EcoAuto

I like the 5 gallon paint can lid suggestion. I'm sure the machine shop I'm having do the head rebuild could easily replicate the part. It would be great if I could give them a photo of the plate so they can match it closely. Anyone have a photo?

Today I pulled the head to send to the machine shop for valve work. In the process, I noticed there's a part missing from my camshaft sprocket. PN# 11310631110 is a securing plate for the camshaft sprocket. The part is "ENDED" with the notation "See SI 110582004" Can't find anything on this site, or anywhere on the internet when I search for either PN#s. This plate prevents the 4 hex bolts from backing out. I'm looking for someone with a spare OR a substitute solution. If there is a source, or a close-up photo of one, that would help. I might just fabricate something. Loctite had been used on the bolts, and that seemed to do the trick since they were still tight. However, given the ugly consequences of a bolt coming lose and getting eaten by the timing chain, I'd rather do it right. What solutions have people come up with? It's part #2 in the attached:

Where in Easter Idaho? Idaho Falls is a 4-5 hour drive (one way) from here in Bozeman. Pocatello is 5-6. Twin Falls is 7-8 hours. Even so, it would be nice to connect with 02er's in our area.

It's a multi-hour production. I need to pull the head anyway to send it to a machine shop to find out why I'm hearing so much clatter. Theory is that it's going to require a valve rebuild. It's a good time to evaluate the pros and cons of the 292 cam, the MSD 6A multi spark box and hotter coil, the non original distributor. Successive owners have modified the car, hoping to improve on BMWs original engineering. Sometimes, the cumulative effect of add-ons is to undermine the original integrity of the machine. When nobody can figure out why an engine is running improperly, the best approach might be to wipe the slate clean and go back to stock.

Jerzy and Mike, Thanks for the help on this. Today I ran new wires as per your instructions, replacing sections of the original wire which had been cut. The pump now works perfectly. Thanks again for the help! Ron

Thanks Toby... I agree with you and would prefer to keep the 6A rather than going backwards. IE's $180 stock replica distributor with Petronix knockoff internals may be the way to do.

I've been debating with Bill, my "old school" mechanic and friend, about going backwards - from a Schrick 292 to a stock 264. Can one cam have it all? That's what I want to know. Bill spent his early career as a factory trained BMW mechanic at an Arizona dealership. 02s were new models then and he spent lots of time doing tune ups. Now in his early 60s', he rides a Harley to work and owns a garage, where he services mostly domestic vehicles. When a vintage BMW pulls in, his eyes light up. Perhaps it's his past that leads Bill toward favoring reverting vintage BMWs back to stock. Me? I bought my 02 for a mix of spirited Sunday driving on Montana's twisty open roads and mountain blacktops, where performance at 50-75 mph is the priority. But on weekdays, I'm stop and going around down town with a top speed of 35 mph. So I'm interested in knowing subjective "real world" experiences and opinions about going from stock 264 cam to a 292 Dr. Schrick (or back). How much of a performance boost does one get under 4.5K rpm? What are the everyday driving pros and cons? How much does MPG change? if your car is a daily driver / commuter, how much change is there in smoothness of idle and acceleration. What about "lopey-ness" especially when the engine is cold. Sure there's lots of Schrick cam talk in the Forum, but mostly it's tech discussions about duration, peak timing, valve lift, etc. If this has been covered recently, don't want to be redundant - please link me.

Josh, Hey from two states north... Bozeman MT. Great videos. Love the Provo show video. Ron

Hi Toby, That's what's great about the 02FAQ.... being able to read others experiences, and get informed opinions from so many seasoned owners. Do you know of a way to test the 6A to see if it might be contributing to the rough running and idle as Bill believes? Valve repairs seem inevitable, now that we've adjusted the valves to specs and added a few shots of Seafoam to clean out the system. The 292 versus 264 cam will be a big decision. I could go either way. After the valves are in good order, dealing with the distributor will be next. As a newbie I've had my car for only a few months now, and have spent most of that time getting the car running right. I paid a high price for it, considering it's just a Tii clone. But it was worth it to me to be able to buy locally. The prior owner, track races vintage BMWs, and sold this one less than a year after buying it. I'm sure he sold it for reasons he wasn't eager to disclose. The cost of fresh injectors, a valve job, a new distributor probably soured his enthusiasm. As with most 35 year old BMWs still around today, my car was both babied and modified. I'm physically isolated from 02 resources in Montana. I may be one of the only Tii owners in the state. Therefore, I'm heavily influenced by the opinions of one person who's been helping me - Bill Martin. As an old school BMW mechanic, he doesn't like, (or perhaps isn't comfortable with) newer technology. He's not an internet kind of guy, and is mostly unaware of sites like this. So I do the research - parts, options, prices - while he has the experience and turns the wrench. We're both learning. I think it's going to be a great driver once I untangle these issues. Ron

Thanks Mike - There's no vacuum advance in this distributor. My "old-school" mechanic (a former BMW dealer mechanic in the 1980's, now independent) wants to remove the MSD 6A capacitive discharge ignition in my car. He urges me to trust BMW's engineers and install the original mechanical Bosch Tii distributor. "That's what they designed for your car, and that's what you should put in." However, PN# 0 231 151 008 is NLA. I don't want to take a chance on a used unit only to then have to rebuild it. I'm inclined to go with IE's replacement distributor, which seems to be the most cost effective, close to original solution.... and for only $150. The car has one intake valve that's not closing, so we're going to pull the head and do a valve job. While we're at it, I'm thinking about pulling out the Shrick 292 and putting back a stock cam to make the car more "around town" friendly and get better mileage. I'm not planning on racing, though I like HP just like the next guy. Thank god for the 2002FAQ to get everyone's opinion.

My Tii clone ('75 with '72 K-Fish and parts) has a Bosch distributor PN# 0231129026 installed and it doesn't come up as a part number for an 02. Google searching came up with a link to an 2002FAQ post from a guy with '70 1602 with that distributor. All other hits are in Russian. Perhaps a former owner had a Russian Volga part lying around his garage, or perhaps the correct distributor was not available or too expensive at the time it was needed. Either way, I'm wondering if anyone has any insight. The car has been running well with this distributor, but it might be time for a new one.

Who else on the FAQ is in Western Montana or Eastern Idaho? It would be great to compare experiences in this 02 deprived part of the country. I'm in Bozeman.

Thanks Jerzy, That's a big help and confirms my suspicion that another relay was involved. Any tips on the best way to reach that relay up in the dash? Is it usually up behind the instrument cluster or behind the center console? Is there a part number for the relay in case a prior owner removed it and I need to replace?

OK, so I'm stumped. My recently purchased 1975 had the washer bottle and pump removed from the drivers side firewall when a prior owner installed a Tii engine, Top End Performance brace and air filter kit. I found the original round bottle and pump in a box of parts that came with the car. After cleaning the pump it works fine. The bottle leaked, so I replaced it with a new square one. Bought a washer bottle mounting bracket (thanks Jason Gipson!) and remounted the bottle pump assembly on the passenger front engine bay (see photo). I've been trying to figure out where to wire the pump so it works properly. There are 5 wires coming from the pump motor. The wiper motor looks newish so I suspect it's a replacement. (see photo) and may have a different wiring harness. I've tried splicing the pump motor into each of thoe 5 wires (see photo). One of the wires activates the washer pump when pulling back the wiper stalk. However, the washer pump is also activated when I turn on the windshield wipers in any mode. I've tried each of the 5 wires, and none just activate the pump / washer without it also activating in other wiper modes. I've looked at the schematic diagram. My former BMW mechanic friend has looked at it. Both of us are ready to just run a dedicated washer switch into the cabin. Before giving up, I figures I'd see if anyone can answer the mystery. Is there a relay or something else that was removed from the car that I'm missing?

Thanks Bob, I did post to the wanted board, and Eurotrash kindly offered to sell me a hood support.

Thanks very much for the PN # Trax. I see they still sell them for about US$12 at several on line BMW sources.

Two rear vent window opener cover caps - PN # 51 36 1 817 671 Passenger side hood support - PN# 41 61 5 480 170 (see photo) Both for my '75.

I hope this isn't a dumb question. I took my newly purchased 1975 Tii clone in to see the mechanic. A dozen or so years ago (at 125k miles), the engine was rebuilt and a Kugelfisher FI and a '72 Tii intake manifold installed to simulate a Tii. A Schrick 292 cam was also installed and the compression raised... I believe to 10 to 1. I don't know if new valve springs were installed along with the cam. The OD now has 163,000 miles on it. I brought the car in to have the compression and oil pressure taken and to diagnose the general condition of the car. The idle was waffling, it was hard to start and there was valve clatter. During service, my factory trained BMW mechanic (now an independent) adjusted the valves to factory specs. He fixed a few vacuum leaks, replaced the cold start valve, two leaky injectors, cleaned the fuel pump, adjusted the distributor, and put in hotter spark plugs. The engine now starts easily, runs smoothly and idles steadily. However, the valves still clatter, especially under mild acceleration. My mechanic said to bring it back and he could reduce the clatter by tightening things down, BUT at the risk of doing some possible damage. I believe he said it could burn the rocker arms or rocker axle? Maybe I got that wrong? To fix the problem correctly may require a valve job and installation of springs appropriate to the more aggressive 292 camshaft. Not being an expert on engines and modifications, I kind of understand this, but was hoping there was an FAQ I could read to educate myself. Is there a way to reduce the valve clatter with a 292 cam installed, or will it require new springs to match the hotter cam?

A photo of a hood centering brace doohickie is attached. My '75 is missing this thingamabob on the passenger side and I can't find the part number on any of the on-line parts diagrams. Here in the middle of nowhere Montana, we just don't have auto salvage yards with dead 02s laying around. I want to post under Parts Wanted but need to get the PN# so I ask for the correct part. Unless anyone out there reading this has a spare (for the passenger side) they might want to get rid of.

In my search for a solution, I found this company in Southern Cal who will flow bench test the injectors for spray pattern and pressure for $35 each. If the injector needs rebuilding, and is rebuildable, they'll rebuild for $95 each. Not bad considering the alternatives. JF Pro BMW independent BMW Service 14412 Victory Blvd #B Van Nuys, CA 91401 818 285 2385

Thanks for the suggestion. Sadly, here Montana, resources are limited. I checked with the Bosch service center website and also with the only Mercedes Benz dealer in Montana. While both knew exactly what I was talking about, neither could offer much help. Gus Pfister at Pacific Fuel Injection could do a rebuild of the entire unit at an estimated cost of about $1000. That'll be plan my B if replacing the injectors doesn't improve matters.

Hi John, Your son is at MSU? Thats a nice coincidence. I sure hope the weather stays as beautiful as it's been for your visit. What condition are the injectors in? I'm replacing one of mine because I've been searching for the cause of waffling idle and poor gas mileage, and discovered one of the injectors leaked carb fluid when I tried to clean it up.

Hi Sherman, Thanks for the reply. Please fill me in on what you have available. I'm still researching the options - rebuilding mine, buying new, buying used. Ron

I'm sure this must be a fairly common problem, but I didn't find anything on the FAQ. New fuel injector valves PN 13531252861 (injectors stamped DLO 20D) sell for $752.00 from BMW Mobile Traditions via my usual sources - Mesa, 2002Ad, Bavarian Autosport. I haven't found anyone selling used ones, and I'm wondering what to do, short of dropping $750 on an injector, expecting the 3 others will leak sometime soon down the road. Looking for recommendations for best / fastest / most reasonable place to have injectors rebuilt OR a source for used injectors. I love my car, but spending over $3K to buy 4 new BMW injector valves is not possible without defaulting on my mortgage.