MBM Autohaus - BMW and MINI Specialist

30/12/2013

30/12/2013

Own a car long enough and there's a good chance you'll develop auto problems of some nature. And one of the most common and most bothersome problems is vibration. What's more, it often creeps up on you gradually and subtly -- until one day you find yourself wondering how you ever put up with such an annoyance.
Perhaps then you asked yourself, what does it mean if my car is vibrating? While there's no substitute for the assessment of someone with an extensive automotive background, you can develop a good feel yourself for diagnosing car problems that are relatively common, such as vibrations.
The fix could be something relatively cheap and simple, like a tire rotation or balance. Or it could signal more serious auto problems -- something more costly, like steering or suspension issues.
Diagnosing car trouble in its early stages may seem like a hassle at first, but you have to remember that it can often save you from bigger car trouble (and bigger repair bills) down the road.

30/12/2013

The condition of braking parts, such as brake discs or pads, is a crucial factor in an MOT. If that condition is not good, it pays to have brake parts replaced with suitable alternatives. Depending on the make and model of a car, it will employ brake discs and pads, brake drums and shoes, or a combination of both to create the friction needed to slow and stop the car. The forces at work when creating this friction generate a great amount of heat which causes wear and tear. Over time all brake discs and brake pads or brake drums and brake shoes will need to be replaced in order to ensure maximum stopping power. But since different car models employ different brake parts, it is important to find the right replacement; as well as the right price.

30/12/2013

When did you last check the tyre's on your vehicle? Research shows that most tyre's are either under inflated or worn below the legal limit of 1.6 mm*.

27/12/2013

How does my exhaust system work?

How does my exhaust system work?It's only when you hear or drive a car with a damaged silencer that you realise what a huge difference it makes to reducing noise levels.

And the way a silencer works is quite fascinating. It contains a deceptively simple set of tubes that are finely tuned to reflect the sound waves produced by an engine so that they cancel each other out.

If there is a hole in the silencer then the sound waves are no longer forced through the tubes and escape outside - increasing the noise level.

Other key components of your exhaust include exhaust pipes that are designed specifically for each car model and route exhaust fumes to the exit at the back of the car.

The exhaust manifold acts as a funnel. It collects exhaust gases from all cylinders of the engine then releases them through a single opening, often referred to as the front pipe.

The exhaust centre section works with the silencer to reduce noise and the tail pipe at the rear carries gases away from the vehicle. All of the components of an exhaust system are connected with a series of clamps, hangers, flanges and gaskets.

27/12/2013

We provide an honest MOT at a competitive price.

Once you have chosen Money-Save for this MOT we will remind you on each subsequent anniversary to help keep you and your family safe.

For your information the following is a check list for you, with details of what is needed to be able to carry out the MOT.

1. HORN
Give a short blast of the horn to test – if it doesn’t work it will need repairing.

2. WINDSCREEN
Check for damage – chips and damage may fail the MOT.

3. WINDSCREEN WIPERS
Any tears in the rubber can cause your vehicle to fail.

4. SCREEN WASH
Washer bottle needs some water in to test operation.

5. NUMBER PLATE
The number plates should be clean and legible.

6. WHEELS AND TYRE'S
Check that wheels and tyre's are undamaged.-Normal road wear is different as a very low tread will fail.

7. SEATS AND SEAT BELTS
Check they click into place correctly and firmly.- We notice children like to put toffee papers into the belt stalk.

8. HEADLIGHTS AND INDICATOR
Check headlights, sidelights, rear lights, hazard lights and indicators for correct operation.

9. BRAKE LIGHTS
Ask a friend to check that the rear brake lights come on when you press the brake pedal with the ignition switched on.

10. FUEL AND ENGINE OIL
Please make sure your car is fitted with enough fuel and engine oil to enable the MOT test to be carried out. If it stops through lack of fuel we can’t continue the MOT.

18/12/2013

18/12/2013

The engine would not idle , then it would , would rev up and then suddenly loose the plot.
A visual inspection revealed many oil leaks, mostly from all the sensors and around the rocker cover.
a strange slapping and rattling noise came from the front of the engine.
What caused all these problems?
1 Was it just wear and tear?
2 Was it poor maintenance
3 Was it poor quality oil?
4 Was it poor design?
You be the judge.
Well the slapping noise in the timing tunnel was a result of the chain not being tensioned enough.
That is for two reasons on this engine.
1) Timing chain was worn or as some folks would say stretched.
The cause, wear and tear and the use of a cheap and nasty engine oil.
2) The original factory timing chain tentioner does not have enough throw or length.
The cause, faulty design, and a up-dated tentioner. This is pictured in the photo below
The old tentioner has a larger and fatter hex head, also has a shorter stubby on the other end.
The fastest way to determine which tentioner your engine has is to compare the size of the hex head.
3) With the chain worn and the tentioner not doing there job, when this engine back-fires the sudden slap of the chain breaks off the top guide rail. More on back-fire a little further on.
4) Badly contaminated engine oil and engine. This would most probably be the root of all the evil.
These are electronically controlled engines with all fuel , ignition, timing , valve timing and valve opening controlled by on-board ECU or computer. When any of the many sensors or control valves do not get the right signal the system goes south causing a heap of problems.
Cause for contaminated engine and sensors? One cheap non synthetic engine oil , two to long a distance between oil changes.

18/12/2013

Turbo problems
Boost pressure leaks
This is where the turbo is functioning correctly but the boost pressure is being lost before it can enter the engine due to cracks, splits or poorly fitted hose work on the induction side, it can be a notorious power problem creator and the engine can emit more black smoke than usual with this problem, due to being too rich in fuel and not enough air.

Turbo not creating the boost to start with
This one has more than one variable to it:
Firstly the exhaust system that feeds the turbo has to be gas tight with no leaks, any leaks will cause loss of exhaust volume delivery to the turbo and create power and smoking issues

Blocked or gummed up air filters will cause the turbo to be starved of deliverable air and create power and smoking problems.

Variable vanes seized on the turbo due to soot and carbon build up will cause boost problems, as the pitch angle of the vanes are stuck, so it will either be poor on power pick up or power will drop off further up the rev range depending on how it's stuck.
If the variable vanes are not actuating due to loss of the actuator control, then on vacuum actuated models it is nearly always due to a failure on the vacuum system itself (very common) or a faulty mechanism.
On electronic actuators it is usually a failure of the module on the turbo that is the cause.

18/12/2013

A major problem with the Bmw is a headgakset failure caused by using unproper coolant (I always use BMW coolant) or overheating.
Engine suddenly overheats, radiator hose or heater hose explodes, a bubbling sound from the radiator overflow tank (may be a bad radiator cap), large bubbles in or foaming of coolant in radiator while engine is running, loss of coolant with no apparent leak, or persistent white smoke coming from exhaust are the first warning that the headgakset is going bad.

Visible warnings:
• Thick white smoke coming out of the tail pipe (water inside the cylinders)
• Coolant in oil (white residue on the oil cap or dip stick) or oil in coolant (stick your finder in the coolant reservoir and you will see)
• Mysterious loss of coolants without traces.
• Huge build up a pressure in the coolant circuit.
• Temperature gauge acting weird (the temperature gauge will get into the middle, and stay there for few minutes. Next, it will rapidly shoot for the “red” zone. It will do this in seconds. The moment the red zone is touched, the gauge falls just as fast to the middle, where it will stay for duration of the trip. Next day, same situation...)
When you first start your car leaking head gasket will introduce gas into the head cooling space. It will replace fluid from the area. The thermostat is closed so the gas has no place to go. The gas acts like an insulator so it will delay heat transfer to the thermostat. But other parts of the engine covered with the fluid blanket will heat the water up to the boiling point. Finally engine is hot enough to cause thermostat to open and let the gas go into the radiator. After the gas goes the overheated water and that's what causes your needle to rise on the gauge. Further operation is normal because thermostat is open and the gas goes to expansion tank as soon as it gets into the system. You need to repair the leak as soon as possible if that's the cause or you will end up with warped head due to spot overheating.

What test to perform to make sure:
• The first is a carbon dioxide test performed on the cooling system will tell you if C02 is going inside your coolant.
• A leakdown test will allow you to check each cylinder to look for pressure loss inside the cylinder. Failing the test could also be seepage past a bad valve guide, piston ring...
Head Gasket Testing Kit
The best method is to have a service shop, or a friend who owns a block test kit test your system for a compression leak to your cooling system. I heard that some test kits can be purchased from auto stores. This is a test unit and test fluid that changes color with the presence of exhaust gas in the engine coolant. Another test that should be completed is a coolant system pressure test Test your system for leaks with nine to twelve Psi pressure. It should not show any appreciable pressure loss within 5 minutes.

Sometimes it's worth it just to have a pro shop diagnose the problem, even if you are planning to do the repair yourself.

18/12/2013

I feel as though my first duty to everyone is to get them on the right track as far as maintenance is concerned. Let’s talk about Oil Changes. BMW is now telling it’s customers that they only need to change their oil every 15,000 miles. DO NOT follow this maintenance schedule!!! You must change your oil every 5,000 miles, or twice a year if you put fewer than 10,000 miles on your BMW. My first encounter with the end result of this program came on a 2001 BMW 525it with 86,000 miles. It had a leaking valve cover gasket, so we removed the valve cover and uncovered what is now a growing problem:
What you are seeing is a substantial amount of build-up, or gunk as some call it. This car had its oil changed approximately every 15,000 miles, mostly at BMW of Birmingham, and is now in big trouble. The synthetic oil has basically turned into a plastic film, clogging many important oil passages and is now choking the engine. If you have a BMW and you have been following the 15,000 mile oil change policy, or you simply wait for the car to tell you to change the oil, break this habit now! I’ll speak more on proper car care in the future as well as the thoughts behind today’s “Recommended Service Intervals” throughout this blog, but I feel as though this would be a good first step to getting on the right track for everyone.