PDA

View Full Version : odors from vents


wildvan
03-26-2003, 10:28 AM
Has anyone ever gotten a really bad smell out of there ventalation system when it is first turned on. Seems to happen when recirculating the air, The odor does clear up after a few min, not sure if I am getting a freon smell, hard to identify, and no I dont live by any farms...... I would like to try to identify this before taking it into the shop..
Rahul325
03-26-2003, 10:47 AM
time to change ur AC microfilter.
bdub
03-26-2003, 01:26 PM
I agree. Sounds like the microfilter. If you don't know what that is, it probably needs changing anyway.
If your 325 is an E36 and you are flexible, I recommend Brett's instructions at www.koalamotorsport.com, which allows the filter to be changed without removing the glovebox.
I think the dealer gets about 30 bucks for one.
v.b.
03-26-2003, 04:12 PM
Originally posted by bdub
I agree. Sounds like the microfilter. If you don't know what that is, it probably needs changing anyway.
If your 325 is an E36 and you are flexible, I recommend Brett's instructions at www.koalamotorsport.com, which allows the filter to be changed without removing the glovebox.
I think the dealer gets about 30 bucks for one.

how to install filter without removing the glovebox?? :95
buttuh
03-26-2003, 04:17 PM
I gotta get me a new filter too. It smells really bad when I turn the air on. That link doesn't seem to work.

*edit* nm.. the comma
buttuh
03-26-2003, 04:22 PM
Ok according to that instruction, you gotta break a bunch of things on the way out. Not sure if I want to do that.
C///M
03-26-2003, 04:27 PM
You're just breaking the filter. I've heard that the filter is designed to be broken that way to ease installation and removal.
buttuh
03-26-2003, 04:43 PM
Please confirm that this is the filter in question:

http://img.eautopartscatalog.com/live/R206052587FEB.JPG
v.b.
03-26-2003, 04:46 PM
how the hell can you install the filter without removing the glove box??

http://logun.org/images/e36info/microfilter/filter.gif
Rahul325
03-26-2003, 05:11 PM
if u read the instruction on koalamotorsport, u will see that he asks u to break the filter casing and in 3 places to remove and do the same with the new filter except be carefule and not to break the filament while putting it in.
vroo//M
03-26-2003, 05:55 PM
I can testify that this procedure is a PITA. Took me over an hour to do.

My mechanic did say that he can get it done in 5 mins, just by removing the kick panel and reaching in.
RanGer498
03-26-2003, 05:59 PM
http://www.koalamotorsport.com

he mada a mistake on teh link before here you go!
v.b.
03-26-2003, 06:07 PM
http://www.koalamotorsport.com/tech/e36/e36.microfilter.htm
bdub
03-26-2003, 07:01 PM
Thanks to those who are more html literate than I.( re: bad link)

As with most DIY jobs, it takes a lot longer the first time.

I don't know if the method I proposed is the easiest way. I can only report that it works and is minimally intrusive. Links to easier methods will be met with great rejoicing, I just don't see how?:dunno

buttuh, that does indeed appear to be the filter in question.
Mine had some sort of fungal community thing going.
buttuh
03-26-2003, 07:04 PM
I will actually try to do it without removing the glove box. Just ordered the filter at bimmerparts so it should arrive in a few days.
C///M
03-26-2003, 07:15 PM
Buttuh-

Yep, that's the filter. Mine was already broken (I guess dealer install for the P.O.), and my new one snapped while I was trying to install it (even taking the glovebox out). The "breakaway" parts of the filter seem pretty delicate, so it makes sense that it's made to break to ease installation and removal.

Even with taking the glovebox out, it's a PITA. Too many electrical connectors in the way (it's a nest down there).

Depending on how long it's been since your filter was last changed, you might want to have a vacuum cleaner handy, and you might want to be wearing a dustmask. A little "waterfall" of dust came pouring out when I started to pull my filter, and the cloud of dust started me choking. After 65k miles, I guess it's to be expected. I have a feeling the PO's dealer didn't have a very diligent service group. Granted, this should have been my second filter change, but they hypothetically know what they're doing...
buttuh
03-26-2003, 07:19 PM
Hm.. good thing you brought that up. The car has 135K miles on it and I have no idea when the it was last replaced if at all.
C///M
03-26-2003, 07:23 PM
Ugh. Are you getting any air flow at all?

The first time I turned on my heater after replacing the filter: "Whoa, so this is what the air flow is supposed to be like...wow, and it's getting hot!"

You may want to call your local police and get the hazardous substances unit over there to take care of disposal for you. Or maybe the local university's biology department, since you may have spawned new life in there. :D
bdub
03-26-2003, 07:29 PM
Mine was pretty bad also, especially considering I did it 2K miles after an "Inspection II" by my local dealer, whose gross negligence is documented.:(

Of course, we must not discount the possibility that some critter crawled into wildvan's car and died...
buttuh
03-26-2003, 07:44 PM
Aw man.. why you gotta bring up dead animals?

Yeah I'm still getting air flow.. I think. But it's totally unbearable when I turn the air on. The smell is sooooo bad that I have to crank open all the windows. I sure hope the filter is the culprit because it's BAD....
C///M
03-26-2003, 07:58 PM
Yeah, mine was smelling pretty raunchy before I changed mine. I thought I had airflow, too, but I just never knew what airflow really was... Full blast used to feel the way 1/3 fan speed does now.

Speaking of dead animals, I walked around Boston today. Between walking to the train station, around Boston, and back home from the station again, I must've seen 5 or 6 dead squirrels. What's up with that?
buttuh
03-26-2003, 08:04 PM
Uh oh. Ran over or just lay dead? I'm all paranoid with this chemical weapon thing.
C///M
03-26-2003, 08:10 PM
Originally posted by buttuh
Uh oh. Ran over or just lay dead? I'm all paranoid with this chemical weapon thing.

Dead on the sidewalk. I almost stepped on two of them. They were awfully flat, though. I wonder if they died in the street before the snow started falling, spent the past couple of months frozen in snowdrifts (which get pushed up onto the sidewalks by plows), and just recently thawed out as the last of the snowdrifts melted? Just a guess.

At any rate, I'm not dead. My being alive by itself may not be a comfort to anybody, but at least I'm not dead from chemical weapons.
///M LIFEŠ
03-27-2003, 04:40 AM
I just changed my micro airfilter it was filty. It is also a PITA if its your first time.
dave is cool
03-27-2003, 05:38 AM
Whenever I turn my AC on last summer, it smelled bad for like a few minutes, then was normal. Do you think this is the problem?
hal9000
03-27-2003, 06:00 AM
Originally posted by v.b.
how the hell can you install the filter without removing the glove box??



Did mine about a week ago in about 15...only PITA was the alarm led cable running there.

Basically:
1) remove kick panel
2) remove a/c vent
3) Open filter cover
4) Replace filter (remember to snap it into thirds)
5) Replace filter cover
6) Replace Vent (the only real PITA getting it aligned right)
7) Replace Kick

Without the alarm wire, you can easily do this in about 10 min.