850 CSi - first steps

[koenig d]

niki0712 said:

That must be one of the most tightly packed engine spaces!

Edited by niki0712 on Sunday 26th January 19:35

To make working in the engine bay easier BMW have made the bonnet hinge ajustable, by removeing 1 bolt per hinge you can make the bonnet stand vertical then insert the same bolts and lock into the working position.

[Superstarr840]

Nice one welcome to the club. You will find a mine of info at ( 8er.org ) it's a worldwide 8 series forum. Great write up's often illustrated and a world of knowledge, so when your up and running you can do the tour of Europe and meet up with some of the members! By the way I'll see you in the queue at the bank !!!

[griffter]

When this thread started and I saw the picture of your toolkit, given it's your first recommission, I thought you'd bitten off more than you could chew. I sincerely hope that it's me with the mouthful, eating my words.
Good luck, enjoy the trip and for what it's worth I'd keep it original.
I kept a 6 series alpina b9 coupe for three years, sensitively bringing it back to perfection. The big coupes are addictive.

[julian64]

Anyone know the price of two new sills for an 850?

[niki0712]

Well, I think we can all agree on me having bitten off more than I can chew...

But I might as well enjoy the journey!

Spent the first 4 hours on the car yesterday - what a lot of fun!!!

Here's what happened:

I started on the easiest one - changing the two micro filters. Got stuck pretty much straight away, as the wipers needed moving upright to get to a screw. Therefore change of plan - first the batteries. Getting to them was easy, uninstalled the CD changer, and took out both batteries.

Old battery left side



Old battery right side



CD changer



New battery left side



New battery right side



AHK (?)

[niki0712]

Great feeling when the car suddenly comes back to life! Little lights coming on, warning sounds, windows down, screen in the rear window up, lights up and down - I was excited like a little boy!

But back to work. Changing the micro filters again was a breeze, just unscrewing a few bolts and slotting in the new filters. The old ones are quite minging...

Please note the meeknet.co.uk-instructions on the last picture!

Edited by niki0712 on Friday 31st January 15:13

Edited by niki0712 on Friday 31st January 15:14

Edited by niki0712 on Friday 31st January 15:16

[niki0712]

Next one was going to be a big one for me, engine oil change. So popped the car up on two stands








The wheels under the car are more psychological peace of mind - don't fancy a two ton car on me...

Edited by niki0712 on Friday 31st January 15:15

[Talkwrench]

You'll need to take off that deep plastic surround below the filters. The one thats thick with insulation. It comes off very easily (4 or 5 screws) and makes access to the rear plugs possible. You can also check all the rubber fuel lines more easily. The short interconnects at the rear of the engine are very prone to hardening and pouring petrol out!

[niki0712]

Sorry for the picture on the side, this website turns my pictures rather randomly...

[niki0712]

first slight cock up...as I drained the transmission oil, rather than the engine oil...well, learning along the way!

[Pvapour]

niki0712 said:

first slight cock up...as I drained the transmission oil, rather than the engine oil...well, learning along the way!

I did that recently on a new acquisition & I have changed oil thousands of times, its not always completely obvious (mine was FWD tho)

Lovely car by the way.

[niki0712]

eventually I did find the drain screw for the engine oil, and it came out nicely.

I violated the oil filter cap quite a lot, as I didn't have a 36 wrench. But with some raw force it did come off with those pliers, might have to work on my refined motor skills though...

Edited by niki0712 on Friday 31st January 15:17

[niki0712]

Transmission oil on the left

[Pvapour]

should be able 'in' camera before you put onto pc or mac, short of that a right click on downloaded image should open up an edit feature where orientation is poss

[niki0712]

and that was it for yesterday! Well, not quite, I also changed the windscreen wipers. Not sure exactly why though.

Now, today I want to refill the transmission oil.

Two questions: is that the right screw?




and if yes - how to get it loose?! That thing is solid...I soaked it in WD40, and I hope that will have done the job. Can@t get to it with a wrench - it'll have to be muscle power...

Any advice?

[custardkid]

Oil looks clear.. Or has it separated?
Measure how much oil you have taken out as a guide to how much you need to put in, as you'll never get it all out.
When you get it going and can get the block warm it'll loosen up some of the sludgier parts, so worth changing it again, with the engine warm (not hot)

Buys some decent tools, it's worth it.
Halfords professional are highly recommended, and they are always discounting the larger socket sets.
Machine mart are good for the random sockets etc, but not as good quality

[NiceCupOfTea]

Use lashings of plusgas or equivalent rather than wd40, and leave overnight.

[benjj]

niki0712 said:

first slight cock up...as I drained the transmission oil, rather than the engine oil...well, learning along the way!

This did make me laugh, mainly as it is the kind of fk up that I would make

Little things like that are all part of it. You'll never make that mistake again and accidentally forced yourself to do a job that you really should have done anyway (tranny oil) but may well have not bothered with once you get stuck into other things.

You'll make a million and one more mistakes like that - try and recognise each and every one for what it is - a lesson.

When the car is done you'll know it like the back of your hand.

Keep at it

[Leins]

Loving this thread, well done OP. Keep up the good work!

[benjj]

niki0712 said:

and that was it for yesterday! Well, not quite, I also changed the windscreen wipers. Not sure exactly why though.

Now, today I want to refill the transmission oil.

Two questions: is that the right screw?




and if yes - how to get it loose?! That thing is solid...I soaked it in WD40, and I hope that will have done the job. Can@t get to it with a wrench - it'll have to be muscle power...

Any advice?

I find Plusgas to be far better than WD40, though I'm sure some of the experts know of something even better.

As for the tricky bolt: