Thank God for this forum during my repairs.

[dailystrain]

My world changed last spring when I purchased a 2001 330xi. Cars were a necessity and I never gave them much thought…. until now. What an amazing piece of art the German engineering is, comfort, handling, speed. Needless to say I fell in love with the little bugger. Then life happens as life always does and I was forced to sell it for a song (I didn’t even get to test it in the snow.). I vowed at that moment that I would have another.



Sitting at lunch with a friend, I was telling him my BMW story (whining actually). He asked if I would want another BMW. Duh! Apparently he had purchased one a few years back for his wife. She didn’t like the rear wheel drive and wanted a four wheel drive SUV (What???). He drove it off and on for a couple of years keeping it well maintained. He said he was driving it one day and everything stopped, lost all power and then life happens as life always does (sounds familiar) and the car sat for the last year.I have been a back yard mechanic for 30+ years; I took one look and purchased the 94 525i for $1000. As of yet, unfamiliar with this forum or the damn electrical gremlins lol. Oh but I am now. 2 sets of tires/rims (new Blizzaks) and the front suspension done before sitting were pluses.



Here’s the skinny and my take on the repairs.

Must have’s: There is the greatest chance that one of these 4 has been there done that.

1. Bentley Manual – although at times completely useless as BMW seems to be in a constant state of updating the cars. Pictures and locations of items vary greatly.
2. Bimmernut Forum – Made life oh so much easier… Kudos!
3. blog.bavauto.com - Made life oh so much easier…
4. bmwe34.net/E34main.html - Made life oh so much easier…
5. Patience.

On a side note, I had to tow it to the closest garage to work on the car. It just happened to be my son’s apartment. Electricity is on a light sensor. Night time– electricity, day time – flashlights… Also will say – Minnesota – January – March, think temperature. I snapped several cold bolts.

In no particular order

1. Fuel Sending Unit – Looks scary as hell but not too bad. Lots of lube on those rusty bolts.
2. Fuel Filter – easy.
3. Drain old fuel – Not too bad with jumper at relay but drained what juice was in the old battery.
4. Several Fuel lines - easy
5. 3 batteries. Yes 3.
   
   1. He had purchased one prior to sitting a year – tested bad.
   2. I purchased and drained one – tested bad. During the draining of the 2^nd that “Transmission Program” stuck in 3^rd started happening. Scared the life out of me…
   3. 3^rd times a charm. NEVER trust “IT’S NEW – IT’S GOOD” thoughts. Test it!
   4. I wanted to find a battery meter to install but the aftermarket Pioneer has one in it. I now have the battery meter on the main screen and love the added information.
   
   
6. All grounds rewired (and most positives) - Lots of lube on those rusty bolts – sand those surfaces shiny.
7. Starter – WTF BMW? Absolutely the hardest/time consuming starter I have ever done. An extra set of eyes and hands helps here.
8. Alternator – standard.
9. Belts/Hoses – easy.
10. Crank Position Sensor – I gave up at this point. I broke the entire cast aluminum holder off the front of the engine, complete with a hole in the motor. Game over right? Let me see what JB weld can do as there was no forum that discussed this little problem… Seems to work just fine. I am keeping a close eye on it though…
11. Throttle Position Sensor - easy
12. O2 Sensor – These are normally tough but access to mine positioned on top of the crotch of the Y pipe was bad. Before I did too much damage I took it to CARX and for $53.00 they took it out. Best $53.00 I ever spent. Took them an hour while I watched… dang.
13. ECM Relay, Fuel Relay, Starter Relay – Not many ECM relays in the country. Going to buy a second just because.
14. 30amp Aux Fan Fuse – Which I found during my initial inspection of the electrical system. Wondering if this went bad and overheated the relay compartment (which is supposed to have an aux fan) and blew relays in the beginning?
15. Ignition Coil Boots – Expensive Buggers.
16. Tested all coils - Easy
17. Plugs – Easy
18. Thermostat – Easy
19. Antifreeze – Dumb ass moment. Replace the hoses, fill system, and then need to replace thermostat. Too expensive to replace twice.

Next
Fusible link - I think I am going to bypass with a 50amp fuse (Bentley rating). All the micro crack failure talk has me concerned.
Heater Core – Sweet smell of going bad.
Door Trim Rust – summer project.
Inner door Trim – Will photograph and post separate.

Black Betty starts, runs, drives like a dream. No codes, no blips, no transmission program screen. Just clicked over 200,000 miles – Happy Birthday.

Total cost?
Blood (honestly) – cold hands don’t feel cuts, sweat – yep lots, tears – I don’t actually cry but sometimes my awesomeness leaks out. $1600

I LOVE IT!

[genphreak]

Good to read of your exploits... congrats mate!

Note, your heater core is probaly just o-rings. Just replace rather than doing the whole core. Once you get in there (not that hard to do) you'll see if the core is rusty and leaking.

Door trim, probably from Salt. Maybe worth washing the insides of the doors and leaving in the sun for a few days to dry properly. Then seal inside and carry out the rust repairs. Salt if it can get into the internal seal will continue to cause fast rust.

Fusible link- just buy a $1 replacement, nothing fancy. Make sure you use several coats of heat shrink, and seal it well, a short can cause an unstoppable fire... :-p