It would be nice if they had a coherent thought about why they are there. They want jobs to come from somewhere, but I do not know of anyone who works for a poor person. The protesters do not seem to understand that government does not create goods or jobs. Government only consumes by paying someone to regulate the rest of us and make our lives more difficult. Can you imagine if the protesterby Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
I guess I had better luck with my boys and cars. They had to save up some money and buy the one they could afford. Only one of them was not able to maintain his own machine. He is more of a computer wizard so not as motivated with the greasy stuff. When it came to insurance, I made it clear that I was not buying any for the car, just liability. If they wrecked it, the penalty was the car. Iby Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
The first tool you need is a Bentley service manual for 1984 to 1990 BMW 3 series. Amazon has them. The drive shaft is a bit finicky to reassemble correctly. Those arrows on the Guibo are supposed to point forward. Replacing the center bearing is discussed in detail in the Bentley. The control arm bushings are a pain in the neck to do without a press. I used Armorall to lube them toby Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
Not likely, the changes in pressure from hot to cold would evenually cause the air to be dissolved in the water. It may be the valve..by Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
Wow, a color matched pair. Nice set of wheels. I am partial to the E-30. Have a couple of them myself.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
I am surprised the insurance would be that much difference. The power to weight ratio of the car matters and the market value. On such old cars the insurance company is only looking at the market value of the car. If a repair costs more than that, they just pay you for the car.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
Glad you are on the road again. My sister in New Jersey had a lot of downed trees and limbs along with three days of no power. Hope the car will be useful til it can be replaced.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
Been there and done that with the pool two times over many years. The pool is a lot more work and a lot less fun than a truck. Everyone of my children fell into the deep end when they were toddlers and gave us a scare even though we had our eyes on them the whole time. They do not make a sound when they go in and not much of a splash either. I will take the truck any day.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
I was saying the same thing... indirectly.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
A person has more friends when he owns a truck.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
We had a "Mythbuster" tv show that did a segment on using a wood wheel like that on a car and proved it actually worked.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
The Japanese reactor design did take into account that earthquakes were likely and Tsunami were going to happen. The analyzed data from tsunami occurrences and put in a safety factor for the height of the dike around the reactors. They missed by half a meter. The earthquake did not damage the reactor even though it was larger than the design level. It was only the flooding of the backup powerby Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
One of my sons has an E-36 and it has been very reliable. He put it on the track a few times just for fun. The only weak area is the interior side panels. They came loose from the body and have to be glued back in place. Otherwise very comfortable and economical. The E-46 I am not familiar with except to drive one once. Very nice driver.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
I guess we just need a bank of those super capacitors the F1 cars use for their KIR System. They charge quickly. Not sure how the power density compares to batteries. The problem with batteries is that they can be damaged by charging too fast. They can also catch fire spontaneously. The super caps are like lightning in a bottle. The F1 Cars do occasionally have problems with them.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
The most important accessory for your car is the Bently publishing service manual for the E-30 model. It costs about $40 but will save the cost the first time you have to solve a problem.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
Peter, that is why I drive the old cars too. Although it has been an interesting hobby for the past 40 years keeping my fleet of old cars running. I like the E-30 so much I bought a spare just in case my daily driver gets damaged again. Once these cars get over 20 years old, you can get antique car insurance that is not so costly. It has pretty good coverage too.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
Hard to beat the visibility of the cabrio. Have to bundle up a bit for the commute though. Rain is the problem more than cold.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
The symptoms sound like the motor bearings for sure. A replacement motor from salvage is probably the best bet and cost should be about $20 or so. They are not difficult to change. There is a panel under the hood on the fire wall that allows access directly. There is an off chance that some debris has worked its way into the fan and jammed it but Peter is right about the bearings going bad.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
I rented an Altima with the CVT on a business trip. It worked well and had a setting that simulated shifting gears, but it was a new car. Have no idea how it would hold up to a daily commute. As low maintenance as E-30s are, even if you did not do the maintenance yourself, it would still be affordable. That new car is going to need maintenance too.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
Peter, If you do the math, even at 15 years ownership, the depreciation is going to exceed savings on gas. I plan to drive my E-30 till I cannot drive any more. I hope it is more than 15 more years but it is not out of concern for cost. It is just that I enjoy the car more than any other I have ever had. I still have other cars but do not find much of an excuse to drive them very much. I agby Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
I am glad you qualified that "never driven" statement since my "i" that you drove runs pretty well. There is a guy at my work that has an "e" that has more than twice the miles yours has and it is still going strong.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
If I remember correctly, the BMW aluminum V8 is 3 lb lighter than the iron block M20 engine. The V-12 however might be another story... I could be wrong though.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
Yep that would be the result of the V-8. lots of new tires required. At the annual E-30 picnic I saw several with trans planted engines. Some Corvette engines some BMW. Most popular is the M-50 or M-52. Have not seen an M-62 yet. Bobby Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
There could be some nice ones there. Here in the NW they sell for more than most other places it seems. There is an amateur race class for E-30 cars with about 40 cars locally. They have 14 races per year. For the drivers it appears to be a lot of fun. I went to watch one and had a good seat to see some spinout action. Fortunately no crashes. Without sponsors the penalty for a crash isby Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
Tyler, When was the picnic? Could you have made it a local club event? The Puget Sound club will fund some seed money for club sponsored events. If it was published here, a group drive to the venue might have been organized.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
Yes, the fleet of old cars I have are a hobby. Just keeping them running keeps me in a list of things that need done. If they do not need something once in a while, it is not as much fun. There is a 1994 540 for sale locally at a reasonable price for all the stuff one would need to make the conversion to an E-30. I have seen it done and it is cool. The down side is that reliability will noby Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
Same here with narrow streets and no bike lanes, do not ride at all. I pass a couple of hardy souls on my way to work some days but cringe for them when I see other cars giving them no room.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Car Talk
I have a couple of spares I bought at the dealer if you break so many that the panel will not stay in place till you can get more.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum
Most of them were reasonable. No junkers. These cars are becoming rare and increasing in price. The cost of body repairs has thinned the ranks of every thing that had a dent in it. Now there are few candidates in the price range below 2500. Saw one with over 200k miles today on the BMWCCA puget sound website with a nice body for 2500 and a 540 9 years newer for 1600 and with fewer miles onby Bob in Lake Havasu - Community Forum
If the lights dim, there must be power going to the motor...so the motor is not burned out...yet. Do the lights dim if the window control button is pushed either up or way? Could be just the regulator is stuck for some reason.by Bob in Lake Havasu - Technical Forum