Kevmond

Thanks. Dread to think what the cost would have been! I’d estimate at least 1.5hrs labour if tank was required to be lowered, no idea what Stealerships hourly rate is. It only took me as long as it did as I was doing on my drive a week after surgery. Worst part was undoing the T60 bolt on rear brace (caused pain in site of surgery) Used to be £65 P/H at a main agent Ford stealership where I worked some 22yrs ago, no idea what current labour rates are as I do (selective) work myself on occasions. No longer do private work, only immediate family cars (Wife/Son/Daughter’s mk8 Fiesta/Toyota GT86/2015 Mini)

So, Bracket arrived from eBay, nothing but the best Chineseum stainless steel. Jacked car up as high as possible and placed an axle stand under the rear jacking point. 6x T45 bolts removed from x brace pictured, and a T60 on the O/S to allow the brace room to drop when lowering exhaust. Rear exhaust supported with trolley jack, mounts undone with a 13mm nut either side of rear silencer and lowered. 4x metal heat shield nuts removed, 4x plastic heat shield nuts removed from felt section of under shielding. Jiggle metal heat shield about a bit and slide towards the rear to remove. Broken lugs from handbrake bracket fell out when heat shield was undone. Fairly conclusive diagnosis! Handbrake cable can be pulled down enough to allow ring end of spanner to undo retaining nut. New bracket straddles old bracket and secures cables very well. Refit everything that was removed, not forgetting that metal heat shield goes underneath felt section. Apologies for pics not being in order, some didn’t want to upload at all. EBay item was in fact £6.79!!

Greydog, Officially the fuel tank needs dropping to replace this bracket as there are locating lugs between the cable bracket (correctly identified as No12 in diagram) and a few fixtures around it. Ive ordered an aluminium replacement for a similar price of £10 to the originals replacement. There is a lovely billet item available for £120, which can be fitted without the need to drop the fuel tank. Although I cannot warrant that cost to myself. Cable ties can be used as a temporary repair, however the exhaust needs lowering in order to remove a heat shield to gain access. I wish I’d “borrowed” some stainless cable ties from work. IMO, if I’m going to that length to make a repair, I may as well go for a permanent fix. Against my wife’s wishes, I’ll no doubt be climbing underneath sometime next week to fix it. I had surgery on my collarbone on Monday due to a mal union following an accident a couple of yrs back. I’ll report back once I’m done, maybe with some pics and a brief guide to assist others. Apparently it’s quite common on F series BM’s.

Morning all, So my car started making a scraping sound under the centre console when accelerating hard, Ive found on another forum a video with the exact sound I’m experiencing. Turns out it’s due to the handbrake cable clips above the fuel tank breaking and the hand brake cables rub on the prop shaft. Has anyone got any experience with renewing these? Apparently the tank needs to be dropped. People have said that cable ties work well as a cheap alternative. I’d normally climb underneath, play and report my findings, but I’m recovering from an operation at the moment so cannot get underneath for a few weeks. 😕

Good morning all, So, having had my car for a little over 6 months I decided to give the transmission an overdue service. Parts obtained from Autodoc for £205 for ZF service kit, a fill plug & mechatronic sleeve (Just in case) Job wasn't that bad to do. I even found the source of an intermittant rattle from un undershield. Once done I cleared the adaptions & drove up the road, instantly the shifts were noticeably smoother, not that they were too bad before, just slightly less refined. ZF recommend it to be done at 60K I believe, my car has covered 79K miles. I might do just a fluid flush at 100K miles, we'll see...

So, Chris kindly did CarPlay activation for me late on Friday evening (19:00!) while I waited. Didn’t work initially, he said it can sometimes need to be turned off and locked for a while. Next time I drive reboots it pulls in coding. Got home, had a beer and then returned outside after another beer or two & retried. CarPlay working as expected. Only thing that doesn’t work is screen mirroring. According to many online, IPhone doesn’t support this feature sadly, only android. Must say, although BMW maps are upto date, the nav is a bit woeful (took me down a dead end) it’s nice to have Google maps and/or waze.

Hi all, I hope you are all well! I thought I’d let others know about my positive experience I had with Precision drive near Southend airport. I was recommended by a friend, who had his E90 updated a while ago. I had messaged Chris at precision drive about getting my F36 updated & addition of CarPlay. He replied with the cost & answered any queries I had. Dropped off car & left it with him. I got a call after 1.5hrs to say the whole car had been updated but there was an issue whilst installing CarPlay (he doesn’t yet have dedicated broadband at his workshop, phone tethering wasn’t sufficient) He has kindly offered to come to my house & apply the CarPlay at a later date. It turns out that my cars never had any software updates applied since new! Instantly I noticed the shifts were smoother & engine was quieter. Should anyone else require their cars updating give Chris a message/call (search Precision Drive) I paid £120 for whole vehicle update, £60 to be paid at a later date for CarPlay activation.

Sounds like you've not had much luck! When you say the crank has been replaced, I assume you mean crank pulley?? They're a vibration damper and not unknown to fail. Why the garage didn't listen to you when you said the clutch felt odd I do not know! Perhaps the EML is on due to Pre/Post cat sensors not tying up due to exhaust leak?

Solar charger should certainly help! Not sure if 12V cigar light is direct or switched feed from battery. If switched, it may pay to connect solar charger direct to batery.

Dennis, I echo Greydogs post. It'll certainly pay to have a good battery charger that conditions the battery (Such as a CTEK conditioner) Dont just put a cheap trickle charger on as these are known to end up frying the battery.

Mornin' Greydog, Thanks for the Info. Bit of a first world problem really, perhaps I'll convince the financial controller one day... Perhaps I'll try to prise the lens out and check that the mirror can receive the lens (Maybe thats been changed at some point) I discovered the interior ambient lighing on that door wasn't plugged in, so someones definately been there before me. For now I need to convince her that "I need" to spend money on 4 wheel alignment, a Service and a gearbox service early next year on a car that I've only just bought!

Good afternoon all, I noticed after a few days that my Nearside door mirror doesn't have the same dimming glass that the Offside mirror has. Perhaps previous owner was given option of Non dimming lens to save a few quid? Reading Online (Mainly otherside of the pond) people have said theirs only has one dimmming glass. Does anyone on here have 2X Dimming door mirrors?

I'm only playing and reading up on stuffs myself, hardly a reputable source to offer advice! So, mine has lighting package(?) so had white downlights in the outer door handles. Allegedly, you can code them to come on when in reverse. Currently only on when unlocking the car, or opening door and getting out. Daughters 2015 Mini also has lighting package(?) & is coded, helpful when pitch dark so you can see along the sides when reversing.

So, Does anyone use Bimmercode, if so, what have you coded? So far I've done: Video in motion, Cornering lights, adjusted NS Mirror tilt value, added Speedo in cluster, added Turn off Angel eyes in centre stack & others which I've forgotten. Outer door handle lights in reverse has been coded but unfortunately doesnt work.

Also, Mudflaps. Obviously it'll help keep it clean, but would they detract from the cars lines?

Thanks all, Gave it a quick wash yesterday after 26Hrs in my possession. Paint's not too contaminated & I thought it needed some protection before winter. Gave it a pre wash, a wash in Bilt Hamber shampoo & then coating of Bilt Hamber Touch on as there was little to no beading when wet. A lazy protection, but better than nothing. Front has clearly been blown over. I knew the bonnet had but also the wings. Still, saves me a job later! Dash cam's hardwired in this morning & a small German emblem on order for the lower grille (To annoy a Ford fanboy at work) Can I ask peoples thoughts on gloss black kidney grilles? I'm in two minds...

Thanks for the message Dave. I used to be a Technician at a Ford Stealership before managing to bluff my way into Ford Motor Co some 22Yrs ago. I'm well aware of a Diesel needing a bit of a kicking frequently. Always had Ford cars (Exception of a 1.8VTI Civic) 1st Day of not having a heated front screen in 14Yrs & there was a frost on the windscreen this morning! I think SWMBO's Fiesta will be relegated to the road so I can have the driveway. So far I'm smitten with the car. Drives absolutely spot on. Will be getting a 4 wheel alignment next month to preserve tyre wear.

Hi all, Found this site & hoping to find advice, tips & general lighthearted banter. Picked up an F36 today, 3.0 Diesel, Black. First BM I've owned, so far so good! Picked it up from Oxford & drove like Miss daisy back home (60/70Mph) astounded that it shows avg MPG of 60! Soon diminished after taking a few colleagues up the road. Hoping to mess about on Bimmercode tomorrow to code a few bits (Folding mirrors, tilt NS mirror less & door handles on in reverse) for starters.... Poor Pic taken as soon as I got to work.