Andy74tii

Thanks Paul. I can confirm it is no big deal to slip the gasket under the tensioner arm! Was not too tricky.

Thanks Paul I will try that. For the top of the lower timing cover where it contacts the head gasket, do you use any sealant there? Also, the bottom of the upper cover, same question? I know about using a bit of rtv in the corners.

Thanks,

Andy74tii

I am putting my lower timing cover back on the tii, following some directions, which indicate using sealant to attach the gaskets first to the covers, then install (no sealant on the engine side) to the block. IMPORTANT NOTE: the oil pan is staying on, and the engine is in the car.

I just saw a past post indicating you should put the passenger side gasket onto the block rather than the cover, and I can see why. It looks like it might be difficult to slip the top part of the gasket under the tensioner arm. Has anyone successfully done this? I have already adhered the gaskets to the cover, and don't want to drop the oil pan. Am I screwed, and need to order another gasket and start over?

Thanks,

Andy74tii

Paul, not meaning at all to smile on your misfortune, but lately I have had several days like that. Im in the process of replacing all the hoses, gaskets, powdercoating intake, etc., which now need to be redone since 12 years since my last restoration of this tii. At that time, you were still at Max's and I was ordering a huge amount of parts from you on a weekly basis!

I have thus far fixed 4 broken bolts and havent even looked at the exhaust yet. To see that even you can have a bad day makes me think, maybe I am not that hopeless after all! I am paying close attention to your guide on replacing the timing covers right now.

thanks,

Andy74tii

I'm in process of putting my tii back together. I have a new oil filter housing gasket; do you use any sealant on this, either engine side or housing side? Or no sealant?

Thanks

Andy74tii

Are the recaros still available? I'm not exactly local but in a neighboring state at least (Colorado)

Thanks,

Andy74tii

Email sent on recaros, thanks.

OK, so I spent the last several hours trying to get the darn thing off, using heat (thanks for suggestion!) and a 2 arm puller.

I really thought, given the amount of force I used on the puller, I was really going to break the thing. Finally, it came off, and "pop" is the operative word you used, and also Bill Williams in another post I found. HOWEVER, I was not really prepared for the POP, it was amazingly loud and sudden. Man, I was not prepared for that!!!!

Thanks all,

Andy74tii

I'm not currently in need, but just in case I happen to break mine in the process of pulling it off, is the tii KF pump pulley available new, does anyone know? If so, from whom? Also, is it plastic or aluminum -- mine is the original aluminum.

Many thanks,

Andy74tii

Interested in the eibachs, please contact me with price and shipping to 80004 (Colorado). Thanks,

Andy74tii

No, the Nardi is not original, I added it later....

Here is mine, austinmf. It is an original 74tii in turkis, and I had it repainted in about 2001 at a place called Casari's in Houston (same place where Bob Murphy had his done, Bob was the founder of the tii register). It is the correct code for turkis, in Glasurit. I have been very happy with it, and the result is still good after 11 years and about 66,000 miles....

The thing I like about turkis is that in certain light it looks more blue, and in other lighting it looks more green.

Andy74tii

Nice! Those are the speakers I have been hunting for a while. The closest I have gotten is just a set of 320i crossover units. I have the 300i plates, driven by a powerplate 80, all of which is mounted on the rear deck. I think I would follow your approach, putting tweeters up high, maybe on door or dash. Good luck!

Andy74tii

I'm not sure if mine was water based or not, but the original brand name paint for BMW was glasurit. I used it on my restore over 10 years ago, and it's been incredibly durable and still looks great. Just my 2 cents.

So I have been having some trouble getting the pulley off, trying to do it without a puller, on Rob 2002Haus' advice, as the thing is NLA and easy to bend. What I found works astonishingly well is just to heat it up a bit, then it popped right off.

The funny part is that I was searching here and didnt find too much, so went over to the old board (roadfly) and did a search. I found a post from someone who was having the same problem in January 2001. Me.

Time flies.....

Andy74tii

Thanks for the tip. One more question - does it work with engine in car? I am leaving it in, and taking the flywheel inspection plate off. . .

I saw that one also; will it work? Much better price!

So, I have now successfully drilled out three broken bolts (alternator and throttle body bracket, waterpump), but now have an issue with one that's broken off just inside the lowest hole on the lower timing cover. It looks like something bounced up (rock?) and sheared off a corner of the waterpump, taking the head of a bolt with it, along with the head of the timing cover bolt.

I have tried to drill this one out with no success, and am concerned about the integrity of the gaskets, so now need to take off the timing covers, and there should be enough of the bolt sticking out to grab it with some locking pliers and unscrew it.

So now I embark on the arduous task of taking off the timing covers. I have it set at TDC, and now need to take off the pulley, the KF pulley and belt, then the crank pulley. I don't have air tools, so will need a breaker bar. To lock the position in place, I would like to use a flywheel locking tool. I found this link:

http://www.zdmak.com/wbstore/main.asp?action=PROD&PROD=BMW112160&CTMP=1

Will this work, better than a flat bladed screwdriver?

Thanks,

Andy74tii

I saw that movie last night and also noticed the 02. I kept thinking there must be some reason he had that car, maybe from high school, since Charlize pulled out her old Cabriolet. I bet it was originally part of the plot and they cut it.

Yeah, I am thinking I can get away without taking it off. I visually inspected the passages, they look pretty good, all things considered. I think I will leave on for now.

Thanks

Andy74tii

Sorry for the enthusiasm, but it's such a great thing when something works well! I was using a 1/8" left hand bit, which was somewhat dull, and made almost no progress with my ryobi right angle cordless drill. I stopped in at Ace Hardware 3 mins before they closed and bought a new LH 1/8 drill. I bore into it, and about3 seconds later, the broken bolt backs out slicker than s**t!!! What a victory!!

Andy74tii

hmmmm, on second thought, it does appear that I do need to remove the top hat washer to remove. Is there any way around this?

I'm removing my warmup regulator to check for coolant sludge and so on. To me it appears that I do not have to remove the "top hat" at all, just undo the mounting bolts and the brackets, is that correct? I do not want to disturb the position of the washer or the orientation of the shaft if I don't have to, in order to remove it.

Thanks,

Andy74tii

I am trying to get enough room to drill out my broken alternator bolt, and it seems like I will have better access if I remove the oil filter mount housing. Already removed the battery, alternator, air filter, etc.

Is there any trick to this, as long as the oil is drained, and oil filter off? Is it just a matter of removing bolts?

Thanks,

Andy74tii

OK, so after a considerable bit more fact finding, I have come to this conclusion, and I feel a little dense because I shouldnt really be a newbie. I don't actually have a head gasket leak. Actually, on the tii there is a water pipe that shares a bolt with an intake pipe. I see now that when I took the intake pipe off, it has somewhat loosened the water pipe, and given that I have not yet drained the coolant, it's seeping out of that, following the gasket for the intake down to the junction of the head and block, and looking like a very reasonable facsimile of a head gasket leak. This makes sense because I can look in the valves and see no sign of water there, there's no sign of water in the oil, and it's never overheated or blown white smoke.

Big relief, at least one thing I wont have to redo now!

Thanks

Andy74tii