E30 318i: Replacement Speedometer/ Odometer

Had to bite the bullet and buy a replacement speedo / odometer for project E30 this week as after many different attempts to fix the original one [THIS POST], I had to declare it totally junked. These are not cheap and sit around the £65-70 region, but I got a deal on one for £59... still an unwanted cost but at least I no longer have to tape an old iPhone to the dash with a speedo app!

Now the question is, do I swap in the number row from my old odometer or leave the ones in from this one, some 100k miles less.... Hmmm.

As per the pics, the areas of concern on my old speedo are not problem on the replacement, with resistors, capacitors and other components all looking mint. There is also no charring to the back of the PCB, so no sign of this unit overheating in the past and the odometer gearing is perfect. This unit has still covered 154k miles over the last 35 years, but has clearly had an easier life than the one from my E30!

Showing the healthy resistor on the newer speedo on the left and the burnt out one to the right.

E30 318i: Speedometer / Odometer faults + check list

If your E30 speedometer is broken, your odometer isn't turning or both, then here is a troubleshoot check list to find and fix the fault. Doing the work yourself is a bit fiddly, but totally doable if you are handy with a soldering-iron.

** A more detailed guide / thread all about E30 speedometer / odometer faults by 03IRM3 on r3vLimited.com is here - https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/e30-technical-forums/general-technical/59019-e30-speedometer-repairs-failure-modes, which was a great help. **

NOTE: If your speedometer is not reading, before starting to diagnose the instrument the first thing to check should be if there is a pulse being generated by the speed-sensor in the differential, see E30Zone Wiki here.

Broken Odometer drive gear.

This is the most common problem when the odometer has stopped turning. The drive gear from the stepper motor that turns the larger cogs tends to split on higher mileage cars causing it to skip teeth and not turn the odometer gearing. Replacement gear sets can be bought from eBay for a few quid.

Burnt out resistor.

This is the main power resistor on the 12v + input to the PCB and it's never usually failure of this component that causes it to burn out. Instead, failure of a component further upstream is usually the culprit by drawing way too much current, causing the resistor to work double-time and overheat. This one was still working amazingly, given the heat it had been producing that charred everything around it, but I threw a new one in anyway. The value was about 150 ohms, so that's what I went with.

Blown capacitor.

Sudden failure of both speedo and odometer can often be down to the main power capacitor blowing. This is visible in the above pic to the right of (and next in sequence to) the burnt out resistor. It's a basic 220uF electrolytic capacitor and is very simple to replace with only two pins needing de-soldering, so should be the first step in troubleshooting a dead unit, even if the cap itself doesn't appear blown. Mine had been scorched by the overheating resistor, but seemed ok. I replaced it anyway, but it did not help with mine.

Snapped wire on Odometer stepper-motor coil.

This is rare, but does happen as 03IRM3 has seen one and mine had this too so I guess it does happen, where one of the single strands of copper coil for the stepper-motor snaps off its pin on the PCB. It’s possible that this happens due to time/age and vibration in the vehicle, but could likely be due to manhandling the unit while it is out for other repair work. Either way, it’s an easy fix to just solder it back in place and will be stronger than it was before at least.

UAF chip blown.

If none of the above fixes have worked and both speedo and odo are still not working, the likely culprit is that the UAF I/C chip has malfunctioned and is not processing inputs and outputs correctly, which leads to the resistor burning out, caps blowing and the odometer coil overheating. These UAF2115 chips are common, used in many speedo/odo units, taxi-meters, tachographs etc., so replacements can be found on eBay or electronic component sites for a few £/$, but this is probably the most advanced fix needed for these units and the question at this point is whether it's worthwhile. 03IRM3 has replaced chips as a last resort only to find the unit still won't work, so I decided that with all other fixes not working and my odometer still needing new drive gears that it was time to junk it and seek a replacement unit... [THIS POST].

E46 318i - Broken Coolant Hose! [11537572158]

 After about 650 miles in the E46 Touring the radiator light came on. Just the amber warning, to let me know it was getting low, not the red warning when it is running out and I refilled about 1.25 litres of water / coolant to the engine. This seemed about right to me, as I feared it may be using a bit of water and there was plenty in when I bought the car so 1.25L in 650 miles isn't catastrophic and can be lived with.
About two weeks later the radiator light came on again and I dutifully refilled 1.25 litres, but the car had only covered 120 miles so I knew something was now amiss, only for the light to come on yet again after just five miles of my six mile round trip to work. Under the hood with the engine running I could see a huge pool of water in the under-tray and a drip, which after much tracing turned out to be coming from a slim rubber hose that connects to the left side of the cylinder-head [N42 engine]. It was a constant drip, but when I wiggled the hose-end the coolant began to spray round the engine-bay, so here was the culprit. Turns out the hose-connector into the head was completely sheared off, as you can see in the pic, and should extend about half an inch into the housing. The only thing holding any water into the upper engine at all was a single M6 thread screw.

The hose in question was BMW Part No. 11537572158, shown in the diagram connecting the thermostat to the cylinder-head. This is a common fault I am told on N42 and N43 engines, along with several other coolant hoses that have plastic end connectors, particularly in the US where kits can be purchased to convert the brittle plastic ends to aluminium ones. This seemed unnecessary for me, given the cost of a replacement part and the age of the car.

As there are so many coolant hose variants, finding the right used OEM one on eBay and the like can be difficult, but they do pop up. I was able to get a new spurious part through work for just £18, but I'm sure commercial motor factors will not be much more expensive as long as they have stock. Spurious hoses tend to come with a new rubber O-ring fitted. BMW dealerships will charge a premium, but at least fitment is guaranteed and they are revised parts, though these may not come with the rubber O-ring which will also need to be ordered.

F10: Clutch Pedal-Pin Repair / Replacement [E60, E90, E92, F01 etc.]

SYMPTOMS:

• Clutch pedal appears to collapse / become loose / twist to one side suddenly when depressed.
• Clutch pedal feels loose / collapsed and will not depress properly.
• Engine will not start and dash displays 'Depress Clutch to Start Engine' message while clutch is depressed.
• Gears will not engage or only partially engage while clutch pedal is depressed.

CAUSE:

Heavy clutch use / clutch-wear causes undue stress to the pedal-box [2 in diagram] and causes the plastic pedal-pin [8 in diagram] to snap / work its way loose. There are slim plastic clips at the end that stop the pin sliding out, but once these start to break off the constant motion makes the pin slide out very easily. When the pin is loose the clutch-pedal wont depress properly, which means the car cannot be put into gear or even press the clutch-switch to start the engine.

---

"GET YOU HOME" QUICK FIX:

1. Remove the trim-panel above the driver's footwell by undoing the T-20 Torx screws holding it in place. If you do not have tools to do this the trim can be forced off firmly and gently without breaking the plastic. The screw heads should pop out of the oblong holes in the panel, which can be bent back into place later and refitted.

2. Locate the end of the clutch pedal-pin where it has come out of the pedal-box, just to the right of the metal bar that attaches to the top end of the clutch-pedal.

3. Manoeuvre the clutch pedal back into position by hand, so the metal bar at the top of the clutch-pedal is straight with the eyelet either side of it in the pedal box and slide the pedal-pin to the left until it is fully into the far eyelet.

** This will get the car moving again to drive home, but the pedal-pin will soon slide back out. Reaching under the trim and locating the end of the pedal-pin will mean you can make sure it stays fully in place while stopped at traffic lights, so you technically run the car like this indefinitely. Still this is by no means a long-term solution. **

---

REPLACEMENT:

** You will need 'Clutch Pedal Pin' BMW Part no. 35306761029. **

1. Remove the trim panel above the driver's footwell that surrounds the pedals using a T-20 Torx socket.

2. Remove the coin-tray / stow-box to the right of the steering-wheel by undoing the two screws in the upper corners with a T-20 Torx socket and lifting it out top edge first.

3. Remove the single screw holding the electronics module to the right of the pedal-box using a T-25 Torx socket, remove the module from its housing and rest it somewhere out of the way.

4. Slide the pedal-pin to the right until it is out of the pedal-box.

5. Remove the push-circlip from the lower side of the clutch return-spring using a small flathead screwdriver [the one at the end of the stud that attaches the spring to the pedal itself], slide off the plastic spring-mount and fully remove both springs. [**DO NOT attempt to replace the plastic pedal-pin with the spring still in place as it will likely damage the plastic pin!**]

6. Grease the new pedal-pin.

7. Manoeuvre the clutch pedal back into position by hand, so the metal bar at the top of the clutch-pedal is straight with the eyelet either side of it in the pedal box and slide the new pedal-pin in from right to left until it is fully clipped into the far eyelet.

8. Hold the spring assembly in position against the upper spring-mount and compress it by hand until the lower mount can be pushed back over the stud on the pedal. Replace the circlip.

9. Reverse steps 1-3.

---

'DIY' PERMANENT FIX:
If you can't get hold of a new pedal-pin, or if the new one snaps too [which is likely to happen in the end as the pedal-box wears], then a long-term solution can be fettled with a long bolt.

CAUTION: The original pedal-pin is plastic and therefore designed to snap before the pedal-box does. Strengthening it with a metal bolt MAY cause further damage to the pedal-box over time, particularly if the eyelets are worn or the clutch-wear problem is not addressed.

1. Remove the plastic pedal-pin, as above.

2. Find a long M8 or M10 bolt and nyloc-nut. The bolt will need to be about 6 inches long. Any longer and it will foul things under the steering-column, but it needs to be long enough to reach through both sides of the pedal-box and get the nut on at least half a turn into the nylon. A 'shank' bolt [smooth down the shaft and only threaded at the end] is the best type to use. A flat washer on either side is also recommended, thin nylon washers being even better.

3. Take the plastic pedal-pin and drill the hole down the centre out: 8mm for M8 bolt, 10mm for M10.

4. Grease and re-insert the plastic pedal-pin to the pedal-box.

5. Grease the bolt and slide it in from the left side of the pedal-box, so the bolt is entering the far end of the pedal-pin, until the threaded end exits the right side of the pedal-pin.

6. Fit the nyloc-nut, ensuring the thread is into the nylon by at least a half-turn, as the constant pedal motion will work it loose otherwise. DO NOT over-tighten or put stress on the pedal-box!

Thread I started about this on Bimmer-Forums - http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f15/2012-f10-530d-clutch-pedal-pin-snapped-twice-t494842/

E87 LCI: 1er Warning-light woes + dodgy pad-sensor. [How to reset.]

My boss Mike has been dying to get back on the Beemer wagon, so has surreptitiously gifted himself by getting his wife an E87 LCI 118d M-sport as a present. It was time to reset the service lights, which can be done using the 'trip reset' button on the clocks, like other modern BMWs, though with no iDrive the procedure is slightly different.

HOW TO RESET SERVICE DURATIONS:

1. Turn ignition on without depressing the clutch. [Key phase 2 on push-button models].
2. Hold the trip-reset [odometer] button on the clocks until a yellow triangle with ! appears.
3. Single presses of the trip-reset button will now cycle through the service menu options [service, oil, brake-pads etc.]. Stop at the one you want to reset.
4. Hold the BC button on the end of the left indicator-stalk until a clock appears next to the menu-icon on the dash. When the clock stops counting the service duration for that option is reset.

• A red icon is a service duration warning. An orange icon means it is overdue / there is a fault.
• A red/orange icon of the car in the air with a stand under it means there is a fault and it needs to go in to BMW [or get a scanner on it].
• If the handbrake light stays lit up after you release the handbrake then this means there is a fault in the brake system. If you know the discs/pads to be OK and the brakes are fine, then you have a dodgy pad-wear sensor.

PAD-WEAR SESNOR ERROR: [HANDBRAKE-LIGHT]

After resetting the brake-pad service indicator we noticed the mileage count had not reset. The icon in the service menu recommending the car be taken to a dealership [the car icon with a stand underneath] and interestingly, the handbrake light was staying on even with the handbrake released. After a bit of forum scanning it turns out the light staying on means there is a fault in the braking system or one is about to develop. This is common when pads / discs have been changed and 9-out-of-10 times it means a pad-wear sensor has been disturbed and thrown up a fault. If you know the brakes are working as they should then the warning message can be cleared with a scanner and probably wont return. If it does then a pad-wear sensor has failed [scanner will likely confirm this] and will need replacing. You can do both of them for about £10 and it's a really easy job - wheel off, 2 bolts and a push-fit - but if you're truly skint I believe there is a technique online somewhere to just twist some wires together and bypass them.

http://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23763

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=698040

E60: Split Vac-line, some boost, weird noises.

The turbo whine and lack of boost has persisted, so I took off the inlet-manifold again to check the vacuum-lines and found one has snapped off. Luckily, there was plenty of hose left to cut it down and push it back onto the T-piece. I re-checked every line twice against the diagrams on RealOEM.com and refitted the manifold, making sure the seals were super flush. Now when I fired up the turbo started making a ridiculous whoosh and dump-valve style hiss, as in the vid below. Some boost had returned too, though not as much as there should be and certainly nothing like the turbo sounded. Still, the vac-line repair did get a result, so it looks there could be life in the turbo yet.

There was nothing else I could do other than pore over the vac-line configuration, so I made this quick one-piece diagram to show the route of the four coming off the servo-pipe to save switching between several diagrams on RealOEM. I then started pulling vac-lines off in order to find the faulty area and, amazingly, managed to get rid of the whoosh/hiss and still have some boost. The turbo is still whistling though and there is not enough pull as you get over 2k rpm, so something is still amiss.

• Split vac-line to swirl-flaps - Low boost, quiet turbo-whistle higher up.
• Repaired vac-line - Some boost low down, cuts out higher up. Loud whoosh and hiss noise, turbo-whistle constantly.
• Vac-hose removed from wastegate - Low boost, quiet turbo-whistle higher up.
• Swirl-flaps and engine-mount vac-lines switched round - Some boost, no whoosh/hiss, constant turbo whistle, less engine vibration.

The diagrams do not make clear the route of the red/black striped hose on the right of mine. This turned out to be the N/S engine-mount and another scan of RealOEM.com revealed how they work in the pic below. I had wondered about a problem with the engine-mounts anyway, as there seems to be a lot more engine vibration than before, especially on tickover, so my next job will be to find the pipes that link the mounts together and check their condition. They all run through the subframe next to the steering-rack. M57N is a complicated vacuum arrangement.

E60: Opening Stuck Bonnet.

PROBLEM:
The annoying turbo whine from my previous post can only be heard while underway and not while stationary, so the bonnet is up and down for every bit of work and test drive. After several such runs, the O/S (driver's side) bonnet latch refused to open. Nearly an hour was spent with a helper pulling the bonnet-lever while I tried to push / pull / wiggle the O/S bonnet up, but it was stuck solid. The front bonnet lip on the E60 (and all modern BMWs) extends right down over the slam-panel / grille and the latches are a good 6 inches up inside it. It's impossible to slide something up through the gap between the rubber seal and pop the latch from outside, as you can with older cars, so I turned to the internet and eventually found a superb solution.

CAUSE:
Yes, this is quite a common problem with the E60, especially when you are working on it at home. The cable splits in two and a separate one runs to each latch. The end of the cable fits through an eyelet on the 'release-switch' and is kept under tension by a plastic collar that fits into a notch in the latch-frame. If the plastic collar pops out of the notch, cable tension is lost and the bonnet-lever simply will not pull the release-switch far enough. Removing the bonnet-lever reveals a plastic-cage with the cable housed deep inside, so yanking that further with a pair of grips won't do either. If you've been working on the front-end of the car and changed the location of the bonnet-latches / slam-panel, even slightly, then there's a high chance the collar will start popping out.

SOLUTION:
There are a few forum threads saying the latch can easily be opened from underneath the car, with the front under-tray removed. This is true, but the E60 engine-bay is so tightly packed there is a bit more to it than that. I have to give props to Kilty1 on forum.BMW5.co.uk, for his amazing guide, linked below:

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/87159-bonnet-release-not-working/

Getting to the latch requires removal on the front under-tray, both pieces of the O/S brake air-duct and the plastic inlet-pipe that runs to the air-filter. These can all be removed from underneath the car, as shown in Kilty1's guide. He used ramps, though I managed to open mine with the car raised a few inches on an axle-stand. Looking up with a torch, you will just see the latch next to the inner corner of the headlight.

Luckily, my brake duct, inlet pipe and tray were already off as I was working on the car, so I could get straight to the latch and will just show a couple of steps and pics from Kilty1's guide:

1. Reach up and slide a steel-rule or similar slim/flat object into the bottom of the latch, just to the inside of the right-hand spring-wheel [shown on the left in the pic, looking from front]. When the steel-rule is far enough in there should be a small clunk. Now slide the steel-rule quickly out and the bonnet latch should release on the O/S. 

2. The collar doesn't take much to pop out, so to stop it from happening again as soon as you shut the bonnet, wrap a cable-tie round the back of the collar and round through the gap in the steel-frame. It will be solid.

E46: New secondary air-pump - one last bash...

Thought I would have one ultimate stab at the E46 as it is such a nice car to drive and only let down by shabby bodywork, which I can do something about, and the super low idling problem, which apparently I can't.

I refitted the Vanos-actuator and checked for anything I'd disturbed under the inlet manifold, finding a loose wire connector which I clicked back in, though the CCV was all plumbed up fine. A replacement secondary air-pump and its hose / filter was £30 and the only thing now missing from the inlet arrangement. It took no time to fit, just two 13mm bolts holding it on and swapping the hoses over, but has still, alas, made no difference.

I've spent nearly £300 on parts to cure this engine of its fault, but nothing has done the trick so I guess I will have to call it a day and scrap her after all. Again a shame, as it has 9 months MOT and 4 months tax left on it. The running gear is sound, I sorted the brakes and the engine runs fine when underway, pulling well in all gears over 1500rpm. Handling is as sweet as any E46. The interior and exterior are in terrible nick, but thats nothing that couldn't be sorted with a day or two spent on it. That's only worth doing if the car is useable however, and it sadly isn't.

On top of the impossible low-idling, the handbrake-shoes have collapsed in some way and stick on completely in reverse with the handbrake off. This is probably from being used so much to stop the car while my right foot was still keeping the revs up, but is extra work regardless. A large M12 bolt holding one of the front shock-absorber struts broke while I was attempting to fit the coilovers months ago. I've been driving on it and the strut hasn't moved at all, but it too will need replacing at some point and removing the stud will be interesting. Inside the car, the fan for the heater/blower doesn't work and the driver's door card is missing, meaning no speaker or door handle. Exiting the car with dignity can only be done by lowering the window and reaching out for the other handle, but all these foibles I rather liked. Using it every day was a nightmare though and, with the 5-Series engine swap underway I just won't have the time and money to restore it, so I'm hoping I can get the £200 I paid for it back from a breaker. That means I'm down about £300 on the whole deal. I could make the £500 back and probably more by breaking the car, but I could really do with it out of the way quickly now so a loss it may have to be.

E60: Cracked lower timing-case - engine finished.

Yeah well that's torn it. Literally, torn it open. After all that effing about with the sump removal, finding the right piston and drilling off those snapped head bolts, I find a whopping great crack in the lower timing-case!

I wonder what caused this? Vibration from the swirl-flap doing its dance? High crankcase pressure from the dodgy piston? Who knows, but we can safely say that's where the oil leak was coming from!

It's a big enough job as it is to replace that single damaged piston, but to swap the lower timing-case as well involves stripping the entire front of the car, getting all the pulleys off and fully removing the crankshaft. Hmm, a lot of work and a lot more cost, this definitely calls for a replacement engine... Watch this space!!

The curse continues! 318ti blown head gasket! [E36K]

I don't believe this! Nathan has been using his E36 Compact for work this week while the wheels are off the 330 Clubsport. Yep, the same E36 I was about to borrow so I can get to work with the broken E46 and E60. It's been running like a dream while it's for sale, then this morning he gets 2 miles and the head gasket blows, then he runs round and dries home like a red arrows display, so it looks water related... why? its not like he was ragging it in eco mode. Drat!

It has a minor running fault as it is, where the engine cut out when the auto-box is put in 'D', probably the torque-converter. This I could have lived with, even the 'sport-o-matic' box, but more open-engine is out of the question I'm sure anyone would agree!

3 dead Beemers in 3 weeks! What is going on.

E60 is dead. Swirl flap!! Why?! Why didn't I remove them?!

Yes, it's happened. Owning an E60 wouldn't be complete without it... No. 4 swirl flap has broken and been sucked headlong into the engine!

This is the start of a big thread I can tell...

I pulled away in 2nd on my way home and the engine let out an almighty clunk and then started to sound very dead. I managed to get home on 3 of the 6 cylinders [duh duh duh, duh duh duh :)], but the lump is finished. Spent Thursday and Friday nights ripping the cylinder-head off it and the result is not good. The inlet valves on cyl-4 are stuck and the swirl-flap has been sucked so far into the head that I can't reach it unless I drop the valves out. That sounds like a job for someone else... As for the block, cylinders 5 and 6 are full, literally FULL of neat diesel. Ooh dear.

I started this thread on BMW Land - E60 530d sudden rough running / misfire? - with the verdict of swirl-flap or injector, but now I've thrown some pics up of the cylinders peeps have gone a bit quiet. I will have to do an engine post-mortem.

It is now I should mention I have recently got hold of a 51-plate E46 318ci, which I will detail a bit in another post as it really in bad shape. This thing was going to the crusher and I saved it saying I could use parts off it, the wheels alone are 17" MV2 copies and they're worth at least a ton. The owner just gave me the car for free and said I'd done him a favour. Once I got it home I found it to be running fine! The running gear and suspension is also in good shape, it just had seized brakes. I started re-conning the callipers, fitted 4 new discs and bought a second-hand master-cylinder as the old one was just pumping air and air alone. With this little lot on there is brake-pressure, but now I can't bleed them as the nipples are well seized!

What a difference 7 days can make! Now I'm stuck with a road-legal, but completely dead 5-series and a running 3-series with no tax. If I can get the nipples off this E46 then I will throw 6-months tax on and start using it, but really, this was not the Beemer switch I had in mind!

E60: Second fault already... Front Parking-sensor!

How ironic! Just as I put paid to the E39's rear parking-sensor issue, a front sensor goes on the E60... they do seem to be temperamental little things those same sensor-units used from the E38 up until 2008 - they can be working fine one moment and then just fail over night!

 A few years ago one of my company directors had an E65 730Li, which started to spend a lot of time in our workshop under diagnostic. He blamed CANBUS issues and his symptoms were the car's electronics having a mind of their own, then as soon as one fault was rectified another would pop up straight away. I'm guessing the E60 uses the same technology as the E65, so can be forgiven for thinking mine might have the same issue seeing as the 'PDC' (parking-sensor) error came up the second I turned the key after fitting my new sidelight bulb...

Blown fuse?

The first thing to check, but mine wasn't blown and chances are yours won't be either, it's never the fuse with these BMW parking-sensors. The fuse is No. 21 in the glove-box, a green 30A.

Wet control-modules?

The sensors then fixed themselves for a day or two and then gave up completely, leading me to believe it was not just a failed bumper-unit. I hear on forums that intermittent PDC problems can be caused by a small amount of water being let in to the spare-wheel well while the boot is open and, without any drain holes, this can pool right where the PDC control-module is. Just a drop in the wrong place can cause erratic PDC behaviour and the module is fitted right at the bottom of here wheel-well, a bit of a design flaw, but it's only casually fixed in place on long wires so it's a good idea to move the module to a higher piece of ground somewhere else in the boot. I'll be putting up a guide for this as soon as I get round to it.

Broken sensor?

Yes. Those with vast experience tell me in 99.9% of these cases it's simply one of the bumper-sensors has thrown its hand in over night, which renders the entire system inoperable, as they work in a sort of daisy-chain. The only way to check which sensor is at fault is to kneel down at the front and rear of the car and put your ear to each sensor. As they work on a sonar principle the working sensors should emit a (pretty loud when your close) clicking sound. When you find the one that isn't clicking, that's your duff sensor - a lot easier than plugging the car into a diagnostic! 

Sure enough, all my sensors were clicking away save for one - the front driver's-side centre one, ironically one that happens to be located under the headlight I removed to sort the parking-light issue, so I can perhaps see what happened there. It's too much of a coincidence for that sensor to fail right at that point in time, so it looks like I've disturbed something or allowed water into the back of the sensor somehow. I gave the wires to the sensor a good wiggle and traced them back to the loom, but still nothing, so got straight onto eBay and bought a replacement sensor. It's pre-painted in Titan-silver, having been pulled off an '04 E60 and was £33 delivered. This was a bit more than the E39 sensor, but I know it's the right part and it's still a lot cheaper than the £125 from BMW, plus the 2-3 week wait and fitting charge.

REPLACEMENT PROCESS:

For Front-Centre Sensors:

** This couldn't be easier. The official procedure and internet forums recommend removing the 'bumper-skin' to replace the middle-front sensors, which is basically the whole bumper. This is totally unnecessary! You can get to them through the lower grille and don't need to have tiny hands or be double-jointed. This is for non-M-sport bumpers, I assume the larger mesh-grille on M-sport models is attached from behind and would need the bumper to come off, but if it is detachable then this would be even easier. **

1. Remove the black plastic grille-bars from the lower grille by unclipping the horizontal bar from the lug at either side. This is done by lifting the bar and pulling it forward. The vertical bars simply pop off.

2. Reach into the grille aperture and up towards the corresponding sensor, you will feel the wires about 5-inches up.

3. Remove the wire-connector by pressing in the clip at either side and the plug should easily wiggle off.

4. Remove the parking-sensor from its mount by wiggling it from behind and slowly pulling it towards the rear of the car. At the same time, gently apply pressure to the exterior-face of the sensor with your thumb. Once it is about 2mm into the bumper it should slide out easily.

5. Push in the new sensor from behind, ensuring it is the right way up - that is with the single small lug and wire connector at the top (12 o'clock) - then plug the wiring connector back in and replace the grille-bars.


For Front-Corner Sensors:

1. Remove the headlight that is above the corresponding parking-sensor by referring to Steps 1-6 of THIS GUIDE.

2. The parking-sensor is located just beneath the outer corner of the headlight and is easily accessible from above. Refer to steps 3, 4 and 5 of the above guide to replace.

E39 530d: Air-Con Drive Belt Snapped - Fixed, now heatwave over...

With the recent heatwave I noticed my air-conditioning appeared to be struggling. It must have been over a year since I last stuck it on full snowflake mode and I know these things fade-off, but it had been working fine, so before I shelled out the £40 or so to get the system re-charged with gas, I figured I'd check the pipes and filters to make sure nothing was clogged up, as everything else had been round MOT time. Apart from a few errant sycamore seeds the system beneath the filters was like new, so a quick peer down the front of the engine showed the real culprit - the drive-belt had snapped and was wrapped like a snake, almost out of view, around a radiator hose.

I was surprised there is no warning-light on the dashboard or the climate-control unit for this, as there is with the alternator-belt, the air-con simply stops and the system functions like a normal blower/heater. With British summers being the way they've been, the belt may have been snapped a year or two ago and I've been totally unaware. It took our recent heatwave, and this is the first time it's been anywhere near 30 degrees for 5 or 6 years, to decide something was actually wrong. I think the most likely cause is all the time I spent running the car with the compressor turned fully off while the battery was in poor health, the constant resistance snapping the belt.

Naturally I would have gone straight to BMW for an OEM belt, but it was 2.30 on Saturday afternoon and they'd closed for the weekend, so I hit up Euro Car Parts, who had the right belt in stock at their new branch which is less than 2 miles from my house. It's an OEM quality part, made by Continental and came to £9.84, so I can't really complain!

PROCESS:

I fitted the belt in about 30 minutes, without raising the car, removing the fan or even moving it onto the drive, using a quick and dirty method, which is fine for the air-con belt, but wouldn't work for the main drive-belt covered in this post.

1. Remove the front-piece of the engine cover [the slim one covering the PAS-fluid filler] by undoing the two bolts on top and one down the left-hand side using an M4 allen-key.

2. Undo the six fastening lugs for the front engine-undertray using a crosshead screwdriver, bend the tray back, free the leading edge from the front-bumper and lower it out of the way.

3. Place the new drive-belt over the two main pulleys from above and wedge the belt over the tensioning-pulley so it doesn't slip off and can be accessed from beneath the car.

4. From below the engine, hold the belt in place at the tensioning pulley and use a 16mm ring-spanner to rotate the tensioning-pulley downwards on its spring-bracket. [An open-end spanner will slip off easily and there isn't quite room for a ratchet-handle without removing the fan.]

5. Push the belt over the tensioning-pulley so it forms a 'pair-of-glasses' shape, as shown on this page of RealOEM.com. Ensure the belt is still in place over the two main pulleys, it may take quite a bit of rotating the tensioner to achieve this, and release the tensioning-pulley.

6. Refit the engine-cover and undertray - you're done, cold air!

E39 530d: Drive-Belt Bracket snapped!!

How very unfortunate - the bracket holding the guide-pulley for the auxiliary drive-belt has sheared clean in two and rendered the car undriveable!

As I started the car on Friday afternoon there was a crunch from the engine. It started up OK, but the battery warning-light came on and I lost power-steering. Assuming the drive-belt had snapped I ordered a new one and started to take the broken one out, which turned out to be involved in itself as you need to remove the fan-cowl for access, and the fan with it! Once I got to the belt I noticed it hadn't snapped after all, but it would not sit tight around the pulleys.

That's when I noticed a pulley was missing and sure enough there it was lying in the floorpan with the bolt still through it, attached to a torn piece of metal. Worrying that the chunk was part of the block itself I continued to dismantle the front of the engine until I found the culprit. Luckily its a metal dog-leg bracket that bolts on to the engine-block to hold the pulley in place and it unbolted easily enough. I guess the shock of another cold diesel startup made it give way, or the PAS-pump struggled to right the wheels on the gravel I was parked in and put too much strain on the belt.

Either way, it appears to be a common enough fault that new brackets aren't hard to come by - the cheapest and easiest place in this case is, surprisingly, the BMW dealerships themselves. I rang BMW WIlliams in Liverpool this morning, giving the part number (7 in the below diagram) and they said it would need ordering but will arrive this afternoon so fingers crossed as the car is off the road.

I'll get back with the results and a full How-To guide soon!

No.	Description	Supplement	Qty	From	Up To	Part Number
01	RIBBED V-BELT	5 PK X 2063	1			11287787369
02	Belt tensioner		1			11282354130
03	Torx screw with collar	M7X38	2			11517789351
04	Adjusting pulley with lever		1			11282354131
05	sealing		1			11282247187
06	Flange nut	M6	1			13537801713
07	Bracket		1			11282248561
08	Hex bolt with washer	M10X70 ZNS3	1			07119903817
09	Hex bolt	M10X125	1			07119900630
10	Roll pin		2			11282247435
11	Fillister-head screw	M8X35 ZNS	2			07119901027

Diagram and info from realOEM.com [http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DL82&mospid=47545&btnr=11_2318&hg=11&fg=18]

E39 530d: Replacing the Camshaft Position Sensor [M57]

About four months after I bought the car it suddenly refused to start after having been turned off for about 20 minutes, even thought it had started fine on the short trip out. The starter motor was turning but the engine wouldn't fire. It started after about 30 minutes so I assumed it was because the car was low on fuel and the problem didn't return for a number of weeks.

When it eventually became regular I noticed that it only seemed to be when the car was left to cool for a while. The car would start fine from cold every morning or soon after being turned off, but left to cool for half an hour and the engine was dead for, at the very least, 4 or 5 hours.

Asking around on forums brought up several possible culprits - a fuel-pump, most likely the pressure-pump under the passenger seat, low fuel-pressure caused by, at the worst, a cracked injector (gulp), or an engine-position sensor on the camshaft or crank.

After a while we took a guess at it being a sensor, as the car would sometimes start after being rolled a little while in gear, which seemed to rearrange the engine and get the sensor going again. Thankfully I eventually got some diagnostics, which confirmed it was indeed the camshaft-sensor.

It was tricky to diagnose, but if you have the same symptoms then this is the first thing to look at. The replacement sensor I got from eBay wasn't too cheap either at £60, but its a brand new part and guaranteed.

Removing and refitting the sensor couldn't be easier:

1. Remove the beige centre-section of the engine cover by first undoing the single bolt to the rear with an M4 allen-key and then pulling it up towards the front until it comes away from the stud at the front.

2. Unplug the camshaft-sensor by pressing the latch of the clip inwards and sliding the wire-connector off the sensor.

3. Remove the single screw securing the sensor in place using a T10 torx-head wrench.

4. Gently twist and pull the sensor clear of its base on the cylinder-head.

5. Insert the new sensor into the cylinder-head, remembering to replace the old rubber O-ring if it doesn't have a new one fitted, and make sure it is well seated before replacing the torx-head screw.

6. Reverse steps 2 and 1.