Archive for the 'BMW' Category
Shazad’s question:
I have a question: My 1998 BMW is starting to get some rust on the doors and other places in external body. The engine is safe though. The car/paint looks great otherwise. Can I stop the rust? Can I remove the existing patches of rust which are at couple of places each around 2 * 2 inches spot? Thanks.”
Answer:
OK, rust, as Neil Young once crooned, Never Sleeps. Once it starts, you must remove all the rust down to the bare metal. SO, if you want to cut out all the rust, you can stop it. First, try to sand down all the rust to the bare metal. If you hit metal and don’t make a hole, then coat this bare metal with a metal preservative coating which you can buy at any auto parts store. Once this dries, then paint that over hours later with grey primer paint. Then once that dries in a few hours put the color paint of your car back on. If the rust is bad and you end up with holes, you can patch them with fiberglass or Bondo material. Then just follow the other steps I just gave to keep the rust from coming back. Good Luck,
Fast Eddy’s question:
I change my own oil in my 2005 BMW 325i. Now the service light is on, but I don’t know how to reset it. My friends with older BMWs have a special tool to reset it, but mine doesn’t seem to be made this way. Can you help me?”
Answer:
Yes, there’s an exact sequence of events you need to do to reset that light. Here they are: Put the ignition key in the “0” (“off”) position.Then press and hold down the trip odometer button in the instrument cluster. Then turn the ignition key to the “1” (accessory) position. Make sure the button is pressed down for approx. 5 more seconds until any of the following appear in the display: “Oil Service” or “Inspection”, with “Reset” or “Re”. Then press the button again and hold for 5 seconds until the words “Reset” or “Re” flash. When the display is flashing, press the button quickly to reset the Service Interval. When the display has shown the new service interval, you’ll see “END SIA”. That means you did it right and the light will remain off until the next service interval is set. Yes, it’s a crazy procedure, but what do you expect from BMW?
Jin’s question:
I have a 2000 BMW 325i and sometimes my abs light comes on and with it accompanies the traction control light. I have no idea where to start since it seems intermittent.”
Answer:
OK, the ABS system and the traction control system are an interlocked system. So often a light coming on in one will cause a light to come on in the other. On a BMW, those systems are computer controlled monsters that require some super expensive scan tools to analyze. Even I don’t work on their ABS systems, I send them to a German I know who has the correct equipment (and who thinks hundred dollar bills are for lighting cigars, if you know what I mean.) The scanner and software required for American cars and Japanese cars isn’t all that bad to buy, but German cars–that’s another story. But, you could remove all four wheels and check the wheel sensor wiring for breaks or frays, and could remove each wheel sensor and clean it of debris. The sensors are magnetic and will pick up any magnetic debris you drive over, and cause faults in the computer system which doesn’t understand the strange signal that they then send to it. Who knows, you might get lucky and find a sensor that has a lot of debris on it and you can just wipe it off and clean it’s mounting area up also. Now on the plus side, that ABS system is a fail safe system, so when it stops working, you just go back to normal, non ABS braking. When many people discover the immense cost of fixing ABS, they often decide to live with normal brakes.
Joe’s question:
I am restoring my BMW E30 1987, i would be asking you alot of questions so please be patient with me and dont give up answering me. As a old car, when driving on humps, bumps and general bad roads, my car shakes too much and rattles. I guess its the suspension system so i have decided to change the shock absorbers and the springs, i wanted to know that is there anything else i can change to get the MODERN CAR feel. I have heard of anti-rolls bars, stablizer links etc but not sure what they do.”
Answer:
Forget adding anything to that BMW, it’s complicated enough as it was made (yet it will ride fine if everything that’s wrong is fixed.) First thing, change out the struts, they aren’t cheap, but that’s the first thing to do. And check the strut mounts when you do this as the rubber often will crack and break with age. That should help the ride a ton. And of course, when it’s up in the air, check the tie rods and ball joints and any suspension bushings for wear. Replace any that have play in them, they should have no play at all. Those BMWs have really well designed suspension systems and even one as old as yours needs nothing added to make it ride correctly. You just need to replace the worn out parts.
Joe’s question:
“hi mate, reffering to the speedo displaying wrong mph. I tried changing the whole cluster but the problems remains. All other gauges are working perfectly. The gearbox in my car is mint as it has only done 79k. The car am driving is a 1990 bmw e30. Please advise”
Answer:
All right, now we’re getting somewhere. As you have a BMW, you should realize you have one of the most complex vehicles out there, though yours is a bit old and nowheres near as complex as a late model BMW. I assume the speedo worked correctly at some time that you had it and that no other modifications have taken place. If the gear box came out of another car, it may never work correctly as it wouldn’t be set up for your model, I see that a lot with guys using used transmissions. Now if your speedo used to work fine, and nothing has been changed on the car, then yes, something has broken. Unfortunately,BMW does not provide testing methods without the use of the BMW Simulator. Outside of a BMW dealer, no one will have this equipment to test things out with. Even though your BMW is old, it still has tons of parts that require BMW speciality tools to check things out with. Perhaps you can find a speedo shop in your area to take the actual speed head to and have them check it out IF they have the BMW tool. And if you think this is bad, you should see the computer consoles that are needed to even begin to access electronic repair in a late model BMW. People used to say fixing cars isn’t rocket science, but it’s rapidly becoming so today in many models. Now if your older BMW has the three piece speedometer cable set up, sometimes that little box that two of the cables screw into goes bad and changes the gear ratio. So if that’s the case, you might try replacing that box. Some have them on them, and some don’t, but if yours does, odds are its gone bad IF the speedo head you already replaced is indeed good itself (the problem with using used parts is You Never Know.) Good Luck,
Khalid’s question:
Hi mate, One more question, My car radio turn on and off and the wiper arms seems too slow. The car (BMW E30 325) has recently gone from auto transmission to manual. Do you think its the battery or the alternator dying?”
Answer:
It could be either going out. First have the battery load tested and replace it if it’s low.Then have the alternator checked in the car, any good mechanic and many auto parts stores will do this for free. If both check out OK, then you’ve got wiring problems somewhere. Often the wiper motor grounds will go bad making the wipers go slower. And I pity the guy who swapped out the standard transmission in that BMW, that’s a royal pain of a job to do correctly. So much has to be done, that may have messed up the wiring as you do have a lot of work to do under the dash to put a clutch assembly in.
KHALID’s question:
“Hey mate, i am in need for your expert advice. I drive a 1987 bmw e30 325i cabriolet. The other day out of no where i realize that suddenly my car heater, main headlight beam, obc computer & reverse light stopped working and smoke started to come out from under the glove box. When i opened the bonnet, i see that a fuse (fuse no 9) has melted. i tried replacing the fuse by everytime it blows. Now even my stereo’s playing with me, it come on and off, on and off and its continuous. I tried opening the glove box and stereo to see if there are any burned wires or loose connections but everything seems fine. PLEASE HELP MATE.”
Answer:
Well, something made that smoke unless you’ve got mice with cigarettes hiding in there. So,since you know the number nine fuse keeps blowing, start there. Many guys will just install a jumper wire in place of the fuse for a few seconds. Then see what is getting hot, or is smoking in the glove box. It’s obvious you already have a problem there, so it’s not like you’re going to wreck something that’s not already damaged. Just bypass the fuse for a few seconds to see what’s getting hot or is starting to melt and smoke. Mechanics like myself have special electronic equipment to pulse electricity through a circuit, but I doubt you’ll want to invest that kind of money and the years of experience it takes to use it correctly. Just realize that BMW electronic parts are normally VERY expensive, and if the broken part is something you really don’t need, you can always just bypass that system by disconnecting it permanently. You just need to discover what part it is First. Good Luck,
Blaine’s question:
“I have a 93 BMW 318is with 46000 miles.. i am hearing a roaring noise from the rear.. with the windows down and driving past a wall i can hear a metallic rubbing sound.. very light though.. i have jacked the car up and tried to see if there is play in either wheel and there is none.. are there any other things i should check before doing these bearings? diff fluid is full as well.. thank you..”
Answer:
Either the axle bearings OR the rear end differential bearings are going out. Go about forty five on a safe road with no people and swerve to the left, and then to the right. If the noise quiets down when you go left, then the right bearing is worn. If it quiets down when swerving right, then the left bearing is worn. If the noise doesn’t change at all swerving to either side, then odds are the differential bearings are worn (and those BMW rear ends cost a TON.) Let’s hope it’s only a wheel bearing.
Kathy’s Question: My 2000 BMW 328i won’t go into reverse. I’m afraid I’ll need a new transmission and the quotes I’ve gotten are astronomical. Could it be anything else?
Answer: Well, it can only be one of three different things:
- One, have the selector switch checked to see if it’s operating correctly. A bad switch will cause no reverse.
- Two, check the fluid level. If the level is too low, it won’t go into reverse.
- And three, the one you don’t want, the transmission will need rebuilding or replacing.
BMW 328i no reverse
Let’s hope it’s one of the first two possibilities. Because a BMW transmission is an Expensive piece of equipment to repair or replace.
