Brian C.
02-23-2004, 09:49 PM
.....My attempted repair this past weekend I mean, of course. So here's the story.....
A few weeks ago I noticed that my passanger side low-beam was missing it's "lens" cover. See first photo.....new on left, old on right.......
http://prod.bsis.bellsouth.net/coDataImages/p/Groups/186/186796/folders/131880/920874newoldfrt01.jpg
Being the mechanical genius that I am, I immediately asked all you guys how to replace the lens. Well, in short order I was informed that the "lens" that I'd refered to was in fact only a broken off part of a bigger whole. In actuality I needed to replace the entire lamp-housing assembly. Hmmm, I thought. Do I really need to continue to finance my Dealer's kid's European Vacation? No. I bet that I could do this on my own! Ya know....I got a Bentley....got my ETK, TIS, a BLT and a BFH. AND, I always have YOU GUYS! What more could I need to do a satisfactory job? Just a new part. So I call BMA and speak to Yves and explain my situation. Bingo-bango-badda-bing! No problem! A new lamp housing is FedEx-ing it's way to me ASAP. Lamp and chrome ring.....$142. Just for grins I call the dealer and they want $268. I feel smarter already! It arrives in three days, but I don't find time until this past Saturday morning to try to get it done. I'm thinking that I replace the old lamp with the new, hit the car wash and meet up with the guys who are at the South Florida Bimmer Meet about 20 minutes from my house.
To make a long story, which will be continued at a later date, short....after taking 2 hours to figure out how to remove the E34's grill and another hour to get the lamp housing out, I think I should be done in no time. Now, while looking at the first photo, sing to yourself that old Sesame Street classic, "One of these things is not like the other.....one of these things just doesn't belong.....". Can you figure it out? Yep, the first time that BMA has done me wrong and sent the wrong part. They sent a driver's side and I needed a passenger's side housing. OYE! You can see in the next photo how I needed to cut parts off of the old one to save the rubber sleaves on the mounting screws.
http://prod.bsis.bellsouth.net/coDataImages/p/Groups/186/186796/folders/131880/920870newoldrear01copy.jpg
What this means is that I couldn't put it all back together untill I get the part replaced by BMA. DOUBLE OYE! So I'm driving around, looking like a Pirate at Mardi Gras for a while. A one-eyed E34! I'll try to re-tackle the job this weekend if I get the correct part from BMA this week. I took photos of most of the procedure, so I'll try to post how the grill, etc. was removed and the R&R of the housing. While the grill was off, I did finally replace my horns with ones that I got off E-Bay for ten bucks. So I got that goin' for me!
So let's recap here. I figured out how to remove the grill. I figured out how to R&R the lamp housing, even though I wasn't successful in doing so......yet. I R&R'd my broken horns with good ones. I actually didn't BREAK ANYTHING! I actually didn't smash my thumb or draw any blood! And I figured out how to rig the grill with duct tape and twist'ems until I can finish the job! All in all not too bad of a Saturday's work. Sorry I missed the meet at Markham Park guys....it was a long day. I hope next time.
Now for a question. As the green arrow points out.....what is that thingee for? It's a soft rubber sleave that fits over a part that looks like some sort of probe that goes into the lamp housing. My first guess was that it was some sort of "optic pipe" to get light to another area of the engine compartment. But as I tore apart the old one I could see that it was filled with some kind of particulate matter. Now I'm thinking it's a moisture-remover-thingee for the inside of the lamp. I dunno.......Any ideas???
To be continued.................
Brian C.
'95 525ia
:p
A few weeks ago I noticed that my passanger side low-beam was missing it's "lens" cover. See first photo.....new on left, old on right.......
http://prod.bsis.bellsouth.net/coDataImages/p/Groups/186/186796/folders/131880/920874newoldfrt01.jpg
Being the mechanical genius that I am, I immediately asked all you guys how to replace the lens. Well, in short order I was informed that the "lens" that I'd refered to was in fact only a broken off part of a bigger whole. In actuality I needed to replace the entire lamp-housing assembly. Hmmm, I thought. Do I really need to continue to finance my Dealer's kid's European Vacation? No. I bet that I could do this on my own! Ya know....I got a Bentley....got my ETK, TIS, a BLT and a BFH. AND, I always have YOU GUYS! What more could I need to do a satisfactory job? Just a new part. So I call BMA and speak to Yves and explain my situation. Bingo-bango-badda-bing! No problem! A new lamp housing is FedEx-ing it's way to me ASAP. Lamp and chrome ring.....$142. Just for grins I call the dealer and they want $268. I feel smarter already! It arrives in three days, but I don't find time until this past Saturday morning to try to get it done. I'm thinking that I replace the old lamp with the new, hit the car wash and meet up with the guys who are at the South Florida Bimmer Meet about 20 minutes from my house.
To make a long story, which will be continued at a later date, short....after taking 2 hours to figure out how to remove the E34's grill and another hour to get the lamp housing out, I think I should be done in no time. Now, while looking at the first photo, sing to yourself that old Sesame Street classic, "One of these things is not like the other.....one of these things just doesn't belong.....". Can you figure it out? Yep, the first time that BMA has done me wrong and sent the wrong part. They sent a driver's side and I needed a passenger's side housing. OYE! You can see in the next photo how I needed to cut parts off of the old one to save the rubber sleaves on the mounting screws.
http://prod.bsis.bellsouth.net/coDataImages/p/Groups/186/186796/folders/131880/920870newoldrear01copy.jpg
What this means is that I couldn't put it all back together untill I get the part replaced by BMA. DOUBLE OYE! So I'm driving around, looking like a Pirate at Mardi Gras for a while. A one-eyed E34! I'll try to re-tackle the job this weekend if I get the correct part from BMA this week. I took photos of most of the procedure, so I'll try to post how the grill, etc. was removed and the R&R of the housing. While the grill was off, I did finally replace my horns with ones that I got off E-Bay for ten bucks. So I got that goin' for me!
So let's recap here. I figured out how to remove the grill. I figured out how to R&R the lamp housing, even though I wasn't successful in doing so......yet. I R&R'd my broken horns with good ones. I actually didn't BREAK ANYTHING! I actually didn't smash my thumb or draw any blood! And I figured out how to rig the grill with duct tape and twist'ems until I can finish the job! All in all not too bad of a Saturday's work. Sorry I missed the meet at Markham Park guys....it was a long day. I hope next time.
Now for a question. As the green arrow points out.....what is that thingee for? It's a soft rubber sleave that fits over a part that looks like some sort of probe that goes into the lamp housing. My first guess was that it was some sort of "optic pipe" to get light to another area of the engine compartment. But as I tore apart the old one I could see that it was filled with some kind of particulate matter. Now I'm thinking it's a moisture-remover-thingee for the inside of the lamp. I dunno.......Any ideas???
To be continued.................
Brian C.
'95 525ia
:p