schuetz1619

O.K. I previously had a carbureted 2002, from which the illustrated cover was the spare. I never noticed the difference in tube length, and I was going to mount this so I could refinish the tii cover. This forum is a treasure. Thank you all.

Valve adjustment done. Now how do you get the valve cover back on? I got it off with considerable contortions but can't reverse engineer them. You can't simply put the cover back on as you would on a carbureted 2002 because the plenum is in the way of the cover's breather tube. I checked the Blue Book for asistance and found that it ignores the tii and its unique space issue. Unless I'm missing something, you need to remove two or all three upper studs, remount the cover, and then replace the studs with cover in place. You could, of course, remove the entire injection linkage and then the complete intake assembly and . . . never mind. Am I missing something, or do you pull the studs? Many thanks

Thank you for thinking of this. The clutch is stock—I had it installed at the time of purchase. The knob, however is an "M" knob. Maybe that's been the problem all along.

Yes, that seems to be the general consensus. This itself involves alonger lever, right? Were you thinking of something yet longer? If so, what? Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.

O.K., you,ve got me. You shift with your left arm?

Off-topic, I know, but I suspect that many of you have E30s. Are there any good forums for these vehicles? I'm especially interested in the 1991 E30 318i with M42 engine. URLs appreciated. While I'm here, forgive me if I ask the question I'm facing right now. My wife is losing strength and can no longer drive our 1991 318i because too much force is required to get it into reverse. I bought it used and the previous owner, a BMW mechanic, had put in a short-shift kit. I wonder if restoration of the original shift lever might do the trick. Anyone have any experience/advice in this area? Many thanks.

I’ve always followed the procedure of setting valves one cylinder at a time after rotating the crankshaft to TDC on that piston. But is this really necessary? Would you not get a proper result by adjusting the clearance at any position of the camshaft, as long as the subject valve is completely closed (i.e, the cam is riding the circular part of the shaft)? Or does adjustment at TDC eliminate error one might have otherwise from slop in the system?

Yes! I recall that and hadn't made the connection. Thank you, as always.

O.K. Sure makes me nervous, though.

Thanks for the sharp eye. I'm aware of the slight assymetry here. It was present before I did the disassembly. There is no more room, however, to move the rod farther to the left––the bent tip of the rod on the other side is seated as far to the left as it can go into the metal fold (new pic.1). Even if this were a problem, though, I can't see how it would cause the issue at hand. The stamped lever arm through which the hook passes needs to rotate another 10 degrees CW on the left, and symmetrically CCW on the right, for the arms to mount squarely onto the chassis studs. It is as if the indentation at the top of each arm needs to be deeper so that the arm can rotate to a square position. As is, if I could got the nut to go onto the stud at all, I would have to torque it down heavily, putting a twist into the lever arm and creating a store of potential energy that shouldn't be there. New picture 2 shows the assembly as photographed parallel to the center line of the car. You can see the twist at the top of the lever arm. Picture 3 is a closeup showing the same rotation at the stud. The rods and the levers assemble together in only one way with no adjustment. The same parts worked in the same places two days ago but they don't now. I must be missing something really simple. AARGH.

Not sure whether I should start a new topic, but here goes. Based on pictures from other cars, I realized that the springs were to be mounted symmetrically, with the long-lever end mounted on the top. Mine, dicked with by a body shop, was reversed on the right side. I suspect this was not a serious problem but I corrected it. Now I can't connect the scissor lever to the chassis. The levers are on the correct sides, with the hook mounted as before, but they have a twist to them that makes mounting to the chassis impossible. Here are some pictures. It's as if the indentation on the lever where it contacts the spring rod is too shallow. I realize that's not th case, but that's what it looks like. I've exhausted my geometrical ingenuity, what there is of it. Any ideas what's wrong? (Yes, I know that the washers are missing. As is, I couldn't get them on anyway.) Thanks.

Thanks for the picture. what would you advise me to use if I wanted a little more shine on this?

Twenty years ago a repair shop crinkle-painted my valve cover without request or permission. I was ticked but grew to like it. As you can see from the picture, the paint is now a mess. I'm deciding whether to strip and repaint or strip and not repaint. (1) If I were to repaint, any recommendations on the paint to use for maximum longevity? Best practices for preparation? (2) If I didn't repaint, how to achieve a relaitvely stock appearance? Any tips / ideas gladly accepted. Many thanks.

Thank you for taking the time to pass on this info. I came across this a few days ago, after obtaining the screws and shoulders. My console is complete, so that hardware is not needed. I'd sure like to avoid paying $80 for get the 15 speed nuts I need, but if I must, I will. Thanks again.

Thanks to all respondents. I got the Dorman screws, but the thingamajigs appear to be unobtainium. They're called "speed nuts" and are used extensively in auto body work. But no one I've talked to has ever seen them in these sizes (10 x 16 mm and 16 x 24 mm, both for M4 [SAE 8] screws). My local BMW dealership does not recognize them and there are no part numbers in the book. Size matters because the speed nut air gap must be wider than the panel is think, and the hole in the nut must be able to center on the hole in the panel. Anyone have old ones to sell or know where new might be had? Many thanks.

This is a good lesson on the imprecisions of theory vs. practice. One more thing: Have you ever seen a 100% black bezel? I've not. I'm pretty suresure that the German "black" in he catalogue refers to (1) the original chrome unit with a black plastic insert (as shown in Steve's picture), which later morphed into an all-plastic molded unit whose breakage on installation was pretty reliable. Speaking as someone who lived in Germany for several years, this kind of stuff is almost as entertaining as it is frustrating. The German passion for precision and detail often disguises rot below the surface. Our military in WWII was always delighted to uncover such vulnerabilities. Thanks again for your contributions.

Thanks Mike. I think I've got it together now from all angles. What the catalog contains: (1) A search for the bezel for a 4/71 tii (which is euro only) yields the part numbers for both "chrome" and "black" (BMW terminology) versions. No help there. (2) A part-number search for 52101844588 (black) for both US and Euro shows the 2002 sedan US and Euro, but the only 2002tii listed is the Euro. No American tii. (3) A part-number search for 52101801469 (chrome) for both US and Euro shows all versions of the euro 2002, including 2002tii, but not the US version. If this is to be believed, the euro tii could have come with either bezel, depending on circumstances undelfined, but the American model came only with the "black" bezel. I recall getting my "black" metal bezels from Peter thirty years ago and thought at that time that they were coupe parts. But checking all the coupe catalogue listings in both early and later ranges, the only bezel listing is for the "chrome" version, 52101801469, and there is no part number for a specifically metallic version, at least that I can find. Of course, all of this is is angels on the head of a pin, and I still don't know whether my car came with black or chrome, but I'm not going to worry further on it—unless someone even more anal retentive than I've been here produces additional info. As always, again, thanks sharing your expertise.

I think I screwed this up. Please ignore while I look further. Sorry.

I could use a little help with the BMW parts catalogue. I'm using the interface available through Maximilian. I'm looking for the correct seat-back reclining knob bezel for a 2002tii, mfd. 4/71, production code 2581. Two bezels appear on the seats page (52), in the unnumbered drawing of the seat found below picture 52/43. The first of these is a "chrome" version (52101801469), and the second a "black" (52101844588). Checking each part number, I find that the "chrome" version is given as the only one used on any tii production code listed. My production code, however, 2581, in not listed at all. I have seen many 74 tiis with the black-on-chrome plastic version, which makes me wonder if these could have been original. Negative according tot he catalog. Questions: (1) Was the "chrome" version the only one used on all tiis as the catalog indicates? Was this metallic or plastic? The price suggests metal. (2) Was there ever an all-black version, or does the catalog's "black" entry stand for the ubiquitous black-on-chrome? (3) I have a set of metallic (i.e., not plastic) black-on-chrome bezels. Were these ever made by BMW? If so, for what cars? Were these perhaps an aftermarket "upgrade" in the day? Thanks for any info you might have.

Thanks. I've done all that. It's the "strain them back in and remount" where I'm having such trouble--aligning everything and getting it in place enough to get in the bolts in straight without the retainer sandwich popping apart or crossthreading.

I'm convinced that the problem is that the reassembly of the spring by the body shop was incorrect: On both sides, the rod end that utimately bolts to the chassis pivot points must be mounted in the top slot of the clamps, with the other end, the short stub bent at 90 degrees that lies against the lit, pointing upward, in the lower groove, and behind the other rod. (See photo.) The left side was assembled correctly, so I left it untouched, padded the right side like a room in an asylum, and carefully removed the two bolts holding the right-side clamp to the lid. The explosion was minor, with no damage. I've moved the rignt rod ends into proper relative position (mirror image of the left) and spent s couple of hours wrestling to bolt the thing down. Given up for the night. Is there a way of reassmbling this that requires only two arms and average strength? (O.K, I'm 75 and below average strength.) Still. . . .

Thank you! I attempted to find a previous thread before posting but yours didn't come up. I'm afraid I'm not proficient at navigation here and I'm trying to learn. For example, I look at the list of topics under forums / discussion / 2002 and other '02/ and I find items posted since I posted mine, but mine isn't there. How did you find my posting?

My tii dipstick (NLA) is really loose. What might one use/adapt as a replacement? One for another car that could be shortened, perhaps? Or is there a workmanlike way of slightly increasing the diameter of the surface that contacts the tube? Thanks.