Well, the last 24 hours have been tough in regards to auto repairs. I started at about 10:30 last night replacing the valve cover gaskets on my wife's '97 V-6 Camry. Yep, that's right, a front wheel drive vehicle with a V-6. We've had the car for about 6 years and have loved it. But working on that V-6 is something I dread. I had to pull the upper intake and throttle body to access the back valve cover. Then, I had to fight a wiring harness that was secured to the back valve cover before even thinking about taking it off. In the end, I probably had about 6-7 hours into the job. The verdict is stil out as to whether this is going to cure the oil leak we've had. Anyway, there just didn't seem to be anything that was easy to access on that engine. Drove me nuts.

After finishing it, I decided since I was filthy anyway, I might as well put the new transmission mounts in my 1991 535i. Put about 6 inches worth of wood or ramps under each tire to get the necessary clearance. I had to lower the exhaust system, but here's where German engineers outclass the Japanese engineers...THEY ACTUALLY FIGURE YOU WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO WORK ON THE CAR!!!. At the exhaust headers, the bolts holding the pipes are spring loaded. Not only that, but there's a flexible portion on one of the pipes. Why is it this way? Because you can lower the exhaust to work on the car without having to take it completely off. Ingenious! Once I had the exhaust down, I began work on the trans mounts. Quarters were a bit tight there and I thought it was going to be difficult to remove the nuts holding the mounts to the trans. But guess what, rather than having holes in the trans, they had slots. All I had to do was loosen the nuts a turn of two, and the old trans mounts slid out, proving once again that those brilliant German engineers think of everything. After working on both cars in the same day, I've decided that Japanese car engineers need to vacation in German car factories to learn how to design stuff properly.

P.S. I actually replaced the engine mounts and trans mounts. I did the engine mounts a couple of days ago and noticed a big improvement in vibration reduction. If your mounts are old or original, you might think about changing them.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i