So, I feel the need to list the problems...

[sirius_GTO]

of my car. ALL of them. I would greatly appreciate advice on how to fix these problems.

1) I need a key remade with the remote keyless from BMW. Is that possible? How much would that cost me?

2) My passenger door will not unlock with the rest of the doors. On a RARE occasion it will. But everytime I unlock the doors, the passenger front will never unlock also. I have to manually unlock it.

3) My windshield wiper fluid will not spray. I tried cleaning the spray holes with a needle, but that still doesn't work.

4) I have an air condition leak. My air conditioning system is supposed to work, but it has a leak. How do I detect the leak? Does this have anything to do with why my heat doesn't work so well? It works in the winter time, but only when I am applying gas i.e. moving. If i am sitting at a stop light, the air gets pretty cold.


If anyone could help me with those four main problems, I would appreciate it. Thank you guys!!

[Rob]

3: Check the hose lines for leaks. Even the slightest leak will cause the system to fail as it works on pressure. When you pull the leaver towards you in the car for the jet wash, can you hear the pump for the jet washers? If not, then it's the pump.

4. You can take it into a shop and they will fill it with some dye, this will make it much easier to find the leak in the system and correct it.

On the heating, it's not part of the A.C unit, thus meaning there is a 5th problem. I'm not 100% sure on the heating. Wait for someone who knows more on this.

Good luck!

[genphreak]

3: Check the hose lines for leaks. Even the slightest leak will cause the system to fail as it works on pressure. When you pull the leaver towards you in the car for the jet wash, can you hear the pump for the jet washers? If not, then it's the pump.

4. You can take it into a shop and they will fill it with some dye, this will make it much easier to find the leak in the system and correct it.

On the heating, it's not part of the A.C unit, thus meaning there is a 5th problem. I'm not 100% sure on the heating. Wait for someone who knows more on this.

Good luck!Ask the shop but they usually put in new oil (which has dye within it) and they should remove your current oil when doing it. This oil is not as good as conventional oil, so only do this if you have a hard time finding the leak. How do you know it leaks? Maybe it has simply not been regassed for years... even new ones leak very gradually- and once the pressure drops the compressor does not trigger properly. Old ones may leak more, but it might get you by for another season if it is bad, so it might well be worth getting a regas to check rather than adding dye and oil right now. Same happened on mine, I added dye to be sure but it works fine. At the peak of summer I will pressure it hard, and check with a UV wand for leaks. Then once it needs a new dryer I will fix them (should I find any) and get a regas, new dryer installed but the dye removed and normal oil put in. Best to plan these things so the right work gets done and the costs are minimised.

Oh yes, you need to make sure a good person does it or they might put too much oil in the system (bad) or even too much refirdgerant (also bad). Experience on Bimmers is best. Also, you will need a new dryer (cheap on eBay) but make sure its German at least, bad ones fall apart and wreck your system- sage members have said so so be warned. Best of luck, :) nick

[632 Regal]

.
of my car. ALL of them. I would greatly appreciate advice on how to fix these problems.

1) I need a key remade with the remote keyless from BMW. Is that possible? How much would that cost me? no clue on cost, dealer will ask for ID and registration

2) My passenger door will not unlock with the rest of the doors. On a RARE occasion it will. But everytime I unlock the doors, the passenger front will never unlock also. I have to manually unlock it. Remove and clean/replace the passenger door actuater.

3) My windshield wiper fluid will not spray. I tried cleaning the spray holes with a needle, but that still doesn't work. Remove a hose and see if fluid pumps out, if not track the problem at the washer pump.

4) I have an air condition leak. My air conditioning system is supposed to work, but it has a leak. How do I detect the leak? Does this have anything to do with why my heat doesn't work so well? It works in the winter time, but only when I am applying gas i.e. moving. If i am sitting at a stop light, the air gets pretty cold. There is a booster water pump that a bunch of hoses go into at the firewall, the pump isnt working.


If anyone could help me with those four main problems, I would appreciate it. Thank you guys!!

[ThoreauHD]

of my car. ALL of them. I would greatly appreciate advice on how to fix these problems.

1) I need a key remade with the remote keyless from BMW. Is that possible? How much would that cost me?

Yes, the dealer sells it for $150.00 USD and will configure the code/chip for you.

2) My passenger door will not unlock with the rest of the doors. On a RARE occasion it will. But everytime I unlock the doors, the passenger front will never unlock also. I have to manually unlock it.

I had the exact thing happen. Replace the door lock actuator. You can order from bmaparts.com and install like so:
http://www.bmw4life.com/doorLockActuator.htm

Or you can have a BMW mechanic put it in.

3) My windshield wiper fluid will not spray. I tried cleaning the spray holes with a needle, but that still doesn't work.

Your pump is dead. It also leaks I bet. Dripping down the sides. You can also buy it at bmaparts.com. It's easy to replace, you just remove the plastic screw, pull out the reservoir, pull out the pump, put on the pump, the end.

4) I have an air condition leak. My air conditioning system is supposed to work, but it has a leak. How do I detect the leak? Does this have anything to do with why my heat doesn't work so well? It works in the winter time, but only when I am applying gas i.e. moving. If i am sitting at a stop light, the air gets pretty cold.

The leak is probably the A/C valve stem. The little metal piece in the middle of the nozzle. It leaks on all of them. It's a 3 dollar part, if that. It will probably be on the low side nozzle. See like so:
http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=20763&page=3&highlight=A%2FC

You can goto the
If anyone could help me with those four main problems, I would appreciate it. Thank you guys!!


I have had the exact same issues that you have. To the letter. We could be twins. But I would be the happy twin and you would be the sad twin, because mine is fixed now.

If you are going to a mechanic, a word of warning. Join the bmwcca club. Find a BMW mechanic in your area that gives a club discount. Buy the parts first, and do what you can yourself.

You cannot do the key or A/C yourself. The rest you can do yourself. If you choose to have a mechanic do this, do not go to the dealer. Ever- except for that key- and maybe the BMW mechanic can get the key instead- which would be better.
And if you really are my twin, your front shock absorber is leaking and has been bad for some time. Good luck!

PS-
Here are some nice helpful pages.
http://home.comcast.net/~fongman1/
http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main.htm
http://realoem.com/bmw/
http://216.27.82.195/
http://www.bmaparts.com/

[sirius_GTO]

Hmmmmm Thoreau...

you said something about my front shock absorber leaking....

could that be a possible cause for my car shaking at speeds of 45-55 mph? Not sure if it is ... but if it is... you are my twin!!! hahahaaha

And also, when i reverse, i hear a metal clunking sound if i steer the wheel to that maximum degree either way. I would reverse and hear a metal CLUNK or SNAP.

[Bill R.]

have to come in the oil itself you can get it by itself. That said , a good halogen leak detector will usually work better than dye check. So any place you have it checked should use a leak detector first before even thinking about adding dye to the system. Sometimes with a small leak it takes quite a while to show up with the dye, a couple of days or more whereas a gas leak detector is right now. Typical leakage for any shaft sealed refrigeration system is a minimum of 4 ounces per year. If your doing better than that your very lucky. This is considered the industry standard. Edit, also finding refrigerant leaks is more a matter of skill than anything else. Anyone who has been using a leak detector for years is far more likely to find the source unless its really big.



Ask the shop but they usually put in new oil (which has dye within it) and they should remove your current oil when doing it. This oil is not as good as conventional oil, so only do this if you have a hard time finding the leak. How do you know it leaks? Maybe it has simply not been regassed for years... even new ones leak very gradually- and once the pressure drops the compressor does not trigger properly. Old ones may leak more, but it might get you by for another season if it is bad, so it might well be worth getting a regas to check rather than adding dye and oil right now. Same happened on mine, I added dye to be sure but it works fine. At the peak of summer I will pressure it hard, and check with a UV wand for leaks. Then once it needs a new dryer I will fix them (should I find any) and get a regas, new dryer installed but the dye removed and normal oil put in. Best to plan these things so the right work gets done and the costs are minimised.

Oh yes, you need to make sure a good person does it or they might put too much oil in the system (bad) or even too much refirdgerant (also bad). Experience on Bimmers is best. Also, you will need a new dryer (cheap on eBay) but make sure its German at least, bad ones fall apart and wreck your system- sage members have said so so be warned. Best of luck, :) nick

[trumpetr]

of my car. ALL of them. I would greatly appreciate advice on how to fix these problems.

1) I need a key remade with the remote keyless from BMW. Is that possible? How much would that cost me?

2) My passenger door will not unlock with the rest of the doors. On a RARE occasion it will. But everytime I unlock the doors, the passenger front will never unlock also. I have to manually unlock it.

3) My windshield wiper fluid will not spray. I tried cleaning the spray holes with a needle, but that still doesn't work.

4) I have an air condition leak. My air conditioning system is supposed to work, but it has a leak. How do I detect the leak? Does this have anything to do with why my heat doesn't work so well? It works in the winter time, but only when I am applying gas i.e. moving. If i am sitting at a stop light, the air gets pretty cold.


If anyone could help me with those four main problems, I would appreciate it. Thank you guys!!

Re: issue #1,,,,,does your car have the EWS II ? depends on date of manufacture,,in the 95's,,,,,is your keyless entry buttons,,,on a keyfob seperate from the key,,or are the buttons to open/arm/disarm, intergrated into the key itself? If you have the 'keyfob' remote entry(early 95 production) , then it will be much easier for you to get another key made, as your key itself will not be 'chipped'.