engine and drivetrain Winter Driving in an '02

[winstontj]

Hopefully this will be the start of a productive thread with suggestions on how to best prepare a 2002 for a season of winter driving.

Ignition Tune up - check and replace if needed: Plugs, wires, points, condensor, dizzy cap, rotor. Time engine with timing light @ 1,400rpm, adjust valves on cold motor. check voltage regulator brushes (e30 alternator), check ground straps and connections at starter and alternator.

Carburetor - General tune up. Re-set idle, fast idle, choke, air and fuel. Change or clean out the (webbers) fuel filter at the carb, change or clean (K&N) air filter

Cooling - change thermostat to 80 degree t-stat. I also change my electric fan thermo switch to a slightly higher setting for winter driving.

Fluids - Change fuel filters, inspect fuel lines, oil change and switch to winter weight oil - 10w40. Change gearbox and diff fluid (redline)

Brakes - Adjust rear drums, inspect all brake lines. Adjust emergency brake cables (4-clicks)

Tail lights and headlights - re-aim front headlights, check blinkers & all lights. Inspect and clean up rear lights. It's hard enough to see the 2002 at night nevermind at night in a snow storm. I'll be installing a 3'rd brake light this winter (Mercedes strobe style)

Home Depot sells a 60lb "tube" bag of sandbox sand for under $5. I buy one and set it between the shock towers (or just behind them b/c of battery) I also only use studded snow tires when it snows. MA has crazy laws about the months you can and can't use studs and they are loud, don't handle as well and it doesn't really snow that much so I change my wheels only when I know I'll be driving in snow.

Looking for suggestions on carburetor icing. I'm in the process of building a new motor and building a MS EFI setup so I hope it won't be an issue for much longer - but I have a feeling that it's going to be next summer before the EFI goes on the car. Thinking about taking a Volvo exhaust manifold heat duct and rigging it on the 2002.... other thoughts welcome.

[Mike Self]

1. you won't have carb icing with the factory air cleaner--so long as you remember to set it to the winter position and the hoses are in place. That alone is a strong arguement for the stock filter over the small chrome ones.

2. In really cold weather, a trick for a warmer engine is to scrounge a couple of offset litho plates (try a print shop)--they'ver very thin but rigid aluminum sheets. Carefully slip 'em between the front of the radiator and the radiator support frame. Fold 'em over on top so they'll hang from the radiator support frame. They're much easier to install/remove if you remove the two upper radiator mounting bolts and slip a washer between the radiator and it's mount. One sheet will block off slightly more than half the radiator and will help a coolish car to run nice and warm even when it's below zero.

3. If you don't want to put sand in your trunk, just place your toolbox in the same location (between the rear wheel arches)

4. Use winter wiper blades--the ones with rubber boots covering the metal part of the blade. Snow doesn't stick to 'em so they don't clog.

5. 165/80x13 Blizzaks work great on an '02...for that matter, the old Michelin XAS tires were great snow tires.

6. Make sure your washer pump is working, and you have non-freezing fluid in the bottle.

Not that I drive my '02 in the snow any more...but I remember this from having done it for 30 years! BTW--if you do drive in the snow, find a big parking lot with no bumpers or light standards, and practice skidding and recovery. Get up to 25-30 mph on a slippery surface, then yank on the emergency brake and cut the wheel to initiate a skid. Practice recovering. Great fun, and good learning experience. Better to learn there than on the street!

mike

[peteinjp]

Snow tires these days are so much better than they used to be.The thing that made the michelins goos was that they were skinny. I have driven with the old michelin's as well and while it was fun the new tires are heaps better- especially going downhill. Don't ask how i know. I just got a set of toyo snow tires for my truck and so far they are really fantastic. They are really soft and sniped. I drive across the mountains 2 times a week here in japan and upon hitting my first snow I had a clear sense of what the truck was all about in the snow. In fact the are considered comparable to chains on the highways here. Med to light snow but the first one is one of the most dangerous. Anyhow I slammed on the brakes a good number of times just to check them out and they worked just like I'd hoped they would. I drove my 2002's in R.I. and MA. for the winters without any problems. Just a bag of sand in the trunk and took it easy. Had a blast actually.

I agree with Mike- hit the parking lots. Make sure you have good music. I used to go to the seekonk theaters on rt6 to play in the lots- learned a ton about the 2002 and improved my dry weather driving skills as well.

The only thing about he 2002 is visibility. I had a 57 olds that someone had put a squirrel cage fan in the trunck that blew onto the rear window. It worked great. In the 2002 you could draw air from the cabin behind the rear seats into a squirrrel cage and blow it straight up thru the parcel shelf. May seem extreme but the most difficult thing I remember about driving there in the winter was having other people in the car and not being able to change lanes.

[Arizona02]

(nt)

[Jon_uk]

Not so much advice, more a little story! After spending 6 months getting the car into a useable state (welding, respraying, rejetting the carbs and reconditioning about everything) I started a new job that meant I had to drive 35 miles to work every day. On the second day that I had to do this the UK experienced the worst cold snap on record for quite some time! It was my first experience of rear wheel drive with no traction (at the tender age of 25!). I was so worried about a) trashing myself but more importantly trashing the car that I took things VERY carefully on the ungritted icey rural roads. It certainly taught me to have a lot of respect for the car though.

[c.d.iesel]

don't do it !! - buy a turbodiesel for salty days.

but if you must - time to wrap your nose in a muff-=>

[Mike Self]

out of black vinyl, with zippers to open 'em up for (slightly) warmer days. I replaced the four grille mounting screws with snap fasteners so it was a matter of a few seconds to install or remove 'em.

Worked great, too, and incidentally kept the salt off the grilles.

Wonder if the covers you pictured are still available from BMW--they're not in any of my accessory catalogs...

mike

[winstontj]

don't do it !! - buy a turbodiesel for salty days.

but if you must - time to wrap your nose in a muff-=>

CD - had to sell my 300TD wagon because it wouldn't like to start. I'd keep it plugged in at night but I worked at a ski resort so when I got out at the end of the day (and sometimes after a frothy beverage) it would be 8 or 9 at night and too cold for it to start. Had too many problems with the TD so I bought an E30, which got stolen so I bought an e21 automatic which was great, but had such big holes in the floor I couldn't bring myself to complete the 5-speed conversion - which led me to the 2002...

I'd give my left (you know what) for a 300CD but I'd save it only for no rain/salt days :-)

[c.d.iesel]

...WOW - WHAT NEGATIVE CAR VIBRATIONS !

WELL IF YOU GET ANOTHER TURBODIESEL -

remove the glow plugs and run the special reamer

in the hole to remove the carbon build-up,preventing the glow plug

warming up the air in the pre-chamber for cold starting.

Change the main and pre-fuel-filters. Drain the fuel tank to replace the nylon strainer in the bottom pf the tank. Adjust the valves to 0.004" greater clearance also for 'better' extreme cold weather starting.

Mine starts no different during summer or winter - all must be healthy.

[Boulder2milan]

At the Essen show last spring I picked up a new pair (actually3 pieces)of vintage after market grill covers for an 02. They work on the 73 and older cars. Pretty cool. Ironically I've sold my 73 and have a 75 which thay don't fit on!

There a number of interesting 02 parts on ebay.de right now and I am wondering if you know what the story is behind the all clear (white) front euro blinker lenses - see link

http://cgi.ebay.de/BMW-Blinker-weiss-2002ti-2002tii-2002-turbo-E6-E10-E20_W0QQitemZ160059247058QQihZ006QQcategoryZ96365QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I picked up a pair of these and beware that there are no "inards" to them - it's just a "white" lenses cover so I imagine they must be modified to actually work.