Any BMW diesel guys here?
- Thread starter gadget73
- Start date
what part is lunacy? you have to keep up on current events...the BIG 3 all knowingly have the same exact issue on the turbo D's used in pickups. but as I said, the EPA was very publicly and messily ordered to stand down in january 2017 so its likely the issue is dropped forever.
FWIW, net work produced by the diesels, on missing the NO target, is still less than the resultant effect of replacing them with gas, but it was such a small segment of the population - no one cared.
Shadowdog
Super Member
$55 for a trailer sounds great! If that can't be true tow bars can work nicely & you may have to remove the driveshaft if an AT. Mine is a special one though that pulls the vehicle into it so no bolting is needed, but some newer rubber bumper vehicles don't work to well with it sometimes damaging grills etc. because it sinks into the bumper. It was really designed for the old stuff!
Just used it 5 weeks ago to pull a 96 T-Bird 330 KM or 205 miles (4.6L plastic intake blew out the front section, a common early 4.6 problem we forgot about) & it worked great! Engine was fine as my father driving it back from Mesa, AZ & caught the problem before it was too late. Car only has 84K KM or about 50K miles and was garage kept so mint & will be driven only in the summer here. He bought it second hand in 01 and brought a newer old car (08 Cad CTS he picked up in Winnipeg a few yrs. ago) and drove down there with 4 doors being more useful down there for him.
Just thought of another option which is a Dolly which can work well & you would only need 2 good tires! You still would have to remove the driveshaft as it's likely AT.
Just used it 5 weeks ago to pull a 96 T-Bird 330 KM or 205 miles (4.6L plastic intake blew out the front section, a common early 4.6 problem we forgot about) & it worked great! Engine was fine as my father driving it back from Mesa, AZ & caught the problem before it was too late. Car only has 84K KM or about 50K miles and was garage kept so mint & will be driven only in the summer here. He bought it second hand in 01 and brought a newer old car (08 Cad CTS he picked up in Winnipeg a few yrs. ago) and drove down there with 4 doors being more useful down there for him.
Just thought of another option which is a Dolly which can work well & you would only need 2 good tires! You still would have to remove the driveshaft as it's likely AT.
I don't believe anyone else intentionally altered the mapping of the engine to perform in a "clean" mode during testing and then revert to "dirty" out on the road.
FCA....
Uhaul's dolly rates are only $10 less. Honestly I don't want to even deal with the driveshaft for 10 bucks. It may not have been out of there since 1984. And yes, it is an auto. Some model of ZF that I can't recall off the top of my head. Probably not cheap to have rebuilt whatever it is, so burning that up by towing it improperly is also not high on the list.
The Conti isn't plastic fantastic, but its a unibody car with a shock bumper. Its basically a really fancy Ford Fairmont if you want to get right down to it. I don't know that there is a good spot to hook a tow bar on that one. It also doesn't have a ton of ground clearance. Its also got air suspension that is apparently working properly at the moment but I can't absolutely swear it won't develop a leak and sink on the trip home.
Why not just put the rear wheels on the dolly, lock the steering column, and tow it backwards?
thats not how it works.
someone had to cause a hundred thou or so machines to be built, outside of the certification package. mewling aside, we had decided it *is* in fact outside the law. similar actions vs ford and chevy as you know, were blocked by executive fiat (no pun intended)
Shadowdog
Super Member
I don't think it's safe to tow a vehicle backwards on a dolly for reason's of wt. dist. & the locking steering mechanism not being strong enough.
I just mentioned the other methods in case the better way doesn't work out.
Forgot about the air suspension on those cars & for sure it could be a big issue also if it fails!
I just mentioned the other methods in case the better way doesn't work out.
Forgot about the air suspension on those cars & for sure it could be a big issue also if it fails!
I think that's a great pun!
yeah I think a BMW M20 will more or less drop in, but honestly if the diesel goes beyond what I can repair it will probably move on to someone else to deal with all that. The appeal is the weirdo engine, taking that out for a gas engine isn't too exiting. If I was bound and determined to keep the car anyway, a Ford 5.0 would be the likely choice since I can get brackets and whatnot to make it all fit properly and look stock.
Shadowdog
Super Member
Rust free though! A few brother's have had late 80's to recently new BMW's and those engines can get really good MPG. Maybe too pricey even in the wrecking yards though!
To me inline 6's that are well designed and have some HP like those do have a special magic due to their turbine like smoothness and sound as I put many miles on a old 1970 MB 250 & Chev. 230 L6 engines as inline 6 engines are inherently perfectly balanced by design. They both had over 100K miles when I got them also.
To me inline 6's that are well designed and have some HP like those do have a special magic due to their turbine like smoothness and sound as I put many miles on a old 1970 MB 250 & Chev. 230 L6 engines as inline 6 engines are inherently perfectly balanced by design. They both had over 100K miles when I got them also.
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I love all of mine. Daily-driver is a '95 BMW with an M50TU currently around 250,000 miles. No timing belt!
The last year was probably around 1993 and that was only because the E30 325i Convertible was still in production with that engine. The E36 325i sedan came out as a 1992 with the chain-driven 6-cylinder. So the timing belts were only on the 6-cylinder cars in the USA from about 1984 to 1991 and two-more years in the convertible. This included the two-year diesel importation which is the subject of this thread. If I remember correctly the E34 525i may have gotten the chain-driven M50 engine as early as 1991 model year in the USA. There were no 4-cylinder engines with timing belts.
This will actually be the first engine I've ever owned with a timing belt on it. Also my first inline six, first diesel, and first turbocharged engine.
The truly weird stuff on that car I already have some experience with. That ABS system is a real hoot. The one plus to it, bleeding the rear brakes and flushing the brake fluid is easy. Just crack the bleeder and step on the pedal, let the electric pump do the work.
The truly weird stuff on that car I already have some experience with. That ABS system is a real hoot. The one plus to it, bleeding the rear brakes and flushing the brake fluid is easy. Just crack the bleeder and step on the pedal, let the electric pump do the work.
Got it home today. I'll post pictures when the free outdoor overhead light comes back on.
Runs fine, needs belts so it doesn't charge and has no running water pump right this minute. Easy to fix. It has a list of other things but the engine sounds good. Timing belt and setting the valve lash are on the list of things to do, along with confirming the injection pump is set right. Someone has been in there and cranked the fuel up. It has a slight bit of visible smoke even at idle. Of course the injection pump stuff is covered in one of the manuals I do not yet have.
Runs fine, needs belts so it doesn't charge and has no running water pump right this minute. Easy to fix. It has a list of other things but the engine sounds good. Timing belt and setting the valve lash are on the list of things to do, along with confirming the injection pump is set right. Someone has been in there and cranked the fuel up. It has a slight bit of visible smoke even at idle. Of course the injection pump stuff is covered in one of the manuals I do not yet have.
crank her up! roll coal!