Timm's BMW Website Update Log

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First of all, thank you very much for all the supporters of meeknet that spend their time to donate - it is much appreciated and allows this website and the YouTube channel to keep being added to - thank you all very much! March 18th 2019. The next big series on meeknet has been a long time coming, the cooling system series has been taking months to complete but it has to be done properly and it has opened my eyes to a lot of the detail of the system - the reason why some find it difficult to bleed, why bits suddenly blow up, why replacing the viscous fan often fails to make a difference, and the exact specification of the viscous coupling. The aim of the series of video's is to show how to diagnose problems with the system and how to repair them. Hopefully the series will be available next month.                       ---------------- x x x x x ----------------- October 4th 2018. The weather still has not broken, and apart from sorting the A/C on the 840ci I've done nothing but drive both cars. But, after a year it's time to change the oil and filter on the two cars plus the Mini - As I already have the 'How-To's' on meeknet I produced two video's instead with the 840ci here and the 650i here. But, as the nights get earlier I noticed that my right-hand pop-up lights have drooped and are aimed at the ground. As all E31 owners know, this won't be out of adjustment - it will be exploded headlight-adjuster bobbins - and sre enough the top bobbin had completely exploded. The last time this happened I tried using a cable-gland, the good thing about these devices is that they can be fitted from the outside of the housing. All explained here August 10th 2018. The summer has been excessively hot in Southern England - and very long. The 840ci has mended itself as far as the ABS pump is concerned - but I'm sure that as soon as the ambient temperatures drop it will give up again. The A/C stopped blowing cold on the 840ci - and it was a really confusing repair as it sort of went wrong in phases - it didn't cool at all until 5 minutes of running - so there was gas in the system with enough pressure - but the auxiliary fan wasn't running - seemed a straight-forward problem. But it wasn't obvious - the fan is reasonably new (replaced here) so I didn't suspect that, and a check with a meter showed no power getting to it, so I moved to the relay and I noticed that as I refitted it to the socket it clicked - and that it had 12V available so that was doing what it should. The problem turned out to be the connector pair at the fan - the after-market fans connector didn't make good contact, so a good tweak of the connector got it going again. That should do it I thought, but no, now the compressor wasn't running. The compressor was changed last year so, would you believe it, the connector pair on that was the problem as well! With both connector pairs suitably tweaked both the fan and compressor were running fine - and I was (slightly) cool again. A tin of refrigerant (described here) and thank goodness I'm cool as a cucumber even in 30C heat. The 650i passed the yearly MOT, with advisories for tyres and oil leaks - the famous alternator mount was leaking along with the oil-pressure sensor. The alternator mount is a long job, mostly from underneath and I was very happy to pay Lee £500 for sorting both with not even a twinge of guilt. May 24th 2018, Well, poking the 840ci ABS return pump relay kept the motor running for around three years, but it has eventually given up completely and has gone open-circuit so guess the brushes have worn out. I’ve bought a second-hand ABS block complete with valves and motor for £150 from Ebay. I don’t fancy fitting it myself so I’ll pass it on to Lee Shannon and I’m sure he will be just as keen as I am! I’m certainly enjoying the 650i now that the gearbox has been sorted, the gear changes are perfect - and a side-effect is that it accelerates much better, the gearbox really works well now - highly recommended. I’ve added a couple of new video’s on my YouTube channel and I’m working on a video for repairing the N62 Vacuum Pump Finally, meeknet has now got a certificate of security - and that means you get a green padlock on the url window (as long as you use ‘https’ rather than ‘http’ at the start of the url) - all the links on the website index pages link to the secure pages. April 16th 2018, hooray the weather's getting better, time to do outside stuff! I've just restarted the YouTube channel with a few video's, concentrating on diagnostics and how to use them to solve engine running problems. That leads on to actually fixing the problems, and this weekend was spent looking at how to repair inlet manifold leaks. Whilst recording I actually came across a new vacuum leak at the back of the PCV on my E31 - this is a large blanking cap that blocks off the vacuum take-off point which is used on other models for the brake booster. The cap was replaced five years ago and I found it to be completely split and ready to drop off. That will be covered in the video - the main thrust being how to stop the manifold gasket leaks without removing the inlet manifold. Why don't I just remove the inlet manifold? Because there is no need to and it is fraught with problems (just read the E38 forum posts that start 'I just changed the inlet manifold gaskets and now my car is broken/won't idle/misfires/only runs on 6 cylinders'). If there is one bit of advice I would give on working with these old cars it is - do as little as possible - and I'm sticking to it. Anyway, the video should be available next week as long as I get on with the editing. Meanwhile, on the 6-Series front, the 650i has been making absolutely horrible gear changes, sometimes appearing (briefly) to be in neutral when accelerating. This is something that resetting adaptations would not fix, so I took it to Lee Shannon for a fluid and filter change. The difference is like day and night, so much nicer to drive with barely discernible gear-changes. Worth noting is that there is a block gasket that connects the Mechatronik assembly to the valve body - when this splits you would get the same symptoms - and although mine was OK, Lee swapped it anyway as it was only seven quid. One of the main causes of the rotten changes was due to the fluid leaking out of the main gasket, one of the various causes of a good oil slick on my drive. Total cost was £400 - I would have paid twice that for the smooth performance End of February 2018 and I’m starting a new series of articles and YouTube video’s on diagnostics, something I’ve been planning to do for a while. Diagnostics can dig deep into an engines inner workings, in particular, how well the engine is burning fuel and turning it into motive energy. These windows into the engine are quite well hidden, and my aim is to demystify the process. February 2018, it’s blooming freezing here and both cars are running fine. The biggest change on meeknet is ADVERTS - yes, a necessary evil I’m afraid as meeknet even with your very kind donations is running at a huge loss. These days meeknet gets over three million page views a month - and that costs a few quid - so adverts it is, not that they actually make much money, still running at a loss but slightly less than before! The code writing for the ads has taken away the time that the new YouTube channel should have used - but a few more weeks and I’ll be back to it. Even though I don't have an E32 or an E38, I still update the pages as I often come across useful pdf's - but the E38 index page has strange formatting that disallows moving it to widescreen or mobile versions. As I have an E31 and E64 those pages get the new routines. Major updates are planned to convert a lot of pages to be widescreen and mobile-friendly. The mobile pages are actually a separate page to the widescreen pages rather than just the same page made smaller and includes different formatting, pictures and text sizes. The website can detect the resolution of the device viewing the page and one of two versions will be displayed. Unfortunately this doubles the hosting space - but, space is cheap these days. Latest Changes: 04-Oct-2018    Added Video BMW E31 Oil and Filter Change 04-Oct 24-May-2018    Meeknet goes Secure with https Certification 18-May-2018    Added Video BMW Engines - Is gurgling from the dipstick tube trouble? 15-May-2018    Added Video Clearing Water Drains on BMW E64 09-Apr-2018     Added Video Finding Inlet Manifold Leaks without squirting stuff at it 20-Mar-2018     Added Video Using a single ramp to safely and easily remove alloy wheels 15-Mar-2018    Added Video BMW Diagnostics - The three most Important INPA pages 29-Feb-2018     Added Using Diagnostics to Solve Running Problems - first of a series 12-Feb-2018    Added YouTube Channel 07-Jan-2018     Added BMW E63 E64 Dash Cam Fitting 07-Jan-2018    Added E31 Dash Cam Fitting 28-Dec-2017    Added BMW E31 - How To Measure Battery Drain 05-Dec-2017    Updated BMW E31 Replace Air Conditioner Condenser 09-Sept-2017    Updated BMW E31_Heater_Valves_Replacement 20-Apr-2017    Added BMW E63 and E64 N62 Engine Vacuum Pump Oil Leak Repair 10-Mar-2017    Added BMW E63 and E64 Clearing Condensation from the Light Clusters 08-Mar-2017    Added  BMW E31 LED FTP Main Beams 24-Feb-2017    Added  BMW E31, E32, E38 and E39 Trans Fail-safe Prog 26-Jan-2017    Updated BMW E64 Replacing Crankcase Ventilation Valves  24-Jan-2017    Updated BMW E64 Clearing Front and Rear Water Drains 22-Dec-2016    Updated BMW_E31_Solving_ABS_Pump_Problems.htm 11-Dec-2016    Added BMW E31 Adjusting Headlight Beam and Throw 08-Dec-2016    Added BMW E63 and E64 Clearing the Water Drains 27-Nov-2016    Updated BMW E31 Fuse Finder and BMW E31 Relay Finder 24-Nov-2016    Added BMW E31 Relay Finder 22-Nov-2016    Added BMW E31 Fuse Finder 14-Nov-2016    Added BMW E31 documentation including Owners Manual and Sales Brochures 14-Nov-2016    Updated E63 and E64 Fitting CTEK Charger In The Boot to add cautionary note 12-Nov-2016    Added BMW E31 Replacing the A/C Condenser 17-Oct-2016     Added Timm's BMW E63/E64 - Fitting a Sports Badge 03-Sep-2016    Added BMW E31 Replacing the Auxiliary (A/C) Fan 26-May-2016    Updated BMW_E31_Solving_Side_Light_Failure_Messages_when_using_LED_Sidelights_in_the_FTP using new LED 15-Apr-2016    Added BMW E63 and E64 Heated Seat Problems and what a palaver that was - no wonder it took 2 months! 20-Feb-2016    Added BMW E63 and E64 N62/N62TU Engine Oil and Filter Change includes air filter change 12-Feb-2016    Added E63 and E64 Fitting CTEK Charger In The Boot so that the IBS measures the charge 07-Feb-2016    Updated BMW_E31_Solving_ABS_Pump_Problems to include INPA screenshots 07-Feb-2016    Updated and mobile version of BMW E63 and E64 Harsh Gearchanges to include INPA screenshots 03-Feb-2016    Updated and mobile version of M62 and M62TUB Engine Failsafe Problems to include M62 loom failure 01-Feb-2016    Updated and mobile version of E31_Timing_Chain_Tensioner_M60_M62_Engine 30-Jan-2016    Added BMW E31 8-Series Common Problems about time too 25-Jan-2016    Added BMW E31 Making Error-Free Licence-Plate Lights 20-Jan-2016    Added BMW E31 ABS and ASC Lights Stay ON A quick fix that may last - and may not! 18-Jan-2016    Added Fitting Alloy Wheels The East Way well, it’s time to fit the winter alloys 12-Jan-2016    Updated Timms_bmw_wheel_and_tyre_page to include new BMW documents 12-Jan-2016    Updated and mobile version of BMW E31 Using LED’s for FTP’s to include other external lights 09-Jan-2016    Updated and mobile version of E31_840ci_Poor_Tick-Over 09-Jan-2016    Updated and mobile version of BMW_M60_M62_M62TU_Vacuum_Leaks 08-Jan-2016    Updated and mobile version of E31_Throttle_Pedal_Replacement 08-Jan-2016    Updated and mobile version of Fitting the Becker Indianapolis NAV Unit 06-Jan-2016    Updated and mobile version of E31_Battery_Replacement 06-Jan-2016    Updated and mobile version of BMW E31, E32 and E38 Auxiliary Pump Repairs 05-Jan-2016    Updated and mobile version of BMW M60 and M62 Engine PCV Valve Replacement 05-Jan-2016    Updated all remaining E31 pages to 1200px 05-Jan-2016    Updated all remaining E38 pages to 1200px 30-Dec-2015    Added BMW E63 and E64 N62 Engine Sparkplug and ignition coil Replacement 27-Dec-2015    Updated and mobile version of The BMW Nikasil Myth 26-Dec-2015    Updated and mobile version of BMW E32 Common Problems 26-Dec-2015    Updated and mobile version of Champagne_Nappa_Leather_Refurbishment 23-Dec-2015    Updated and mobile version of BMW_M60_M62_M62TU_Engine_Scary_Noises 22-Dec-2015    Updated and mobile version of BMW_M60_M62_M62TU_Engine_Cooling_System 22-Dec-2015    Updated and mobile version of BMW_M60_M62_M62TU_Engine_Crankcase_Ventilation 21-Dec-2015    Updated and mobile version of BMW_M60_M62_M62TU_Engine 19-Dec-2015    Added BMW e63 e64 fog light bulb replacement and refurbishing 18-Dec-2015    Added BMW_E63_E64_Licence_Plate_Bulb_Change 18-Dec-2015    Added BMW_E63_E64_Microfilter_Change 18-Dec-2015    Added BMW_E63_E64_Seatbelt_Cleaning 18-Dec-2015    Added BMW_E63_E64_White_Halo_Lights 16-Dec-2015    Added mobile version of BMW_E63_E64_Seatbelt_Cleaning 16-Dec-2015    Added mobile version of BMW_E63_E64_Licence_Plate_Bulb_Change 16-Dec-2015    Added mobile version of BMW_E63_E64_Headlight_Main_Beam_Bulb_Change 15-Dec-2015    Added mobile version of BMW_E63_E64_Microfilter_Change 15-Dec-2015    Added mobile version of BMW_E63_E64_Crankcase-Ventilation-Valve-Replacement 14-Dec-2015    Added E63 E64 Microfilter Change 14-Dec-2015    Start of Mobile-friendly changes - BMW_E63_E64_White_Halo_Lights - Updated to have widescreen and mobile variants 13-Dec-2015    E64 Index updated 13-Dec-2015    Added E63 and E64 White Halo LED Fitting 11-Dec-2015    Added E63 and E64 Licence Plate Bulb Change 10-Dec-2015    Updated Wheels and Tyres Page 07-Dec-2015    Widescreen changes to BMW E64 650i SPORT INDIVIDUAL 06-Dec-2015    Added E63 and E64 Crankcase Valves Replacement 01-Dec-2015    Edited E31 Page Index 26-Nov-2015    Added E63 and E64 Harsh Gear Changes 25-Nov-2015    Edited E64 Ambient Temperature Problems - Soft Top Won't Open Either 25-Nov-2015    Edited BMW V8 PCV Valve and Crankcase Ventilation 23-Nov-2015    Edited BMW M60/M62 V8 Inlet Manifold Leak Simple Fix 22-Nov-2015    Updated BMW E32 Pages - added a few routines that are relevant from E31 and E38 sections 22-Nov-2015    Added E63 and E64 Seatbelt Cleaning 20-Nov-2015    Edited REFURBISHING CHAMPAGNE NAPPA LEATHER to include Dakota Leather 19-Nov-2015    Widescreen changes to E63 and E64 About Page 18-Nov-2015    Updated Differential Oil Change with new pictures 06-Nov-2015    Added E31 Emergency Boot-Hinge Wiring Repair 06-Nov-2015    Edited E31 Boot Hinge Wiring Repair 24-Oct-2015    Edited 1-Hour Kerb-Rash Removal as I clouted another alloy 16-Sep-2015    Edited BMW V8 Pages to add N62TUB48 09-Sep-2015    Edited BMW V8 Camshaft Sensor Replacement - changes to widescreen 09-Sep-2015    Edited BMW LED Headlights - widescreen version 04-Sep-2015    Edited The Nikasil Myth page 10-Jul-2015     Creation of E63 and E64 Pages 10-Jul-2015     Edited Chase Pages - new music player (one that works for a change)