engine and drivetrain 20 years without a 2002

[david02]

Hello bmw 2002 faq forum

 

I just joined as I have put a 'deposit' on a 1974 bmw 2002 to be picked up on saturday.  I say 'deposit' because it is a private party sale, so hopefully all will hold. 

 

As a child, my uncle had a 1974 bmw 2002 that I fell in love with.  When I was 16, I bought a 1974 bmw 2002 from my friends dad that was in absolutely horrid shape but the engine ran beautifully.  I fixed it up best I could from junk yard parts and a little elbow grease, but eventually ended up selling it when the steering went out and a shop quoted me $1,600 to fix it.  I had only paid $1,000 for the whole car and was pretty poor at the time so this seemed unpassable.  That was 20 years ago.  I've owned countless cars since then including about 8 brand new bmws including a z4, and an M3.  None ever made me happy.  I spent the past 10 years bitching about how new bmws just aren't like the old ones and while I kept trying... year after year in hopes they would come out with a car that gave me the same feeling as a 2002 it never happened.  I eventually leased a lexus and called it a day.  After a year of deep depression I saw a 2002 on craigslist that really caught my eye.  It was a few hundred miles away, but through a number of conversations with the owner and a skype inspection I decided this was the one to make me stop complaining about how new bmws just aren't the same.  I'd get another 1974 bmw 2002.  This one in very good shape, needs nothing, and at this stage in life a $1,600 repair wouldn't really be an issue anymore.

 

It's odd how some things in life are just fated.  Not to go as far as to say that this particular 1974 bmw 2002 is fate, but overall I think 1974 bmw 2002s are my fate.  I'm very excited to be able to pass this down now to the next generation as my sister recently had a daughter of which I will be her uncle with a 1974 bmw 2002.  I got her a toy car version and it seems to be her favorite toy.... as was my toy car version of my uncles 1974 bmw 2002. 

 

I figure I will probably need the resources of this community and hope that I can help you all also.  I work for a large (and affordable) tool company, so I hope that may prove useful to some of you at some point in exchange for your help and expertise.

 

Regards,

 

David

[GoFaSSter]

I love my 02, however mine is a '75. I also quite enjoy my Lexus GS350 I have leased. Welcome to the board!

[david02]

Glad to see I am not the only one.  Are you going to the bmw event at laguna seca this weekend?  That is conveniently very near where I will pick up the car, so I'm thinking of heading over and checking it out.  Didn't even realize it was going on until I started looking for a hotel   Might have to stay in San Jose.

[GoFaSSter]

I won't be there this weekend, but a lot of other great board members will be. I believe Syeve has a Twitter account where he will be posting locations. Do a quick search on this board and you will find a couple of threads.

[GazM3]

nice to see you get back into a 2002 David.

 

Ive recently bought one in March, and from the few brief drives Ive had, they are a fun car

[rgiles675]

David I feel like you just told my story. Welcome!! Looking forward to seeing pictures of it!

[Mike Self]

Welcome back to the 02 fraternity/sorority!  Lotsa good advice here, and loads of friendly people.

 

Hope the deal went through on your '74.  

 

As a long-time 02 owner, I know how you feel.

 

cheers

mike

[david02]

Drove her home down the coast all way from san jose to LA.  Amazing drive and I guess she is in good shape mechanically as it was absurdly hot today and not a hint of problems. 

 

The only odd thing I noticed is that the engine seems to jump around a bit when I turn her on and off.  Thinking maybe the engine mounts are a bit tired?

[tsteph12]

Looks very nice. Yes, it's been crazy hot here this past few days in SoCal and glad to hear you made it back OK.

[schoir]

...

 

The only odd thing I noticed is that the engine seems to jump around a bit when I turn her on and off.  Thinking maybe the engine mounts are a bit tired?

That does sound like the typical symptom of tired/gummy/ broken motor mounts.

 

If you don't have a really long, beefy pry bar with which to pry up the engine in the vicinity of the motor mounts, you can try to get the engine to "tweak" up by first setting the parking brake, with the hood open, and then very gradually engage the clutch in first gear just enough to see if one side of the engine rises up.  You can look through the windshield from the driver's seat or have someone take a look while standing to the side of the engine compartment.

 

Regards, Maurice.

['76mintgrün'02]

In addition to mushy mounts, the driver's side has a tab, of sorts, which the mount is attached to.

This piece of metal has a tendency to crack sometimes, so take a close look at that, while you are in there.

I welded a precautionary patch on mine, while I had the steering box out for new seals.

IE sells a piece which is cut to fit, if you wind up having the need... I made one out of a chunk of steel I had lying around.

It is sort of a gnarly place to weld, while the subframe is still in the car.

Hopefully fresh mounts will stiffen things up.

[jimalameda]

Congrats on the BMW 2002 purchase. I just purchase a 1974 myself. A Sienna Brown one. My first square light one. 

 

Feels good to back in the saddle.

 

 

jimalameda

1974 2002

[thehackmechanic]

David:

 

I didn't have an '02 for nearly 20 years, as I had a one-car garage and it had to house my 3.0CSi. When I had the new garage built, I began buying 02s again before the sheetrock was even up on the walls.

 

Congrats!

[david02]

In addition to mushy mounts, the driver's side has a tab, of sorts, which the mount is attached to.

This piece of metal has a tendency to crack sometimes, so take a close look at that, while you are in there.

I welded a precautionary patch on mine, while I had the steering box out for new seals.

IE sells a piece which is cut to fit, if you wind up having the need... I made one out of a chunk of steel I had lying around.

It is sort of a gnarly place to weld, while the subframe is still in the car.

Hopefully fresh mounts will stiffen things up.

 

 

Thanks for the tip.  I called a local 2002 specialist shop as I thought it would be good to meet him them anyway and had a few questions about things that he cleared up.   When I told him what was happening, the first thing he asked was if it had any engine work.  I said yes, a good bit including a hot cam.  He said 2002s can do that and with the cam it will make things rougher at start and idle so it's probably nothing to worry about, but I can bring it by and he'll check it out for me. 

 

I kind of suspect it may be a combo of the two as it seems just rough enough to feel like it's more than a 'they do that', but not enough to seem like anything too serious.   Might be a little while before I can get it over to him as they are only open weekdays, but I'll let you know how it turns out. 

[david02]

Ok... and the problem was....      probably just some old gas.  It's running fine now.  Starts and stops perfect.  The mechanic checked it out and gave it a clean bill of health.  He fiddled with the carb and timing a bit to make it run smoother, but doesn't need anything.   I guess this means I can obsess over the astethics now. 

Next step is to get it detailed/defunked.  Then I have to tackle the badly attached and poorly painted fiberglass rear bumper.  I can feel in the air that this is just the beginning of what will be a long road of projects and expenses    Can never just leave well enough alone.

By the way.... here is a photo of her.