E30 Zone

just got my cab a few weeks ago im trying to sort my light adjuster out . i took it apart and found two vacum pipe not connected to the switch so i traced it back to the headlamps but could not see where they would go. The pipes are disconnected on the headlamp side as well but cant see any connection.

i have never seen an operating set of these. would love a guide on how to fix them

They are not vacuum pipes; they are hydraulic pipes. They have leaked and cannot be successfully repaired.
There are only two fixes: 1/ Replace the whole lot with a new one from the dealer (about £70, IIRC).
2/ Fit modified electric adjusters from an E34.

o.k but where do the headlight ones go

These can be fixed, one of the pipes on my car cracked at the headlight adjusters and allowed the fluid to leak out, don't know what type of fluid is origionally put in there but I used an antifreeze mixture, same as goes in the engine. If you haven't got the patience of a saint don't read any more of this. Remove the adjuster from the dipped headlight, pull the central piece out ( 1/4" very strong spring in there )and hold it out with either snipe nosed pliers or mole grips. Get a syringe and fill it with the anti-freeze, you must make sure all the air bubbles are out, it helps if you heat it a little with an air gun to get all the bubbles out. ( remember patience ) Now the pipe, top it up with anti-freeze, it seems to help if you use one of those little tubes/pipes you get attached to the side of a can of WD40, stick that down inside the dipped beam tube and inject the anti-freeze in. If you only lost a little fluid it's easy, if you have lost a lot it's a pain in the ass to fill that tube and have no air in it. Assuming you have now filled the tube and the adjuster I suggest you cut 1/2" of the end of the tube so that the tube will be a really tight fit on the adjuster, add some glue, push the tube onto the adjuster, be carefull not to spill any of that anti-freeze. You can now use the control inside the car and see the adjuster move in and out. If it only moves a tiny little bit you've left some air in there. So when you have finished swearing you can start again?
Of course you can just go to the dealers and get a whole new kit for £170+VAT

HenryM3 wrote:These can be fixed, one of the pipes on my car cracked at the headlight adjusters and allowed the fluid to leak out, don't know what type of fluid is origionally put in there but I used an antifreeze mixture, same as goes in the engine. If you haven't got the patience of a saint don't read any more of this. Remove the adjuster from the dipped headlight, pull the central piece out ( 1/4" very strong spring in there )and hold it out with either snipe nosed pliers or mole grips. Get a syringe and fill it with the anti-freeze, you must make sure all the air bubbles are out, it helps if you heat it a little with an air gun to get all the bubbles out. ( remember patience ) Now the pipe, top it up with anti-freeze, it seems to help if you use one of those little tubes/pipes you get attached to the side of a can of WD40, stick that down inside the dipped beam tube and inject the anti-freeze in. If you only lost a little fluid it's easy, if you have lost a lot it's a pain in the ass to fill that tube and have no air in it. Assuming you have now filled the tube and the adjuster I suggest you cut 1/2" of the end of the tube so that the tube will be a really tight fit on the adjuster, add some glue, push the tube onto the adjuster, be carefull not to spill any of that anti-freeze. You can now use the control inside the car and see the adjuster move in and out. If it only moves a tiny little bit you've left some air in there. So when you have finished swearing you can start again?
Of course you can just go to the dealers and get a whole new kit for £170+VAT

If this actually works,which im not doubting it does,then it would make a good tech article for the zone.
Maybe you should consider doing a write up with pics etc and PMing to a mod?
Sure theyll be others who could use it?

Hell Brian, My dealer quoted me £170.

I had the receipts from the previous owner who had them replaced on my Black 318iS before i bought it

From memory the parts were around £80, Henry I think Woods were having a laugh!!!

Nice write up though, i might have to have a go at fixing my ones on the tourer now!

Cheers Mark, I done both of mine about 3 years ago, I need to re-do one as the headlight adjuster has leaked, every time I go to Trents none of the cars are fitted with them. It's only a matter of time till I pick one up. I'll bear in mind about photo's and an article when I get round to doing it.

IF you know where the leak is, I suppose it's possible to recharge them - until the next leak!
Overall the electric conversion is easier!

Funny to see this post, I was just about to ask the same question. Great to see an answer. Will deffinately have a go when our car (325i cab) comes back from it service.

Any reason you didn't pick up some hydraulic fluid of the sort in hydro-gas suspension (HenryM3)? I assume your mixture was antifreeze & distilled water.

Did you have to do any calibration? e.g. Did you set the adjuster (in the dash) to the correct normal position before filling it up?

Cheers,

Frank

Yes it was distilled water: The dash adjuster is set to 0 or normal position which, when finished leaves your lights as high as the headlight adjusters will allow. As you then fill up the back seat or boot with fat people and operate your in car adjuster, it adjusts your lights downwards. Hope this helps.

Cheers mate, thanks for the tips. Think i need to do a full re-fill on ours though. There's a project for a sunny day...

Brianmoooore wrote:IF you know where the leak is, I suppose it's possible to recharge them - until the next leak!
Overall the electric conversion is easier!

Is there any info on the electric upgrade or is it quite simple guys?

Fit modified electric adjusters from an E34.

I thought about doing this a while ago when I saw the adjusters on my friend E34 but I was sure about the switch as it would be nice to keep the e30 one. What did you do, do you have any pictures?