ABS

This X3 owner was experiencing an intermittent engine misfire and rough running concern that the BMW dealership diagnosed as having internal engine damage. We found that one of the catalytic converters was plugged up with enough carbon that during certain operating conditions the airflow through the engine was restricted.

I finished rebuilding that transmission earlier this week. It's back in the car and ready to go.

This oil filter from a 745li should of been replaced at least 20,000 miles ago.. Unfortunately, it restricted the oil flow just enough to ruin the engine.

Current project in the shop.. A rebuild of a ZF 5HP19 transmission out of a 2004 325i. The last photo is of a valve body separator plate that I partially cleaned to illustrate just how much debris accumulates in a high mileage transmission that has never been serviced..

Here's something that we haven't seen in a while.. On this 2007 X5, the rear differential internally blew apart. The force was so great that the bottom part of the differential housing cracked open. The right side axle shaft had to be cut to remove the differential assembly..

Wiring damage from rodents in your BMW You may have heard stories about rodents chewing up engine wiring under the hood of a BMW (or any car for that mater). Well.. It's true.. Rats and mice will chew up wires and insulation, and stash away nuts, leaves, bark, and other debris to build a nest . Why do they chew the wires and insulation? My guess is that the rodents are attracted to the chemicals in those components. The amount of damage these little critters create can ...be devastating to the vehicle owners checkbook. Most vehicles that have come to my shop with rodent damage cost in the neighborhood of around $250-300.. However, once in a while, we'll get a BMW towed in with significantly more damage. A good friend of mine had recently been the victim of rodent damage. He calls me a few weeks back stating that intermittently, his engine is very difficult to start. Mind you that we had just replaced his battery 3 weeks prior to the complaint and we both thought that maybe there was a mistake made in the battery registration process that is done when replacing the battery. When he dropped off the vehicle to have it checked out, we found the charging system to be operating normally. We decide to remove the intake manifold to inspect the starter. With the intake removed, we find a rodent nest right between the starter and the engine block. Due to either excessive heat saturation or rodent urine, the starter had begun to fail. Swapping in a new starter solved the problem. Last summer, a customer had towed in his 5 series E60 to diagnose why his engine seized on the freeway. What I had found was rodent debris and feces all over the engine compartment and an engine crank rod to have broken loose and smash a hole right through both ends of the engine. Further diagnosis conformed that some of this debris had entered through the intake system and into the engine, creating the disaster. Exactly how it got in there is hard to say. By far, the worst rodent disaster I have ever seen. How can you help prevent this from happening to your vehicle? If you live in a rural area, or leave your vehicle unattended for long periods of time, I advise that you look under the hood at least once a month. If you do in fact notice some rodent activity going on, have an experienced technician inspect and clean out the vehicle immediately. Also, if you have a garage, USE IT! Make sure the garage is completely sealed from the outside.

Battery Replacement and Registration for modern BMW's Right up until 2001, a battery replacement on a BMW was pretty straight forward. Whether the battery was under the hood, rear seat, or in the trunk, all that was needed was a couple basic hand tools and a little muscle to replace it in a BMW. Unfortunately, times have changed... Begining in the 2002 model year BMW 7 series (E65/E66), BMW had engineered the vehicle's electronics to monitor the amount of load that is put ...on the battery during service and the amount of recharge it will take over the life of the unit. Over time, as the battery ages, the charging parameters for the battery change. When the battery is replaced in a newer model BMW, the replacement needs to be registered in the DME (Engine Control Computer) to 1) log the history of when the battery was replaced and 2) clear the old charging parameters that were used for the old retired battery. Failure to due so will result in a much shorter lifespan of the battery and worse, malfunctioning of the vehicle electronics! We have been getting a rash of BMW's coming to the shop recently with abnormal electrical issues caused from batteries being replaced without registering them in the DME. Issues include things like hard starting, multiple steering, traction control, and airbag related malfunction warning indicators coming on, and electrical systems (such as the climate control) not function at full capacity, if at all! Bottom line.. The battery needs to be registered. Models needing registration are: 2002 - current 7-Series E65/E66/F01/F02 chassis 2003 - current 6-Series E63/E64/F12 chassis 2004 - current 5-Series E60/E61/F07/F10/F11 chassis 2006 - current 3-Series E90/E91/E92/E93 chassis 2007 - current X5 E70 chassis 2008 - current X6 E71 chassis 2009 current Z4 E89 chassis Beginning production 1 series E82/E88 chassis See more