One problem after another...venting and thoughts?

[74AlpinaTii]

I don't post a lot on the FAQ, but frequently read through the forums and have talked to a few people from here. For those who don't know me, I purchased Bob Murphy's Tii in September of 2008. Since purchasing the 2002, I've had nothing but problems and wanted to get others take on it. I haven't added all of my invoices for a total yet, but I'm sure that I'm well over $2,000...

So far, I've put roughly 3,000 miles on the car over almost 2 years of ownership, and here are some of the repairs that have been made: (list isn't complete, I am having trouble remembering everything)

- new A/C compressor

- Replaced Hose (Compressor to Condenser)

- Replaced Distributor Gasket

- A/C bracket

- Fuel pump

- Fixed the headliner (a few months after I bought the car, it started sagging severely)

- speedometer

I got the car back from the shop in mid June and fixed some of the problems. I put brand new tires on it and figured I'd take it with on vacation (from Vegas to Lake Tahoe). About 70 miles in on the drive, the speedo craps out. 1 week later on the drive home about 200 miles away, the fuel pump started going and was barely able to make it home before it completely crapped out.

Currently, Chris Willett is still attempting to sort out the brake issue with the car. Apparently, the car has a rare brake setup with race pads. Car feels like you are hitting a brick wall when stopping, but when driving around town, the brakes squeek louder than anything I've ever heard...

I wanted to get others take on my situation. Are these common problems? Also, what else can I expect to break? I love driving the car and it's a blast, but it seems like everytime I start it, something breaks. Better yet, I just noticed a couple more drops of oil on the garage floor...

Last resort option, but if these repairs continue as they have been, the wife will make me sell the car...

Thanks

[ought2]

Others may disagree, but many of the issues you describe aren't out of the ordinary with a 35 year old car. My car was in very good condition when I bought it, but things happen. Things that were repaired or replaced prior to my ownership have held up well, but other things begin to see the ends of their useful lives. I would carry on, enjoy the car, but expect that new adventures will always await you... By the way, a few drops of oil on the garage floor simply goes with the territory!

[KFunk]

A/C? You need that?

Speedometer? Haven't had a working one in years, never really noticed.

Fuel pump... eh it happens with any older car, not really a big deal, just annoying when it does go.. helped a guy out with a 66' Mustang the other day, who was stuck at BBQ restaurant with a bad fuel pump.

If you really want everything perfect, and can't work on it yourself, and don't want to pay money or time to have it fixed, then owning an old car might not be the thing for you. No offense, but some folks are better off with a brand new car with a warranty....

[bourkeco]

I can offer this advice Drive the car more!!! These cars hate sitting. As far as the brakes take some pictures and post them up, you probbly have a big brake setup and somebody here will be able to identify and help you out.

These cars a re 40yrs old and everything can go wrong.... they need atention and care and most of us who own them are willing to provide this for our 02s because bang for the buck there are few other better cars...

Good luck post up more and ask for help and advice (this is a team sport) Lets see some pics of the brakes!!!!

[jrhone]

Well here is my take...you bought an old car. Its going to have issues. If you want problem free buy a new car. With that being said, in 2 years you have not really put alot of money into it. Also are you mechanically inclined? These cars are SIMPLE to work on and maintain. The brakes...probably not so exotic, but race PADS will squeel under normal driving because they dont heat up enough. Replace the pads with a street compound and its solved. The AC system? Well that depends on the system...was it original? If so yes the original compressor 35+ years old will need to be replaced. Fuel pump...again was it original? One thing I do on my car is be very proactive in its repair and upkeep. Think of whats been on the car for more than 10 years. Those things will probably need to be replaced or at least checked. So I would say check these things:

1. clutch: Has it been changed recently?

2. cooling system: How is the radiator? How is the fan is it stock? electric fan setup?

3. hoses and belts: If they have not been changed by you REPLACE THEM ALL.

4. Brakes, check hoses and brake lines and replace pads and shoes.

5. Engine, does it smoke at all? run hot? run rough? If it does any of those things get a compression check to see if internally there is any leaking. If it smokes on deceleration then it could be valves or piston rings. If it runs hot, or erratic it could point to a head gasket. If not just stay on top of it.

When I bought my car, I redid the mechanicals as the first things to do. Replaced the engine, trans, clutch, carb, hoses, belts, etc...the car is driven daily and has NEVER not started. Its been on many a 1000 mile trip from SoCal to Norcal...Does it cost money to upkeep? Yes...but its far cheaper than even a cheap car payment if you stay on top of it. Just did a tuneup...cost me $20 in parts and took 20 minutes.

My wife also doesnt like the so called "money pit" idea of a car, bit again its an old car...and after all is said and done costs me far less monthly than her BRAND NEW car. I have no payments and if I stay on top of it and even put $150 a month into proactively swapping things out that are old and replacing them you will not have issues. If you bought it to look nice and drive, then have a mechanic replace all the things that could go wrong, write a check (which could be a nice size check), and then drive it worry free. This will happen with any 40 year old car.

[74AlpinaTii]

Well, I paid top dollar for Bob Murphy's car because I was hoping to avoid a lot of the "older" car problems. Since it was low miles (about 27,000) when I got it and it had already gone through a restoration in 2000, I was thinking that it would have all the bugs out of it.

I have a 75 3.0 CSi that I had restored by the Werk Shop in 06 and have put over 15,000 miles on the car without any problems so I might be spoiled by that...

[jrhone]

Cars with LOW miles are not trouble free...you have to drive them! The most trouble prone cars are the ones with super low miles...they rot from the inside out. Gaskets and seals dry up and rot, then you start them up and expect them to run like a well oiled machine...I have had MANY MANY cars and the ones that have run the most are the ones that are ell maintained and well DRIVEN. A friend bought a new Porsche and stuck it in his garage in his summer home. 2 years later he had 2000 miles on it. The dealer voided his warranty because they said the car was not broken in properly and the car had too few miles on it. Also the car should have been in every 6 months regardless of mileage for servicing and had not. So even the dealers will tell you too few miles on a car is problematic. Just curious...was the AC replaced in its restoration? Was the fuel pump? Brakes again are a pad choice...put in a less aggressive brake bad and the noise will stop. Your 3.0 was restored by you, and you know what they did. With that being sold, its fuel pump can go out tomorrow.

[m-racer]

I am fairly familiar with your car and had considered buying it at one point. I think what you are running into is that the car IS NOT restored. As I recall, the restoration you mention was primarily cosmetic. There are lot's of parts in these cars that just time out rather than wear out when not driven. Frankly, I don't think 2k is much of an expenditure. I have had quite a few older M cars with low mileage and once I started driving them, I had similar issues and much higher bills than you are talking about. Be glad it's a 2002. You are not experiencing engine, gearbox, or running gear failure which would be something to complain about. You are just sorting out an old car. It's a nice car with some rare parts. I'd get it sorted out and drive it. It's a process. If you don't want to go through it, it's a desirable example and I am sure you will find a buyer.

[Mike Self]

I noticed quite a few of yours were A/C related:

-new A/C compressor

- Replaced Hose (Compressor to Condenser)

-A/C bracket

If the original York pisston A/C compressor has lasted this long,it's a miracle! I had two blow up in three years and switched to a rotary until about 1981--it's still going strong. All 02 A/Cs were dealer installed, and hose routing varied greatly--they usually fail because they've rubbed against something. And they just get old. Hope you switched to R134. And the bracket had to be replaced if you switched to a rotary from a piston comprressor.

As for the other stuff:

- Replaced Distributor Gasket --easy job, both paper gasket and rubber seal

-

- Fuel pump -- if it was original, you did well. Tii gurus can advise of a much cheaper replacement from a later Bimmer that works just fine.

- Fixed the headliner (a few months after I bought the car, it started sagging severely) -- New replacements are available from several sources, including BMW

- speedometer -- if it was the odometer, go to odometergears.com-- they sell replacement gears along with replacing instructions. Not a hard job. If speedo and odo are not working, suspect the cable and or drive gear. Again, not difficult to replace.

Nothing to get too concerned over...and you'll find that owning an old(er) car is much cheaper if you do at least some of the work yourself. Almost everything above except making a new A/C hose and charging the system you could do yourself with mimimal mechanical knowledge...

Don't get discouraged--ask questions on the FAQ and learn to repair things yourself--think of the "I did it myself" pride when something you fixed now performs flawlessly!

cheers

mike

[Guest Anonymous]

restored. The A/C system was completely redone and on paper looked like it should have provided cold air and trouble free operation for years. The car was restored in spite of the fact that it had low mileage on it. The restoration has low miles as well and this is the reason for his disappointment. Any parts that were not replaced probably have less than 80,000 miles on them if they are original to the car. Bob Murphy replaced many of the other parts such as the differential, transmission, etc. over the time he owned the car and at the time I spoke with him the car only had 40XXX original miles on it!

shermanmartinez@hotmail.com

[74AlpinaTii]

Started totaling reciepts, its between $3,100-3,600. I may be over reacted out of frustration and it may be a timing thing too with things breaking. It's been every 4-5th time driving it, something will break... The car does sit most of the time and is driven only a couple times a month.

I bought the car as a toy so it doesn't see a lot of drive time between travels for work and driving the 3.0 csi and my motorcycle. I will definately start driving the car more to see if that helps.

I am not so mechanically included so Chris Willett in Vegas does all of the repairs on the car and adds significantly to my cost of ownership. He does a good job, but bills seem to add up quick when it's in the shop a lot.

[tlchd74]

I posted the following as a response to another topic on the forum. I agree it just goes with the territory when your dealing with a 30 plus year old vehicle. preventative maintenance is the order of the day. I can't think of a question you can't get an answer too on the forum almost as soon as you post it. Enjoy the legend, And as the old saying goes, " a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do "

I just bought a 74Tii, bought it in Telluride, Co. and drove it back, 3900 mile road trip. Vegas, Reno, Rexburd, Id, Kansas city, eureka springs, Ar, Cashiers, NC and then back to fl., Only broke down twice, I think I have all the kinks worked out finally. My plan was to have it ready for V@V since it became obvious that the Tii in the garage for the second year running would not be ready in time. I got all packed up (literally) got in the car to leave, hit the switch and no fuel pump noise. After a weekend of reading the forum finally got the electronic part of the switch changed and got it started. Made it as far as the local AC shop and it refused to start in their parking lot. Had it Towed to my local mechanic, where they rebuilt part of the wiring harness that hooked up to the fuse block, power to the pump again and it fired right up, thought the problem was solved as did he. Made two stops after picking it up and it died again, By now the Geico roadside assistance guy and I are on a first name basis. This time the pump had power, a tap on the thing with a hammer and it started up.

After some thought I decided I didn't really want to get under the car and beat on the pump every time I wanted to drive it.

So Mesa performance to the rescue, They drop shipped a 535 pump directly to my mechanic, which they adapted to the the Tii canister and harness, and away I go again. So far so good. Many thanks to the guys at Mesa, very helpful and prompt. My mechanic thinks I'm crazy for doing the road trip, with a site unseen car as does everyone else I know, but what a blast, driving thru the twisty's coming out of Idaho thru the Rockies and leaving the Ozarks from Eureka springs. Went thru Gatlinburg and did the parkway over to Cherokee about 11:00 pm, only one on the road, got to air it out for about 30 miles, Man that is why we drive and love these things, what a rush.

Mike

[c.d.iesel]

obviously a WERK SHOP restoration is miles better than the one this car recieved

it's a 35 year old car

'race brake pads' are not for street use

air conditioning (decades old) components will fail/leak

paying for someones labor is expensive$$

your not driving it enough

oil leaks ? the car is decades old .

more stuff will stop working, work intermittantly,

leak, burst, fall off...........

With this car you entered the 'old car hobby'

That carries with it your right to spend huge sums

of money$ & time.

If you expected ZERO cost for maintenance for 4-Years/50,000 miles

you should've purchased from a BMW showroom.

Tuff Love Baby

No Whining Alowed

[landon]

i would say you are not doing so bad. You bought a highly modified example of a 2002 that will require regular and "non regular" maintenance to keep it going. As said above it is fortunate that they are fairly easy to work on and most parts will not break you compared with other cars ; like a 3.0CS. I took a drive in that car in 1980 when it had 19,000 miles on it. It was originally Malaga. The car was immaculate at that time. Years later when Bob returned to the U.S. I was surprised to hear that it was being restored as it still did not have many miles. I am sure the work performed by Mike Perkins and Casari were top notch. I believe you may be experiencing problems from lack of use because when these cars are sorted out and driven regularly they can give you many thousands of trouble free miles.

[BillWilliams]

I am a little familiar with Bob's car but Sherman and Keith Kreeger probably knew that car the best other than Bob and the mechanic in Houston (Mike Haskins maybe?) who passed last year. They can discuss the car with the most authority.

AC - not a fan of it, I would just remove it and call it a day.

The seal(s) on the distributor may have just dried up from not using the car.

Brakes, not sure Bob would have Race brakes on the car but maybe he had the big brake conversion. However, the pads sound way to aggressive for the car, too slow to heat up and grabs when hot. Go to PBR Metal Masters and be happy.

Oil leak, not many are leak free. Oil absorbent pads are a good thing

Drive it and take care of it.