FB73tii

Further thoughts: It is possible the vent hose is fine and what happened is the warm-up regulator filled up with gas and the gas came out to top of the regulator, where the "hat" is. If this is the case, the warm-up regulator is full of fuel. If you can, disconnect that vent hose from the warm-up regulator and see if pooled fuel drains out. BTW, the warm-up regulator controls an enrichment lever on the KF. When the engine is cold the KF runs much richer, which is why the extra air is needed from the hose.

If you are talking about the hose from the lower back of the KF up to the center of the intake manifold plenum, it is an air hose from the KF warm-up regulator. When the engine is cold, the regulator lets additional air into the intake manifold. As the engine warms a spring in the regulator expands and closes off that excess air. The gas that ran down the tube will eventually evaporate. I cannot imagine a scenario in which damage would occur, other than an engine fire, which fortunately you avoided. Very lucky, considering the amount of gas that overflowed into the air cleaner housing!

Hey, the factory KNEW that that the 2002 was going to rust when they designed them. That is why they installed the self-oiling rust prevention device. Obviously that failed in this case--a factory defect. BMW should do the right thing and produce a new run of bodies and give them to every owner that has rust on thier '02 . PS: apologies to those who have completed a full restoration--you won't qualify for that free rebody kit. Now, where did I put that part number...........

We had a discussion on this a while back. Possibilities are a bad cold start relay box or a cold start injector that is somehow clogged and staying open. When power is on the electric tii fuel pump is running and pressurizing the system. A short term solution is to disconnect the injector harness from the injector. The car will still start, it will just take a bit longer to fire up. So either you need a new injector, or a new or repaired relay box. Becuase those boxes are expensive, some of us have just hooked up a push-botton in the cabin to manually fire the cold start injector when needed. Others have figured out how to repair the cold start relay box. I'll see if I can find that post..... EDIT: here you go. For more information search on "cold start injector" 73 Tii Non-Starting-Fuel Pooling Issue http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/145883-73-tii-non-starting-fuel-pooling-issue/ --Fred

Most anything can be "saved" if you spend the time and money. But your frame rail is so toast that it would be a very extensive and expensive repair. And while your rear shock tower may appear good, given the amount of subframe rust and that you are in Boston (I lived there 5 years and know what is does to 2002's), there is almost certain to be strutural rust in other portions of the car, inlcuding the rear subframe, the subframe mounting pads, inside the rockers and a host of other places. IMHO this tow truck driver did you a favor. That frame rail is so weak it could have let go in a corner on a mountain road and you'd potentially be in bad shape. If you want to save the car the best thing to do is get a good shell and transfer all the good parts over to it. BTW, this reminds me of something I saw one time when we were ice racing on Newfound Lake near Bristol, NH with the Boston BMW CCA. A guy had brought a used ice racing car--it may have been an Audi but I forget now--with huge sheet metal screws as studs, something like 400 per tire. He took off and was extremelly fast on the ice--until there was a huge "thunk" and the entire rear end ripped out of the car--rear subframe, diff, axles, wheels. Turned out it was rutsy under there and the load he generated ripped it right out! Had to call a flatbed and haul the car way in two pieces. --Fred Back in the day...

Jonathan--something does not quite add up for me. You said you cannot afford to keep two cars, but you are willing to borrow money to finish your project, knowing that you will get at most 50 cents on the dollar back for the money you borrow. The initial scope you listed--structural rust repair (you will find more once you get into it), full interior, new aftermarket seats, surface rust removal and a paint job (which will then require all new chrome to match the new interior), a five speed conversion, and then of course new rims and tires to match the rest of the car, will cost at least $10,000, even with you doing the body work and installation. If you go with my math, when the car is sold you will have thrown away $5000 for no return. This money could be used to afford your second car.... If you were going to keep the car I would say go for it--I did, years ago, when people told me I was nuts. They were wrong. Perhaps if you finish it you will realize you don't want to sell it. BUT--if you are going to sell it, leave it up to the buyer to decide if they want to restore it or not, what color paint, if they like the 4-speed, etc. I like Zorac's response. If you find a local buyer, you can share your vision and offer to do some of the work. Heck, give them a full parts list and estimates for everything and let them buy the parts and pay you to do the work. In the best of all possible worlds, you see the project finished, don't have to borrow any money, and get paid as well! Not telling you what to do, just some food for thought. Best, Fred (Restored my '73tii--twice, built my 74tii track car from ground up, now restoring my '69ti "rescue" race car)

As I previously mentioned, the tii alternator can be removed without removing the front sway bar. Just undo the nut holding the alternator pulley and remove the pulley and fan from the alternator. You can now work the alternator out of the engine bay without removing that sway bar. --Fred

I agree that a head gasket job, whether or not it involves head work, should be done carefully and to the highest quality. After all, it should last at least another 100K miles. I also agree with the second point. I am used to DIY and am willing to cost my time at zero to feel like I am getting a savings when I do my own work. The fact is I enjoy it. Shop owners need to pay themselves and the workers, rent, overhead, insurance, advertising, etc. Part of this is adding a margin on parts--I accept that. And they deal with grief from uninformed customers with unrealistic expectations. If you do find a trustworthy shop it is worth supporting them though occassional business. When evaluating an estimate, look at it closely. Each little part does add up, and the shop is factoring in things that occur when working on old cars such as snapped exhaust studs and other unforseable issues. If they quote a customer $X, the customer won't want to pay a dollar more no matter what kind of Pandora's box their car turns out to be. So, by all means, get a number of estimates. But more importantly, try to get personal reference of people that really know the shop. That is what pays dividends in the long run. I am about to pay a shop I have never used a few $thousand to do an engine and trans swap on my truck, and I feel confident because someone I trust has been going to them for 30 years and says they are straight up. That is hard to find these days, and peace of mind is worth quite a bit. --Fred

IMHO $1000 just to replace a head gasket is way too high. But then I'm not a shop owner so take that with a grain of salt. If they did not list machine work they are not planning on doing any. As others have said, get other estimates. Or spend $900 on new tools and $100 on beer and pizza and get a friend who has done it before to help you (yes, i do have a taste or expensive beers ). I was nervous the first time I did a head gasket (at the track--Mt Tremblant), but had good help. Now I that I am building my own race engines I do it as a matter of routine. BTW, the actual gasket is fairly inexpensive. Stock 1.5mm head gasket is P/N 11121734213 (appears to have been superceded by 11121734279). The stock (+0,3) 1.8mm head gasket is P/N 11121734214. I expect BMW made a thicker gasket for rebuilds to compensate for any light skimming of the head mating surface. BMW Head Gasket +0.3 mm (1.80 mm) BMW MSRP = $85.36 Online BMW Dealer = $58.92 BMW Head Gasket (1.50 mm) BMW MSRP = $84.27 Online BMW Dealer = $55.21 VICTOR REINZ Head Gasket +0.3 mm (1.80 mm) 11-12-1-734-280 $27.45 @ RM European VICTOR REINZ Head Gasket (1.50 mm) 11-12-1-734-279 $17.72 @ RM European Hopefully the shops you contact are honest, but be aware that an unscrupulous shop will do a "lift and slip". That is where they don't even take the head off to inspect it and clean things up. Just undo the head bolts and timing gear, lift the head a bit, pull out the old gasket and slip in a new one. That won't last very long, and you won't get your $1000 back when it fails. Best, Fred

Heads bolts are cheap. The upper timing cover leak could likely be fixed for the cost of a tube of RTV sealant. This has been discussed before, so do a search of the forum. To answer your question requires more information on what actually would be done, and how exactly the head gasket has been determined to be "leaking". Generally if a head gasket goes bad then the cause must be fixed. Suggest do a leakdown and compression test before taking anything apart to really undestand what is going on. If $1000 includes a rebuild of the head then perhaps reasonable. --Fred

+2 on 6-ton stands. I use them for most jobs, with some 4-ton stands for minor jobs. Look around and you can find them for a good price. I also have several sets of spare wheels and stack them under the car as backup when I am doing major work that might apply sideways forces. A final note--I don't understand those small jack stands with round bases, they just don't appear stable at all. Be safe! --Fred

I've never heard of such a plate for the thrust rod/radius rod, but I did use a big washer to take up that gap when I had it. I don't recall now, but I don't think I had to use the extra washers when I went to poly bushings.

Fernando--I sent an e-mail to Jeremy at IE asking him to look at this thread. FWIW, it took me about 3 months to get the dual springs specs from VAC, Ireland was much quicker. After I ordered some VAC springs, I tested them at my local machine shop (they let me do it for free) and they were not as stiff as claimed. I recently bought a calibrated test spring and will take it to the machine shop so I can verify the accuracy of thier spring tester. Here is my data: Ireland's unpublished spec (with retainer) 85 lb @1.500” 260 lb @1.063” Ireland dual springs as measured by me (bare springs--spring test calibration not validated) 59.3 lb @ 1.550" 260 lb @ 0.855" Spring Rate = 288.8 lb/in. Measured Installed Height = 1.500 in. Max Valve Lift = 0.462 in. (Schrick 316 cam, 0.010" lash) Open Height = 1.038 in. Closed force = 73.7 lb Open force = 207.2 lb I don't don't think I understand your original question, as I don't know why one would need to know the spring force to "calculate the length of the seat ring". Are you talking about the valve seat in the head? Can't imagine valve spring force has anything to do with this. Perhaps you can explain. Best--Fred

If you want to know the force and/or spring constant of the Ireland Engineering dual valve springs, the Schrick specs will do you no good. Do yourself a favor and contact Jeremy at Ireland Engineering. I have a set of IE dual springs and Jeremy gave me the specs. He specifically told me that he has tested other springs against thier specs (including the one mentioned here) and the actual measurements do not agree with the specs. You have not stated what you are trying to do, but if you are unwilling to have your springs tested, at least contact your supplier (IE) to see what they say. The reason I am not sharing the IE specs I have with you is that they may have changed, and you need to go through what I did if you really want to understand the issue I have been trying to make clear. Best of luck--Fred

There is not much cutting you can do before you get into the driveshaft center bearing mount. Make sure you get under the car and check everything carefully before making cuts, including the location of the rear brake hard line that runs through the tunnel. --Fred

In my experience the stock 2002 seat is not centered on the steering wheel, but offset an inch or so to the left as you say. This is only based on 2 cars, so others may have different experiences. When I installed my aftermarket seat, a Kirkey Roadrace Intermediate, I fabricated the mounts so it would center. Since I wanted the seat as low as possible, I cut into the transmission tunnel a bit to make access pockets for my mounting bolts. --FB

I didn't have the VW tool so I used a CV-joint "plate" as a flywheel lock with the engine on a stand. If one is not strong enough they can be doubled or tripled up. --Fred

That's correct. When converting between English and metric units it helps to know that 1 newton = 0.22480894387 pound-force. At least I used the right units in my example above --FB

While there are many options the stock system with a tii muffler is always a good fallback. In my experience the correct tii muffler was made by Eberspächer. Here are the current online BMW prices: 18121108739 - tii muffler $145.51 @ Husker 18121245265 - resonator $109.49 @ Husker Another option is ANSA. It looks like they have two lines--OEM and Sport: ANSA Sport Muffler (center exit) BW0227 $299.95 @ BavAuto ANSA Sport resonator BW0225 $169.95 @ BavAuto ANSA OEM Muffler 18121108739 $145.63 @ RME ANSA OEM resonator 18121245265 $102.31 @ RME Not standing by ANSA, just used it in the past. Now I buy my mufflers at a circle track supplier or on Amazon--currently using a 6" x 18" Magnaflow with a 5" x 15.5" Vibrant resonator (3" system).

Right, you are looking for the "seat" pressure of the valve on the seat when it is closed and the "nose" pressure when the valve is open at maximum lift. What I am suggesting is to use your valve spring height micrometer to measure your installed valve spring height when the valve is closed. Then put the springs on a tester, compress them to that height and read the pressure. That is your seat pressure (290 N in your example above). It is best to test them with the retainers you will be using and then subtract that height, as the installed length of the inner spring is slightly less than the installed length of the outer spring due to the lip in the spring retainer. Note that if you put shims under the spring cup, the installed height will be reduced and seat pressure increased. This is how to equalize springs if they are not all of identical pressure, or if the valve stem height varies due to recessed valve seats or poorly machined valve spring pads on the head. Now calculate the open spring height by subtracting the maximum lift from the installed (closed) height, and use the spring tester to read the pressure at that height. That's your nose pressure (700N in your example above, assuming that was max lift for the cam used). If you have the spring constant (K) and one pressure reading and the height it was taken at, you can calculate the pressure any other height. Your supplier should be able to give you enough information for you to figure these out, but if you really want to know what you actually have you must physically test your specific springs. I have gone through this and springs I received either did not match what I was told, or the way the specs had been defined was not properly presented. One supplier told me the seat pressure on a set of dual springs was 90 lbs and they were nowhere near this. If you are running a big cam and High RPM you must check all these yourself. The bottom line is that anyone can tell you anything, but until you measure them yourself, you don't *know*. I hope this helps. --Fred

JR--thanks for posting the link to the Heidegger replica and Paul Burke's work. I have always thought of doing an M10 with a motor plate, but had never seen one until today. I'll have to save up and give him a call sometime! --Fred

If you are looking for the specifications for the valve springs it is best to ask the supplier (in this case IE) directly. If you want to know what you actually have in your hand you need to take your springs to a machine shop with a high-quality and recently-calibrated valve spring tester and have them tested. If you really want to be sure about the results you should also buy and bring along a reference calibration spring to verify the shop's spring tester. I (and others) have found that valve springs do not always test out to published specifications. Also, when evaluating valve spring rate data, you need to be very clear on how the specification was arrived at. Is the retainer included in the height? Was it a stock retainer or not? What is the actual retainer height? Was the spring cup included? Was this tested on a high quality machine? Did your supplier validate the batch of springs yours came from? Some manufacturers give you specs in terms of cam lift instead of spring height, which then requires knowing what their installed height was. I hope this was the question you asked. If not, please clarify. --FB

It all comes down to parts, labor and how tired the engine is. That plus the performance level--stock, upgrade, mild race, full race. You can price all the parts yourself, then decide what you really need and what you can reuse when you take the engine apart and inspect everything. It could be just new bearings, re-ring and a valve job with guides and seals, or it could end up being that plus new pistons, new valves, new cam/rockers/valve springs, new oil pump, new timing gear and chain and so on. A long way of saying there is no one answer. You can either do all the research and build it yourself except for machine work and perhaps some assembly, or you can pay someone for a turn-key engine. And then there is the installation cost if you are not doing it yourself. Labor rates vary--what is important is that you get good info, quality parts, and someone who knows what they are doing. While RealOEM shows these NLA, here is the current listing from Husker BMW, the place I buy all my dealer-only BMW parts. BMW re-manufactured short engine 01/1966 to 08/1973 11001261406 04/1971 to 12/1975 11001261408 Only the 11001261408 is listed as available from this source (but it may be NLA, so give them a call) $3,824.98 @ www.bmwmercedesparts.com (Core charge of $1,000) --Fred

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Too late Andrew, I already lit my hair on fire If there was a giant dent in the rim I would not be so concerned, and I have seen plenty of rim failures, including several broken Miata rims at a Laguna Seca race that failed mid-corner. I am sure there is more to the story, but such a complete failure is cause for concern and I stand by my original post --FB