few service questions to ask.....and wiper motor?????

Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:47 pm

my car dosnt have much in the way of service history so want to give the car a good going over........
just performed a service on my car, changed oil, oil fliter, air filter, coolant, spark plugs, fuel fliter.

what else can i do or get a garage to do if its above my technical skill to keep the car on top form, she is very tempermental when cold so anything that may help this aswell would be great

thanks

Mon Aug 27, 2007 12:57 am

injector cleaner, engine flush? use about a tank of ultimate fuel to clean it out, it won't make any difference to power though,

you could also do your valve clearances, there is a guide in the articles section.

Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:01 am

car in question is? tempermental? cuts out?rough idle?

cambelts are easy enough on M40's and M20's but chain jobs not so DIY on M42's

Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:07 am

youve done all the main bits of a full service there, just have a good nosey round it to check for anything falling off it etc. maybe brake fluid change, gear/diff oil change etc.

"a tank of ultimate fuel to clean it out, it won't make any difference to power though" a higher octane fuel doesnt make any difference????? of course it does. even my 320i feels smoother and more pokey with a dose of optimax/ultimate.
its been proven on many a rolling road session with identical cars!

Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:08 am

Simon13 wrote:car in question is? tempermental? cuts out?rough idle?

cambelts are easy enough on M40's and M20's but chain jobs not so DIY on M42's

sorry its a 316i, you have to use alot more revs when its cold to stop it stalling than if its warm, maybe its just because its old but i suspect that should have nothign to do with it............

then haynes manual said it was a full 5 spanners so i dont know if id be happy attempting that myself

Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:48 am

mr heinz says its five spanners......... better steer away from doin that job...... sounds like a sausy one........

Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:54 am

snoops wrote: you could also do your valve clearances, there is a guide in the articles section.

the guide is only for 6 cylinder engines will it be the same on the M40??

Mon Aug 27, 2007 10:44 am

how old is it as M40's have hydrulic (sp) tappets, i'd just check your spray bar isn't blocked

Mon Aug 27, 2007 12:00 pm

yeah checked in haynes also for this and says that the M40 engines have automatic valve adjusters.......how do i check the spray bar (sorry for the stupid questions but ive not had much experience with engines)

Mon Aug 27, 2007 12:05 pm

Also i attempted to get the wiper motor out today to give it a clean but cant for the life of me figure out how to get the motor through the bulk head as behind the sound insulation is solid metal and the haynes manual or guide on here are no help...........any ideas this is where i got stuck, am i just being an idiot or what???

Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:12 pm

murran wrote:youve done all the main bits of a full service there, just have a good nosey round it to check for anything falling off it etc. maybe brake fluid change, gear/diff oil change etc.

"a tank of ultimate fuel to clean it out, it won't make any difference to power though" a higher octane fuel doesnt make any difference????? of course it does. even my 320i feels smoother and more pokey with a dose of optimax/ultimate.
its been proven on many a rolling road session with identical cars!

it wont make a difference unless the car is remapped to benefit from high octane as the car doesn't have knock sensors it wont be any faster than usual with ultimate. the car probably feels smoother as it is cleaner

which identical cars do you mean?

Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:32 pm

yeah checked in haynes also for this and says that the M40 engines have automatic valve adjusters.......how do i check the spray bar (sorry for the stupid questions but ive not had much experience with engines)

Remove the rocker cover (just 8 or so bolts), then remove plastic valve cover (just pulls off) and the spray bar is there going across the cam. Mark the centre bolt with a scratch as the oil flows through this bolt into the bar so it needs to be lined up. Either replace it or just soak it in de-greaser and blast it through with compressed air.

Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:48 pm

arcdef wrote:Also i attempted to get the wiper motor out today to give it a clean but cant for the life of me figure out how to get the motor through the bulk head as behind the sound insulation is solid metal and the haynes manual or guide on here are no help...........any ideas this is where i got stuck, am i just being an idiot or what???

I've just done mine

You need to remove the panel on the bulkhead to the left of the fuse box.Yours has that round cylinderical thing bolted to it,that will need to shift out the way to.

PS wear gloves,I cut my hands to ribbons doing this job