General Guides for BMW Models

just found this web page , shows all the faults and recalls for sensors.
should come in handy for some one hopefully
http://www.bba-reman...ts_and_problems

The occupancy sensor is a very common thing to go on bmws, when the occupancy sensor does go your find your airbag light being on constantly which is annoying, now I think thus bypass occupancy sensor is really good and can save you £££s, I bought mine off eBay for 10 quid and it takes around 10 mins to fit, you must disconnect the battery and the occupancy sensor is located underneath the passenger seat and your need to take the seat out, it's a 15mm socket an there are 4 bolts, once you have taken these out I didn't take the sit completely out I just put it on it's side resting against the back seats, under Neath you will need to unclip the unit and once done will look like this

The blue and white wires going into the back of the seat you need to cut and leave at least an inch of wire, strip the blue and White wire and the bypass unit you get should look like this with corsponding wires

Wire the wires in with the connecting block supplied and click the unit and bypass sensor back into place, I used a cable tie to keep the bypass unit in place, bolt the seat back in place and connect the battery. Job done!!

Part Number Website for all BMW's, anything you need, you can search for here and contact your
local dealer with the part number.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw

One of the routine maintenance items that you should perform on your BMW is the checking and replacement of your accessory drive belts. The belts are driven off of the crankshaft and power accessories such as the water pump, power steering pump, alternator and air conditioning compressor. There are typically two belts on the car - one that powers the air conditioning compressor and another that powers everything else. Both should be checked periodically (every 3,000 miles, or when you change your oil), and particular attention should be paid to the main belt. The car can run fine without the air conditioning belt installed. Some of the early E30 cars use a standard v-belt design, and some of the later cars use what is known as a poly-ribbed belt (having many channels or ribs on the underside of the belt). The poly-ribbed belt setup utilizes a spring-loaded belt tensioner pulley that provides the proper tension for the belt at all times, making adjustment unnecessary. The traditional style v-belts need to be tensioned using standard types of clamps and tensioners.
When inspecting your belts, the one thing that you want to look for is cracks (yellow arrow - Figure 1). If you see any cracks at all, you should replace your belts. The cracks will usually occur on the inside of the belt (the surface that typically rides on the surface of the pulley). With the poly-ribbed belts, this is the grooved surface. With the v-belts, this is the surfaces on the legs of the 'V'.
With the poly-ribbed belts, replacement is a snap. The tensioners that hold the belt tight can be easily released using a socket and or 8 mm hex tool. Different tensioners turn different directions, so you may have to rotate the tensioner clockwise or counter-clockwise depending upon your particular car. The description of this process is one of those things that is difficult to describe, but very easy to do. First, pry off the small plastic cap that covers the tensioner (green arrow Figure 1). Then, place your tool into the tensioner and try rotating clockwise or counter-clockwise - will become immediately apparent how the tensioner releases the belt (Figure 2 and Figure 3).
Removal of the two belts is easy - you do not have to remove the fan. Simply release the tension on the belt from the tensioner, and then the belt should simply slide off. Release the tension, and then you should be able to unwind the belt from the engine. The belt should be able to be maneuvered around and through the fan - you do not need to remove the fan to swap out any of the belts (Figure 4).
It is important to note that if your BMW has air conditioning, you will need to remove this belt first, as it typically blocks the other belt. Another tip - if the belt is worn, simply snip it with some large tin cutters and pull it out of the car, after you have released the tension on it.
Installation of the new belt is easy. Simply slide on most of the new belt onto the pulleys, release the tension on the tensioner, and slide the belt onto the tensioner. Check to make sure that the belt is securely seated in all of the pulleys. Verify that the ribbed portion of the belt is set against the crankshaft pulley. The proper orientation of the belt is shown in Figure 5.
Replace any plastic caps that you may have removed from the front of the tensioner pulleys. Now, start the car and peek in at the belts. Verify that they are turning smoothly on all of the pulleys.
For engines with the older-style v-belts, the procedure is nearly identical, except for the tensioning. The alternator is mounted on a bracket that rotates and is used to keep tension on the belt. In addition, there is a small rack-and-pinion device on this bracket that allows you to crank up the tension on the belt (Figure 6). The first step in setting or releasing tension is to release the nut on the back of the bracket that keeps the whole assembly secure. Do not attempt to turn the geared bolt without first releasing this nut on the rear - you will most likely damage the bracket. With the nut released, you can now turn the geared bolt counter-clockwise, releasing tension on the belt. Belt replacement is nearly identical to the poly-ribbed belts.
Guide found at http://www.pelicanparts.com

One of the most common tasks to perform is replacing your engine oil. Frequent oil changes are supposedly the most important thing you can do to maintain and prolong the life of your engine. With the better oils that are available today, the requirement for frequent changes is diminishing. Even though BMW now recommends oil change intervals that are much farther apart than in the past, I usually recommend that you keep the changes under the 5,000-mile limit. If you don't drive your car too often, you should change the oil at least once a year to keep things fresh. The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have everything that is required for the job. Nothing is more frustrating than emptying your oil, only to find out that you don't have a replacement filter or enough oil. You will need an oil filter, a wrench, a roll of paper towels, a very large oil pan or bucket, and between 4-7 quarts of oil. The E30 cars require between 3.5 - 4.2 quarts, and the E36 cars require 5 quarts for the four-cylinder cars, and 6.0-6.5 for the six cylinder cars. You'll also need a 17mm or 19mm wrench to remove the drain plug from the bottom of the engine sump. Start by driving the car around, and letting it heat up to operating temperature. You want to empty your oil when it's hot, because the heat makes the oil flow a lot easier, and more particles of metal and dirt will come out when the oil is emptied.
Once you get the car parked, place the oil pan bucket underneath the oil tank of the car. At the bottom of the engine sump there is a plug that is used for draining oil (Figure 1). Remove this plug carefully, and make sure you have a very large oil pan—about 7-quart capacity—under it, with a drip pan under the oil pan in case you underestimate. The oil will be very hot, and will empty out extremely quickly, so be careful not to burn yourself. There will be no time to grab any more buckets or oil pans, so make sure that the one you choose is big enough.
This is a good time to remove the oil filter. You want to make sure that you remove the filter with the oil pan still under the oil tank because the oil filter is full of oil, and this oil will have a tendency to drip down out of the filter into the tank and out the drain hole. On E30 cars, the filter is a complete unit with a outer metal housing. This filter should only be screwed on finger tight, but you may need a filter wrench to remove it. If the filter is really on tight, you may need to resort to more drastic measures. One sure-fire way to get the oil filter off is to poke a long screwdriver through it and use the handle of the screwdriver for leverage. It doesn't matter that you are destroying the filter, because you are going to install a new one. Be aware, though, that this method will leak oil out of the filter into your engine compartment, so have some paper towels handy.
On the E36 cars, the filter is a cartridge-type filter which is contained within a metal oil filter housing (Figure 2 or Figure 3). There is a cap that is located on top of the housing (it may require a small socket, or a large one depending upon your year). Remove the top (Figure 3 or Figure 4), and underneath you will see the cartridge filter. Simply remove it from the oil filter housing (Figure 5, Figure 6, Figure 7, Figure 8 and Figure 9). Have plenty of paper towels on hand, as oil will spill from the filter if you're not careful.
While all of your oil is draining, take the plug from the engine, and carefully clean it with a paper towel. The plug at the bottom of the engine is magnetic, and attracts all the little bits and pieces of metal that get trapped in the engine oil. When both plugs are clean, replace them in the car with new metal gaskets around the plugs. If you don't use the gasket, they will leak oil. Torque the two plugs to 25 Nm (18 ft-lbs) for the 17mm or 60 Nm (44 ft-lbs) for the 19mm drain plug.
Now head back into the engine compartment, and install the new oil filter (E36 Filter - Figure 10). For the E30 cars, install the oil filter with the seal wet—wipe a small bit of oil on a paper towel, and use it to make sure there is oil on the seal all the way around the filter. Screw on the filter and make it snug tight. No need to use the iron grip of death when tightening the oil filter—these don't have a tendency to leak.
For the E36 cars, you should clean out the inside of the oil filter housing before installing the new oil filter cartridge. In your oil filter kit, you should also have two o-rings and a replacement copper gasket for the long bolt that attaches the top of the housing (early E36 cars). Replace the o-ring at the bottom of the long bolt (Figure 11), and also replace the large o-ring underneath the canister top (Figure 12). Insert the new filter into the housing (Figure 13), and reinstall the long bolt and the canister top. Tighten the top of the canister to 25 Nm (18 ft-lb).
Now it's time to fill up your BMW with motor oil. A lot of people aren't really sure what motor oil to use in their car. Traditionally, the characteristics of motor oil were linked closely to its weight. Heavier-weight oils protect well against heat; lighter-weight oils flow better in cold. In general, if you live in a cold climate, you should use a 10W-40 or similar oil. This oil is a 10-weight oil that behaves and protects against heat like a 40-weight oil. In warmer climates, you should use a 20W-50 oil. This oil doesn't flow as well at the colder climates, but gives an extra "edge" on the hotter end.
The question of whether to use synthetic or traditional "dinosaur" oil often comes up among car buffs. Consumer Reports (July 1996) ran an extensive test on the two types of oil, altering amongst many different brands. The testers installed freshly rebuilt engines in 75 taxis, and then ran them through the harshest conditions on the streets of New York City. Placing different brands, weights, and formulations in the cars, they racked up 60,000 miles on the engines, tore them down, measured, and inspected the engine components for wear. The oil was changed at 3,000 miles in half of them, and the rest were changed at 6,000 miles. results: regardless of brand, synthetic or dino, weight, and oil change interval, there were no discernable differences in engine component wear in any of the engines. Their conclusion? Motor oils and the additives blended into them have improved so much over the years that frequent oil changes and expensive synthetics are no longer necessary.
Still, some people swear by synthetic oil. In practice, I don't recommend using synthetic oil if you have an older car with old seals in the engine. There have been many documented cases in which the addition of synthetic oil has caused an otherwise dry car to start leaking. If you own an older BMW that doesn't have fresh seals in the engine, I would stick to the non-synthetics.
Fill your oil tank from the oil filler hole in the top of the valve cover (Figure 14), located in the engine compartment. Add about 4 quarts to the engine, and check the dipstick. Continue to add about a half a quart at a time and keep checking the dipstick. Fill it up until it reaches the top mark of the dipstick - the engine oil level will automatically lower when the oil filter fills up with oil. Make sure that you put the oil filler cap back on the top of the valve cover, otherwise, you will end up with a messy engine compartment when you drive away.
Now, start up the engine with the hood open. The oil pressure light should stay on for about a second or two and then go out. Hop out of the car and look at the engine compartment, then take a quick look underneath the car. Verify that there's no volumes of oil seeping out of the engine. Now, take the car out for a drive and bring it up to operating temperature. Shut the car off and then recheck the oil level (careful, the car will be hot). At this point, I like to top the oil off at the top point on the dipstick. Make sure that you dispose of your old oil at a respectable recycling station.
Info found at http://www.pelicanparts.com

One basic tune-up procedure for just about any car on the road is the replacement of your spark plugs and spark plug wires (where applicable). On the BMW E36 six-cylinder engines, BMW has eliminated the use of spark plug wires by integrating six small spark plug coils that sit on top of each spark plug. While this configuration may be a bit more expensive than the typical single coil, single capacitive discharge box configuration, it makes the car's ignition system more reliable by removing a component that constantly wears out and fails (spark plug wires). It's a pretty cool setup, not commonly found on older cars. As manufacturing components has become increasingly inexpensive, ignition setups like these have become more common. I recommend replacing your spark plugs every 10,000 miles, or about once a year. In reality, you can probably go longer than that, however, you never really quite know how long the plugs are going to last, or you may forget to do it if you don't setup a yearly schedule. Needless to say, replacing your spark plugs is one of the easiest tasks to do on your BMW - provided you have the proper information, which I will provide here.
Begin by prepping the car. The only thing that you really need to do is to make sure that the car is cold. If you try to remove or install spark plugs in a hot car, then you may encounter problems with the spark plugs gumming up or damaging the relatively delicate threads in the aluminum cylinder head. Just make sure that the car is cold, or at the bare minimum, only slightly warm to the touch.
Let's talk about the six cylinder cars first. The first step is to remove the top plastic covers from the engine. These serve no mechanical purpose - they are there only for decoration and to prevent dust and debris from getting into the recesses of the engine. On the six cylinder cars, there are two covers, a long thin one on the top of the car, and a wider one towards the left. Speaking of left, for the purpose of this particular tech article, I will refer to the left side of the engine as being on the left as you are standing in front of the car looking at the engine. The right side would, of course, be opposite to that. For reference, the windshield washer bottle would then be on the left, and the air filter would be on the right.
On the two plastic covers, there will be two small, snap-in plugs on the top. Carefully remove these plugs (don't drop them into the engine) with a small screwdriver, prying them up as you grab them (Figure 1). Underneath you will find a nut that holds the cover onto the top of the engine (Figure 2). Remove the four nuts on these two covers, and they should both simply slide up out of the way. Figure 3 shows the engine with the center cover removed.
Underneath the left cover, you will see the six spark plug coils that sit on top of each of the plugs (Figure 4). You need to remove each of these carefully, in order to gain access to the plugs. Using a screwdriver, release each connector from each coil. There is a metal retaining ring on the rear of each one that fastens it to the coil (Figure 5). Once you lift up on the retaining clip, then the connector should simply slide out of the coil. Carefully remove all of the connectors from each coil (Figure 6), taking care not to bend the wire harness too much. These wires are stiff, and generally don't take well to being bent in multiple directions. Just be gentle with them.
To assist with your maneuvering of the wires, detach the center clip that holds the wires that come from the center channel. This clip is shown in Figure 7. Gently place the wires off to the side and out of the way, without bending them terribly.
With the wires detached and placed slightly out of the way, you can now remove each of the six coils. Each coil is fastened to the valve cover using two screws. On two of the coils, there are two small ground straps that connect the coil to the stud on the cylinder head. Take note of these ground straps - they must be installed properly when you are finished, otherwise your car may encounter problems. These two ground straps are shown marked by the greens arrow in Figure 8 and Figure 9 (coil already removed in this photo).
Remove each of the two nuts that hold each coil to the valve cover. At this point, the coil should be able to be easily pulled right off of the engine (Figure 10). The coil has a small coil pack on one end, and a spring-loaded spark plug connector on the opposite end. Simply remove the coil/plug assembly and place it off to the side. All of the coils are the same, so it doesn't matter which cylinder bank it came off of - unless you are specifically trying to troubleshoot a bad coil fault code that was displayed by the main computer.
With the coil removed, you should be able to look down the hole and see the spark plug hiding in there. Figure 11 shows what the top of a normal looking spark plug looks like. However, as you remove the plugs, you may discover something peculiar. The way that the ignition system is designed on these BMWs, there is the opportunity for the spark plug holes to completely fill up with oil, if you have a leaky seal on your valve cover. When you pull out the spark plug connector / coil combo, you may find that it is completely submerged in engine oil, as shown in Figure 12 and Figure 13. Looking down the hole, you may not even be able to see the spark plug because the entire hole is filled up with oil (Figure 14 and Figure 15). While common sense says that this is not a good thing, the reality is that this is actually quite common, and doesn't seem to affect the performance of the car one bit. If you do find this oil in your spark plug holes, I would suggest that you go one step further and replace the valve cover gasket. This replacement procedure is very simple, once you have the coils removed, and should only take you about 20 minutes more, providing you have the actual gasket on hand. If you find oil in your spark plug holes, then you should definitely replace the gasket.
If you find that you have oil in your spark plug holes, I suggest that you take some paper towels and attempt to soak up as much of the oil as possible, before removing the spark plug. If you don't get rid of the excess oil, then it will leak into the cylinder head through the spark plug hole when you remove the spark plug. This will cause your car to run sooty when you first start it up, and it may even foul your brand new spark plugs that you just installed!
Spark plug removal is easy - you just need the right spark plug wrench. I have one that I love - it's a spark plug socket with a rubber insert that catches the plug. In addition, it has a built-in swivel on the attachment end. This is especially useful when trying to remove plugs in hard-to-reach places, as they are always located on Porsche engines (BMW engines aren't really that bad with respect to spark plug access).
Using a breaker bar, grip the plug and turn it counter-clockwise until it is loose. Then pull out your tool and grab the plug. When the plug comes out, you may want to take a close look at it. The spark plug is really the best way to visually 'see' what is going on inside your combustion chamber. You need to pull out all of the spark plugs to replace them, so you might as well take a close look at them while they're out. While today's modern fuels make plug-reading much more difficult, you can still glean a lot of information from looking at them. A good, well-balanced engine will produce a plug that is light brown in color, and dry. If the engine is running too rich, the plug will often be coated with a lot of extra carbon. Keep in mind that the rest of your combustion chamber probably looks the same. An engine running too lean will have a powdery white coating on it, and the outer porcelain ring may have a burned appearance.
When reading spark plugs, pay close attention to the white porcelain ring around the plug. This white area will give you an excellent background to inspect the color of the plug, and to help determine how your combustion chamber looks inside.
If the plug is wet with oil, then that indicates that there is significant leakage into the combustion chamber past either the valve guides or the piston rings. This is generally a bad sign, and an indicator that a future compression test may not yield good results.
Figure 16 shows an unusual spark plug with all four of its electrode eaten away. I would hazard a guess that this plug was improperly plated from the factory, and as it progressed through it's life, the repeated sparking slowly ate away at the electrodes until they were gone. A plug in this condition would misfire often (if at all), and would generate poor performance for this particular cylinder. Surprisingly enough, none of the rest of the spark plugs in this set exhibited this type of damage. This is what leads me to believe it was defective from the manufacturer.
Figure 17 shows a brand new Bosch Platinum spark plug. While I don't have any specific preference for any specific manufacturer of plug, you should definitely make sure to get the proper ones for your car. Spark plugs have varied over the years as engines have been changed slightly due to smog regulations. The important thing to remember is to get the proper ones for your car (they are scaled by electrode type and also by heat range), otherwise you may encounter odd ignition problems. Spark plugs are cheap - I would go with a brand name like Bosch or NGK, choosing to avoid the no-name brands. Make sure that you measure the spark plug gap (if single electrode) with a spark plug gap tool before you install the plugs.
Install your new plugs using a torque wrench to measure the amount of torque applied to the plug (Figure 18). This is very important, as it is easy to over or under-tighten spark plugs. Make sure that the plug is firmly seated in your spark plug socket as it is very easy to insert the plug into the head and have it cross-thread. This means that the threads of the spark plug don't mesh properly with the ones in the head, instead choosing to "cut their own path." This damages the threads on the head, and in extreme cases, may destroy the threads in the cylinder head entirely. Trust me - you do not want this to happen. Proceed carefully and cautiously here.
Install each plug into the cylinder heads without using any anti-seize compound. Torque the spark plugs to 25 Nm (18.4 ft-lbs). While writing "How to Rebuild and Modify Porsche 911 Engines", I discovered that Porsche doesn't recommend the use of anti-seize compound, as detailed in Porsche Technical Bulletin 9102, Group 2, identifier 2870. The bulletin applies retroactively to all Porsche models and the theory is that the anti-seize tends to act as an electrical insulator between the plug and the cylinder head. This could have detrimental effect on the firing of the spark due to the loss of a good, consistent ground connection. Keeping those findings in mind, I would make the same recommendations for the BMW cars.
With the new plugs installed (Figure 19) and properly torqued, you can replace the coils (don't forget the small ground straps shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9) and reattach the coil connectors (Figure 20 and Figure 21). Snap the wires back into their center holders (Figure 7) and replace the top two plastic covers. When you're done, your engine should look back to normal (Figure 22)
Changing plugs on the 318 4-cylinder cars is a bit different and a bit easier. You remove the spark plug cover in a similar manner (Figure 23). There should be a handy little blue spark plug wire pull tool under the cover. Use it to remove the plug wires from the ends of the spark plugs (Figure 24). With the wires disconnected, remove and reinstall the plugs in a similar manner to how I described the procedure for the six cylinder cars. You will also want to replace the spark plug wires every 30,000 miles or if they look cracked and worn out.
Info from http://www.pelicanparts.com

Replacing your brake pads is one of the easiest jobs to perform on your BMW. In general, you should inspect your brake pads about every 10,000 miles, and replace them if the material lining of the pad is worn down enough to trigger the pad replacement sensor. In reality, most people don't inspect their pads very often, and usually wait until they see the little brake warning lamp appear on the dashboard. It's a wise idea to replace the pads, and inspect your discs as soon as you see that warning lamp. If you ignore the warning lamp, you may indeed get to the point of metal on metal contact, where the metal backing of the pads may be contacting the brake discs. Using the brakes during this condition will not only give you inadequate braking, but will also begin to wear grooves in your brake discs. Once the discs are grooved, they are damaged, and there is almost no way to repair them. Resurfacing will sometimes work, but often the groove cut will be deeper than is allowed by the BMW specifications. The smart thing to do is to replace your pads right away.
Brake pads should only be replaced in pairs – replace both front pads or both rear pads at a time. The same rule applies to the brake discs that should be checked each time you replace your brake pads.
The procedure for replacing pads on all the wheels is basically the same. There are slight configuration differences between front and rear brakes, but in general the procedure for replacement is similar. The first step is to jack up the car and remove the road wheel. This will expose the brake caliper that presses the pads against the disc (Figure 1). Make sure that the parking brake is off when you start to work on the pads.
If you look inside the caliper, you will see the brake pads - usually they will look very thin, as is shown in Figure 2. Begin by removing the small plastic cap that covers the caliper guide bolts (Figure 3). The BMW caliper used on the 3-Series (and many other BMWs) is a single piston caliper design. One piston presses against the side of the brake disc, and the whole caliper slides on the guide bolt to achieve equal pressure on the disc from both pads.
To replace the brake pads, you need to remove the caliper. Remove both guide bolts from the caliper (Figure 4) with a 7mm allen wrench (thanks to Barney McComas for the tip). Then remove the brake pad retaining clip (keeps the pads from rattling), shown in Figure 5. Make sure you wear safety glasses during this step, as the clip can come flying off if you're not careful. Then, use a pair of needle-nose pliers to remove the brake pad sensor (Figure 6).
After the guide bolts have been removed, you should be able to simply lift the caliper off of its mount (Figure 7). Suspend the caliper using some zip-ties or rope - don't let the caliper hang from its rubber hose (very bad). See Figure 8 for details. As this point, you can pluck the outer brake pad out of the caliper, and use a screwdriver to pry the inner pad out of the caliper piston. The caliper should resemble Figure 9 when you're done.
Once you have the pads removed, inspect the inside of the caliper. You should clean this area with some compressed air and isopropyl alcohol. Make sure that the dust boots and the clamping rings inside the caliper are not ripped or damaged. If they are, then the caliper may need to be rebuilt.
At this point, you should inspect the brake discs carefully. Using a micrometer, take a measurement of the disc thickness. If the disc is worn beyond its specifications, then it's time to replace it along with the one on the other side. See our Pelican Technical Article on Replacing BMW Brake Discs for more information.
The installation of the new brake pads is quite easy. You will need to take a small piece of wood or plastic and push the caliper piston back into the caliper (Figure 10). This is because the new pads are going to be quite a bit thicker than the old ones, and the piston is set in the old pad's position. Pry back the piston using the wood, being careful not to use too much force. Using a screwdriver here can accidentally damage the dust boot and seals inside the caliper, and is not recommended.
Be aware that as you push back the pistons in the calipers, you will cause the level of the brake reservoir to rise. Make sure that you don't have too much fluid in your reservoir. If the level is high, you may have to siphon out a bit from the reservoir to prevent it from overflowing. Also make sure that you have the cap securely fastened to the top of reservoir. Failure to do this may result in brake fluid accidentally getting on your paint.
When the piston is pushed all the way back, you should then be able to insert the new pads (Figure 11) into the caliper. If you encounter resistance, double check to make sure that the inside of the caliper is clean. Simply snap the inner brake pad into place using your hand (Figure 12). When firmly mounted, the new pad should resemble Figure 13.
The process for assembly is the reverse of the disassembly. Mount the caliper back onto its mounting bracket, surrounding the brake disc. If the caliper won't fit, then you need to push in the piston a bit more until the space in-between both pads is wide enough for the brake disc to fit. Tighten down the guide bolt using a torque wrench to 22 ft-lb (30 Nm).
If your brake sensors activated the lamp on your dashboard, they should be replaced with new ones. Disconnect the sensor (Figure 14), and plug in the new one. Then snap the new sensor into the small gap in the brake pad (Figure 15).
You also may want to spray the back of the brake pads with some anti-squeal glue. This glue basically keeps the pads and the pistons glued together, and prevents noisy vibration. Anti-squeal pads can also be purchased as sheets that are peeled off and placed on the rear of the pads.
When finished with both sides, press on the brake pedal repeatedly to make sure that the pads and the pistons seat properly. Also make sure that you top off the master cylinder brake fluid reservoir if necessary. Brake pads typically take between 100 and 200 miles to completely break in. It's typical for braking performance to suffer slightly as the pads begin their wear-in period. Make sure that you avoid any heavy braking during this period.
Info found @ http://www.pelicanparts.com

* Category A - Must be crushed. All of it. Severely damaged, total burnout or flood damage(The cars involved in the Boscastle Floods) with no serviceable parts, or already a stripped out shell. DVLA will require a Notification of Destruction.
* Category B - Vehicle may not be returned to road but parts may be sold. will have been damaged beyond economical repair, usually with major structural damage(Roll over damage A/B/C post affected). The DVLA will require Notification of Destruction but parts can be removed and sold on.
* Category C - Repairable. Significant damage. Cost of the repair is more than book value of vehicle at dealer rate(Or the car needs to be put on a JIG etc). Once repaired the car will need a VIC check, Vehicle will have to be repaired/new MOT only then can it be trailer to a VIC station where the DVLA will charge around £80 to check the I.D of the car, not the quality of the repairs. The V5 will ALWAYS state that the vehicle has been involved in a serious accident this cannot be removed from the V5.
* Category D - Repairable. Probably non-structural damage. Borderline if economic to repair.(Panel damage on cars over 8 years old)
A good example of the of this is my little Bonnet Up experience a few weeks where the bonnet/roof and W/screen need replacing however the structure of the car was not affected.
* Category X - Repairable. Minor Damage( Flood Damage/Stolen with keys etc)
Category C/D/X can be retained buy our clients under the salvage scheme, Cat A/B would be difficult for them to hold on to.
However, If any car is exported and then re-imported the DVLA see it as a new vehicle to the UK so the Cat A/B/C/D Marker would be lifted and would not show on any vehicle checks etc
Any questions I will be more than happy to help

If you've had to pull the roof release lever to put up the roof either due to switch or battery failure you'll be reading the manual to find out how to reconnect the motors and re-sync the roof so all works only to see "MUST BE DONE BY MAIN DEALER" well here is a money saving guide as its very a simple job.
1) fold roof down into roof hatch and push down on cover to release the safety catch that stops boot opening (easier with help) when roof hatch open.the motors are situated behind the left hand side of boot (passenger side). Remove the lining by popping the clips out with a flat head screwdriver.
2) The motors are spring loaded so will have to be pushed back up into place they are quite robust so don't be afraid to use a bit of force. When you hear a load click the motors are in place 1 drives the hatch cover the other the roof itself
3) now for the good bit. with the ignition in the off position press down the actuation switch into the raise position and hatch cover will be locked down, make sure your watching the cover, once its down turn key 1 notch into the ancillary position as the roof starts to raise this will re sync all the motors hold down switch until roof is completely raised.
Raise and lower roof a couple of times to check all is working as it should if not pull lever to release motors and repeat until all ok. once is usually all it takes if procedure followed to the letter

Hi there. I just want to pass on a little good fortune that I had some time ago.
Allbeit not a BMW fault the company which came to the rescue whilst saving me a packet also do work for most other makes of vehicle (BMW included).
My wife has a mercedes A140 which had a problem known to the model.
The MAF sensor on this car is actually part of the ECU and to rectify the fault, Mercedes Benz charge in excess of £1500.00 with a 1 year warranty.
I took the ECU off my wifes car and took it to ECU testing who rebuilt the ecu. Not only did they give a professional service in a well equipped workshop but they did the work for a total (including vat) £179.00 and even better, it was returned with a lifetime unlimited warranty which they do honour.
I thought there was a problem and they took it back, tested it to find no faults and charged me nothing. It sounds too good to be true, but they are totally comitted to providing superb service and are excellent value for money.
The company is called ECU Testing.com. they are based in Heanor near Derby. www.ecutesting.com is the web address and the phone number is 01773 535638.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJUUyjJqk5A&feature=share

Many new members have a little trouble posting pictures of the motors so I decided to do a little 'how to'
Just follow this.
To add pictures follow the More Reply Options, Choose File, Choose Existing, Select Add to Post . Hopefully a thumbnail picture is now available. Finally Add Reply

So many talks are given to the pretty mess of interface BMW V1.4.0. V1.4.0 is the update version of BMW Scanner. The required operating system is Windows XP. But I have hooked it up successfully on Dell 360 Windows 7 64 bit system. Following are my attempts, you can have a try.
1) First
of all, install BMW scanner software
2) Plug the BMW scanner interface to your vehicle’s
OBD2 socket after complete software installation, but do not connect it with
your PC/laptop at this time
3) Wait
several seconds and plug the interface to the computer USB port
4) Download FTDI
driver on the http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2XX.htm web site. It is not difficult to
perform according to the window instructions.

5) A black DOS
message will show up and then install the driver after downloaded it on your
computer.
6) Go back to the main
program, find out device manager and click BMW Scanner to select driver software
you want to update.
7) Select “Browse my computer for driver software”>> “Universal
serial bus controllers”>> “FTDI driver” >> “USB Serial
Converter”, then
accept window prompt to go on operation
8)
Install the FTDI driver
9) Wait
some seconds until the BMW scanner detects the software. Run software and
select your options after successful install driver

Warm Prompt: You can download a secure
program from Windows XP Mode, Virtual PC and Microsoft before operating.

I have posted this guide in the cleaning section, copied here as might help out a few more members







Here will be a short guide for to clean your car to the highest standard.



I have been cleaning cars to a high standard for 3 years.



I will post links with Halfords as easiest place to buy from



This will not include wheels or inside



What you will need:

2 Buckets

Access to fresh water (hose preferably)

1 wash mitt

Microfiber cloths

Shampoo

Clay bar

Back to black

Polish

Wax (dark car)

Wax (light car)



Step One.

Rinse your car using a hose, on a medium pressure setting, no need to jet wash, this is to remove bird crap, leaves and other 'big' imperfections.



Step Two.

Fill one bucket with clean water (fresh), fill one bucket with warm water and a cap of shampoo. Add this last, and mix with hand, otherwise will foam up too much.



Step three.

Wet the mitt in the shampoo bucket, and using a circling motion start to clean the car. When residue is getting minimal, rinse the mitt in fresh water. Shake the mitt around, and rinse it. Then put mitt back into the shampoo bucket. Complete car using this method.



Step Four.

Rinse off using hose



Step Five.

Open the clay bar pack, soak in warm water and tear off a small piece about an inch wide and 5mm thick. Use the 'Rapid detailer' it's a spray and will create a mist. spray onto panel and use the clay bar in a small circular motion, if the bar is getting stuck, use more spray. once it runs smooth, move to the next area. Concentrate on a 5cm at a time, try to make this how big the circles are.



If you look at the clay bar, it will be brown/black, flip around and continuously check.



Clay bars will remove ground in dirt and tar splatters



If you drop it, best to get a new piece.



Step Six.

Wash car. Yep. Using the two bucket set up, wash again, this will remove all residue left by the clay bar.



Step Seven.

Rinse using hose



Step Eight.

Dry using 3 microfibers

Try to dab rather then drag



Step Nine.

Polish. Apply a small amount into a folded microfiber cloth, fold onto itself to create a bigger surface area. Pressing quite hard make small circles. Do this all the way round the car. When you get back to where you started it will have gone quite flakey/ crusty.



Using a new microfiber cloth small circles to remove polish.



Step Ten

Waxing time. Using the application pad, make swirls, you do not need to press hard, just make sure the car is covered. It will haze quite quickly which is fine. You do not need to use too much in one area, just so its covered will be fine. Again go round the car until you come back to where you started. Then using the last microfiber cloth, remove as you did the polish, in small circles.



I have a 2000 E46, and my results are very good when you consider the age: