My 850i's story

[JimmyBones]

Hello guys!

I recently picked up this beautiful 850i manual from Omar, another forum member.




Shortly after getting my E32 750iL I wanted one of these cars bad. Especially with a six speed manual because that automatic in my 750iL just put me to sleep. It was so smooth and effortless when compared to the rest of the manual cars that I had before that I knew the manual is what I wanted.

It took a while because I had to go back to page 17 of my photobucket account but I found a picture of both of my E32s together. The one on the left is the 1993 740iL and the one on the right is the 1989 750iL.


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Now that I have the introduction and pictures out of the way. I need to get the 850 through Virginia emissions and state inspection so I have some questions for you guys. Prior to me buying the car Omar did a lot of work to it in this thread.

Since I am going to get the emissions tested next week lets start on the state safety inspection for some quick questions. Currently the red "BRAKE" and Check lights come on the dash intermittently along with the message BRAKE ASSIST INACT. After downloading a copy of the owners manual I see that means the system sees a loss of pressure in either the brake or power steering systems. Which is odd because I don't feel the brake pedal or steering change. The previous owner Omar did a lot of repairs on this car in the brake and power steering systems. When I was buying the car from him, he mentioned something about a bad pressure sensor or two. I searched on Bavarian Autosport to find two sensors listed: a fine thread sensor on the side of the pressure regulator and a course thread sensor on the top of the pressure regulator. What do you guys think?

I also randomly see a red "CHECK ENGINE" light on so I hooked up my code reader to it - I think you call it a Peake tool but my dad got it from Bavauto.com years ago. The code was for a lambda sensor so I ordered both oxygen sensors since in another thread here another member posted a great deal on Amazon.

There is a vibration when driving at highway speeds that is much more noticeable when braking. Before driving it I put on the last hubcentric ring that Omar couldn't get on since the lug nuts were on there tight. Unfortunately the vibration is still there so I ordered upper control arms and lower wish bones with spherical bearings from wokke along with his version two engine chip set. Hopefully that solves that.

There is a fuel smell that doesn't bother me but needs to be fixed. I was a Audi technician for a few years so I don't even notice the smell of gasoline anymore which scares me at times. When I looked at the fuel lines coming off the fuel filters I saw they are pretty cracked and I am guessing the two rubber lines behind the intake manifolds will also need attention.

Lastly, I expect it to be a PITA but does anybody have any helpful advice or links for replacing a heater core on my car? Also I noticed there is a heater control valve after scrolling through different parts site. Is that something that I should worry about?

[8eights]

Welcome to the Madness, Omar is a good man, Congrats! Do a search on "Heater Core", You'll get more pictures and info on how to and how it's more time consuming than anything, Do get rid of that fuel smell, Could be as simple as a loose line or one that has swelled and need replacing, No need for a fire! Lots of fuel pressure, So you might want to track that smell down, Plenty of info on where to look and how to replace here on the fourms.

[ByMW]

The "lambda sensor" code from the Peake code reader is not necessarily due to bad O2 sensors - any condition that causes rich or lean combustion that the motronics can't adjust can throw that code. In my case it was a failed MAF.
I have the Wokke control arms - love them!
Heater core is a long job; no short cuts that I know of.
"Brake assist inact" can show up whenever the boost pressure is low - could be a blocked pentosin filter or (more likely) a weak hydraulic pump. Make sure fluid is full and belts are not slipping...
Enjoy the car!

[Ahmed303]

There is a fuel smell that doesn't bother me but needs to be fixed. I was a Audi technician for a few years so I don't even notice the smell of gasoline anymore which scares me at times. When I looked at the fuel lines coming off the fuel filters I saw they are pretty cracked and I am guessing the two rubber lines behind the intake manifolds will also need attention.

Jimmy,

I have some extra (Leftover) BMW Fuel injection lines that i ordered when I did my engine top end work. You are welcome to them. I will be working on my car a little this Saturday late morning and you are welcome to come by and I can give your car a quick once over and help you with the Fuel lines. PM me if you are interested and I'll give you my address.

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I also randomly see a red "CHECK ENGINE" light on so I hooked up my code reader to it - I think you call it a Peake tool but my dad got it from Bavauto.com years ago. The code was for a lambda sensor so I ordered both oxygen sensors since in another thread here another member posted a great deal on Amazon.

Have you tried to do a Stomp test?

[JimmyBones]

Thanks guys.

8eights, after spending time at a BMW scrapyard in Detroit MI I have learned that it is required to keep a fire extinguisher in one of these cars because of the fuel lines and alternator cable. That is one of the things that I need to pick up fairly soon. I will search about the heater core in a little bit. Since it is getting warmer out that is not a big deal but I want it to be fixed before winter time.

ByMW, I have heard that before too but I figure the O2s are old and it can't hurt to throw new ones on there anyways. My Audi S4 has spherical bearings for the control arm bushings on all the front arms and one of the rear arms on each side. After doing that I knew once I saw Wokke's arms that is what I wanted. Here is a link to my build thread for the Audi S4. It will be a monster after I finish it in a few weeks. Later tonight I will look through the list of stuff that Omar replaced to see if he replaced the Pentosin filter.

Jimmy,

I have some extra (Leftover) BMW Fuel injection lines that i ordered when I did my engine top end work. You are welcome to them. I will be working on my car a little this Saturday late morning and you are welcome to come by and I can give your car a quick once over and help you with the Fuel lines. PM me if you are interested and I'll give you my address.

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Have you tried to do a Stomp test?

Thank you and you will have PM in a few minutes. I have not tried a stomp test since I had the tool but I can look into trying it later tonight.

Also today I had more time than expected so I took the car to the gas station up the street from my house for emissions testing. They actually messed up and did a safety inspection at first which was okay since I passed but with the emissions test I failed. Here is a picture of the sheet that they gave me.


It passed at 15mph barely but failed everything at 25mph. It seems that the engine is running a little rich since it was over three times the limit for hydrocarbons. The good news is that the cats seem to be okay since the NO2 wasn't that terrible. Prior to the testing I had driven the car about twenty miles to warm up everything but it had probably cooled down in the hour that it sat before being tested. Heat seems to help with the hyrdocarbons and carbon monoxide readings but hurts the oxides of nitrogen reading from my experience.

[wokke]

FUEL SMELL:

Two metal fuel lines are running underneath the car on the driver's side. They go up in the wheel housing into the engine compartment behind the intake manifold. Two short flexible fuel lines connect them to two short metal lines (the shiny ones in the below picture) and another pair of really short fuel hoses to the two fuel rails. These fuel lines like to fail causing the fuel smell and eventually set the entire car on fire.
In order to get to these fuel hoses you need to remove the fresh air intake part no clue what the correct name of it is) but I'm sure some native speaker will chime in and explain it much better than I do.

[Ahmed303]

Yup! I can help Jimmy with that. I have the correct Fuel Injection Line and correct T-Clamps I can share. He is like 20 miles from me.

[cartoonz]

as for the heater core....
you're lucky, you have an early car. You do not need to take out the whole dash to r/r the heater core.
...it is still a major pain though

[JBoggs8]

Welcome Jimmy. Have fun with that 6 speed!

as for the heater core....
you're lucky, you have an early car. You do not need to take out the whole dash to r/r the heater core.
...it is still a major pain though

How early does it need to be? Mine has a build date of 7/91 and I started my heater core last night. I see no way of getting to the drivers side top 2 clips with the drivers side pipe and bracket in the way. Passenger side is no problem since I have no air bag on that side.

[X5X]

Welcome!

[8eights]

I believe these are the Lines Wolf is referring to below, Do change them with the Correct lines, They are not just auto part fuel lines... The dealer has them by the meter.

***Last 2 pics are for inspiration only!)***

[wokke]

I believe these are the Lines Wolf is referring to below, Do change them with the Correct lines, They are not just auto part fuel lines... The dealer has them by the meter.

***Last 2 pics are for inspiration only!)***

yep. Those are the ones.

[JimmyBones]

I believe these are the Lines Wolf is referring to below, Do change them with the Correct lines, They are not just auto part fuel lines... The dealer has them by the meter.

***Last 2 pics are for inspiration only!)***

I understand. Faisal has some line and clamps so I am going to see him this coming week. I wish I had a picture of the 850 that was burnt and rusted to hell at the scrapyard but my old phone may have it.

Anybody have any ideas about why the engine is running rich? I was thinking that after I replace the fuel lines, fuel filters, and O2 sensors that I should look at the MAFs, engine air filters, fuel pressure regulators, fuel injectors, and spray some engine leak detector spray/starter fluid around the intakes to check for air leaks.

[Ahmed303]

I understand. Faisal has some line and clamps so I am going to see him this coming week. I wish I had a picture of the 850 that was burnt and rusted to hell at the scrapyard but my old phone may have it.

Anybody have any ideas about why the engine is running rich? I was thinking that after I replace the fuel lines, fuel filters, and O2 sensors that I should look at the MAFs, engine air filters, fuel pressure regulators, fuel injectors, and spray some engine leak detector spray/starter fluid around the intakes to check for air leaks.

I also have a spare set of MAFs, FPRs and my old set of injectors you can try out to solve your issue. I hope the O2 sensors will take care of it though.

[JimmyBones]

I also have a spare set of MAFs, FPRs and my old set of injectors you can try out to solve your issue. I hope the O2 sensors will take care of it though.

Cool. I hope the O2 sensors solve it too.

[Ramone v]

Hi ahmed 303 I have a question about a car I think you have owned in the past . Will you please email me at ramoneb1@aol.com. I have some questions I hope you can answer

[Ahmed303]

Hi ahmed 303 I have a question about a car I think you have owned in the past . Will you please email me at ramoneb1@aol.com. I have some questions I hope you can answer

Email sent.

[JimmyBones]

So I did a little driving around today and got a quote for repainting the entire body of my 850. They said it would be $5,000 with me taking off all the panels and molding. That seems a little high but they do great work.

While driving around I tried switching the suspension between K and S. It didn't feel like there was that big of a change. Of course I didn't go flat out psycho around turns but it felt mostly the same. Have anyone of you had to replace your EDC shocks? I have to assume that most people go to Bilsteins sport shocks with Eibach springs since the EDC shocks are so expensive.

Also noticed that the external temperature reading was about ten degrees hotter than it actually was. Just like my Audis since they get heat soaked badly.

[ByMW]

Shocks wear out; when they are dead the EDC function is imperceptible. I ditched the EDC and went with non-EDC OEM (Boge) shocks - big improvement over dead shocks. I can't see any benefit to Bilstein, but I'm in the minority here...

External temp sensor is on the bottom of the brake air duct (passenger side, I think - might be driver side - I'm getting old and forgetful) - it often falls out and reads engine compartment temperature - easy repair.

I recently got a quote to repaint my '93 - same price ($5000).

[Ahmed303]

External temp sensor is on the bottom of the brake air duct (passenger side, I think - might be driver side - I'm getting old and forgetful) - it often falls out and reads engine compartment temperature - easy repair.

Driver side by the brake bomb. One of the things I replaced when I did my Brake bomb replacement job.

[JimmyBones]

ByMW, I am guessing the shocks are probably the originals since the bump stops are destroyed so they probably need replacement. Hopefully somebody local to me has a working EDC car so I can feel the difference.

Did some wrenching today. I replaced the leaking lower oil pan gasket and changed the engine oil plus filter. Now there should be no more drops on the driveway - Yay! It was really easy to do just time consuming with the thirty some bolts holding on the pan. Hopefully I don't create other oil leaks since I used Mobil 1 0W-40 synthetic. Also took a look around underneath to find the O2 sensors are at an angle that I can't get at unless I can jack the car up higher since the factory jack only goes so high. I ordered this from ECStuning along with some hubcentric rings to make life a little easier.

[JimmyBones]

Did some work to the 8 today and got more than I bargained for. If my pictures are hard to see please tell me because they are upside down when I look at this thread on my Iphone.

I started off by replacing the two short fuel lines at the back of the engine. Here are the old ones:


New short lines with special clamps that will not cut into the line. I couldn't see where the longer lines went to and I was cramped under the car cover in the backyard so I will get to the longer ones mentioned above next week.


While I had the cabin air filter holder off I looked at the filters to see they were grey and black so I made a quick trip to the dealership to pick up some new ones. One of the parts guys there hooks me up with their employee/CCA membership prices so most of the time it is cheaper with tax than buying from an online reseller with shipping plus there is no wait. Also sprayed the whole opening behind where the cabin air filters are with Lysol to get rid of the moldy/mildew/fuel smell. Here is a comparison shot of the old and new filters:


Faisal and I noticed while he was looking over my car that the piece that holds in the cabin air filters was not attached so I used some black self tapping license plate screws like what I am holding below and now everything is nice and tight. Take a look at the killer shades too.


I noticed while the back of the engine was opened up that the heater core hose was looped. It looks like there are three hose attachments though so I don't know where the other hose is. Before I put it all back together I reattached the intake air temperature sensor.


This is where the fun began. I tried to replace the two vacuum lines from the fuel pressure regulators to the DK motors. But when I loosed up the driver's side DK motor I hear CRACK. Oh shit the hose (EVAP I think) on the bottom broke.


Okay I take a look at it and realize that the hose goes through the front of the valley all the way down the front passenger side of the engine to the small valves on the side. I can fix that easy right. Well when I try to get the one broken hose off the valve the other one decides to break, damn it! So after a few more minutes I have the now three piece hoses out and along with the two vacuum lines that I was trying to replace in the first place.


Anyways it all got fixed, put back together, and purrs like a champ.


Stay tuned for next week's episode where I tackle the other fuel lines, the fuel filters plus badly cracked fuel lines, and maybe some O2 sensors. Thank you everybody for the fabulous help so far and have a great night!

[olinjohnston]

This car has been a labor of love since it came on the scene...

[Ahmed303]

Good show Jimmy. Next time if you have any weekend off, bring it by during the daytime and I will help as much as I can.

[JBoggs8]

ByMW, I am guessing the shocks are probably the originals since the bump stops are destroyed so they probably need replacement. Hopefully somebody local to me has a working EDC car so I can feel the difference.

Did some wrenching today. I replaced the leaking lower oil pan gasket and changed the engine oil plus filter. Now there should be no more drops on the driveway - Yay! It was really easy to do just time consuming with the thirty some bolts holding on the pan. Hopefully I don't create other oil leaks since I used Mobil 1 0W-40 synthetic. Also took a look around underneath to find the O2 sensors are at an angle that I can't get at unless I can jack the car up higher since the factory jack only goes so high. I ordered this from ECStuning along with some hubcentric rings to make life a little easier.

I too ordered the ecs jacking tool, rec'd it this week. I will post my experience. Hoping it is improved as I saw the posts about their previous attempt for the E31.