Mike's tip of the week, 10-06 update, all, go to end

[rodpaine]

There's more, but I keep neglecting to update it so here is the current version.

Great list Mike, thanks, again! I've created a link on my web page here and hope it brings more E28 owners here, that haven't yet discovered us.
-Rod

[Mike W.]

Thanks for the complement Rod. I'd format it for better readability if I knew how... but I don't, I haven't gotten into HTML yet. I suppose I could do it in Word, then turn it into a .pdf, but that seems like overkill.

[rodpaine]

Thanks for the complement Rod. I'd format it for better readability if I knew how... but I don't, I haven't gotten into HTML yet. I suppose I could do it in Word, then turn it into a .pdf, but that seems like overkill.

You're very welcome, always happy to include 'good stuff' on my website. I know what you mean about investing body heat in learning HTML, as I really don't have the time, so I rely on the thing Verizon gives us to use (Trellix SiteBuilder), with all its quirks and limitations. You might try this simple text format here, that has worked well in my web site index, so that visitors can see quickly what they might be looking for...

Use anti seize
on all water related parts, stat, water pump, bleeder. Brake rotors, spark plugs, O2 sensors.

Locktite lots of things
brake calipers, everything oil related or that could leak oil, pan, timing covers

It ain't OBDII, but BMW provided a great diagnostic tool.
It's the O2 sensor output. Don’t "think" it's running rich or lean, or rely on smell, read the voltage. Meters are cheap. Really cheap. I always check it before I go in for smog. If it's working right, it doesn't mean you'll pass, but there is a good chance you will, but if it isn't working I can almost guarantee you wont.

Use new copperlock nuts on exhaust parts.
They come off nice with them. The first time only. Or stainless, with lock washers. Even 5/16" on the nuts bolts that hold it together.

FWIW,
-Rod

[tjones02]

Pardon the intrusion but I've got a few updates to Mike W's list here. Mike, I hope I don't step on your toes....

Hi, my name is Tom and I've been a BMW technician for over 15 years at various independent shops in the Berkeley area, Sacramento and now at Casey MotorSports in Petaluma. These are a few updates to Mike's tips from my professional experience.

Use Permatex #3 as gasket dressing. It not only helps seal, but makes it easier to get loose too. Think places like the upper and lower timing cover, oil pan, water pump and thermostat. Andy also says it's great and prevents corrosion where hoses go on aluminum castings like the t-stat housing. I haven't tried that one.

If the Permatex #3 you are referring to is the brown Aviation Form-A-Gasket sealant... Sure it works great the first time BUT try to clean it off for the next time that gasket etc. is replaced and you'll swear the stuff can't be cleaned off with any chemical known to man. I've wasted more shop time trying to clean that Sh-- off than I care to think about. Please do not use it! I wholly recommend Loctite/Permatex #518 red anaerobic sealant, it can be cleaned off readily the next time you need to go in to replace something, it doesn't ever fully dry/harden but can be used as a gasket dressing as well as a bare flange sealant. If there is a gasket, it only needs to be a VERY thin coat, if no gasket, a small bead will do.... OH, that goes for silicone sealants as well, don't use 'em.

If your windshield wipers work fine on high or low, but not on intermittent or one wipe, it's the motor. The park contact isn't making good contact. I have not found a fix and I've tried retensioning the wiper arm (inside the motor) and regreasing the motor. A new/used one did the trick even though it was only a couple of months different in production date. Seems like some do and some don't.

Remove the wiper motor, open the black plastic cover for the park mechanism, clean all the old grease off with chosen solvent, polish the copper/brass plate and contact with fine scotch-brite or steel wool, blow all the scotch-brite/steel wool fibers out with compressed air, clean with favorite solvent again, apply some fresh non-moly non-dielectric grease (I like redline red synth), and reassemble. The wiper park contacts get brass/copper filings across the little park window in the plate and thus the contact can't find where park is...

Use brake hose for the line to the clutch master, not fuel line. Fuel line will expand and start leaking, brake hose usually will not. It used to be blue and may or may not be currently, you do have to usually buy a meter, but it is different and there for a reason. What's the price of not having brake fluid in your carpet/padding? Murphy's law says it's the interior side that will leak first.

Use a dab/drop of brake fluid in the end of the hose to help it slide onto the nipple.


Cheers, HTH and I may feel inclined to post more in the future....

[craigb93]

Can I get in this?

Just replaced my E28 Brake Light Switch. Put an O-ring over the switch before snapping it into the pedal bracket. Makes the switch snug & not flop around in the bracket and thus stay adjusted. I just picked one out of an assortment of A/C rings I have.
The little switch flanges are cupped slightly which makes it seat for a month or two then they relax and it gets sloppy. The O-ring keeps things together for a year or so.
-Dick

[Mike W.]

Pardon the intrusion but I've got a few updates to Mike W's list here. Mike, I hope I don't step on your toes....

Hello Tom, good to see you here, I think I've seen you at more Wrenchfests than posts here!

Anyway, I respectfully disagree. You have more hours in to be sure. But I was first getting up close and personal with M30s in the early 80s which was a decade after I first started wrenching on cars.

Permatex #3. No problem with either a razor blade or lacquer thinner. But not to be used on valve covers.

I agree 100% on silcone, avoid it at almost all costs.

WW Motor. Sounds like we're talking about different things. Failing to park would be rectified as you suggest. Not running in perhaps a more limited sample than you have is not correctable. The springs were just too weak, far weaker on the slip rings than E12s, which didn't have that problem.

Brake fluid to slip the hose on... absolutely!

Don't be a stranger TJ.

[JCS]

Mike,

Thank you!
Awesome site!


Best,

[tig]

This thread is gold. And I just found out about it. I'm sad.

[Mike W.]

Thanks guys, there's a reason I can go on 4.5K vacations and make it home in a 300K car. (although being married, not to mention wanting to keep what hearing I have left, we've been in the E39 for a few years now)

There have also been a few oops over the years, mostly before Mye28 that I don't talk about much.

[York]

This list is very helpful but, it's dated
Any new additions ?

[York]

A great update would be the actual part numbers for all the aforementioned