Well, it is running tonight. We disconnected the fuel line at the fuel rail and vented all the pressure. Pulled the fuel pump relay and it started, faltered and died. Put the fuel pump relay back in and started it up. For some reason the flooding with fuel just needed to dry out further. Happiness reigns in E-30 land.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
A young man in my neighborhood has been working on his "new" E-30 with a lot of enthusiam. He was changing out his timing belt idler which was new a several weeks ago but started making a bearing noise so he changed it with the normal coolant spills on the garage floor. He had it running for a several seconds while filling the coolant. He shut it off to top up the coolant and start wby Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
Got it all back together yesterday and also put my new brake pads on too. Did my at home version of alignment and got it pretty close on the second try. After a couple of days, I will give it another check with the tape measures and see if there is just a little tiny bit of toe in.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
Dave, You are correct in your observations but the type of things that could go wrong were much limited by the simplicity of the machine. No mystery computer codes. I remember having to adjust the brakes on the drums every month or so and changing the oil every two months. Plugs needed cleaning periodically due to lead deposits. The thing about it was that almost everyone understood how toby Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
If we just measure the energy dissipation required to stop the two different masses we can get an idea of what the difference will be. It is the opposite of increasing the velocity. It is just a change in velocity. with twice the mass, the energy change needed is twice as much. There are some limitations though, the energy will have to be converted to heat by the brakes. Since in your assumpby Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
You are correct about the brake system design. Even making one maximum braking from 100 km/hr after another will have a noticeable degrading of brake capability. The friction coefficient is very much sensitive to temperature. With carbon brakes, it is better when the brakes are up to a certain temperature. Other materials it is the opposite.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
oops, you are correct. The mass being doubled will only double the energy that must be dissapated by the brakes. Since brake energy absorbsion is limited due to temperature increase capability, the larger mass may cause the brakes to overheat and fade. The stopping distance will likely be more than twice as much.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
The energy involved is proportional to the square of the velocity so it will take about 4 times the stopping distance.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
I almost did the same thing with my Suburban pulling out a fence post and the chain broke. Could have done a lot of damage if I had been standing on the line of flight. Fortunately I was off to one side when the son hit the end of the chain a bit harder than I expected.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
Have had an annoying little shimmy when I step on the brakes for some months. Kept thinking that it was the brake disks being worn so changed them a few weeks ago. Made no difference. I noticed at the time that what appeared to be a little play in the steering rack. I have not noticed any deadband when steering however. So, put the snow tires on last week and they shimmy or bounce terribly.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
Looks like this guy has put a lot of thought into getting the project all together. Too bad he has to give it up.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
QuoteMichiel 318iS Thanks. Well, Once in a while I ask my son if he's gonna change my diaper in a couple of years... Special bonding time :-) Unfourtunately, we may wind up takeing care of our parents longer than they took care of us.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
The Oktoberfest for next year is going to be quite different. For some reason, it is going to be held in the middle of Colorado at a resort. Not sure what the driving experiennces will be. There are lots of really "interesting" roads there including the one to the top of Pike's Peak.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
I have the same problem. Where was the break? How did you find it? I would like to fix it.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
I have had pretty good luck with salvage parts from breakers. Usually they are OEM.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
If you turned on the ignition while the sensors were unplugged, for sure the computer set the warning light. That light may be difficult to reset. There is a special tool that plugs into the 20 pin connector and has some buttons on it to connect various pins and an internal circuit, and the ignition switch is involved in the process. It took two different techs and about half an hour to get miby Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
The philosophy is that the replacement part will last longer than most people will keep an old car. Car parts from even cheap stores are sometimes guarenteed for "life" even though that is only a couple of years. Bobby Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
A youngster in the neighborhood has been bitten by the BMW bug and has bought an E-30. He is really excited about it and has already done some of the normal stuff such as lowering springs and modified exhaust. He also has done some of the required stuff such as the timing belt and water pump change out. But this week has noticed a noise in the engine that was unusual. After listening to it anby Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
It may be time for some new bushings in my rear suspension. I have noticed that I seem to have some oversteer when I turn right but not noticable when turning left. Also get some minor shimmy when applying brakes. Already changed the front brake disks so might be tie rod ends or just the wear in the rack. Looks like I need to spen some quality time under the car. How much trouble are these tby Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
They probalby cost almost as much too.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
You will most likely enjoy driving it. The suspension is likely where maintenance has been neglected if at all. If the interior is in good shape that is a good start.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
Managed some top down driving on Saturday but rain since and forecast is wet for the next couple of weeks. Might as well give it up and put the hardtop on for the Winter. Maybe will wait a few weeks for the snow tires though.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
If your car has the airbag steering wheel, be sure and disconnect the battery before starting the job. The ignition switch has to be turned on to get the steering wheel off. The error code for the airbag is difficult to reset even with the correct tool...by Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
My dad was a drivers ed instructor for highschool students. So every ride with him was a lesson. I have reluctance to follow any truck with a load that looks the least bit unsecure. Stuff coming the other way is not very predictable so I was very lucky to have seen the tire far enough ahead to be able to do anything about it. A closing rate of 100 feet per second gave me only about 3 or 4 secby Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
It is pretty scary how many folks pay so little attention to there ride to be sure it will get them there without a surprise. Then they act so victimized when something goes awry. I must have a million miles behind me in cars of all kinds. Only one of them new. Only been broken down a couple of times. Both times by fuel pumps but within tow truck distance of home so could make repairs myselfby Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
Had a similar problem myself on a road trip with a Suburban. Was sure gratified to discover the sensor sending unit was bad. The relief is great stuff.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
Not sure what the odds are but this is the second tire I have had come close. Many years ago I saw a car in the opposite lanes lose a wheel and it went behind me that time. Have had the hood come loose and wrap itself over the windscreen at highway speed. Lots of "interesting" things happen on the road.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
Was cruising North on I-5 in moderate traffic at the speed limit and saw a tire coming across the diamond lane headed South. It was going a bit diagonal into the rest of the traffic lanes, the next one of which was mine. Must have come off a car going South and jumped the guard rail. I was sure hoping as I got on the brakes that it did not hit the side of the car in front of me in the next laby Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
I think divide and conquer are where we are now. If we did not have government sponsored racism, this would have been over long ago. We spend enough on poverty programs to give everyone below the poverty line a decent income but they are still poor. There are just too many people making money out of poverty programs to want to actually implement what would cure it.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
The BMWCCA put on quite a party for Oktoberfest even if it was in August. Four track days at Laguna Seca, a Concourse with some really nice BMW iron. Some nice prizes provided by corporate sponsors and good food all around. My youngest son brought his E-36 325i with some track tires and let me take three sessions in D group. I must have done about 20 laps or so all together. Between us, weby Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum