1st time

Hello Everyone,



I've checked out this site several times since the purchase of my 2003 745i. Finally, I decided to join the forum to connect with other passionate BMW owners & professionals. Being a 1st time owner, I was skeptical about buying this vehicle due to all the negative reviews stating these cars are complicated when it comes to maintenance/service. Well, now the time has come for me to reach out for some sound advise regarding an issue with my car.

My car was running fine until a light came on, service engine soon, emissions related fault. I took the car to my certified mechanic & he ran a series of test concluding to possible electrical issues. He told me the messages/errors in my computer system were incorrect because some of the issues were previously fixed & cleared. Therefore, he advised me to pay $200 to have the system reset completely, overriding and wiping out everything. After completion of this, he told me to let him know if the light back on. Fortunately, the car drove fine afterwards & no light came on. Unfortunately, as I was exiting the freeway to stop at a traffic light, my vehicle began to stall, tremble a little, made a slight rattle sound, then it cut off. When I tried to restart the car, it would not turn over nor would it switch into gear. After several attempts, the car still would not start or change gears at all. Immediately, I called my mechanic and let him know what was going on & he stated that the reset would not have caused this kind of reaction. Then, he commented that it could be the crankshaft/camshaft. Once I was towed into a parking lot out of traffic, approx. 30 min. had gone by & I tried to restart the car & was successful. I drove around the parking lot & the car was fine, no stalling, just a smooth ride. Now I'm confused and need advise & assistance w/ resolving the problem(s), the next best step to fixing the issue w/o wasting money. Can someone please provide me w/ knowledgeable info that will help me? Thank you in advance.......

1st time

2007 525i broken tail light lens

I accidentally broke the left tail light lens with a shopping cart at the supermarket. Am I going to have to buy an entire tail light assembly to fix it or can I just get the plastic lens some where? (I think I will have to buy the entire assembly, but........ just checking to see if some one has any other thoughts and/or suggestions. Thx for any input.

2007 525i broken tail light lens

FS: GTX3582R Housings and Center Casting

Hey guys, I have the compressor and exhaust housings from a GT3582R for sale. Can upload pics later. The exteriors were sandblasted to check for authenticity.



Asking $180 o.b.o. each housing. Standard T3 4-bolt exhaust.

Also have the center casting available if interested.



PM me or text 905 979 1914. Located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Will accept trades, offer up!

FS: GTX3582R Housings and Center Casting

Loving my E39

So I've had the 540 for a little over a week now and all I can say is I love it.



Early this summer I was thinking about buying a early 2000s camaro since I've missed mine since selling it back in 2007. But was faced with the problem that all my euro friends make fun of Mustangs and camaros. Typical owner of mustangs and camaros up here are A punk rich kids or B old guys who need pills to get it up. So faced with all the jokes that would ensue after such a purchase I just stayed with my allraod :violinist.



After buying a E34 and getting some sticky tires and driving that around for a week having fun but wanted more power I was told of a 540I for sale a local guy might be looking for a allroad for a daily in trade. So I went to go check the car out the guy was upfront about what the car needed and all of the parts plus a whole M5 interior and LSD came with the car. So we traded for the night just to check out the cars he was happy with my allroad and I liked the BMW so next day went down to his place to pick up the rest of the parts for the BMW and drop off all the extra parts I had for the allroad.



As we pulled up I was in shock His driveway was lined with all kinds of cars he had a few 2002 a 914 a 944 a 968 list of cool old cars goes on and on. Got all the extra fun bits for the car been putting stuff in every night slowly getting closer to the full swap inside and out. I found a M5 local that was crashed and local shop was parting it out got my rear M5 bumper and exhaust. Cutting out the spare tire bits of the trunk to fit all the M5 stuff in in the next week before paint. This car has been a blast to drive rides so much nicer than any mustang or camaro and also its hard to beat a good sounding V8 with a 6 speed that RWD.

Loving my E39

2004 325CI no cr4ank issue

I have a 2004 bmw 325ci with a no crank problem. Turn key to start and dash lights up but doesn't crank. Took battery and had load tested..good. Assumed it was the starter and bought a new one. Had the new starter tested twice before i installed. Turned key to start and same thing happened. Double checked all connections..all clean, tight and correct. I don't know how to test if power is getting through ignition to small wire running to starter. I did use a multimeter to check for dc volts on the small wire by connecting black probe to a good ground and red to the small wire. Turned key on and got zero volts. Turned key to start and still got zero volts. Just not sure I tested it right. At this point I'm thinking ignition switch...key cylinder...key. No idea how to test ignition switch. Any help would be greatly appreciated with explanation on how to do it. Thank You

2004 325CI no cr4ank issue

The most in-depth Z3 Sparco Steering Wheel Install

***WARNING: LOTS OF PICS***



Hey all,



I've used BFc for many "how-to's" and DIY's...but there isn't a single decent post on installing an aftermarket wheel into a Z3 that has the 2-stage airbags. Soooooo, here it is!!!



First, Here is a look at what I had:



Sparco Ring Wheel 330mm w/horn button

Momo Steering Hub #2008 w/ adaptor ring (you will not need the adaptor ring)

2 x 3 Ohm 1/2 Watt splice-in resistors (can return everything to stock in not time)

2 x splice connectors and 12" of 18 gauge wire (to get the horn working with the MOMO Hub)

Carbon Pin for the horn - Part #: 32311158475 (not pictured yet)









And the tools I used (plus an exacto knife that is not pictured).



Phillips Head Screwdriver

Flat Head Screwdriver

3/8 inch ratchet

6 inch extension

16mm bit

TORX 30 bit

Flex Joint

Allen Key supplied with MOMO Adaptor

Exacto Knife








Now, let's get started. Begin by disconnecting your battery's negative terminal. You can disconnect it at the post, or at the vehicle ground. I disconnected mine at the vehicle ground (see pic), and kept it away from everything with a small piece of wood. Make sure you keep it away from anything. We will not be reconnecting the battery until we're done with the entire install.







Let the car sit for a few minutes, so that the electronics can fully discharge. BMW says this only takes about 10-20 seconds, but I let my car sit for a good 10 minutes.



Lock the steering wheel with the wheels as straight as possible, and the steering wheel straight.



After the car has had sufficient time to decharge, use a phillips head screwdriver to remove the screw that holds the lower part of the steering column cover on. The screw is located under the steering column cover.







Remove the cover by pulling downwards, and pushing in on the sides to release the locking pins. It should just pop right off.



Look under the steering wheel, and locate where the steering wheel connections meet the wiring harness on the column. Unclip the steering wheel connections by pressing the tab (see pictures below) and pulling it free. The wiring you see here is the airbag and the horn wiring.















The junction clip where the steering wheel connections and the steering column wiring meet is removable. Simply rotate the clip 45 degrees and pull down. Now you'll have easy access to the airbag wiring later.











In the pics below, you can see the wiring for the airbag and horn that was clipped onto the underside of the steering column. On the back side of the clip, you'll see numbers corresponding to each wire. The wires are as follows:



1. Yellow w/black stripe: Stage 1 Airbag

2. Yellow w/brown stripe: Stage 1 Airbag



3. Grey w/black stripe: Stage 2 Airbag

4. Grey w/brown stripe: Stage 2 Airbag



5. Brown w/red stripe: Horn

6. Brown: Horn











We're going to be bridging the two yellow wires with each other, and the two grey wires with each other. We'll bridge them using the 3 Ohm .5 Watt resitors. The brown wires do not need a resistor...one of them will be connected to the Carbon Horn Pin later.



Separate the two yellow wires and install the splice-in clips. I used the Exacto knife here to remove a little of the wiring insulation, in order to guarantee good contact. Don't worry about the black stuff on the wires in the pics...it's just adhesive from the fabric tape, not burnt wires.











Now bridge the splice-in clips with the resistor.







Next, separate the Grey wires and repeat the same process as above. Install the splice-in clips, bridge the clips with the second resistor.























Now fit the resistors up into the steering column along with the rest of the wiring. Make sure it's nice and tucked away.















Next we're going to remove the airbag and steering wheel.



Start by locating the two Torx screws on the backside of the steering wheel. Remove them using the Torx 30 bit.











Once you've released the Torx screws holding the airbag in, gently pull it out of the steering wheel. You will have to disconnect it at the junction found inside the steering wheel.



















Once you have the airbag removed, place it somewhere face up and do NOT put anything on top of it.



Now locate the 16mm bolt that holds the steering wheel to the steering shaft. Remove the bolt using the 16mm bit and an extension. It will require quite a bit of force, but it should come off no problem. You may need a breaker bar for extra leverage.











Now that the steering shaft is exposed, mark the Top Dead Center (TDC) point on the face of the steering shaft. This should be the point that represents the top center of the steering wheel.











Remove the OEM steering wheel and place it aside.



At this point, we're going to install the Carbon Horn Pin. Simply insert it into the cradle hole located just below the steering shaft (see pic below).







Route the wiring back and towards the yellow, gray, and brown wires that we worked on before. Using a splice clip, splice the Brown w/red wire and the wire from the Carbon Horn Pin together. If the wire from the Carbon Horn Pin isn't long enough, this is where the extra 18 gauge wire and second splice clip will come in. Basically, we're splicing the Carbon Horn Pin wire to the Brown w/red wire on the car's wiring harness.



PICS TO FOLLOW



Now take your MOMO Steering Hub, and install it. Make sure that the orientation of the Hub is correct. There is a marking on the Hub to help with the orientation, and the hole next to it represents the top center of the steering wheel.















Replace the 16mm bolt to secure the Hub to the steering shaft, tighten only until it seats.



Now affix the Sparco steering wheel to the Hub using the 6 allen screws that came with the hub. Torque them down properly (torque values should be provided with the Hub).



Then torque down the 16mm bolt to firmly connect the Hub to the steering shaft. Torque values may vary slightly between Hub and OEM specs.







Next, connect the wires coming from the Hub to the horn button.







Replace the lower steering column cover, and insert the horn button into the steering wheel.















For the final step, reconnect your battery.







Voila! You have now completed the install of your new aftermarket steering wheel! If you did everything correctly, you're car won't have any airbag (SRS) lights or fault codes, and your horn will work when you press the button. If you have SRS lights, check the splices and/or resistors on the airbag wiring. If your horn isn't working, check the splicing on the horn wire.



All in all, this took me about an hour, including all of the stops to take pics. :D



If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up.

The most in-depth Z3 Sparco Steering Wheel Install

DIY Cheap Shrunken Door Weatherstripping Fix

This was done based on my info on an E34, same procedure for E32

http://ift.tt/1vtS3RX



Installation of weather strips with E39 parts in E34, should also be possible on E39, the weatherstrips on E39 are longer than the ones in E34.

http://ift.tt/1uAPalf

DIY Cheap Shrunken Door Weatherstripping Fix