1984 BMW E24 M635CSi

[Saadie]

fish eye? dani i would assume that you would recognize that this is beemer's eye

hes talking about the lense 

[Slusbe]

Thanks guys, I really look forward to having a proper shoot done, when the car isn't like a zitface ridden dirtbag 

I actually think, at least in that photoshoot, the dirtiness is fitting. Given the surroundings anyway (semi-urban decay).

On the other hand, having something absurdly clean in a dirty setting can create a pretty dynamic contrast of elements.

The fisheye / wide angle looks great btw

[Stoffie]

Thanks I do have a weakness for half-dirty cars though, so I think it looks pretty cool too!

When the weather picks up, I'll try to do some nice shots of a clean car, just for contrast  

On the 'what's happening with the car' and 'to do ' note:

- installed new deluxe Lloyds floormats
- received batteryless SI board, that's going in soon, as are new bulbs for the dashboard illumination
- installing some new front suspension components to solve clunky sounds
- replacing braking fluid, as well as all weird looking hoses under the bonnet that could pose a problem in the future
- revising heater valve
- buying new rims: either 17in Alpina's or 16in BBS RS style 5's
- ordered spare key

Broke the 3000km barrier this week, and it's been a blast up till now!  

[Thamar]

I do have a weakness for half-dirty cars though, so I think it looks pretty cool too!

Depends on the car, some cars have to be clean, others can be a bit dirty...
The clio had to be clean, a dirty red car looks horrible. The volvo on the other hand, the longer you wait cleaning it the cleaner it gets

[Stoffie]

I love my Russian Bigcoupe ! 

[Stoffie]

So today I gathered all my courage and started with the disassembly of the instrument cluster, to replace the Service Interval board and exchange all the bulbs for new ones.

Need to do quite some prep work before you can actually take out the cluster:

- remove steering wheel (couldn't since I lacked the right size tool)
- take out driver's seat
- remove kick panel under steering wheel
- loosen and lower steering column
- disconnect temp sensor, electric windows' safety switch, and gong
- disconnect and remove check controle module
- remove blanking plate between cluster and HVAC
- unscrew cluster
- remove a bunch of connectors, bulbs and cables, can't really see what you are doing so need the ETM to put things back where they belong afterwards
- remove lightswitch and fog light switch light bulbs + connectors
- finally get the wiggle the whole cluster out, damn!

From then on, things got easier. Take apart the whole cluster, put in new bulbs, take out old SI board, put in new batteryless one, fiddle with the connectors a bit, and put it all back together.

Also found out that the lightbulb for the ABS light had been mistakingly put somewhere else on the cluster (I had been wondering before what the green warning light without any pictogram on it meant at startup), so corrected that.

After putting it all back together, I found out the left bulb for the speedo didn't work, aaargh, so had to take some stuff out again to correct that (bulb wasn't turned in far enough to make contact).

After putting it all back together for the second time, everything was working great!

No more annoying SI lights, inspection and oil service lights flashing, simply a green bar extinguishing after a little bit, and a nice and bright dashboard backlight!

After taking the cluster out, a gaping wound...





Cluster without the SI assembly



Old SI board



New SI board



Put back together


And...success!

[Slusbe]

pics no worky for me

[Thamar]

Stoffie, pay your hostingbill

Nice work, what is that SI-board actually?
Any audio changes yet?

[Stoffie]

Not my fault, cluster my account is on, is offline 

Si board is the brains behind those green/orange/red lights that tell you when to go to service (or give you an idea of how long you have left) but the old ones have rechargeable batteries on them, that go bad after a few years. So got a remanufactured one without batteries.

No audio changes yet. Coming up in the following months

[Stoffie]

Got my car back from the shop on friday.

- braking fluid replaced
- power steering fluid replaced
- fuel injectors cleaned & benchtested
- bunch of front suspension elements replaced + alignment
- power steering hoses replaced + misc other oil & vacuumhoses
- fuel pumps & filters checked & ok
- fanclutch replaced
- null battery cable replaced
- shifter coupling mechanism & rubbers replaced
- coolant reservoir + sensor replaced
- additional air slide valve checked & reconnected (loose connector)
- heater valve for interior heater replaced
- new extra key (which didn't fit, apparently at some points the locks on the car have been changed)
- ordered new gaskets for the door opening mechanism

The car is completely transformed. Engine has never run smoother, pulls so cleanly and strongly (even though it was great before, it's still that much better), I'm loving it. Handling is also much improved, as I found out on the twisty turnd of the Ardennes' backroads  

And the slight cooling issue I had when stuck in traffic jams, is now also resolved, as my fanclutch was failing, thus not cooling sufficiently when not driving at speed.

Touched 200km/h a couple of times on an empty stretch of freeway, on the way and on the way back to and from the Ardennes, didn't want to go too crazy on speed, considering the tires it is on, and me being only an unexperienced driver 

Did about 140-150 for the most part, and managed about 11l/100km for the whole 500kms, which isn't bad considering the fun factor

[Thamar]

Any news yet?

[Stoffie]

Nope.

Car died on the freeway doing 120, no shuddering, no stuttering, just went out like a candle.

Still under investigation at the shop, there's no power to the fuel pump, so could be a relay, DME fried or malfunctioning (could also involve the air flow meter), dead fuel pump or priming pump, or cabling issues.

They requested an M635 ETM at BMW's offices, but no response yet, so I figure this is going to take a while...

[ARMAN]

it will be some silly failure but would need a pro to find it prbbly

[Stoffie]

Not so silly really. Been three weeks, no solution yet.

This is going to be one NICE bill 

[ARMAN]

 

[Stoffie]

And here we are, almost two months gone by, and today they have finally been able to reliably determine the cause of the problems.

Apparently the AFM finally seized, being the main cause of all the rough running problems, coupled with an intermittent ignition switch, causing starting problems.

Parts have been ordered, and car should be back on the road somewhere next week. AFM + ignition switch = almost 1000€  

While it was sitting there, I also ordered the front lip to be resprayed.

It's going to be so good to have her back, I can't wait!  

As a precaution, I will be carrying a spare ECU, main & fuel relays, and CTS in the trunk. Driving a classic, always an adventure  

[Stoffie]

Finally got my car back last thursday, after 9 weeks 

I made a list recently of all the things that have been changed/renewed, and all maintenance. Wow, what a list, several pages long 

Repair bill was over 3K this time, but it was all worth it. She drives beautifully once again, and it seems even the sound got a slight upgrade, with a subtle extra note in there.

Here's some pics of today (car not washed, taken with cell phone)

[ARMAN]

Stoffie you really need to consider a different set of wheels for it, those are classic bmw but they downgrade the looks of that marvelous car its no 628A afterall

[Stoffie]

Well dude, they are the correct and original metric TRX wheels though. And those did not come on a 628A, trust me

But as a new 240 TRX tire is over 500€, I will change them in the future anyway (but not yet, they still have lots of thread).

I have been looking around for a nice set of staggered BBS RS 16 or 17in wheels, or a staggered set of E39 BBS RC 035/090. Still haven't made up my mind  In my mind those are the only wheels that look good on a sixer. Not going to put some lame AC Schnitzer crap on it, nor OZ's 

[Thamar]

Gangster beemer
I imagen the list also being several euro's heavy