Advice requested from those of you who have successfully checked camber at home

Just anecdotal evidence, but brake line replacement seems to be much more common in the past 15 or so years. I had the lines of my 5 year old Buick corrode. I know others that had to replace them on 5 to 8 year old cars.

Either new snow removal materials are being used or the lines are thinner, or both. This suppoerts it

Connecticut auto mechanics told the I-Team they are concerned over a recent rash of rust and they blamed the need for so many rust-related repairs on the way cities and towns in the state treat the roads during winter storms.

The I-Team heard it at the Vernon Collision Center where they said, "everything just seems to rust. Five or six years ago, we didn't do nearly as many brake lines as we're doing now."

It was the same story at the Canton Gulf, where the I-Team heard, "I've been here 35 years and in the last three or four years we've done more brake lines than I have in the first 30 years."

I think you have a misunderstanding of total toe. It is simply Right wheel toe plus Left wheel toe. I don't see why it needs to be measured, if you have set left and right, total toe is just the addition of the two angles. See the explanation on page two, in the verbiage below the top left figure. >

All your draws use the centerline of your tire, which you can't physically do. I would use the outside of the wheel, however, when you get your adapter with laser built, the line will be further out from the wheel edge. Here's my vision. Feel from to make your own drawing, Paint wouldn't modify yours the way I wanted.

Mikek

Yes. That's why they specify toe directly as an angle. HTH. Cheers, -- tlvp

Silly, it's specified in degrees because it's measured in degrees. HTH.

John Harmon posted for all of us...

I know the answers as I have done alignments in the past.

You have repeatedly been given excellent answers without learning.

I think you are a troll and are polluting this thread. Why don't you go over to a BMW group? They are probably not as patient as we are.

I will post what you consider is drivel since you are a troll. I am glad you are the arbiter of this news group, keep up the lousy job.

I suggest that all this trolls "questions" have been answered many times and any more replies be treated as such, but that's just me.

John Harmon posted for all of us...

Doesn't seem like it from your postings.

You sir, are the troll, asking the same questions repeatidly without learning.

Overhauls?

German 'engineering'?

No you don't you know it all.

That's good then take it to email, I hope Scott has time to deal with you.

Scott it sounds like you know vs the troll.

So now you are using the tailpipe for coitus?

First of all, if you'd had a competent BMW mechanic, he would have replaced it before it failed.

Secondly, when it DID fail, he would have looked at that and at the hose underneath it as the first things that cause leaks into the throttle body.

Thirdly, if he didn't know any of these things, it should have taken him less than five minutes to find the leak with a can of starting fluid. There is ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE for someone to bring out the smoke machine for that sort of leak unless they are trying really hard to find ways to bill their customers for something.

This is an EXACT example of what I am talking about when I say that doing maintenance is cheaper than doing repairs.

If you have it on full, the transistor is completely turned on and so there is less heat being generated in that configuration. However, if you have to worry about what position of the heater puts less stress on it, something is wrong. Put a retrofit one in there and it won't fail.

ABS I don't know about... but everybody knows about the loom so everybody wraps it. If yours wasn't wrapped, it will fail.

Likewise the headlight assemblies can be replaced with European spec ones in some cases, which don't fail. It's only the wacky DOT ones for the American market that are an issue.

I just rolled over 360,000 miles on the new car this afternoon. Should have it at 400,000 before 2018 starts.

--scott

Rather disappointed I didn't get a response. Mikek

I think he's fighting with a cheap harbour freight tire changer now. If it's not him it's his identical twin brother (perhaps by a different mother) If not the same guy, their understanding of the principals is about the same level of non-existance.

Yes, it is an odd discussion and, because of that, one that I have been loath to become involved in. FWIW, back when I was doing wheel alignments, and lots of them, Toe was always designated as a 'linear measurement', usually in fractions of an inch for most of the vehicles that I worked on, and it was never an issue. The equipment I used, from the very basic to the most sophisticated computer types, had both linear and degree scales so the issue in this thread is really a non-runner. What's more, there always seemed to be some sort of conversion chart on hand, supplied by the equipment manufacturer, so there was never a need to deal with trig functions. Failing that, these days there are internet options of which I supplied the URL to one such in a past post.

This is dead wrong. Everyone knows that hack. It doesn't work for the E39. It might have worked for 1970's era cars, but not the E39. There just isn't any change in the engine speed no matter where or how or what you spray on the underside of the plenum. The leak is just too slight and the difference in engine speed too slight and the chance of getting the fuel from the plenum to the plugs too slight.

If you're just spraying and not poking and prodding that's likely true, and a lot of less severe hose cracks won't get found that way unless you are pulling and stretching on the hose as you're hitting it.

But the plenum is easy, you just squeeze the body and shake it back and forth. Of course, likely you won't even need the spray because it'll come apart in your hands.

You are definitely right that the E39 is a lot more of a pain to find leaks in than the E30 and earlier vintage cars and more sensitive to smaller leaks. Sometimes the smoke machine IS needed. But sometimes you should be able to look at the plenum and see cracks and just replace the damn thing whether or not it's leaking, because you know it's going to start leaking soon.

--scott