M30 air intake manifold

Thanks, Bill. I will do exactly this. I'll keep you posted. Here is a photo of the car.

Looks ok. You might consider a transmission fluid and filter change, too. You'll only be able to change half of the fluid due to half being in the torque converter, but it will make a difference. Considering the price of a new trans plus labor, you decide. I did my '98 528i in about an hour. You're lucky in that you have a fluid dip stick, the 528i did not. It shouldn't need special fluid either.

Bill in Omaha '86 535i

I don't think so - they actually run on solid paraffin (kerosene) strangely enough that's why they are called "solid booster rockets"

Yes, actually you are correct. I should check on my facts a little better. NASA did early experiments with liquid fuel and considered using liquid fuel to replace the more dangerous solid rocket fuel after the Challenger disaster. NASA has worked with other space programs in developing the liquid fuel, though such as Russia and with Japan and their rocket technology. Considering the dangerous nature of solid rocket fuel with the equivalent power of liquid fuel, I think the liquid fuel is a more robust choice, and NASA should switch back ASAP.

You guys are hilarious. The boosters use a mixture of potasium permanganate and aluminum, embedded in a special type of rubber.

All you have to do is read the Wikipedia entry on SRB.

FloydR

I wondered what they did with old tyres (tires)

"Floyd Rogers" wrote

Why I wrote "potasium permangate" when I meant "ammonium perchlorate" is beyond me.

FloydR

Well Floyd - have a cup of coffee on me!

I noticed that there is a timing belt missing. It connects from the main rotating mass which houses all of the belts to the rotating mass at the bottom right front of the engine. I am guessing that this runs the a/c unit because there are hoses with deteriorated foam casings on this side of the engine, and the a/c controls inside the cockpit are not functional. If I simply put this belt on and let 'er rip, what would happen?

The A/C belt (to the compressor). It may have been removed to prevent parasitic drag from a component that a) isn't needed at the time or locale, b) needs recharging to be useful and owner couldn't afford it, or c) belt just came off (unlikely). At best the A/C will work, at worst it will not. Maybe the charge leaked out due to cold or bad seal. Judging from the snow in the pic, you don't need the A/C anyway. I've had my A/C belt off since last August in Omaha.

Bill in Omaha '86 535i

Actually, the *WORST* that could happen is that the compressor is frozen and will cause the belt to break, possibly stall the engine, or the friction might cause a fire and destroy the car.

FloydR

"Bill" wrote

There have been cases (mostly in the SW) where the compressor froze and the belt broke, which caused the engine to overheat, because the brilliant designers of US-made autos only use one belt for everything - a/c and water pump.

Thank heavens for German engineers.

FloydR

I can see where the intake manifold is leaking. Right at the 6 connections where it meets up with the engine block the seals have stripped away. Looks and feels like cardboard now, but I'm sure they were originally a yellow coloured rubber of some sort. I haven't done any work on the car yet except unplugged the ICV while the engine was running to determine if the ICV was contributing to the rough idle (I mean the car is shaking, man), but this had no effect, so I will have to replace all of the hoses and the spark plugs, but first I will reseal the air intake manifold. Any idea on how to change the spark plugs without taking apart the engine?

The spark plugs are on the passenger side of the engine. You are looking at the injectors. You'll need to remove the intake manifold to replace the gasket. I believe there is a support bracket and 12 nuts. While you're at it, get the injectors cleaned. They'll be easier to remove when the intake is off the engine. The six spark plugs take about 30 minutes to change. Check here:

Bill in Omaha '86 535i

Octane is an ALKANE, not an ALKALINE.

Damn faux chemists ...

-- C.R. Krieger (Been there; done that - as a chemist)

Hi Bill. Believe me, I have memorized the diagrams on that site. Thank you. Do I just pull the suppressors off the plugs and then unscrew the plugs out? Lucky for me the ignition wiring is all brand new! Thats a couple hundred bucks right there, and if the rotor is also new, then damn doobie scoobie, I paid only 300 which is less than the cost of just these components alone! With regards to the injectors, do they just screw out as well? I plan on using Simple Green for cleaning everything in the engine. Stuff is awesome, I used to use it to clean injection molds back in the day. Advantage: You can drink the stuff if you were thirsty and it would supply vitamins to your body, and yet it would clean the bejesus out of anything (except glass, but they have one variety of Simple Green for glass now)

"noobiedoobie" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@o40g2000prh.googlegroups.com...

Yeah, the plug boots just pull straight off. Just don't overtighten the new plugs. The injectors are best removed with the intake off the engine, just in case a pintle cap pops off an injector (it would fall onto the valve below and become an expedition to get it out!). Just a safe bet. The injectors just push into the intake and are held in by a rubber o-ring. The fuel rail runs across the top of the injectors and is held to them by an o-ring and a U-clip. I use a small screwdriver or long-nose pliers to get these off. Sometimes you can just use fingers if they're long enough. The fuel rail is bolted to the intake by 2 10mm bolts (on mine). Don't forget these or the rail will not move up enough to get the injectors out. The space is very tight under there, so be careful of dropping a clip. I have a full spare set from the junkyard, just in case. This all can be done without removing the intake, BUT... the whole job is easier if the intake is off the car. You will have to disconnect the fuel hose from the fuel rail (spillage) and the harness from the injectors (mark the injector number first!). I believe the harness will disconnect below the manifold and the injector harness will come out attached to the injectors. Be carful to label the other harness connectors on top when you disconnect them from sensors and senders. Otherwise, you'll get funny readings on the cluster when it all goes back together. This can be time consuming, but saves a lot of anguish. Plus you'll get the added benefit of making sure the thing is sealed right the first time. I'd replace all the intake-to-head gaskets (6 of them). If one is gone, good bet others are going. I did all this on an m20 325is. WHAT A BITCH doing it on the car! I replaced all 6 injectors on my '86 535i, intake on the car, in less than 45 minutes. Your big issue is the #6 intake gasket replacement.

Bill in Omaha '86 535i

I claim the effing spelchecker - ALKANE is not in general usage in everyday language---------------- Oops