Questions...Questions...and more Questions! =)

[BMW4LIFE]

1) My OBC works and lights up but the buttons no longer light up...in the dark the screen is the only thing that works...can that be fixed by replacing a bulb or does the whole unit need to be replaced?

2) My sunroof switch no longer lights up...I took the unit apart and noticed that the light bulb was pretty much wired into the unit...am I wrong?

can it be fixed or does the whole unit need to be replaced?

3) My rear passenger window switch no longer lights up...does the whole door panel need to removed to fix this problem?

does the whole unit (switch) need to be replaced or is there a light bulb I can swap out?

4) I get a clinking clunking noise when my transmission shits into gear...more noticeable in low gears than high as I assume the road noise is minimal.
I check the trans mount and all four look fine and the engine mount looks fine as well...

What could the problem be? i have never flushed the transmission as I heard from the stealer ship that it has a lifetime fluid and if I change it will begin to slip

5) What kind of spark plugs should I use? I have the platinum +4 right now but I hear that these cars were no designed for that kind of plug and it may run too cold...does that make sense?

if so what kind of plug should I use?

6) Thanks for all the help over the years gentlemen...you have made it a pleasure to own and work on this car...I hope everyone is having a wonderful day with their loved ones and I wish everyone happy holidays!!!!!

:D:D:D:D:D

[shogun]

) My OBC works and lights up but the buttons no longer light up...in the dark the screen is the only thing that works...can that be fixed by replacing a bulb or does the whole unit need to be replaced?

new bulb will fix it. OBC III has in total 4 bulbs with 6V, the OBC IV has 3 bulbs, 12V!!! Check the volts when you buy them, voltage is shown on the bulb holder.

2) My sunroof switch no longer lights up...I took the unit apart and noticed that the light bulb was pretty much wired into the unit...am I wrong?

Yes, correct. You have to solder a new bulb in. hobby remote car shops have them, take one with 14V, lasts longer. Colouring you can make with a marker pen according to your choise.


3) My rear passenger window switch no longer lights up...does the whole door panel need to removed to fix this problem?

does the whole unit (switch) need to be replaced or is there a light bulb I can swap out?

See my answer under 2

search for MINIATURE BULB WIRE TERMINAL BASE
http://www.bulbtown.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=MINIATURE+BULB+WIRE+TERMI NAL+BASE+&Search.x=4&Search.y=12

spark plugs reference, by model and engine, here we go
http://apps.bosch.com.au/products/saa/sparkplugs_passenger.pdf

[BMW4LIFE]

thanks for all the info Shogun!

anyone on the transmission?

[bubba966]

5) What kind of spark plugs should I use? I have the platinum +4 right now but I hear that these cars were no designed for that kind of plug and it may run too cold...does that make sense?

if so what kind of plug should I use?

M50's don't like those style plugs. Factory plug is a Bosch F8LDCR for pre-1/93 build, Bosch F7LDCR or NGK BKR6EK for post 1/93 build date. As you don't list your build in your car description under your user name or in your sig I can't say which plug you need.

Will say that it's hard to walk into a parts store and find those plugs. Dealer is probably the only one that'll stock them. Anyone that keeps stock of them is going to want $10/each for 'em.

I've found in a friend's M50 & my M60 which both call for the same plugs that the E3 brand plugs actually work better than the stock Bosch plugs do. And you can find them just about anywhere for $6/each.

Tried the E3's in my M-Sport first as I needed new plugs and had read up a bit about the E3's and they sounded like they'd work well. They did. Smoother running across the board. Slight feel of power improvement.

When a friend thought she needed new plugs in her '95 525iT (after buying the E3's and pulling the old plugs I found that they didn't need to be replaced) I went and got the E3's for it. It ran much nicer than it had on the proper Bosch plugs. Noticeably smoother and better power. She thanked me profusely a couple of days later as she was much happier with the engine with the E3's in it.

Proper E3 plug for an M50 is the E3.64.

[Rick L]

You have 189k on the car and never changed trans fluid? I think it is well over do for a change. Lifetime fluid is a joke. I believe it means it will last 100k maybe. Not sure bad fluid will cause clunking though. You should also check differential mounts and slop in differential output shaft.


thanks for all the info Shogun!

anyone on the transmission?

[BMW4LIFE]

You have 189k on the car and never changed trans fluid? I think it is well over do for a change. Lifetime fluid is a joke. I believe it means it will last 100k maybe. Not sure bad fluid will cause clunking though. You should also check differential mounts and slop in differential output shaft.

maybe i should have added this regarding the tranny as well

Sometimes when i am in a dead stop and making a 90* turn and hit the gas the car seems to struggle to go as if there is very little fuel, or the engine is working on one cylinder

what could have caused that?

could that be related to the transmission as well?

[BMW4LIFE]

M50's don't like those style plugs. Factory plug is a Bosch F8LDCR for pre-1/93 build, Bosch F7LDCR or NGK BKR6EK for post 1/93 build date. As you don't list your build in your car description under your user name or in your sig I can't say which plug you need.

Will say that it's hard to walk into a parts store and find those plugs. Dealer is probably the only one that'll stock them. Anyone that keeps stock of them is going to want $10/each for 'em.

I've found in a friend's M50 & my M60 which both call for the same plugs that the E3 brand plugs actually work better than the stock Bosch plugs do. And you can find them just about anywhere for $6/each.

Tried the E3's in my M-Sport first as I needed new plugs and had read up a bit about the E3's and they sounded like they'd work well. They did. Smoother running across the board. Slight feel of power improvement.

When a friend thought she needed new plugs in her '95 525iT (after buying the E3's and pulling the old plugs I found that they didn't need to be replaced) I went and got the E3's for it. It ran much nicer than it had on the proper Bosch plugs. Noticeably smoother and better power. She thanked me profusely a couple of days later as she was much happier with the engine with the E3's in it.

Proper E3 plug for an M50 is the E3.64.

Hey bubba!

The production date is 8/93

as far as the E3 plugs go I have never heard of these plugs...it seems that you are very happy with them though...

I use to use the NGK Lasers in my motorcycle and it loved it...would I be safe with those NGK or does the E3 really make that much of a difference?

thanks bud!

[bubba966]

Hey bubba!

The production date is 8/93

as far as the E3 plugs go I have never heard of these plugs...it seems that you are very happy with them though...

I use to use the NGK Lasers in my motorcycle and it loved it...would I be safe with those NGK or does the E3 really make that much of a difference?

thanks bud!

I'm sure the NGK Lasers are nothing like the NGK BKR6EK's that are called for. Not saying that NGK doesn't make great plugs, just that it's not apples to apples.

Thess engines are rather particular about their plugs. I've had Bosch F7's in my M60 as well as Bosch platinum +2's & the E3.48's that are in there now. The Bosch +2's sucked (the +4's you've got in your car should be no different). The F7's ran nice. But the E3's were clearly better than the F7's.

The plugs I pulled out of her M50 were F7's and had a few thousand miles on them. They were put in by someone else during a HG install and I wasn't sure what plugs they were. So I put in the E3's hoping to resolve a bit of rough running issue. Turns out the plugs weren't a contributing factor. But replacing new F7's with the E3's was a major improvement.

The NGK BRK6EK's will run fine as will Bosch F7LDCR's. Probably not much difference between the two as they're listed as interchangeable by BMW.

But my experience has shown me that the E3's work even better. I'd read testing done by one of the Chevy mags on them and they found them to produce a more complete burn thus reducing emissions greatly and offering a very slight power improvement. Between reading the exhaust gas testing done with them and looking at their construction I guessed they'd work good in M50's & M60's. And boy do they ever.

Bosch F7LDCR's work good as do NGK BRK6EK's. Denso Iridiums are said to work great as well. And E3's are very nice IMO. F7's & NGK's should run around $10/each, Denso's are $12/each, E3's are $6 each. Pretty much have to mail order the F7's/NGK's/Denso's. Can walk into any auto parts store and get the E3's. That right there is a big plus to me. You'd do well by dumping your +4's and getting one of these 4 plugs instead.

[BMW4LIFE]

I'm sure the NGK Lasers are nothing like the NGK BKR6EK's that are called for. Not saying that NGK doesn't make great plugs, just that it's not apples to apples.

Thess engines are rather particular about their plugs. I've had Bosch F7's in my M60 as well as Bosch platinum +2's & the E3.48's that are in there now. The Bosch +2's sucked (the +4's you've got in your car should be no different). The F7's ran nice. But the E3's were clearly better than the F7's.

The plugs I pulled out of her M50 were F7's and had a few thousand miles on them. They were put in by someone else during a HG install and I wasn't sure what plugs they were. So I put in the E3's hoping to resolve a bit of rough running issue. Turns out the plugs weren't a contributing factor. But replacing new F7's with the E3's was a major improvement.

The NGK BRK6EK's will run fine as will Bosch F7LDCR's. Probably not much difference between the two as they're listed as interchangeable by BMW.

But my experience has shown me that the E3's work even better. I'd read testing done by one of the Chevy mags on them and they found them to produce a more complete burn thus reducing emissions greatly and offering a very slight power improvement. Between reading the exhaust gas testing done with them and looking at their construction I guessed they'd work good in M50's & M60's. And boy do they ever.

Bosch F7LDCR's work good as do NGK BRK6EK's. Denso Iridiums are said to work great as well. And E3's are very nice IMO. F7's & NGK's should run around $10/each, Denso's are $12/each, E3's are $6 each. Pretty much have to mail order the F7's/NGK's/Denso's. Can walk into any auto parts store and get the E3's. That right there is a big plus to me. You'd do well by dumping your +4's and getting one of these 4 plugs instead.

seems like you know what your talking about and have had a good experience with the plugs...with that said

I will be trying the E3 within the next month or so and will let you know how they pan out...

Do you have any suggestions on my tranny noises though?

I was certain that it was the mounts but they all seemed fine when i went under for an oil change...

hmmm so confused

[bubba966]

Tranny clunk when shifting into gear is most likely driveline related. Check your center bearing and your U-joints in the driveline.

Do let us know what you think of the E3.64's in your car. I love how the E3.48's run in my M60 and my friend loves the E3.64's in her M50.

[Bo525i]

So what you´re saying Bubba, is that the E3.48s is an alternative to highpower NGKs or Bosch and the E3.64 to the standards?

[Rick L]

This happens only when you turn? Does the RPM go up normal but car doesn't?


maybe i should have added this regarding the tranny as well

Sometimes when i am in a dead stop and making a 90* turn and hit the gas the car seems to struggle to go as if there is very little fuel, or the engine is working on one cylinder

what could have caused that?

could that be related to the transmission as well?

[bubba966]

So what you´re saying Bubba, is that the E3.48s is an alternative to highpower NGKs or Bosch and the E3.64 to the standards?

Yup, that's what E3 says. Those are their equivalents to the standard & highpower plugs for our cars. But when you use their product guide it lists the E3.64 only for an M50'd 525 and the E3.48 as the only plug for the 540. Certainly you can use either plug in both engines. But I went with what they recommended for the first time I tried them in both cars.

Only difference I could find between the E3.48 & E3.64 is that the E3.48 is very slightly shorter than the E3.64. The plug reach on the E3.48 is 0.69 inches while the E3.64 has a 0.75 inch reach. Slightly less plug length in the combustion chamber will very slightly lower the compression.

There may be electrical differences between the two. But out of all of the information I could find on them there was no electrical specs, only physical specs.

As I'm using software designed for 93 octane and only have access to 92 octane I felt the shorter E3.48 plug would be a better match for my car so I went with the E3 recomended E3.48 plug over the E3.64 plug which is the crossreference to the Bosch F7 that I was running in my car.

I'd not run the Bosch or NGK highpower plugs in my car beforehand so I can't say what the difference is between the two. And I've not tried both E3's yet to see the difference in my car. But the E3.48's in my car are super smooth. And it pulls harder in the upper RPM's than the Bosch's did.

[Bo525i]

Thanks for your answer! :)

[BMW4LIFE]

This happens only when you turn? Does the RPM go up normal but car doesn't?

sorry for the late response

but no there is no RPM shifting one way or the other...

it just feels like the car is getting 1/100 of the gas it should so it does not accelerate eventhough i press on the pedal

[bmwrp8]

Tranny clunk when shifting into gear is most likely driveline related. Check your center bearing and your U-joints in the driveline.

Do let us know what you think of the E3.64's in your car. I love how the E3.48's run in my M60 and my friend loves the E3.64's in her M50.

check your guibo and as my experience with the same symptoms my subframe bushing was shot

[BMW4LIFE]

check your guibo and as my experience with the same symptoms my subframe bushing was shot

Yea I thought that when i went down there but couldn't really see anything...the outside edges looked fine

I know the dog bones (pitman) are shot so I am going to replace those but I don't think they contribute to the clunking

How easy is it to check the Guibo? I had it replaced at 100K and now I have 190K