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#1. Moving an Airbag sensor to a Recaro SRD...still need SRS tool - from Marc Plante
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Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 14:17:19 -0400 From: Marc Plante <marcva@gmail.com> Subject: Moving an Airbag sensor to a Recaro SRD...still need SRS tool I opened up my stock seat and pulled out the passenger sensor for the airbag system to move to my SRD. There are three torx screws on the bottom side of the seat. Two on the front corners and one on the back right at the back of the switches (my seat is manual) removing these lets you pry up the padding and see the sensor, which is s sheet of HDPE with some wiring embedded in it. If you slide your fingers between the pad and the shell below and work them towards the back of the seat to break loose a bit of gooey adhesive that is used to hold the pad in place. Then simply liberate the wiring sensor (maybe a couple zip ties to cut) and you can pull it out. To install in a Recaro SRD, push down the front edge and pull the plastic hook off the front of the seat, which liberates the bottom cushion. Slide in the sensor pad and work the front corners under the padding of the side bolsters to get it to lie flat. Then reconnect the wiring harness to the connector coming out of the floor. Last thing you need to do is reset the airbag light, which brings me back to my original question: Does anyone in the DC area have an SRS reset tool I can borrow without making the pilgrimage to Bill Shook's in Alexandria? Thanks, Marc Plante 1997 E36 M3/4 67k 2005 Child (12 days and counting) Vienna, VA
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#2. Re: Oxygen Sensor - from Don Eilenberger
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Date: Sat, 08 Oct 2005 14:30:39 -0400 From: Don Eilenberger <deilenberger@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Oxygen Sensor At 12:55 PM 10/8/2005, Stan wrote: >I probably know the answer, but always appreciate input from those who know >more :) > >I need to replace one pre cat oxygen sensor in my '96 M3 (with 155k miles). >Should the other be replaced as well, or do they have an indefinite life? > >In digest mode, so direct email appreciated. Thanks! > >Regards, >Stan Shaw Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net Too bad you're not closer to me.. I have a multitude of code diagnostic devices I'm looking at for a Roundel article. One of the more useful things some of them do is a graphic display of the O2 sensor output. The sensors normally start getting "slow" (switching rate from low to high output) as they start to fail. That would be the real answer - I was surprised at how good the ones on my M3 looked at 86.8K miles - excellent switching speed (300ms) and good matching between bank 1 and bank 2. What I didn't know - and now do - is the ones downstream of the cat put out basically a flat voltage - dunno if this is because they are different, or if the output of the cat is that clean. They also nicely matched in output. If you can find someone with a diagnostics tool that does graphing of things like this - I'd look at the switching rate for the other O2 sensor. If it's over 500ms I believe the sensor is on it's way out. Best, Don Eilenberger, Spring Lk Hts, NJ JMP#1, PSJ, SquidBOOF#1 deilenberger@verizon.net NJ Shore BMW Riders web page: http://www.njsbmwr.org/ Moderator BMW E39 Enthusiast Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bmwe39 ==================================================================== "Argue with an idiot and he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience" - Dilbert "The difference between intelligence and stupidity is - there is a limit to intelligence" - Anon ====================================================================
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#3. RE: Oxygen Sensor - from Rich Dorffer
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Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 11:18:56 -0400 From: "Rich Dorffer" <e36m3digest@ameritech.net> Subject: RE: Oxygen Sensor > From: "Stan Shaw" <Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net> > Subject: Oxygen Sensor > > I probably know the answer, but always appreciate input from > those who know more :) > > I need to replace one pre cat oxygen sensor in my '96 M3 (with > 155k miles). > Should the other be replaced as well, or do they have an indefinite life? I would replace both front O2 sensors, particularly if both are original. The rear should only be replaced if a code is set. The front is what controls the fuel mixture, the rear are there to test after the cat. Regards, Rich - doubt I know more...
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#4. wet hawk blue dust - from marty
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Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2005 11:56:27 -0400 From: marty <mfraiser@earthlink.net> Subject: wet hawk blue dust I tried out some Hawk Blue pads with new rotors, while chasing down a vibration under braking and for use in a driving school. I left the car outside with brake dust on the wheels and it rained. Now I have this tenacious layer of what appears to be rust adhering to the wheels. I suppose it's ground up pad and rotor material that has oxidized. Is this similar to the noxious brake dust generated by PF90 I've seen mentioned often? I've tried several wheel cleaners and general purpose cleaner w/o much effect. I'm thinking of trying some of the stuff used to remove scale, rust, etc from household surfaces. Any suggestions on how to remove it? Speaking of the vibration under braking could that be caused by 'soft' control arm bushings and/or play in the ball joints? Replacing rotors and pads didn't seem to help. I have original control arms at 100k miles and already have OE replacements on-hand but haven't had the chance to replace them yet. Any thoughts on which control arm bushings I should use? I have OE on-hand but thinking I should look at Powerflex and TC Kline's delrin bushings. thanks, marty '96 M3
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#5. Re: [E36M3] wet hawk blue dust - from Jay Hudson
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Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 09:44:15 -0700 From: "Jay Hudson" <jwhud@budget.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] wet hawk blue dust Never done it myself, but I've heard of folks using oven cleaner to clean the wheels. Be careful. Vibration may also be caused by bad wheel bearings. Did you bed in the new pads/rotors properly before you decided you still have the vibration? Uneven pad transfer is always a consideration. Jay > Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2005 11:56:27 -0400 > From: marty <mfraiser@earthlink.net> > Subject: wet hawk blue dust > > I tried out some Hawk Blue pads with new rotors, while chasing down a > vibration under braking and for use in a driving school. I left the car > outside with brake dust on the wheels and it rained. Now I have this > tenacious layer of what appears to be rust adhering to the wheels. I > suppose it's ground up pad and rotor material that has oxidized. > Is this similar to the noxious brake dust generated by PF90 I've seen > mentioned often? > > I've tried several wheel cleaners and general purpose cleaner w/o much > effect. I'm thinking of trying some of the stuff used to remove scale, > rust, etc from household surfaces. Any suggestions on how to remove it? > Speaking of the vibration under braking could that be caused by 'soft' > control arm bushings and/or play in the ball joints? Replacing rotors and > pads didn't seem to help. I have original control arms at 100k miles and > already have OE replacements on-hand but haven't had the chance to replace > them yet. > Any thoughts on which control arm bushings I should use? I have OE > on-hand but thinking I should look at Powerflex and TC Kline's delrin > bushings. > > thanks, > marty > > '96 M3
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#6. Re: [E36M3] wet hawk blue dust - from Trmptdc@aol.com
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Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 14:40:26 EDT From: Trmptdc@aol.com Subject: Re: [E36M3] wet hawk blue dust In a message dated 10/9/2005 12:08:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mfraiser@earthlink.net writes: > I left the car outside with brake dust on the wheels and it rained. Now > I have this tenacious layer of what appears to be rust adhering to the > wheels. I suppose it's ground up pad and rotor material that has oxidized Unfortunately, your wheels may be ruined. I had this occur with my track wheels on my Mazda RX7 and the resulting brown rust like film and black deposits never completely came off. Apparantly, the dust from the Blues needs to be cleaned off immediately to prevent this. Hopefully, someone will have a solution for this....I would like one as well! Steve 98 M3 94 RX7
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#7. Re: [E36M3] SSR Bankruptcy (was 3mm Wheel Spacers) - from Roy Kao
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Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 23:07:19 -0400 From: Roy Kao <royckao@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] SSR Bankruptcy (was 3mm Wheel Spacers) Jayson has it right. I've been looking at a set of 17x8.5" SSR Competition in anthracite from Tire Rack and they don't have them, only in the silver finish. After inquiring with one of their reps, I found out that SSR is indeed in bankruptcy but another company (don't know who) has bought its assets and apparently will be restarting production shortly, delivery targeted for Q1 of 2006. I'm waiting until the new year to see if I can again get a set of the 17x8.5 in anthracite before giving up and going with the silver finish for my additional set of track wheels. -- _____________________ Roy - '99 M3 Estoril Blue On 10/8/05, E36M3 <e36m3@bmw-m.net> wrote: > > Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 15:43:34 -1000 > From: Jayson R Guzman <jguzman@hawaii.edu> > Subject: Re: Re: [E36M3] 3mm Wheel Spacers > > chester, rumor is that SSR is no more...that company folded and so their > products are no longer available- just whatever's left in old dealer > stock...another company is supposed to take over (rumor is that it's > gonna be tanabe racing)... > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > Anyone know why you can't see the 17x9 SSR Comps on Tirerack's > > website anymore? > > I have one brand new one that I want to sell, but how would > > someone be able to > > pick up a matching wheel? If anyone wants to buy that wheel > > (anthracitefinish), make an offer. >
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#8. How to adjust GC rear lower control arm? - from Alan Leung
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Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 10:12:24 -0500 From: "Alan Leung" <alanleung100@hotmail.com> Subject: How to adjust GC rear lower control arm? For those of you who run GC adjustable rear lower control arms, can you share with me how to properly adjust them? There are 3 nuts, the long red part and the short black part. And when I tried to adjust it everything started turning. Particularly I am not sure what the black part is for and if the middle nut is supposed to lock on the red rod or the black hex part. Thanks. Alan 95 M3 - 4-wheel alignment today
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#9. FS: 255/40/17s - from Ahmad Lutfeali
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Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 11:42:09 -0500 From: "Ahmad Lutfeali" <m3_racer99@hotmail.com> Subject: FS: 255/40/17s Folks, I have a set of P Zero Corsa (track tires) which I am thinking about selling. They may have about 100 miles total of (or 2 track days). They fit perfectly fine on my Kosei K1s (17*8.5) without the need for a front spacer. I had to roll the rear fenders though (car is an E36 M3). They are in great condition with plenty of life left (at least 80%). New $246 each at tire rack. I am willing to let them go for cheap, make me a reasonable offer (email me privately). Reason for selling: They make an excellent DE, lapping day tire, since I will be going club racing, I would prefer something stickier. Ahmad Lutfeali 98 M3/2 I Stock, GTS 2.
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#10. Repa or Autoflug seabelt receiver? - from NSimon1111@aol.com
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Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 17:22:18 -0400 From: NSimon1111@aol.com Subject: Repa or Autoflug seabelt receiver? OK, with your help I've figured out the passenger seat pressure mat issue. Am now addressing replacement of the bulky stock receiver with the pyrotechnic tensioner since it will not fit with my Cobra racing shells. Figure on using the simpler and slimmer E30 receiver on stalk design, but just learned that there are two manufacturers (Ripa and Autoflug) and that they are not interchangeable! Anyone know which is used on E36s? TIA. Neil Simon '99 M Coupe (E36/8) DC tags MDORPHN
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#11. My Suspension Upgrade Journey Part II - Installation - LONG - from Alan Leung
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Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 17:03:49 -0500 From: "Alan Leung" <alanleung100@hotmail.com> Subject: My Suspension Upgrade Journey Part II - Installation - LONG I received my GC order about 4 weeks ago and since it’s later than I expected Matthew and I had to coordinate our schedules again. We decided to blow through it a couple weekends ago. In between I received courteous help from Rob and James at Bimmerworld with installation questions and now comes the fun part. I basically followed the H&R coilover installation write up in the E36M3 Digest webpage and had the trunk interior pulled back weeks ago. I had the car on jackstands and started in the rear first. The shocks and springs came out almost too easily, especially after removing the rear sway bar in anticipation on loosening up the diff for the rear lower control arms. Since there wasn’t much documentation on how to install the lower control arms I guessed it would be the source of pain in this project and unfortunately I was right. To remove the inner bolts you need to move the diff back and up as much as possible to provide clearance. But even after I removed all three mount bolts and lifted up the diff with the floor jack the inner bolts still wouldn’t come straight out. I ended up having to wrench it out as it was coming out corked riding on the front of the mount bracket. Now moving to the outer bolts. I thought I was smart enough to borrow my friend’s 600 ft-lb air impact wrench and everything should be a breeze, right? Put the impact wrench on the outer bolt and it didn’t even move. Plenty of PB Blaster didn’t help either. Matt and I were defeated and started pondering about more destructive methods. We decided on using a cutting wheel to cut off the nut side of the bolt and hopefully it should just break free afterwards. Lots of sparks and smoke later the nut came off and I stood on the impact wrench again on the bolt and … nothing. Apparently the bolt was rusted through inside of the ball joint. We tried the impact wrench in both directs and the bolt still won’t move. Now comes the Brenzo torch. Matt hit the bolt up and after a minute or so smoke started coming out and we quickly stopped fearing that the rubber in the ball joint would melt. Then I decided it’s time for the BFH. I cut the front side of the control arm off so the end of the outer bolt was sticking out by about 5mm and I started pounding that end like a madman. After much sweat and profanity the end of the cut bolt started deforming but it still wouldn’t bulge. Then I knew I needed a much more serious piece of equipment. Matt searched on Harbor Freight’s website and came across this 1200 ft-lb 1-in impact wrench that looked like would get the job done. Of course when I got to the store it’s the size of a jackhammer and was labeled “for fleet maintenance”. I got it along with a bunch of impact socket adapters and gave it another try. We were really lucky that the bolt was facing a direction that allows use of a wrench this size. With full anticipation that the bolt would come out with the first pull of the trigger, it still took us 15 mins to break it loose. A few more taps and it finally gave up. Installation of the GC adjustable rear lower control arms was basically the reverse except that the outer fork won’t bolt up to the outer ball joint. The reason was that my outer ball joints were somehow all the way to the back on both sides. They are supposed to be pressed in even front-to-back. I asked this digest on how far the ball joint was supposed to be pushed in and how it’s done but I received no response. I ended up getting help from Bimmerworld crew chief Mark who was extremely knowledgeable on E36 and walked me through it over the phone. The tricky part was to figure out how to put a ball joint pusher on it as there wasn’t enough space between the front side of the ball joint and the rear brake dust shield. Research on bimmerforums showed that most people either bent the shield or outright cut it. But Mark showed me that by removing the parking brake components the shield would come out enough to use a ball joint pusher. Worked like a charm! I didn’t expect to learn the rear brake from a suspension job but now I understand how the parking brakes work pretty well too. The original plan was to install new outer ball joints at the same time but Pacific BMW failed to deliver so we decided to leave the old ones on instead of having one new and one old on the car. This time I put anti-seize on the body of the bolt (not the thread) so hopefully it won’t get bind up with the ball joint again. Once the adjustable rear lower control arms are installed the rear shocks and springs looked easy. I got the spring weight jacks also and they are quite a clever design. Securing the weight jack on the upper control arm took some effort as the bottom clamp nut is 50mm wide. A extra-large adjustable wrench took care of it. The solid rear shock mounts have slots on them and Rob at BW told me I should keep the shocks as straight as possible. Now it’s time for the front. All the bolts actually came off without too much trouble except for the one connected to the sway bar end link. I got the thin 16mm wrench from Harbor Freight but the quality was so bad it started rounding off pretty soon. The good news was that by that time I’ve backed it off enough to put a regular 16mm in there to finish the job. I sprayed some motorcycle chain wax into the spherical bushing in the camber plate and put some Mobil 1 synthetic red grease between the top of the upper spring plate and the bottom of the camber plate. I followed the H&R write up and everything went fine with snaking the new strut back in position. I loosely tightened the top nuts and found out that as someone else has pointed out before, the hole for the sway bar end link was too small. Some dremeling and round filing later it’s not an issue. But then I also found out there wasn’t enough clearance on the strut to slide the steering knuckle in place. And grinding the powder coating and material off the inside of the mount bracket while the strut was on the car was not fun at all. It turned out I had to take it down to bare metal and some more for things to barely fit so the fitment on these struts definitely leaves something to be desired. Knowing all these I modified the other strut on the bench and it was a lot easier. I also put some more of the Mobil 1 grease between the steering knuckle and mount bracket to help with the assembly. Also make sure you jack the wheel hub high enough so that it doesn’t flop around when you’re snaking the strut through all the wires. I set the front lower spring perch a few lines higher than half way on the strut and it turned out to be about an inch drop which was perfect for me. I have the rear lowered about ¾ of an inch. My car is on the alignment now so I’ll talk about my driving impression in the next installment. Alan 95 M3
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#12. Re: [E36M3] wet hawk blue dust - from marty
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Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 21:17:49 -0400 From: marty <mfraiser@earthlink.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] wet hawk blue dust After trying some more things to clean the wheels I tried gently scrubbing full-strength 303 Aerospace Cleaner with a green ScotchBrite pad which did a decent job removing both the rust (pretty easily) and the underlying black stuff (not so easily). It's going to take some time and elbow grease but I think I can get most, if not all, of that stuff off without damaging the paint or clear-coat. I'm not yet sure if a mere re-wax will take care of the finish but I hope so. Unfortunately, these are my good wheels so I'm really motivated to clean them as opposed to stripping/repainting or buying replacements. Damn that's some nasty stuff. hth, marty Trmptdc@aol.com wrote: >Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 14:40:26 EDT >From: Trmptdc@aol.com >Subject: Re: [E36M3] wet hawk blue dust > >In a message dated 10/9/2005 12:08:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time, >mfraiser@earthlink.net writes: > > > >>I left the car outside with brake dust on the wheels and it rained. Now >>I have this tenacious layer of what appears to be rust adhering to the >>wheels. I suppose it's ground up pad and rotor material that has oxidized >> >> > >Unfortunately, your wheels may be ruined. I had this occur with my track >wheels on my Mazda RX7 and the resulting brown rust like film and black deposits >never completely came off. Apparantly, the dust from the Blues needs to be >cleaned off immediately to prevent this. > >Hopefully, someone will have a solution for this....I would like one as well! > >Steve > >98 M3 >94 RX7 > > >************************************************* >Please help support the E36M3 list by visiting our sponsors: > >Bimmerworld http://www.bimmerworld.com >Turner Motorsport http://www.turnermotorsport.com >Eurosport High Performance http://www.eurosporthighperformance.com >Rogue Engineering http://www.rogueengineering.com >Treehouse Racing http://www.treehouseracing.com >Elephant Motorsports Inc. http://www.elephantmotorsports.com > >DIGEST INFORMATION: >http://www.bmw-m.net/resources/digest_info.htm >************************************************* > > > > >
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#13. Beer for helmet? - from Reid Conti
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Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 23:22:44 -0700 From: Reid Conti <reid@conti.net> Subject: Beer for helmet? Hello! I am doing the Golden Gate Chapter Car Control Clinic down at Marina Airport on Saturday the 22nd of October. It's my first event, and I'm not yet ready to get into track days (maybe in a year), so I'm wondering if anyone in the SF Bay area (preferably south bay; I'm in Santa Clara) has a helmet I can borrow for that day. IIRC, I generally wear a large. If anyone has a helmet I can borrow, assuming it fits acceptably, I will pick up said helmet from you when it's convenient, and then return it after the event in the same condition I got it, with a case of your favorite beer for your troubles. Thanks! - reid
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#14. FS: snow tires, shifter, etc. - from kevin ogrodnik
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Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 05:55:54 -0700 (PDT) From: kevin ogrodnik <kwogrodnik@yahoo.com> Subject: FS: snow tires, shifter, etc. Various items for sale: - snow tires, 225/45/17: used less then 1k miles, new condition - OEM motor mounts: brand new never installed - AC Schnitzer shifter: shift lever with billet shifting arm - AAA rear shock tower brace - UUC black tranny mounts - custom Vader seat covers with M logo embroidery Please email me separately if interested. Will have pic's available. Thanks. Kevin kwogrodnik@yahoo.com __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com
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#15. M3 Parts - from Paul Dumond
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Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 13:33:35 -0400 From: "Paul Dumond" <paul@dumond.net> Subject: M3 Parts I still have the following parts for sale from a '97 M3. All prices do not include shipping. Please email me if interested: paul@dumond.net. 3.23 diff - $500 1 17x7.5 Contour wheel (spare) - $175 1 set Contour wheels (2 17x7.5 and 2 17x8.5) - $750 HK 6x9 speakers - $95 HK kick panel speakers - $70 HVAC (ac control unit) - $100 coupe windows motors - $60 (I have 2 available) wood/leather shift knob - $40 I also have the following parts for sale. Make an offer: stock corner lens rear axles '95 stock coils stock stereo used rear rotors stock shifter
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#16. Purge Valve - from Foley, Brian
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Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 15:10:47 -0400 From: "Foley, Brian" <bfoley@cmpd.org> Subject: Purge Valve Anyone heard of a 'purge valve' in the emissions system? Apparently my car threw a code and that's what came up. Could this cause a rough idle condition during cold start up? TIA, Brian Foley
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#17. Nokian Tires - from Nancy and Bob Fluharty
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Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 23:19:08 -0000 From: "Nancy and Bob Fluharty" <FLUHAR@worldnet.att.net> Subject: Nokian Tires Some discussion last week about WR's. A friend is selling a used set, 225/45-17. See http://home.att.net/~fluhar/tires2.htm , and contact him, not me. Bob Fluharty 87 325is/3.0 Cincinnati