thehackmechanic

I must, somewhat sheepishly, say that I actually HAVE a four-car garage with a lift. Unfortunately I own eight cars, so I STILL need more space. (Actually the garage is a 17' x 31' shoebox with a single-width rollup door, so the cars are a stovepipe fit inside, and the lift isn't a post lift but a midrise scissors lift, but I still feel like I've died and gone to heaven whenever I walk inside. Did I mention that I am thankful? Oh, that's a different thread... :^)

Oh, I get it -- you're using the Midget to push the Volvo...?

turkis or tiaga roundie tii, non-mint, rust-free but unrestored with nice patina of age on it, with a/c, $5k it's a nice fantasy

Just remember that the stock 195/65 14 tires for these wheels are a bit tall for the 2002.

In a world that gets crazy, I am thankful for the good kind of crazy that is this site! Turkey. Pie. Fine-tuning the driveshaft alignment in my '73. Bring it on. Bring it all on... --Rob

Don't be too hard on Satch. BMW CCA is a big group with diverse interests. I can't blame him for not having Roundel be a BMW 2002 magazine. He has Mike Self and his 2002-specific column, and my column frequently has 02-related content. There are the E30 M3 enthusiasts, the E36 M3 enthusiasts, the M5 guys, even the E3 (Bavaria) group can come down on him hard if they feel he hasn't adequately covered some event. Plus, in this day and age, there are so many web-based sources for basic repair info (including this site).

It's all a tradeoff of time and cost. If you're short on scratch and if the clutch was working well before the trani horked itself, you can probably get away with replacing only the trani and not touching any other component. I pulled the engine out of my 911 to squelch some oil leaks, and resisted the temptation to freshen up the clutch while I was in there. That was four years ago and the clutch is still fine. Right choice. Used 2002 four-speeds used to be plentiful, but finding one without bearing noise and without a lunched second gear synchro for $100 would be a real score. If you've done a bunch of tranis, you can get them in and out quickly enough that trying more than one isn't a big deal. If you decide to walk up the "while I'm in there" ladder, you'd do, in this order, IMHO: --pilot bearing (in the center of the flywheel) --guibo (the rubber flex disk between the trani and the driveshaft) --clutch disk --throwout bearing --clutch plate --driveshaft center support bearing --resurface flywheel 5-speed conversions are great and make sense if you do a lot of highway driving and if the car is deserving of it. But it's a fair amount of expense.

Sorry for the brain fart; just re-read your post where you had the part # in it. Wonder why realoem shows a different part number for the cover for the 245 box.

Takes rat rod to a new level. Reminds me of the beast that came of the cake in Animal House. Maybe "eat me" painted across the side (and I say that with love...) Seriously... nicely done. I'd move over if I saw it running up my tailpipe.

Doesn't look like you can. This is the realoem link to a '73 2002 Getrag 242 trani: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=ST12&mospid=47140&btnr=23_0767&hg=23&fg=15 Part # of end cover is 23111207235. This is the realoem link to an '81 320i Getrag 245 trani: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=1733&mospid=47175&btnr=23_0688&hg=23&fg=15 Part # of end cover is 23111209414. Even if they were the same part, I believe that pulling the end cover is non-trivial. I went through this when the Getrag 245 I installed turned out to have a small leak through the end cover gasket. I don't think that you can easily pull the end cover off; I think that you wind up having to interact with detents, gears, pullers and shims to a highly non-trivial degree.

fuel pump a length of rubber fuel line Give all of your cooling hoses a squeeze (and on a car the vintage of a 2002 there are so delightfully few of them). If they feel pillowy, change them before you go.

Whether or not you order from Blunt, you also can go to www.bavauto.com and search on "alternator bushing" and see what the parts are. There are regular and urethane bushings for the pivot point on the alternator. Then there are also the bushings for the rail that it tightens onto.

Nowhere is the phrase "you get what you pay for" more appropriate than in paint and bodywork. I once took a 323i to Earl Schieb for a $79.95 paint job. They literally didn't even wash the car. But what do you think you'll get for $79.95? I had a Maaco job done on a '74 tii 20 years ago. The paint on the hood was completely cracked so they recommended that that be sanded. It came out ok. Think I paid four hundred bucks. If the paint is not cracked, and the body panels are level (free of dents and dings), it may look just fine. But if that's the case, it may also look just fine if you compound and polish the paint. Remember that old rubber, old chrome, old pitted glass all look like shit against brandy new shiny paint. This is how you wind up veering across that line from paint to outer body restoration. Personally I love 2002s with that patina of age on the paint.

I own an E39 (528iT wagon, 5-speed, sport package). It's a very interesting car, but it is by far the most troublesome BMW I have ever owned. E39s are high maintenance cars. As these cars are getting on in years, more and more people have the experience that they take them to the dealer for something, then are told the car needs a full cooling system R&R, shocks/struts/ball joints/bushings, and (if it's a V8) the valley pan gasket. When faced with a $5k repair bill, many people just bail out of the cars while they're still running. I doubt that any of these issues are fundamentally solved in the Dinan cars.

Buy a cheap mechanic's stethascope at AutoZone. I used one to pinpoint a loud oil pump chain and bad rod bearings in my '02. I found it endlessly interesting lying beneath the car and just poking the thing around and listening in on the engine's whirring sounds.

I use Hagerty. Similar experience to the above posts. 3.0CSi, 2002, and '82 911SC, total bill about $225/year. The big trick with, I think, ANY of these policies is that NO ONE WILL INSURE A DAILY DRIVER AS A CLASSIC CAR, so kiss driving it to work goodbye. I think I get 3000 miles a year on each car (maybe it's more, I forget), but the 3.0 I don't think I drove 300 miles last year so it's a moot point. Yes you have to show that you and every other licensed family member have a fully-insured daily driver. Yes you have to show that they're all garaged (the cars not the family members). But they only asked questions about the first car I insured with them (the 3.0); others after that I just call them and they put them on. In MA a car has to be 25 years old or older to insure on one of these policies, so when the '82 911SC turned 25 I put it on. It's what enabled me to keep the 911 and still buy my Z3M Coupe. It is the cheap liquor that enables my car buying tendencies.

If your car has 150k and has the original riveted ball joints, hell yes absolutely yes my word YES YES YES replace them. You ever see the aftermath where one of these has let go on a car driven at speed? Not for the squeamish. Search this forum for tricks on getting the rivets out (chisel versus drilling, etc).

Forgot to say that I did essentially what Dave did -- started with a stock evaporator assembly and console but used aftermarket components for everything else. I sized the biggest condenser and fan I could fit inside the nose, and also used an aftermarket compressor, hoses, fan, and receiver. I then used R134, which works ok here in Boston. It takes a little while to get cold, but then it's ok. It is entirely a matter of taste whether you want to go with a generic or aftermarket evaporator assembly and whether you like the way it and the console you wind up with looks. Unlike on a 3.0CS, where the a/c version of the console is as rare as hen's teeth, both the evaporator assembly and the a/c console are not unobtanium for an '02. One year I spoke with Carl Nelson about all this, and he said he uses stock components (meaning evaporator and condenser), charges them with Freon, and has happy customers. R134? Customers not happy. Done.

I have done this from scratch in a 3.0CS that did not have a/c. It is not for the faint of heart. It ain't rocket science, but it is a lot of work. If you look at it in bites, it's much easier to swallow. There are basically ten steps: 1) Choice of R12 (Freon) or R134a. This is the first step as it'll affect what compressor you buy (the fittings are different) and what lubricant you use in the system. If you're in a hot hot hot climate, stick with freon. It's still widely available. 2) Installation of new rotary-style compressor to block. Don't even think of using that old York piston compressor. You'll need the bracket folks are talking about. You'll also need to make sure your crankshaft pulley has a groove for the a/c belt. Don't take that for granted. Rare part for a tii, if I remember correctly. 3) Installation of condenser in front of radiator and electric fan in front of condenser. You can go with one from an '02 or retrofit the largest generic one you can stuff in there. 4) Installation of evaporator assembly inside car. I'd strongly recommend the Behr one for a factory look. I'd strongly recommend replacing the expansion valve while you have it out. Don't forget to verify there's a properly positioned hole on the transmission tunnel to drain it or else you'll have one smelly mildewed car right quick. 5) Installation of console around evaporator assembly. The non-a/c console has to be replaced. Again, the one that goes with the Behr system has the best factory look IMHO. 6) Drilling of holes through the nose and firewall to run the hoses. Scared yet? Those punches, the ones where you drill a small pilot hole then position the two halves of the punches on either side and ratchet them together, work great. Look at an existing a/c'd 02 for guidance on where the holes should go. Take photos and measure. Have a beer to help lower your blood pressure once you've done it. Paint the inside edges of the holes with Wurth zinc-rich primer or equivalent. 7) Fabrication of new hoses. If you can buy a whole a/c system out of a junked car, you can use the old hoses as templates, or you can have them all cut to length. There are very few shops here in Boston that do that kind of work (it doesn't get that hot here), but if you're in a hot climate, you should be able to find a shop who will cut each hose long, crimp one fitting on, thread it through, cut it to length, and crimp the other fitting on. If you're using R134A, you need new barrier hoses, but you'd be short-sighted not to use new hoses even if you're using Freon. 8) Installation of receiver/dryer on passenger side of engine compartment. Trivial. Again, look at an existing installation. 9) Wiring of compressor, fans, and switches. Fairly straightforward. 10) Adding of oil, evacuating, and charging it up. Utter joy when it blows cold. Be aware that some of the newer compressors come without any kind of charging fittings on them (allowing them to be used for either R12 or R134a). That means that the fittings have to be elsewhere, like spliced into the hoses that plumb the compressor. If you don't do that, you'll have no way to get anything into the system. Ask me how I know... :^) For all of these reasons, resurrecting a dead system is far easer than a from-scratch installation. Good luck. It's a great project that enormously increases the enjoyment of the car by increasing the opportunities to drive it in comfort; at least that was my experience. Virtually all modern cars have a/c. We get spoiled. And it's not like it's sacrilege on a 2002; it was available. --Rob

Geez, when you see it like that, it makes it look easy, like the Monty Python routine "how to play the flute" ("well, you blow there and move your fingers up and down here"): Step 1: You take the car apart Step 2: You paint it Step 3: You put it back together D'oh! Why didn't I think of that?

Oh man, nothing like starting Sunday morning with a little '02 porn

There are ways of doing all three of the things you're asking, but it's all about risk. If you're hell-bent on not driving out there, there ARE 3rd parties who will handle escrow purchases, allowing a transfer of money and title. But that misses the point, which is that, when the car arrives, you may still feel like you've been taken, and really it'll be your own fault for buying something sight-unseen. If it's an eBay purchase, then at least there's the veneer of protection eBay is supposed to provide because it's supposed to be "as advertised," which accounts for all the scum-sucking eBay ads that say as little as possible (ie, if you say "no rust" and the buyer finds a dime-sized rust spot, then the car is not "as advertised," but if you don't say anything about rust...). So, really, if you're absolutely decided that the proposition involves buying it without seeing it in person, then you've set yourself up for a risky proposition, and your wanting to 1) make sure you get the title, 2) not have to pay PayPal fees, and 3) have the car shipped "for a small payment" are incidental to your not seeing the elephant in the room of risk. And maybe it'll work out ok and you'll post photos of the car here and we'll all go "wow! Good grab!" But there are far more stories floating around of people whose sight-unseen purchases were less than they'd hoped. Many years ago, a BMW CCA member named Steve Diamond called me out of the blue asking me to look at a Z1 (yes, a Z1) that was for sale in the Boston area. I didn't know him from Adam when he called, but by the time we were done talking, I knew him pretty well in the way that two car guys share that rapport. I checked out the Z1. He bought it. I even helped him pass papers on it and convinced Roundel editor Yale Rachlin to store it in his garage for a week while Steve arranged for transport. So the folks who advised you to try to find someone in the area are right on the money. Good luck.

Three of my favorite cars in the whole wide world... who'da thunk they'd all need those little Christmas tree fresheners at the same time!