momanace2002

Hey Chris, Thanks for that info and the instructions on how to do the electrical tests. I need to get a Multimeter. I did a quick search online and they don't seem too pricy. If it turns out that I need a new alternator I wonder if I could replace it my self? I was looking at how it's mounted and from what I could tell it looks like I could do it. There just seem to be a couple of bolts. question....is the tension of the belt adjusted by where you slide the alternator back and forth on the mounting bracket? I noticed there seemed to be a place where the alternator's position can be adjusted. Other than the correct wrenches, do I need any special tools to replace the alternator? ...just wondering. thanks for your help

Hi everyone, Thanks for the great ideas. I did take a look at my battery this morning and noticed that it was purchased (based on little stickers on the top) in May of 2006. So, would I be right in thinking that's a long time for a battery? It might not hurt to replace it this weekend and see where I am from there. I'll be sure to clean the battery cables / connectors too. I assumed the battery was fine cause it seems to start the car just fine so I never thought to check when it was replaced. RE: idle speed Yea, under ideal conditions my car idles at or just under 900. But it does vary a bit depending on how it feels. It never idles so low that it wants to stall but its not like it always sits right at 900 exactly. As I was looking this morning at the battery I also looked at the alternator. The alternator seems like its been on the car for a while too. What about the "tension" of the belt that goes from the alternator to the fan right behind the radiator? I wonder if that belt might be getting too loose. I read my owners manual and it said that when you push on the top of that belt it should move between 5-10mm. My belt seems to move about twice that much. Hummmm I have the day off so I'm going to get out there and see what I can do. Thanks again for the help Morris

Hi everyone, I have a 1976 02 There is something funny going on electrically in my car (daily driver) I noticed that when I have my headlights on and I'm idling, that they get "brighter" when when I step on the gas and rev the engine up. (this happens either in regular or bright mode) I'm also noticing that sometimes my little (fasten seat belts) indicator on the dash board will light up as I'm accelerating out of intersection or from a stop sign. It will light up for about 2-3 seconds and then turn off again. (my seatbelt is fastened) What's going on? Am I losing electrical charge some place in the engine (alternator, coil ? ) Any ideas? thanks for your help

Hi everyone, My 1976 02 has a slow oil leak on the engine right underneath where spark plug 3 & 4 are. There is a little spot where the oil collects and pools up. [see photos] When I drive the car then that oil heats up and starts to boil and smoke. Whenever I have to stop at a stop light the smell comes inside the car. I'm checking the oil level everyday but the leak is very slow at the moment. Once I stop driving the oil slowly fills up that area and I usually clean it out before the next drive so I don't have so much smoke. So, I'm guessing there is some kind of crack in that part of the engine. There is a bolt at that spot too and I think the leak is coming from where the bolt attaches and goes into the engine. However, the bolt seems tight. Perhaps that part needs replacing? Or can it be fixed (crack mended)? thanks for your help and ideas. Morris

Toby, Bill, and everyone else who has been on this... A quick update as of a few minutes ago. There was a let up in the rain. I used that time to go out and open up the hood and do my best to look like a mechanic. I took a dry rag and wiped out the inside of the distributer cap as best as I could. The wires that lead to the coil look like they might be from 1976 so I tried my best to clean off the areas where they attach to the coil just to be sure there was good electrical contact. I made sure all the ignition wires to the plugs were secure and in good shape. They are pretty new. The only old wire is the one that runs from the distributer cap to the cold. But the metal connections seem clean. Then I took off the air filter that is on top of the carburetor. note: sometimes when I do this the 2 air flaps are OPEN and sometimes they are CLOSED or almost closed. I'm trying to look and notice if their position (open or closed) when I try and start the car makes a difference. With a good view of the carb, I tried to start the car. With the key turning something very surprising happend. If I pushed down on the gas pedal the 2 flaps opened up a bit and they a big "bang" like a back-fire happened from the carburetor and a small flame shot out of the top of the carburetor. Thinking that a explosion was happening I turned the key off. I tried starting again and once more I got the carb back-fire sound and the shooting flame BUT this time the car STARTED! And it ran great. I went ahead and let it warm up a bit to dry things out, put the air filter back on the carb and drove to the gas station to fill up cause I only had about a half a tank. After I filled up the tank the car STARTED perfectly. So............"maybe" my problems are due to an issue with the carburetor? Maybe when I'm trying to start the car cold its just not getting the correct mixture of fuel / air ? I have an automatic choke. One thing to note about that is that for the year and a half I've owned the car, sometimes the choke comes on when I start the car and sometimes it does not. I have not worried too much about this because if it did NOT come on I just made sure that I kept my foot on the gas a bit till the car warmed up. It always started just fine regardless. But many times on a cold start the choke DID come on and raise the RPMs up higher till the engine got going smooth. So, maybe I have a choke that is not working right and now its gotten to the point where it is preventing good starts when the engine is cold? Nonetheless I do intend on replacing the various parts that I can myself that were in the earlier posts. I'd like to know if people think that maybe I'm having a carb problem. The carburetor works great when diving (smooth idle, great acceleration etc.) thoughts? (btw....thanks again for everyone's help) Morris

HI Bill, Thanks for the reply... The things that you mentioned..(distributor cap, new points and rotor, condenser, plug wires), are they able to replaced my a non-mechanic such as myself? (don't need to be set or otherwise adjusted / just plugged in and screwed in place?) I would like to start doing what ever I can on my own instead of taking it to the shop all the time. Maybe now is the time? But it things have to be adjusted to calibrated with skills and equipment I don't have then it's "off to the mechanic". best, Morris

I was wondering IF you were still having trouble starting your car when its rainy? Did you ever figure out why it was not starting in the rain. My car is doing the same thing. It starts perfectly most of the time but if we get a good rain then I can pretty well be sure I'm not going to get the car started. I don't have a garage so the car is outside all the time. I... -turn the key half way -push the gas pedal down to the floor for about 1 second -turn the key all the way the car turns over but dose not fire up. The COIL is really old on this car. I'm thinking I should just change it even if the coil is not the exact problem. The rainy season is almost over around these parts but I'm tired of asking people to give me rides to work when my car will not start on rainy days. : ( I have taken my car to my mechanic about this but it usually starts just fine when ever he gets near it. He did change the points last time so they are new. thoughts? Anybody else have trouble with staring in the rain. thanks

I'm also thinking of "not" having the electric choke. I'd like to investigate having it be manual. I think that I'm having some choke troubles. I kind of think that with my car the less automatic the better. : ) How would I go about converting an electric choke to a manual choke? Morris

I'm having similar problems so I'm going to be interested in what you find out. My car starts GREAT most of the time but about 1 out of every 7 days it just does not want to get going. It may take me 15 minute of trying to get it to start up. I've got new "points" so I'm starting to look at the other ideas the posters gave. One of the posters above talked about the "coil". (I'm new to cars as well) I took a look in my books and found out where that is in my engine. My coil looks like its been there for quite a while. I'm thinking that it looks really easy to replace myself without the help of a mechanic. I did a quick internet search and found that they are not too expensive. http://www.shoponusa.com/2-buy/1291684-1974-1976-bmw-2002-ignition-coil-bosch-bmw-ignition-coil-w0133-1621496.htm Question to the forum... Any tricks to putting these in or is it as easy as it looks? best, Morris

Ah.....thanks for the carb identification. I'm worried about the flap open or closed business. I just started the car cold this morning. Before I did I noticed that the flaps were "open". It started up just fine and quickly. I drove for about 5 - 8 minutes. When I got back, parked and turned off the car I checked the flaps and they were still "open". I'm getting the sense that's not normal. What do you think? Trouble is that about once every couple of week I have real starting trouble. I "think" the trouble coincides with lots of RAIN. (not sure on that) In the meantime, would you recommend that I "clean" the outside of the carb? I imagine I would do that with some water and a small brush. What's the best way to do it. (soap?, de-greaser?) thanks for your help, Morris

I know its a Weber but the other info on it is hard to read. I wanted to learn a bit about it. ?? Sometimes the little flaps are open before I try and start it in the morning and sometimes they are closed. Is that normal? I'm trying to figure out why sometimes the car starts up right away and sometimes not at all. thanks, Morris

Hello, I have a 1976 02 Its been pretty rainy around Northern CA the last few months. I've had some starting trouble in that time and it seems like it happens mostly when we have had lots of rain (like today). I'm trying to teach myself about the car with the aid of a few books.. 1. Chiltons BMW 1970-82 2. Haynes 1602 & 2002 Owners Workshop Manual 3. Autobook 707 BMW 2000, 2002, 1966-76 (British Book) I believe that my carburetor is not the original by may be a Weber. It looks different than what is pictured in the books and the owners manual. Note: I'm still learning the correct terms. Please tell me if I'm on the right track. About 80% of the time I have no problem starting. I turn the key, push on the gas pedal for a second, let go of the pedal, the starter "turns" and in a moment the engine "fires up" and I'm good to go. About 20% of the time these days (and it seems to happen if its wet weather) the starter "turns" just fine with plenty of power but I never get the engine to "fire" up. Occasionally it will eventually fire up if I repeat the starting procedure a couple more times. If not, I've taken the round cover off the carburetor (the part that holds the air filter) and notices that sometimes the 2 little flaps that let air in are OPEN and sometimes they are CLOSED. I'm not sure what position they are supposed to be in when the car is not running (keys are in my hand). I wonder if the flaps are getting stuck? I mentioned this to a friend and they recommended I get a can of Starting Fluid Spray. I've tried using it a couple of the times that I had starting troubles. I was able to get the car started eventually after applying the spray but I'm not sure if the spray was any help. Also, I've notices that one (1) of the 4 wires that go from the distributer cap to the spark plugs has a problem. The place where that one wire attaches to the spark plug seems to be cracked. It still holds on to the plug but its looser than the other 3 wires. Once I tried taking that wire off of the plug while the engine was running and the engine did not seem to run well and almost wanted to stall. So, I know that the wire is making contact with the plug but I should get a new set. Here are some things I remember that have been done recently to the car... Replaced the Cylinder Head New thermostat New water pump new valve cover gasket New "points / condenser" (my mechanic has replaced the points a little over a year ago too and is puzzled why they are wearing out so fast on this car) After reading the "trouble shooting" section of the Chilton's book, it seems that it might be a spark issue, a fuel issue or a compression / vacume issue. Its really raining hard outside right now but when it dries out I'm going to see if I can get it started and try and do some of the tests in the book. Any ideas would be welcome. Best, Morris

Hi there, The other night driving home on a windy night the driver side windshield wiper arm, blade etc ... blew off my 1976 02 on the freeway (hwy 101 in Santa Rosa, CA). bummer I managed to put the passenger side wiper arm in the empty driver side so that I can see during a rain but I would love to find a passenger side arm. Does anyone have a passenger side wiper arm / blade that will fit my 1976 02? Let me know. thanks, Morris

I'm new to all of this but I have a 1976 02 and there is a hose that just seems to look different than any other hose on the car. I've put some photos below. I "think" they are the hose you are talking about. It seems kind of "garden hose" like. : ) Is this the same hose you are talking about or a different one? Best, Morris

Thanks so much for your help with my parts identification. RE: EGR valve. I think that I would like to find a new one and try and replace it myself. It looks like something that I can try and do. Is that something that is available at any autoparts store? There is a Napa store and a Kragen store near me. Or, is that something that I need to order online? Is it a BMW part or are EGR valves made by other companies as well?

Hello everyone, I'm new to cars and still learning. I need some help identifying some parts in my 1976 engine. I have the owners manual with some engine diagrams that I'm learning to understand. I also have a book from England called "BMW 2002 Owners Workshop Manual" by Kenneth Ball published in 1976 by Autobook. It has some diagrams and illustrations of various engine parts. That book is a bit over my head but I'm reading it anyway. I also got a book from the library called the Complete Idiot's Guide to Car Care and Repair. like I said above.....I'm new to cars. A couple of weeks ago I had some repairs done. 1. really low idle speed, car wanted to stall solution: They oiled and lubed the EGR valve 2. hard time starting when the engine was warm or hot. solution: they replaced the points and condenser So far these repairs seem to have done the trick and the car is running quite well. But I got to thinking that I should have asked the mechanics "where" the EGR valve and points / condenser were so that I could learn to fix or replace these parts myself should the problems happen again. I was looking at some engine diagrams and I had a hard time relating that to what I actually see when I look at my engine. I have a picture below of what I think is the EGR valve. If so, is that a part I should just go ahead and replace so I don't have the problems with it that I just got done with? Where would I get a new EGR valve. I would imagine thats a part I could replace on my own (assuming I have the part identified correctly). I have a picture below of the distributor cap. I noticed that there is a new looking metal bit attached to it that I had not noticed before. I was wondering it this might be the points / condenser that was replaced to help with my starting problems. I have a picture below of a mystery part that also looks new. I was just curious what it was. So, I could be wrong on my part identification. Its ok if I am. I'm eager to learn all I can about the engine and maybe learn to replace things myself at some point. Thanks for your help in advance. Morris

Looks really good That's something I would like to do to my car. (1976) How hard was it to wire up? Do you actually patch in the wires at the brakelights themselves in the rear of the car or do you patch in the wires up front? Maybe a better way of asking you this is just to say "howd ya do it"? : ) Morris

I posted some photos of the gathering today on my car's website http://web.me.com/momanace/1976_BMW_2002/Train_Museum_Gathering.html Morris

Hi all, Back on Nov 3rd I posted about the problems I was having with my 76 02. (idle too slow / starting problems). Several of you (esty / 74tiiGolf / KFunk / ThatGuy / c.d.iesel) were kind enough to give me ideas on what the strange air leaking hose in my engine was AND ideas about why I was having my idle and start problems. I wanted to thank all of you. I got my car back from my mechanic Thursday. He kept it for 3 days. I wanted him to really get a chance to drive and start the car in all kinds of siturations. He even wound up driving the car home so that he could get a real sense about how it was performing. Here is the result... 1. SLOW IDLE: It turns out that it was a "Stuck EGR Valve". They cleaned and lubed it. The mechanic at first thought it might be something with the throttle linkage but it turned out that was ok. 2. HARD STARTING (long crank): They fixed this by replacing the "Ignition Points" and "Condensor" because there was a drop in voltage when I cranked during starting. Well, so far so good. The car seems to be running really well. (fingers crossed) It starts so fast that its almost like a new car again. I'm waiting for a 02 repair book in the mail that I ordered off of ebay. I should get it any day now so that I can start learning about what exactly things like "points" and "condensor" are. I'm very happy. Saturday I'm planning to take my car on the 1st long drive I've done with her. I'm going to try and join up with the BayArea02 folks for the monthly drive. Here is a website I made about my car... http://web.me.com/momanace/1976_BMW_2002/Welcome.html Thanks again for your help. Morris

My new 02 is in the shop getting the idle worked on and I'm going to pick it up on Thursday. I'm planning on being at the Nov gathering. It will be my 1st one and I'm looking forward to meeting other owners in person. Morris

Joel, the new car looks great. I've had my 02 about 6 weeks so I'm new as well. I did have a 77 Chevy El Camino with a carb back in the day. I'm glad to be back in that world again. I've found this site and the folks on it to be super helpful. They have been able to diagnose problems I had with my car just based on my descriptions and a few photos I posted faster than my mechanic. I think that with a car of this vintage its great to have this site as a place to meet people that really know and love these cars. Good luck with yours. I hope you enjoy it as much as I've done mine. Morris

Hi everyone. I've got 2 issues with my 1976 02 1. It starts perfectly well when it's cold. It generally starts without too much trouble when it's been sitting around for a while. But most of the time it does not want to start when it's just been driven and the engine is hot. It eventually has started but thats after lots of tries and lots of worry. 2. The idle speed changes quite a bit. I've had my mechanic set it (usually at about 9000 rpms) and that works for a day or 2 but then sure enough it gets back to a really low, gotta keep my foot on the gas pedal or it will stall situation. I somehow feel like these problems are related. My mechanic wants me to bring it in tomorrow and I think I'll leave it there for a few days so he can really have time to check it out and try starting and driving it. I'd even like it if he drove it home so that he could really get to know it like I do. He is a BMW only mechanic but I'm not sure how may 02s he winds up working on these day. Today I was poking around in the engine while the car was at idle and about to stall. My buddy had his foot on the gas just enough to keep it from stalling. I was noticing that most all of the hoses in the engine are old looking. I happend to touch one hose and the moment I did I heard stream of air. If I let go then the air sound went away. I decided that maybe this hose was bad and had a crack. (I've never worked on cars and you have gathered by now) In spite of my cluelessness I decided that perhaps all my starting and idleing problems might be air flow related. I took the hose off (it slip right off without having to loosen the clamps). I could not see any cracks in the hose. I went to the local auto parts store. They did not stock and hose that I could use to replace it so I decided to buy new clams and re-attach the hose myself. [[[ See the red hose photos below. ]]]]] What happend? Not much. I still was having a really slow idle after I reatached the hose. But something bothered me. If you look closely at one of the places that the red hose attaches to you will notice "threads" on the inside of the attaching area. That leads me to think that originally some other kind of hose or part was in this spot. If there is some type of air leak some place it could be any where. Lots of the hoses look old and I wonder how practical it would be just to replace most all of them. That does not sound very expensive and I would think that I might just be able to do that myself. (what do you think about that?) There is one other hose photo that I wanted you to look at. Notice the photo of the long black hose. That hose seems to be collapesing on one end (crimped). I would imagine that is not ideal. Otherwise in the engine its my feeling that a general neatening up could be done. I'm noticing hoses that seem to make contact with engine parts that get quite hot. I would imagine that is not ideal? I'm bringing the car in on Monday and I'll report back what progress there is (or isn't). But I was hoping that some people could give me ideas on my 2 problems. Otherwise the car is running great. There is lots of power in the engine etc.. Thanks for your help. Morris

I just bought a 76 02' a month ago. I'm planing to go on the train museum drive. It will be my 1st Bay Area 02 event. I'm looking forward to meeting other folks and seeing some other cars. Morris

Hi folks, Thanks for all the input. I'm going to buy those books. Looks like I've got plenty to read on Sunday afternoons. I looked at the invoice for the work that was done to the car when I bought it. The original owner took it to the shop to get work done and its seems that after 32 years the list to things to do was a bit too long. So he sold the car to me via the shop. The following is a list of what they did right before I bought it. Id like to learn about what all these parts are / do. Some of them I know about others I don't. time to hit the books. The work done in September 2008 -Overhaul front brake calipers -Replace wheel bearings -install new front brake pads and rotors -remove and replace smog pump -replace drive belts -replace ERG line with good used ERG line -Change Engine Oil and Filter -Change Transmission and Differential Oil -Replace ignition points and condenser -replace fuel filter -check and lubricate suspension and half shaft boots -check brake percentages and rotors -set tire pressures and check tire thread depth -adjust valves and replace valve cover gasket -remove and replace spark plugs -replace distributor cap and ignition rotor -pressure test cooling system / check for leaks -check battery and charging system -check all lights, belts and hoses -check and adjust ignition timing -set fuel mixture and idle speed -clean engine compartment -road test vehicle -replace transmission mount -mount and balance front and rear tires -new falken tires -smog check