As described in this writeup: "If you have the old 3 wire BMW sensor, then it's a direct splice to the Ford wires. Black to black, and 1 white to 1 white. I believe that it does not matter which white wire goes to which lead, as they're just for heating." Let us know how it goesby Earendil - Technical Forum
Quotealanrw Do you recall if there was a year, engine, model # or is it one size fits all? The Ford used a metric thread? alan I'm at work, so I'm trying to limit my browsing ;-) I know that every time I've got looking for the info, I've found a couple write ups on the subject via google. I can say that the sensor its self is EXACTLY the same. Made by Bosch, same threat,by Earendil - Technical Forum
Quotealanrw I think I may be in need of an o2 sensor. Wasn't it the case that a Ford Mustang O2 sensor is identical to the E30 sensor and half the price? alan And can be purchased almost anywhere. You'll have to do a little bit of rewiring, but it isn't hard at all. I picked my last sensor up at NAPA for $25-$30.by Earendil - Technical Forum
QuoteArcheo-peteriX QuoteFerdinand It's a little too far from Ottawa. Otherwise... It's close enough from here but I don't have a passport and they don't let Canadian terrorists in without one The picnic will just have to suffer without the best iX in the Pacific Northwet That's a shame Peter, honestly. One of the most interesting IX cars last year was one run bby Earendil - Community Forum
Quotenomis3613 You know there's 2 temp sensors- 1 for the dash and the other for the Motronic? Maybe the Motronic one is stuffed... Other possibilities are the Idle Control Valve and the engine earth (maybe there's moisture that goes away once the engine bay gets nice and warm). Hope this helps, Simon Really? I was only aware of one... But I follow the Bentley, so I'm assuby Earendil - Technical Forum
I'm curious if anyone else besides Daniel and myself will be attending this year? Danial, you are going, right? I have a buddy with a beat up IX down here that I'm going to drag along I think. We'll be joining the Portland group to head up if at all possible. Cheers!by Earendil - Community Forum
Yes, I do have a lovely girlfriend of two and a half years now. In any case, it would never work out between me and a girl who had a love for E30's. What happens when her's brakes down and she wants to use mine? That's how conflict and wars are started. My gf is content to accompany me to E30 events, which is as much as I could ask forby Earendil - Community Forum
I'm experiencing an idle when the engine is cold that is akin to have two spark plugs pulled. It's rough, and varies such that when the accelerator pedal is partially depressed, the car almost bucks. It reminds me a bit of the time when I was a kid and while washing dad's car, decided to be extra helpful and wash his engine by taking a hose and spraying it for 5 minutes My immby Earendil - Technical Forum
The area known as the Columbia Gorge is about 160 square miles and has a population of about 50,000 that is dispersed throughout. Suffice to say that E30's are not a common site by any stretch of the imagination. In fact I thought I knew the only other E30 owner (A coworker with an ix). Until that is a few months ago, when I passed a silver IX that was parked at a gym. The location hintedby Earendil - Community Forum
Quoterkj QuoteBob in Everett I had a situation like this a few years ago. The problem was that it was winter and I would drive to work with the heater and the lights and wipers on, the battery would barely start the car after work. Driving home it would get charged up and start ok the next morning. After replacing the battery and having it fail in a few weeks it turned out to be the alternatoby Earendil - Technical Forum
My car has A/C. But it's supposed to rain through Saturday, so I won't be getting to it for a while. Thanks for pointing out that difference, I'd have hated to start taking it apart as if I didn't have A/C!by Earendil - Technical Forum
First of all, God Bless BMW engineering. More on that in a second. I made it all the way to Spokane, 300 miles, without losing much coolant, if any at all. I then proceeded to drive 40+ miles around the city, doing typical city driving. No problems at all. I attempt to go home though, and 20 miles outside the city, my car is engulfed in a cloud of white smoke that, if I didn't know betterby Earendil - Technical Forum
All the way Spokane and back without an electrical hitch of any kind. Damn... Perhaps I need to plan to go someplace important, with only a few minutes to spare. That should guarantee the return of the electrical demon, right?by Earendil - Technical Forum
QuoteArcheo-peteriX Quotejaffar you should insert some spaces or other weird characters... otherwise your email addy will be eaten by the spam bots very quickly Yeh, thought about that after the fact but so far no spam I have spam filters and e-mail blockers all set to take care of things. I only have to train them once and they look after the rest. Even when wearing Kevlar, I'm nby Earendil - Community Forum
Well, I made it to the 300 miles to Spokane without incident. In fact, I was reminded once again how much of a blast these old cars are to drive. It was windows down the whole way I didn't know the alternator could be tested in that way. With all the coolant that had escaped from various hoses recently, I know the alternator has been drenched, while running. And my battery was only pushiby Earendil - Technical Forum
Quotedaniel QuoteDave_G Quoterkj It's a little U shaped puller especially for tie rod end removal. One version Mine is a lot cuter Cool, another tool I can't live without. Tell Earendil to send you the one I let him borrow a couple years ago! It can be the official BENN tie-rod puller. That was only 18 months ago I'd be happy to send it, however it wasn't quiteby Earendil - Technical Forum
QuoteArcheo-peteriX QuoteEarendil I guess I'll just keep checking it and see if I can shake whatever wire/device is doing this into the wrong position again. You are correct, anything under 50mA is perfectly normal. Don't be too sure your new battery is a good one. My last battery died after about 4 months or so. I took it back to where I bought it and they put it on a tester...surby Earendil - Technical Forum
Quotedaniel 2001 530i 5-speed. anthrazit metallic, sport, premium, cold-weather packages. Just drove it home from the bay area yesterday - avg 28.6mpg, avg 69.7mph (incl slowdowns/stops). Incredibly smooth, quiet, and comfortable, yet still handles very well. paint is a 9/10 (a couple stone chips/door dings here and there), interior is 10/10. 103k miles, complete service records. Awesome! Enby Earendil - Community Forum
Quotealanrw Realize that certain circuits like the radio or clock will draw a small amount. You could set you multimeter to amps and see what is drawing enough amps to pull down the battery. It won't be the clock or radio. And oh yeah, remembering a comment by either Rick or Peter a while back, check the trunk light. Sometimes it stays on even though the trunk is shut. alan Well....nby Earendil - Technical Forum
Quotealanrw Hook up a meter or test light in line between the battery ground and battery. Start pulling fuses, when the light dims or the meter shifts, you have found the circuit which is the culprit. alan Brilliant! And my brand new digital multimeter just arrived in the mail yesterdayby Earendil - Technical Forum
Nothing really to report. I replaced most of my coolant hoses, but yet another one came loose last night while driving (the PITA small one on the bottom side of the coolant valve housing), so I have been unable to get a handle on how much, if any, coolant is making it past the valves. It's also been stormy and rainy here, which has really dampened my automotive-fixit-motivation. It has alby Earendil - Technical Forum
Well here is one I've never had to deal with before... Something is draining my car to a point so low that the gauges don't even flicker when I turn it to the run position. And it's not consistent either. A few times I have let the car sit over night at home for 12-14 hours, and it has full power in the morning. On those same days, the car has nothing left in it after I'by Earendil - Technical Forum
Quotealanrw Excellent point. The genesis of this was a broken valve spring not a bad cylinder head. If the head wasn't warped when you took it off (which it probably wasn't) then it isn't warped now. alan Quick comment as I recover from an MRI (where they stuck a needed into my hip joint). Could I not have warped the head my not tightening the bolts correctly? I thought I aby Earendil - Technical Forum
Update: I have yet to pressurize the system. It's been raining the entire last week, and work deadlines are this friday. But here is an update for the curious, and a few questions. I found at least two potential leaks in the coolant system relating to hoses (fancy way of saying I fail at putting hose clamps on). However I am still losing coolant. I also still have some white smokeby Earendil - Technical Forum
Quotealanrw Time to pressurize the cooling system and see where it's coming from. alan Isn't this something you pay a mechanic a fair amount of money to do? I do have an air compressor... is this something I could pull off with a few hose clamps and some adapters?by Earendil - Technical Forum
Update: New O2 sensor in. No more check engine lights, and car runs a bit better Over 4 starts and 20 miles I lost 2 cups of coolantby Earendil - Technical Forum
The Saga Continues...by Earendil - Technical Forum
Quoterkj QuoteEarendil Sorry about the lack of clarity there. By the seal I meant "THE seal", or "head gasket". I'm tracking coolant level vs mileage now. I had just been topping it off for a while, and that doesn't give me a feel for how much was missing, nor was I real sure how far I had driven since I topped it off last. If I had to guess, I'd say a cup ofby Earendil - Technical Forum
Sorry about the lack of clarity there. By the seal I meant "THE seal", or "head gasket". I'm tracking coolant level vs mileage now. I had just been topping it off for a while, and that doesn't give me a feel for how much was missing, nor was I real sure how far I had driven since I topped it off last. If I had to guess, I'd say a cup of coolant over 20 miles.by Earendil - Technical Forum