Troubleshooting

The snow and ice are finally melting away, as temperatures here in the Midwest have been going up over the past several days.  And the numbers on the ol’ thermometer aren’t the only ones rising…we’ve got BMW’s coming out of the woodwork – er, concrete – here!  So again, we’ll touch on a few highlights of the week.  Let’s go!

This 1987 BMW 325e had a bumper to bumper inspection.  Reggie also needed to diagnose an intermittent, hard/no-start issue as well.  After some troubleshooting, Reggie found the ICV (idle control valve) to be bad.  He was able to replace it with a good, used unit.   Also on the list was an oil service, new spark plugs, new rear wheel bearing, and a new fuel hose from the “T” to the cold start valve.  The throttle position sensor also needed to be replaced, along with the throttle switch, air filter, and throttle body gasket.

Troubleshooting has been our theme this week!  The 1992 BMW 525i seen below came in because of a stumbling condition.  This one took quite a bit of diagnostic work.

Buttoning up a few things under the hood after much diagnostic testing:

Next, Reggie removed the airbox and mass air sensor to get access to the alternator, which will be replaced:

The alternator:

And it’s out!

The old aftermarket alternator is being replaced by a Bosch unit:

Reggie installs the new alternator:

We always love when an M3 comes into the shop!

Ready for its Inspection II, this 1997 BMW M3 also had a few codes to be diagnosed, including the ignition coil cylinder 1, misfire in cylinder 2, and 2 oxygen sensor faults.  The bad ignition coil was replaced as well as spark plugs.

This 2001 BMW 325i was in to change exhaust manifold bolts and to replace the sub-frame bushings.

Here’s a quick look at Reggie using the torch on the exhaust manifold bolts:

As usual, we’ll be back with more next week, so stay tuned!  Have a great weekend!