply not stock, on the car calipers? Not seconds, merely OEM replacement calipers. In other words, not directly from BMW but from the manufacturer (ATE) who supplies BMW. >Any implications? Yes, you will not be able to brake as well without the "///M" logo. LOL. ;-) Geof
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#11. Tie-Downs and T-Hooks - from Mark Dadgar
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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 10:39:58 -0700 From: Mark Dadgar <mark@pdc-racing.net> Subject: Tie-Downs and T-Hooks Someone was asking about t-hooks recently and several of us responded with sources. I just found a better source. http://store.sline.com/appCatalogPartsViewList.cfm?BlockID=6929 Note that the t-hooks come with a link attached. If your tie-down hook has a 90 degree bend (rotation) in it, you MUST use a t-hook with this link on it or the tie-down hook will contact the gas tank in the back. That's bad. I solved the problem by having a link welded to the rear hooks, but this is an easier (read: cheaper) solution. - Mark -- mark@pdc-racing.net