I’ve been a BMW enthusiast for 15 years, but I had never joined the BMW Car Club of America (BMWCCA). The main reason was I did not associate BMWCCA membership with DIY work. A fellow owner who works out at my gym recently showed me otherwise. He told me DIY educations was the main reason […]
Recently my 2006 E46 M3 started throwing a code signifying a problem with one of the oxygen sensors in front of the catalytic converter (pre-cat). The S54 engine in the E46 M3 has four oxygen sensors, two in front of the catalytic converter and two behind. Initially I thought this was a chance for a […]
This Labor Day weekend I devoted some time to my 2002 E39 M5. I changed the oil, the cabin air filters and I gave the car a general checkup. I’m fortunate to have access to a lift, and took advantage of that to inspect the suspension and other areas under the car. Bavarian Auto has […]
The rubber window trim around the front and rear windshields of BMWs can cause owners heartburn. Sometimes called molding or gaskets, the rubber can dry up and deteriorate quickly, seemingly faster than on other cars. Here’s a long and passionate thread via Bimmerfest that stretches back to 2006 on the topic. The window trim doesn’t […]
This past weekend I gave my 2002 E39 M5 a thorough inspection. I also changed the oil and swapped the tires side to side to even out the wear. All the fluids were changed last year, so I knew I was in good shape on that front. I’ve now owned the car for over three […]
This weekend I replaced the High Intensity Discharge (HID, also known as Xenon) headlight bulbs in my 2002 M5. My old bulbs still worked, but my amazing wife had bought me replacement bulbs reputed to be the best on the market. She purchased them from TheRetroFitSource, a great resource for auto lighting needs. The bulbs […]
When I bought my E39 M5 in 2011, one of the nice mods it came with was an integrated iPod player. It was a clean looking installation with the connector coming through the center console. I’m no hard core audiophile, but I quickly got used to not messing with CDs and having my entire music […]
This weekend I replaced the front sway bar links on my 1999 BMW M3. Recently I had new OEM Sachs front struts installed, so it was time to refresh the end links as well. My car has low miles, but 14+ years still take a toll. Replacing front sway bar links is a perfect DIY […]
Last month I wrote about performing a DIY tune-up on my E36 M3. In that post I talked about replacing spark plugs and the air filter. This weekend I finished the main components of a tune-up by replacing the fuel filter and cleaning the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor. The fuel filter is a very […]
This weekend I accomplished a preventative maintenance goal for my 1999 M3. With the help of a fellow enthusiast and E36 M3 owner, I replaced most of my cooling system with new parts. The cooling system on many modern BMWs is a known weak point. Most of the problems arise from using plastic where metal […]
As I’ve stated many times on this blog, when you own a BMW out of warranty you need to learn up on maintenance. With some research and a little effort, you can literally save hundreds of dollars on relatively simple maintenance issues. A good example is how I recently replaced oxygen sensors on my 2002 […]
This Saturday I got some simple upkeep done on my 2001 BMW 530. The oil filter needed changing, and I needed to fix the corner of the passenger side headlight assembly, which somehow got pushed slightly out of position. The oil filter change is very straight-forward, but of course you need the right tools. In […]