| Steinbauer Project! The BMW 635 CSI |
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14 March 2014: Replaced front struts
First step and part of your homework is
to remove that center cap with a flat tip
screw driver
to remove that center cap with a flat tip
screw driver
Next step is to generously spray oil
(WD40, silicone, etc) on the bolt in the
center a few days prior to the removal.
When you get ready to do the job,
loosen that 19mm nut while the strut
tower is still in place.
(WD40, silicone, etc) on the bolt in the
center a few days prior to the removal.
When you get ready to do the job,
loosen that 19mm nut while the strut
tower is still in place.
Next steps are self explanatory and do not require pictures. Remove the brake caliber (19mm) and hang it up to avoid strain on the brake
lines. Remove the rotor. Remove the ABS Sensors (Allan Wrench). Remove the sway bar stabilizer link (17mm). Remove the three bolts on
the bottom of the strut tower (17mm). Remove the top bolts (13mm). The strut tower should now swing out.
lines. Remove the rotor. Remove the ABS Sensors (Allan Wrench). Remove the sway bar stabilizer link (17mm). Remove the three bolts on
the bottom of the strut tower (17mm). Remove the top bolts (13mm). The strut tower should now swing out.
Once the spring is compressed enough, you can remove the top piece with the
bearing in it. I cheated and used vise grips to hold the center piece so I could
unscrew the nut (19mm). No problem there since I am removing this piece.
There is a cover piece that also needs to be unscrewed to remove the strut insert.
bearing in it. I cheated and used vise grips to hold the center piece so I could
unscrew the nut (19mm). No problem there since I am removing this piece.
There is a cover piece that also needs to be unscrewed to remove the strut insert.
I cheated again when I was releasing the springs when I held this piece in place with the vice grips. To reassemble
just use reverse order
just use reverse order
10 April 2014: That stupid little retainer with the spring came lose again and it was very noisy when I drove. Since I was there already, I
replaced the rotors. Wound up drilling the stupid Allen head screw that holds the rotor in place out since it was all messed up. I don't think I will
ever put those stupid screws in there since they really do not have an essential function.
23 April 2014: Talk about fooling yourself or being fooled by the car? I started to hear strange clunking or tapping noises every now and then.
Upon closer investigation I thought the noise came from the alternator. What really supported the thought was that I took the belt of the
alternator and the noise was gone. The only other thing that is driven by this belt is the water pump and I thought that there could be no bearing
in there that could make that kind of noise. So I swapped out the alternator since I had an extra one that is still good. Once that was all said and
done the noise continued. While the engine was running I looked at the belt and even though the belt was tight it vibrated a lot. I turned the
engine off and inspected the fan mount. Turns out that the screws were lose and one was missing completely. Tightened that up and that took
care of the problem. Good thing that it is not such a PITA to swap out the alternator.
25 April 2014: The odometer stopped working. Since the speedometer is still working I will check this when I have the time for it.
24 May 2014: Today I checked the transmission fluid and it seems to be adequate so I did not add any fluid. While I was in the garage and it
was nice and warm I decided to check out the speedometer assembly. As I got the assembly out I checked it over and noticed that I very small
wheel was broken. I disassembled the spare and noticed that on that speedometer assembly in the spare has the same problem. I looked at an
old speedometer that I cannibalized earlier for some gears and was happy to see that the little gear I needed was still in there and intact. I was
able to pry that little gear out and just press it into the original speedometer assembly for Fritz. Put everything together and could not wait until
tomorrow morning and did a test drive. So I drove in the pouring rain. All works fine! I did not feel like messing with the gears to add 1,000 miles
so we are just 1,000 miles short. (Detailed Instructions)
replaced the rotors. Wound up drilling the stupid Allen head screw that holds the rotor in place out since it was all messed up. I don't think I will
ever put those stupid screws in there since they really do not have an essential function.
23 April 2014: Talk about fooling yourself or being fooled by the car? I started to hear strange clunking or tapping noises every now and then.
Upon closer investigation I thought the noise came from the alternator. What really supported the thought was that I took the belt of the
alternator and the noise was gone. The only other thing that is driven by this belt is the water pump and I thought that there could be no bearing
in there that could make that kind of noise. So I swapped out the alternator since I had an extra one that is still good. Once that was all said and
done the noise continued. While the engine was running I looked at the belt and even though the belt was tight it vibrated a lot. I turned the
engine off and inspected the fan mount. Turns out that the screws were lose and one was missing completely. Tightened that up and that took
care of the problem. Good thing that it is not such a PITA to swap out the alternator.
25 April 2014: The odometer stopped working. Since the speedometer is still working I will check this when I have the time for it.
24 May 2014: Today I checked the transmission fluid and it seems to be adequate so I did not add any fluid. While I was in the garage and it
was nice and warm I decided to check out the speedometer assembly. As I got the assembly out I checked it over and noticed that I very small
wheel was broken. I disassembled the spare and noticed that on that speedometer assembly in the spare has the same problem. I looked at an
old speedometer that I cannibalized earlier for some gears and was happy to see that the little gear I needed was still in there and intact. I was
able to pry that little gear out and just press it into the original speedometer assembly for Fritz. Put everything together and could not wait until
tomorrow morning and did a test drive. So I drove in the pouring rain. All works fine! I did not feel like messing with the gears to add 1,000 miles
so we are just 1,000 miles short. (Detailed Instructions)
28 May 2014: It was great while it lasted! Odometer stopped working after about 100 miles.
31 May 2014: Went to U-Pull to look for a speedometer cluster. Not that would have a 6 series car but loking with the cross reference showed me
that the BMW 735 and BMW 733 had the same speedometer, odometer, and SI board and U-pull had a few 733 andf a 735 in the yard so off I
went and got me one cluster. Off course I opened it first and inspected all the gears and they looked fine. Now I did not want to mess with those
gears so I just transplanted the speedometer assembly. Since they cannot be adjusted and the 733 had 33,000 miles less on it, I just annotated
that on the back. Not that I ever plan on selling Fritz but it is just for the record.
25 July 2014: Early Birthday present! Kris got me a new windshield! The old one was fixed 5 times and pitted beyond normal. No idea how old
that one was but it was time. It hurts really bad driving into the sun and at night with oncoming traffic!
26 July 2014: Installed the new fog light and to make matters even more difficult I installed a new Oxygen Sensor. I was 20,000 miles behind
schedule and that old o2 Sensor was backed in and a pain in the muffler to get out. In the pictures you can see that it was time! Fritz has now
261,000 miles in it. The new sensor is supposed to last 50,000 miles.
31 May 2014: Went to U-Pull to look for a speedometer cluster. Not that would have a 6 series car but loking with the cross reference showed me
that the BMW 735 and BMW 733 had the same speedometer, odometer, and SI board and U-pull had a few 733 andf a 735 in the yard so off I
went and got me one cluster. Off course I opened it first and inspected all the gears and they looked fine. Now I did not want to mess with those
gears so I just transplanted the speedometer assembly. Since they cannot be adjusted and the 733 had 33,000 miles less on it, I just annotated
that on the back. Not that I ever plan on selling Fritz but it is just for the record.
25 July 2014: Early Birthday present! Kris got me a new windshield! The old one was fixed 5 times and pitted beyond normal. No idea how old
that one was but it was time. It hurts really bad driving into the sun and at night with oncoming traffic!
26 July 2014: Installed the new fog light and to make matters even more difficult I installed a new Oxygen Sensor. I was 20,000 miles behind
schedule and that old o2 Sensor was backed in and a pain in the muffler to get out. In the pictures you can see that it was time! Fritz has now
261,000 miles in it. The new sensor is supposed to last 50,000 miles.
23 August 2014: As I was driving home from work last night I was hoping that whatever causes the puff would or should die. As I accelerated to
get on the highway the engine actually started cutting out and I lost power. Managed to get to the next stop light and noticed that the rpm rose and
fell constantly but the engine threatened to die under load. Once I raised the rpm and let the clutch out it actually started to go, hesitant but it
went. I barely made the last few blocks and got home.
This morning I tried again and the car started with the rpm at normal. I drove around till the engine warmed up and the problem started all over
again. I switched out the relays and there was no change. Next I tried the ICV and that did not change. Last thing I tried was the FPR and voila,
that did the trick. I still had the problem with the puff of smoke so I also swapped out the AFM and the puff could not be recreated. Keep your
fingers crossed! After I was done with everything I washed and cleaned the car inside and out. Tomorrow is a BMW drive to Bishops Castle
24 August 2014: So the drive did not work out since the folks from the BMW Group here in Colorado Springs thought they need to race down
I-25 and I did not feel like it. Here are some pictures of my excursion instead
get on the highway the engine actually started cutting out and I lost power. Managed to get to the next stop light and noticed that the rpm rose and
fell constantly but the engine threatened to die under load. Once I raised the rpm and let the clutch out it actually started to go, hesitant but it
went. I barely made the last few blocks and got home.
This morning I tried again and the car started with the rpm at normal. I drove around till the engine warmed up and the problem started all over
again. I switched out the relays and there was no change. Next I tried the ICV and that did not change. Last thing I tried was the FPR and voila,
that did the trick. I still had the problem with the puff of smoke so I also swapped out the AFM and the puff could not be recreated. Keep your
fingers crossed! After I was done with everything I washed and cleaned the car inside and out. Tomorrow is a BMW drive to Bishops Castle
24 August 2014: So the drive did not work out since the folks from the BMW Group here in Colorado Springs thought they need to race down
I-25 and I did not feel like it. Here are some pictures of my excursion instead
6 September 2014: Still trying to find out what causes the puff of smoke. Fritz was running really rough the last week and I discovered that some of the
connectors are lose, especially the temperature time switch (#9 in the picture below. I bent the connectors a little to make them fit tighter and also cleaned the
parts that are in the coolant.
connectors are lose, especially the temperature time switch (#9 in the picture below. I bent the connectors a little to make them fit tighter and also cleaned the
parts that are in the coolant.
Replaced the Pittman arms that Rick gave me in the back.
I am still thinking about replacing the harness since the plugs are all in good condition.
The odometer died on me again. Guess this time I order new gears which should last a lot longer.
I am still thinking about replacing the harness since the plugs are all in good condition.
The odometer died on me again. Guess this time I order new gears which should last a lot longer.
20 September 2014: Switched out the old catalytic converter. The old one from Eastern Catalytic sure was a piece of garbage that rattled like crazy. The
new one is a Bosal which works a lot better! The Odometer started working again. May have stopped while working its way over 230,000.
27 September 2014:
Switched out the injectors since
#5 did not want to work right.
See picture
new one is a Bosal which works a lot better! The Odometer started working again. May have stopped while working its way over 230,000.
27 September 2014:
Switched out the injectors since
#5 did not want to work right.
See picture
15 November 2014: This week has not been my week! First we had snow and ice on 11 Nov 14
where, on the way to work became victim of a patch of ice on the last curve and hit thew curb, bent a
rim, and broke a weld. Then, since there was a lot of ice with salt on the road I went to the car wash to
wash off the salt with the pressure washer. On the way back I saw steam coming out of the engine
compartment. Turns out my heater control valve (Part #1)busted just like in 2008. I have to say that
the used valve lasted 6 more years and that is not too bad. Funny that they always break on the same
spot. I checked with my favorite Auto Part Store but they did not have that part. Did a search and
found three different places where I could get the part. I really felt adventurous and ordered from
Husker Auto Group - 6701 Telluride Drive - Lincoln, NE 68521. I'll let you know how that went. I usually
do not order from places that I don't know but there is always a chance that things work out well. We
shall see.
where, on the way to work became victim of a patch of ice on the last curve and hit thew curb, bent a
rim, and broke a weld. Then, since there was a lot of ice with salt on the road I went to the car wash to
wash off the salt with the pressure washer. On the way back I saw steam coming out of the engine
compartment. Turns out my heater control valve (Part #1)busted just like in 2008. I have to say that
the used valve lasted 6 more years and that is not too bad. Funny that they always break on the same
spot. I checked with my favorite Auto Part Store but they did not have that part. Did a search and
found three different places where I could get the part. I really felt adventurous and ordered from
Husker Auto Group - 6701 Telluride Drive - Lincoln, NE 68521. I'll let you know how that went. I usually
do not order from places that I don't know but there is always a chance that things work out well. We
shall see.
17 November 2014: Turns out that they did not have the part either and I cancelled the order and went back to BavAuto who not only sent the part a lot
faster but they also matched the price. It still took over a week for the part to arrive since they did not have it in stock either. Part is installed now and all is well.
24 December 2014: Merry Christmas! Rick got me a new coolant overflow tank for Christmas!
Car parts make good Christmas presents.
03 January 2015: Happy new year! Today I installed the new overflow tank and also
swapped out the Throttle Position Sensor since the idle was not what I would have liked
it to be. The other TPS lets the car idle in a satisfactory manner.
12 March 15: It was time again to replace the Center Support Bearing. I also changed the flex disk on the drive shaft. Still have to figure out where the slight
vibration comes from.
13 June 15: Did a valve adjustment at 236,670 (odometer reading).
27 June 15: Replaced the front drive shaft bushing since this was where the vibration came from and mostly helped Rick fixing Heidi's transmission for Mike
23 September 15: There was a moment when I thought that Fritz turned into a "Christine". Radio started playing sometime in the middle of the night and from
that moment on I was unable to turn if off completely. Even when I turned it off at the switch, the back light stayed on. The best way to remedy that issue was
to pop the face plate off which I did from then on. It actually became more obvious that there is a bigger problem when I went through the hassle and replaced
the light bar on my OBC (On Board Computer) and it stayed on. In the process of putting the dashboard parts back in I bumped into the windshield washer
switch and the wiper turned on without the ignition switch on. That led me to believe that the ignition switch is the problem. Ordered a new switch and tried to
put it in. Before I went through the trouble in taking out the steering column I just disconnected the switch (Should have done that before I ordered) and
everything still worked. I posted that problem on the Colorado Classic BMW page on Facebook and someone suggested that it may be the hazard light switch.
How crazy is this? Yes, it was exactly that! Had a spare that I popped in and sure enough, radio and all the other items turned off when I turned off the
ignition. Now the sunroof stopped working. It is not the fuse so it has to be the relay. Oh Joy!! Tackle that issue later
faster but they also matched the price. It still took over a week for the part to arrive since they did not have it in stock either. Part is installed now and all is well.
24 December 2014: Merry Christmas! Rick got me a new coolant overflow tank for Christmas!
Car parts make good Christmas presents.
03 January 2015: Happy new year! Today I installed the new overflow tank and also
swapped out the Throttle Position Sensor since the idle was not what I would have liked
it to be. The other TPS lets the car idle in a satisfactory manner.
12 March 15: It was time again to replace the Center Support Bearing. I also changed the flex disk on the drive shaft. Still have to figure out where the slight
vibration comes from.
13 June 15: Did a valve adjustment at 236,670 (odometer reading).
27 June 15: Replaced the front drive shaft bushing since this was where the vibration came from and mostly helped Rick fixing Heidi's transmission for Mike
23 September 15: There was a moment when I thought that Fritz turned into a "Christine". Radio started playing sometime in the middle of the night and from
that moment on I was unable to turn if off completely. Even when I turned it off at the switch, the back light stayed on. The best way to remedy that issue was
to pop the face plate off which I did from then on. It actually became more obvious that there is a bigger problem when I went through the hassle and replaced
the light bar on my OBC (On Board Computer) and it stayed on. In the process of putting the dashboard parts back in I bumped into the windshield washer
switch and the wiper turned on without the ignition switch on. That led me to believe that the ignition switch is the problem. Ordered a new switch and tried to
put it in. Before I went through the trouble in taking out the steering column I just disconnected the switch (Should have done that before I ordered) and
everything still worked. I posted that problem on the Colorado Classic BMW page on Facebook and someone suggested that it may be the hazard light switch.
How crazy is this? Yes, it was exactly that! Had a spare that I popped in and sure enough, radio and all the other items turned off when I turned off the
ignition. Now the sunroof stopped working. It is not the fuse so it has to be the relay. Oh Joy!! Tackle that issue later
