Now That’s Thinking with Your Dipstick — DIY Oil Change

Over the weekend I changed the oil in my ‘99 M3. It was actually pretty easy, since I didn’t have to go under the car at all. I used an fluid extractor that I picked up from Griot’s Garage. It siphons the oil out via the dipstick column.

I don’t have access to a lift, and when I first heard about the extractor I checked it out on the boards. Others had used it successfully, so I pulled the trigger. As far as the filter goes, BMW uncharacteristically made that easy if you can believe it. Instead of on the side or below the engine, the filter is right there front and center when you open the hood. So I bought a Mann filter, seven liters of Royal Purple 5×30 — BMWs are very thirsty — and tackled the job Sunday.

Saw a couple of neighbors looking and probably wondering what the??

Takes about 15 minutes to get all the oil out, but after a few pumps it keeps going on it’s own. The new filter looked different than the Mahle filter in there, hard exterior versus soft filter. But slid in easily after removing the canister top with a 13mm wrench. Car took a little over six and a half liters of oil.

I had a little drama when I started the car after I thought I was done — lost some oil out of the canister top. It was because I hadn’t seated the rubber O-ring properly, just removed and fixed easily.

Guess you can tell old vs. new

Will drop off the used oil at my local garage Hollin Hall Automotive, good guys. Next up is changing the manual transmission fluid, although I may wait until spring. Read online the extractor can be used for that too, must find more information…

The Zen of DIY BMW Maintenance

This weekend my 2001 530 got a lot of attention. It was a very productive day — a vibration issue related to new rims purchased in late April was finally resolved, and I replaced both front ABS/speed sensors.

Before I dive into the details, a word about owning a BMW out of warranty. Unless you have enough money not to care about cost, you need to educate yourself about your vehicle. And be open to learning what you can tackle on your own (DIY — Do It Yourself), and what you can’t. Running to the dealership every time something goes wrong will land you in the poorhouse, and chances are you won’t be treated very well. Dealerships don’t want to deal with older cars, they want to focus on the people who will buy the new models.

Knowing what preventative maintenance is required to avoid problems in the first place is critical. That way when it’s something bigger that requires professional service, at least you know the particulars and can be an educated consumer. Unless you’re driving the car simply for the brand — in which case you’d probably be in a new car — embracing this fact can be fun. The car becomes a hobby, not simply a means of transportation. I’ve found a great deal of advice and support from Internet forums populated with folks who own the same cars, and run into the same issues. It’s a perfect example of the “wisdom of the crowd” dynamic, enabled by Internet access. You can find the links in my blog roll.

So first up was a vibration at highway speeds. In a prior post I described buying new rims and tires for the car. I was very psyched to give the car this refresh. The previous owner hadn’t bothered to clean or maintain the rims properly, and I needed to get my snows off the car for better handling: http://cparente.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/new-shoes-for-the-530/

Initially I was very pleased with the purchase. But I soon noticed that at highway speeds there was a significant vibration that hadn’t been there previously. I knew the tires had been mounted and balanced properly. I had the work done at a garage right in my neighborhood I’ve used before and that comes recommended by Tire Rack. Hollin Hall Automotive provided great customer service and continued to work with me at no additional cost while I worked through this problem. A big public thank you to them, and I highly recommend the shop to anyone in or near the Alexandria area: http://www.hollinhallauto.com/

I won’t go into all the arcane details. Monet was the company that made the rims, and I purchased through one of their resellers, The Wheel Connection. Monet was responsive via email, but it took some time for the problem to be identified. After eliminating other possibilities, it came down to the fact that the spacers sent with the rims were not fitting tightly enough, causing the vibration. Monet initially said it was the Wheel Connection’s responsibility, and they said it was Monet’s. I stayed patient, and persistent. Eventually Monet stepped up and sent me new spacers at no charge, as long as I returned the original set.

When they arrived I had my doubts, since they looked almost identical to the originals. But these snapped into the back of the rims beautifully, and have corrected the problem. Finally my car feels right at highway speed — solid and stable but with the driving feedback via the steering sport tuned BMWs are known for.

Thank You UPS!

Inserted into back of rim

One issue down, and one new one to go. A couple of weeks ago an error code popped up on my display. My ABS system was out, along with something BMW calls Dynamic Stability Control (DSC). The two systems work together via sensors that monitor wheels speeds at all corners, applying breaking and reducing torque in a split section if wheel spin or loss of traction is detected. The car can be driven safely without these systems, in fact DSC can be turned off via a button on the dash. But clearly something was wrong, and I got busy with some forum research.

Thankfully there was a good chance it wasn’t a major malfunction. Turns out those sensors at each wheel eventually fail — they get jostled constantly and debris tends to build up inside the sensor housing. If any sensor stops communicating with the car’s on board computer, the lights kicks on. There is no way to know for sure which sensor without a special BMW diagnostic tool. But by reading the stories of others who have had this problem, and noticing that other things like speedometer and cruise were not affected, the likely culprit was the front right sensor. It’s the one that kept coming up in discussion threads. Dealership quoted me $138 for the part — I found it online for $60 plus shipping.

So as soon as I got home from having the spacers swapped out I jacked up the car, fixed a floor stand and took the front right wheel off. Technically you could try and do the job with it on, but I read that would be much harder. There were a couple of spots where I was unsure how hard to pull the wire out of its clip points, and my wife Gabriele chipped in at one point when smaller hands were needed.

But it was relatively straight-forward, and in fact it took longer to jack up the car and wrestle with the tire than to do the sensor swap. Big thanks to the guys in the bimmerfest thread on this subject and to Michel, aka mmm635, the man with all the BMW answers.

But my satisfaction was very short-lived. Unfortunately, the lights stayed on. So I went to Gary Martin at Martin Motor Sports and he read the error code for me. Turns out it was the LEFT front sensor. Guess I should have gone to Gary first – he read the code at no charge, which I really appreciated. Thanks again Gary! At least having just done the right sensor the job went a little faster. Some shots:

Where sensor bolted into wheel hub

Other end -- note line of debris cleaned out of box

Sensor replaced

Compared with many of the guys on the boards, I don’t know how to do much at all. Gary will continue to do most of the work on my cars. I have no illusions of ever being a mechanic or tackling complicated car projects.

But it’s a very satisfying feeling doing even small maintenance or repairs on a modern car, above and beyond the money saved. Part of the enjoyment comes from making sure my cars are in good condition. And it also connects me to a time when people were a little more self-reliant about these things, and our possessions weren’t quite as disposable as they seem to be today.

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Happy Birthday M3

This month my M3 turns nine. She was built in April 1999, one of the last E36 M3s (BMW speak for the 3 series body style from 1992-1999) ever built. The design of the M3 version goes back to 1994, yet she’s still more fun to drive than 99% of the cars out there today. Only 39K miles, and I’ve done some tasteful mods that make her even better today than day one.

Today it’s all about horsepower — heck even the new Honda Civic (!!) can be had with 268 HP. The E36 M3 is much more about the entire package — handling, acceleration, feeling connected to the road. It came with 240 HP standard, so it wasn’t all about power. I’ve done a few things to goose that number a bit — software download, cold air intake and Dinan exhaust — but those add maybe 20 HP max.

Unless you’re buying only for the brand, part of the fun of owning a BMW is getting hip to some seriously arcane info. For example — in the 1990’s BMW made two versions of M3’s, one for the United States and one for the rest of the world. The non-US version had a different motor that produced more HP, as well as a few other variations like clear white lenses, elliptical headlights and floating brake rotors. (those differences can be easily addressed after-market) But the Euro version produced many of those additional horses very high in the RPM range, because it was designed for the autobahn. The US version has much better low end torque and acceleration, reflecting how Americans drive.

Still, this gives some people reason to criticize the US version, even — I’m ashamed to say — some who own them. This I’ve never understood — if you don’t love the car, if you’d rather drive something different, sell it to someone else!

Am I biased as hell on this issue — you bet! But I’ll close with two respected third parties. Edmunds.com called the 1999 (of course!) M3 the best sports coupe under $55,000. I especially like this line — “If you’ve got a pulse and even an ounce of automotive enthusiasm, you’ll know what we’re talking about:”

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/mostwanted/1999/60991/article.html

And here’s Bimmer Magazine’s take from the June 2005 issue — text not available 0nline:

“Some enthusiasts will always criticize the North American E36 M3 for lacking the more exotic and powerful Euro-spec engine, but that is simply nonsense. While there is certainly a noticeable difference in power once you rev both engines past their power peaks (particularly the 321 HP model), the 240 HP M3 is torquier at the bottom end, smoother at the top end and requires less regular maintenance. This makes it a sublime daily driver that gives up little in comfort or civility to a 325i or 328i, yet provides many more thrills on a twisty canyon road or racetrack.”

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New Brake Pads for the 530

Not too much news on the car front lately. And that’s not a bad thing — when you own two BMWs long out of warranty, no news is good news. There’s no escaping the fact that these cars require preventative maintenance, an alien concept to many drivers today who have no interest in owning a car for longer than two or three years. 

Unfortunately the previous owner of the 2001 530 was not a car guy at all, and while the mileage was low and I think the car was driven lightly it was also neglected in some ways. I had all the fluids changed soon after purchase, and new alternator and battery. Couple of weeks ago the car failed the VA state inspection due to thin front brake pads. Naturally my first reaction was irritation — c’mon man just extort the recently jacked up fee and give me my new sticker! — but then I thought the pads were no doubt original so properly were thin. And I hated how dusty the OEM pads were anyway, the wheels got dirty after a single day of driving.

So I went with PBX Deluxe pads. Excellent all around and very little brake dust. With a deadline of two weeks to reinspect and being really busy at work, I had Gary at Martin Motorsports put them on. But I’ve got my spring project lined up — I’m going to tackle the rears pads myself. We’ll see how that goes in a couple of months.