introduction Greetings From Newbie With Questions

[Texasyeti]

Hello there,

 

Just joined the 2002 club this weekend and I am really glad I found this site. Other passions include classic land cruisers, BMW motorcycles, and mustangs and there are some great sites supporting the hobby. I knew there had to be one for the '02's.

 

So, I bought a 74 Tii from a local classic car dealer. One owner car with no rust. She has not been registered in 8 years and believe she has been sitting most of the time. I have records going back to 1979 when she was taken by her owner ( a pilot in the air force) to Hawaii, passing through Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida to eventually land in Canton Texas.

 

Here she is:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She runs and drives but there is a bad wobble in the steering wheel. Feels like it might be the left front wheel. I'm going to check the wheel bearings and see if they are loose. I bought if from a consigner but the owner left word with me that he though it needed new strut inserts and shocks. Definitely needs tires.

 

In general, are there any suppliers that are preferred on this board? I have identified several but wondered if there were any specific ones who seemed better than others (customer service and price, support of the hobby, etc.)

 

I did buy a workshop manual from Faxon - then I found the PDF file online. 

 

So, here is my plan with some embedded questions. I would appreciate any thoughts from the forum and appreciate all of the help. Really excited to have a 2002 and looking forward to learning about her, working on her, and most of all driving her!

 

Plan:

 

1. Evaluate brake system with intention of overhauling calipers, new rotors, pads, hoses, and any other related parts.

 

Questions: What rotors do ya'll like? Original BMW or is there an aftermarket that works as well/better. Cost is always a consideration but I don't ming paying for quality stuff.

 

2. Evaluate suspension / steering

 

Questions: I have seen lots of threads discussing the different strut innards that are available. I'll read a little more and will make a decision there. I am wondering about springs. I am not really looking to lower the car a lot so I am wondering who offers a good, close to stock ride height spring.

 

3. Tires

 

Questions: Seems like the Kuhmo Solus 21 is a decent, readily available tire. Would this work well for weekend, spirited driving? the car had BFG Comp T/A's on it and I cannot find those anywhere. Must be discontinued. Any throughts are appreciated.

 

4. Tune up / Base line

 

Questions: I want to do a thorough tune-up and baseline all of the fluids. Any preferences on consumables like plugs, filters, fluids, etc? I always went OEM on my BMW airhead bikes and am happy to continue unless someone has another option. I also figure I will do cooling / heater hoses, belts and vacuum lines as well. Thoughts about sourcing these would be helpful as well.

 

Well, I hope I haven't overwhelmed y'all with this first post but I'm ready to get going and want to get off on the right foot!

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

[williamggruff]

The answer to your supplier question is Blunttech.com. Steve Petersen, who goes by BLUNT on this forum and others, provides unmatched customer service, amazing prices, supports the vintage BMW community, and is as reliable, trustworthy, and fair as anybody you'll ever have the pleasure of working with.

[TobyB]

Welcome.  That looks like a nice car- needs some love, but a good place to start.

 

Wobbles are often the center track rod, bent wheels, unbalanced tires- less often the bearings.

Or a stuck caliper that's warping the rotor.

 

We like Blunt- www.blunttech.com  Steve's here and on the E30 boards, and a great resource.

There are quite a few others, too.

 

1, Brakes.  I know it's soon, but if you're going to have to throw a lot of parts at the brakes, now's the

time to decide if you want to put big brakes on, since the upgrade isn't much more expensive

than replacing stock parts.  The car doesn't NEED bigger brakes, but you get a vented rotor,

bigger pad, and a lot more thermal reserve. 

DO replace the rubber lines if they can't be dated- after 10+ years, new hoses are a good idea on 2002's.

I like the teflon/stainless ones, but the OEM rubber work just as well.

DO lube your pedal linkage- it tends to be neglected, and a clean and grease will do wonders for longevity.

 

2. This crowd likes Bilstein, but Konis are also good.  It rapidly devolves to a 'taste' thing.  Keep the stock springs

if you don't want a stiffer or lower car- but DO put on a bigger set of sway bars- the ST 21/19 set is not too expensive,

and helps with body roll without stiffening things up much.  If your rear springs are sagging, it's easy enough to spacer them

back up.  For a mild lower/stiffen, again the ST parts are good value for money.

 

3. Tires- get E30 bottlecap wheels, and 14" tires.  More options, maintains your suspension geometry, and the wheels are almost

free in the BMW community.  I like 13" wheels, but there just aren't many tire options any more.

 

4.  NGK plugs, avoid Bosch wires, and call Blunt.  Also, look at Pertronix module for your distributor.  While you're there,

check your distributor over to see how worn out it is, and if the vacuum advance works.

 

Good luck!

hth,

t

Edited September 8, 2013 by TobyB

[Koblenz]

Welcome to the joint!  Boatloads of info here.  Sounds like you got a good one.  Those front seats look very good.  Blunt, Ireland are both  great for parts.  Some pretty good deals from 02 forum people.  Keep us updated.

 

+1 on pedal linkage lube.

[Baurcab]

Sounds like you Are on the right track. Another good source for parts is Carl Nelson of la jolla ind. Speak with Carl and you be in good hands. Also when it comes to tuning a Tii to people to talk to beyond Carl would be Sean Casey of Casey Motorsports Or bill Holmes of Bavarian Riensport. There is no magic in tuning the injection system but pointers are always good and all of these guy have the knowledge to keep you on the right path

[thehackmechanic]

A steering wheel pulsation when you jam on the brakes is usually a warped rotor. A steering wheel wobble without brakes applied, as Toby said, could be several things, but I'd bet my money on a badly out of round and/or out of balance wheel and/or tire. Jack the front of the car up, spin the wheels, and look at the roundness of both the tire and the rim. Sometimes you can just see it. Sometimes it's just a a wheel that's out of balance combined with a tire that's very low on air.

 

Not to pump my book, but I have a chapter on "how to make a car dependable (well, more dependable)" in which I step through the kind of questions you're asking. As a starting point, a car that's been sitting for 8 years should 1) have every fluid changed, 2) have every fuel and cooling hose inspected and probably changed. Often, the brakes turn into junk from sitting because the seals dissolve into the brake fluid (black brake fluid is not good), but you'll find that out as you sort out the car. You're correct that the rotors usually need to be replaced, as they oxidize when sitting, and the degree of oxidation becomes worse the longer it sits. If a car sits for a few months, sometimes some spirited braking will do an effective job of scrubbing the rust off, but eight years is a long time.

 

I'd say be certain the car isn't leaking fuel, or about to, and that the cooling system is working properly before you drop money into anything else. Don't EVER overheat it. Don't EVER drive it into the red.

 

Enjoy it. You've got yourself a cool car.

 

--Rob Siegel

[richardr]

Those tires are ancient history.  They may have flat spots.  New tires should be high on your list anyway.

[dbmw2002]

Keep asking qwestions and you will hear from Mike, our resident yoda, listen well and you will become a Jedi............

[tlapham]

Great find! all original!

[TR]

Welcome to '02 World!  I have a '73 tii that I am bringing back to life and you have found a great resource for info/advice.

 

You may find this link helpful to tuning and parts suppliers:

 

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/145480-best-ignition-parts/page-2?hl=best+ignition#entry946622

 

TR

[Texasyeti]

 

I'd say be certain the car isn't leaking fuel, or about to, and that the cooling system is working properly before you drop money into anything else. Don't EVER overheat it. Don't EVER drive it into the red.

 

Enjoy it. You've got yourself a cool car.

 

--Rob Siegel

 

Thanks for the thoughts. I do plan on replacing hoses and doing a good coolant flush. Any recommendations on coolant? In my cruisers I use Toyota Red and Prestone in my mustang.

 

I did drain the tank and took a look inside. NO RUST!!!! Did find the fuel pump was disconnected from the three rubber isolators. Bolted it back up. Probably will replace all rubber fuel lines and blow out the metal ones with carb cleaner.

 

I am pretty obsessive about temp and oil pressure. Do a lot of folks install aftermaket guages for these parameters? I like good mechanical guages but if the oil light and temp gauges are accurate and reliable, may leave well enough alone.

 

Those tires are ancient history.  They may have flat spots.  New tires should be high on your list anyway.

 

 

Funny thing, as I was looking at the brakes, I noticed the front left tire from the wobbly corner was missing a big chunch of rubber. Exposed the steel belts. No wonder it was having issues. Just got a set of Kuhmo Solus tires installed and will be working through the brake system over the next week. Rebuild calipers, new rotors (BMW), pads, hoses, etc.

 

Keep asking qwestions and you will hear from Mike, our resident yoda, listen well and you will become a Jedi............

 

I guess when the student is ready the teacher will appear?

 

Great find! all original!

 

Thanks, I'm pretty excited about it!

 

Welcome to '02 World!  I have a '73 tii that I am bringing back to life and you have found a great resource for info/advice.

 

You may find this link helpful to tuning and parts suppliers:

 

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/145480-best-ignition-parts/page-2?hl=best+ignition#entry946622

 

TR

 

Thanks for the link!!!

 

I appreciate all of the assistance and input. I'll keep you all update on how things are going.

 

[hchueh]

If you want to keep the stock high profile look, you can still get Michelin XAS tires here, though quite expensive:

http://www.cokertire.com/brands/michelin-tires/michelin-xas.html

 

Otherwise, you can mount 185/70-13 (Kumhos, others), or go to 14" rims for a lot of options as TobyB notes.

 

I too am a newbie -- the community here is fantastic!

[mikebontoft]

no matter what, 10 years is too long for rubber in my opinion.... for tires anyway.