Steinbauer Project!
The BMW 330Xi
BMW 635 CSI Useful Links
26 Feb 2002: Niko rolled off the assembly line in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany.
No idea what happened between then and now. Actually, somewhere in this time someone changed Niko from automatic to standard transmission.
16 May 2019:
Ownership of Niko changed over to the Steinbauers
Here is the change I got when I
cleaned Niko inside and out. The
change was $4.63. Below is what Niko
looked like after a bath! She needed
one for sure. First fill up revealed
23Mpg which is not bad at all!
1 June 19: First order of business is adjusting the parking brakes. Desperately needed since the car still rolls
when the parking brake is pulled.
20 July 19: Actually did the parking brake adjustment and it was not as easy as it looked in the video! Once I
figured out what to look for it was a little easier.
Jul 2019: Had an alignment done and bought new tires, Including an oil change so nothing out of the
ordinary, just maintenance.
Jul 2020: Started to get vibrations at higher speed and blamed it on the output shafts in front. Bought some
replacements since I knew that the CV boots were busted when I bought the car. What I did not know was how
long and how dry those CV joints may be. Those output shafts have been sitting around in the Garage for
some time. Last weekend, 24 October I felt the strong urge to do that task. So I got started and Rick showed
up to help. As he laid under the car, he told me I needed new tires. When I looked at the rear tires, I realized
why he said that (see pics)
Yikes! This is what can happen
when you hit a pot hole and the
alignment gets out of whack!
Good thing we were able to take
care of this. Both pictures are the
same wheel from the passenger
rear. Some people asked me why
I did not see this. You tell me, this
is sort of subtle, isn't it?
28 Oct 20: Had an alignment done at 169700 Miles. New tires are on order and I'll make it a point to rotate them more often in the future.
24 Nov 20: Front differential died and needed to be replaced.
20 Mar 21:
Did an oil and air filter change at 173,000
18 Mar 23: Decided I better keep track on what I am doing. At 192,000 I changed the oil and filters, had the tires balanced and rotated, and had an alignment done.
16 Feb 24: I know it has been a while that I added something but there was nothing major going on. Routine maintenance. But about 3 weeks ago Niko started up real rough after I fueled up at Murphys. First I thought it was bad gas and added Injector cleaner. I switched the ignition coils around and that did not make any difference. Yesterday I wanted to switch the spark plugs and when I took out #4, I noticed that the plug was dry and even had very little rust on it. The rust, as I thought actually came from the injector additive. I then decided that I am going to switch the injectors (only #1 and #4). The #4 had a lot of gunk on it so I cleaned it up and put it all back together. Still runs, when only a little rough. A lot of improvement and I ordered new injectors which I may put in on Monday afternoon. Now I switched out all the injectors and now the fuel pressure does not stay on. Looks like the issue is with the Schrader Valve, That peg is sitting in off center and may be losing pressure that way. I tightened the cap super tight and it now holds pressure a lot longer than before,
4 Mar 24: Drove to work and it ran just fine. No codes whatsoever.
5 Mar 24: Had the check engine light come on but no problems in the performance
6 Mar 24:.Actualy checked the codes and it gave me P0175 The Engine Control Module (ECM) detects too much fuel and not enough oxygen in the air-fuel ratio (AFR), resulting in the P0175 code.I also have error code P0128 which indicates that the engine coolant temperature is below the thermostat regulating temperature.. I cleared the codes which could still be the aftermath of the faulty coils I had. I am not concerned about the P0128 at all.
8 Mar 24: Still have a nasty leak in one of the tires. Took that one to Discount Tires since they do fix flats for free. Well, not this one since it is too worn on the outer edge New tires are in order then. This caused me to think that it may be better to just get another car. Based on the features that Niko has and what's available I think I just fix all the issues that Niko has:
- Radiator leak
- Thermostat (it is stuck in the open position but since all the coolant is drained I may as well replace)
- Needs also an alignment and if, and only if Pep Boys are right) Lower Control arms and tie rods. We'll see!
15 Mar 24: We had a nasty snow storm that pretty much did not allow me to do things in the garage in comfort. Guess I am getting to the age now where you just don't want to do things in the cold if it is not urgent. Niko remained untouched so far. I am off on 18 Mar 24 and may get to it if the weather is nice enough. We'll see.
16 Mar 24: Had some time in the afternoon and it was warm so I took on the fuel filter. Laying on my back and looking straight up made me nauseous and somehow I keep forgetting. Got it done anyway but needed the rest of the day to recover, Odometer reading 202,000.
18 Mar 24: Today is the day when I take on the radiator and the thermostat. It was a lot easier since I have the electric fan and did not have to mess with belts and all that good stuff. replacing the thermostat was not an issue at all but the radiator! Boy, I say boy was that a pain in the neck! First one hose did not want to come off so I left that on the radiator attachment for the overflow tank. That worked out ok with a lot of "basket waving" Then it turned out that the replacement was not as thick as the original which prevented me from putting the bottom attachment on but I got it to work.
19 Mar 24: Had the car checked for the control arm bushings and the tie rods that prevented Pep Boys from meeting their obligation to do an alignment and, nothing wrong!! The competent technicians at Midas suspected that it was actually the grease on one side where Pep Boys did not want to get their hands dirty (my words not Midas). Scheduled an alignment for Friday with Midas to see how that works out. More later!
22 Mar 24: Four wheel alignment was done on all 4 wheels without a problem! Shows that Pep Boys just does not want to honor the lifetime alignment!
Basically, at 202,000 Niko had a complete tune-up. New sparkplugs, coils, and injectors. Also a new thermostat and radiator.
15 Jul 24: Steering was getting harder and harder to do so I decided that it may be time for a power steering flush. Turns out that I was too late, The pump has died.
19 Jul 24: Ordered a new pump and a filter for the power steering.
20 Jul 24: At 205,000 miles I replaced the power steering pump, the filter, and the fluid. Sounds so easy to replace this. The pump is mounted with three bolts and you have to remove the hoses, If you have really, really skinny hands and finger, yes why not. There is not a lot of room. Now I did notice that there were still the original clamps on there which makes me believe that this has never been done on this car.
Started to develop a windshield washer fluid leak, Now I know why! This is or rather was the pump for the headlight washer which is larger than the windshield washer pump,
