Should the fuel injection on your beloved BMW fail, there are two options.

One is to replace the unit with a new one.

The second is to have the unit rebuilt.

For the latter (cheaper) options, you would do well to contact;

East Coast Diesel Service, Inc.,
22 N. Prospect Ave.,
Lynbrook, NY 11563.

The folks there have been working on fuel injection systems for longer than most people have known how to spell BMW.

Author: Michel Potheau

All owners of fuel-injected BMWs should check the main fuel filter (the one with the fuel pump) and replace it every ten thousand miles, not at the much longer intervals recommended by the factory.

The filter is so efficient that it soon becomes clogged.

First, there's some missing, hard starting when hot, and lack of top end. Then comes difficulty going over 50 mph, then trouble getting to 50, then a top end of 20 mph. This can occur overnight or in the course of just one day's driving.

Carry a BMW fuel filter with you. It's a part unique to BMW (nothing else can be substituted) and the car will not run with it missing.

Cut an old one in half with a hacksaw and note the grundge trapped in it. You will need a 10mm wrench and two 17mm wrenches to change the filter.

As a general rule, try not to gas up while gas is being delivered at the station too much sediment gets stirred up. It will settle out in about ten minutes.

Remember that tanks are lower at many gas stations these days and the chances are greater that some sediment will get into your tank.

Replacement BMW Fuel Filters

PopShops™ affiliate stores

Ryan Scherf, a web designer and developer with an obvious good eye for recognizing quality automobiles, made an excellent observation that "The BMW website and experience is in serious need of a major redesign". In Ryan's words, "BMW builds exceptional cars; therefore their website should also be exceptional and have the same level of detail that is put in to every single car. Where are the smooth curves, wood grains, leather and shiny metal that is expected of cars? The quality of the BMW website should match the quality of the cars."

Ryan makes a great point. And he didn't just leave it at that. Ryan took some initiative to propose a redesigned website for BMW.

You can read his full case study here.

As a BMW enthusiast yourself, what are your thought on the BMW experience? Should BMW step up their efforts and create a more engaging experience for their fans?

I was recently contacted by CheapAutosInsurance.com (CAI) to write a review of their site/service.

Disclosure
Before I begin, I should mention 02restoration.com isn’t my day job. My real day job is advertising, design, marketing, and social media consulting. In fact, reviewing website content and usability is one of the services my company offers. As such, I'm being compensated for my time to write this. My only condition was I would write a completely unbiased review—positive or negative I would spill it all—otherwise, it wouldn't benefit you. And without hesitation, they agreed. So without clicking a single link, you can already tell they're confident in the insurance services and information they offer.

As you can imagine, this review is going to go a bit deeper than a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down. So I’ll apologize in advance if I start using web geek terminology.

Now that’s out of the way, onto the review.

How do you spell that again?

As it took about a week before I had time to review the site, the first thing I did was go to CheapAutoInsurance.com. Interestingly enough, that wasn’t their site, so don’t go there. Instead, I was presented with some sort of "Made for Adsense" site. You’ve seen them, a page filled with links disguised as content. In reality, they’re links to other sites. If you click on a link, you’re redirected to another website and the site owner gets paid for the click-through.

The mistake was that my memory said, “Auto”, but the site name is "Autos" – CheapAutosInsurance.com. When I realized the mistake I went back to the original email and clicked on the link. Ironically, when I bookmarked the site, the bookmark says, “Cheap Auto Insurance”. Hmmm?

Bookmark Worthy Content

I thought I knew quite a bit about auto insurance until I reviewed information on this site. Wow, between the definitions of terms, explanations of all the different auto insurance coverage and the great tips, I certainly learned a lot. I think you will too.

On the downside, I couldn’t find any car insurance information specific to classic or antique cars like my 1972 BMW 2002. I did find a link for "50’s car insurance" but that was for people 50 years of age and older.

Free Bonuses

I’m going to skip ahead a tad to let you know once you get through the process of filling out the pages for getting an auto insurance quote, they give you four great PDF’s with loads of great information—all for free!

The PDFs covered Auto, Health, Home, and Life Insurance and contain questions, terminology, worksheets and a checklist for each. Very useful stuff.

Managing Expectations

First thing I expected was that I’d fill out some sort of form and get an instant quote. That’s not how it works. And, unfortunately, they don’t tell you otherwise.

Before you go through the process, let me explain some stuff they don’t (and really should).

1. Before you start their cheap car insurance quote process, make sure you have a copy of your current insurance policy. You’ll need it (at least I did) in order to enter specific coverage information. That way you can get an apples-to-apples quote.
2. The process is a bit long—at least it really felt long because there wasn’t a visual indicator to let me know how long or how many steps were in the process. Just be prepared to spend 10 minutes or so.
3. You’re not going to get an instant auto insurance quote.
   The purpose of the site is to match you with insurance companies (I have no idea what criteria they use). When you complete the request process, a list of insurance companies will be displayed that you’ve been matched with. Those companies will then contact you by phone or email (you have a choice) with their quote.

Actual Insurance Quotes

Of the two companies I was matched with, both contacted me. Although I only ended up speaking with one of the two companies, both were very professional. The second left a very professional voice message.

Although the agent I spoke with was very helpful, there was an initial bit of confusion when he told me the quote came through "InsureMe". Huh?

I think CAI must work as a partner or affiliate of InsureMe—perhaps getting paid for the leads they generate. Not that it really makes a difference, but would be helpful if this was explained in advance in order to avoid confusion.

Site Usability

I would have to say that as much information and tips that CheapAutosInsurance.com offers they really should rework the site to be more user-friendly. I went to the site looking for expert guidance and ease in accomplishing my task, so I would like the process kept simple.

For instance, the site needs to help take the customer effortlessly from terms & definitions, to FAQ's, to basic tips, and finally to the quote stage without having to search around the site for each bit of information you might need. This is even more important if you don’t know what you need.

Even though the information is divided into sections, I don’t really want to read through all the details. I just want guidance and the highlights. If I need more information or explanation, then I will read more or just do a search. Unfortunately, the site doesn’t have a search function.

The site might also consider giving their customers some idea of the amount of steps involved in getting a quote and the information they will need in front of them before they start. They should also mention the great PDF's you’ll get after completing the quote process. In fact, if they mentioned this upfront they’d probably get more people to complete the quote request process.

Also, they should tell you (in advance) that you will not get an instant car insurance quote. Instead, the various insurance companies you’re matched with will provide quotes.

The site may also consider having a separate page that provides a summary of basic terms, coverage’s and tips as reference for the customer to refer to while going through the quote process. I, for one, was confused about a specific question. In the end, I found out the question was asking about my deductible and not the actual coverage. That said, the agent I spoke with quickly updated the quote with the correct information.

CAI should also include a warning that some people may not be considered for insurance and why, before they start the quote process. According to the agent, this comes into play if you have a lapse in auto insurance coverage.

From a readability standpoint, I found the text size to be quite small and difficult to read. And when you factor in the yellow colored subheadings, it gets really hard on the eyes. Not really surprising considering most sites these days are designed by young people with great eyesight and tend to think small font sizes look good. So go ahead and make your visit more comfortable by manually increasing the font size in your web browser.

Along with the font size, the line length is way too long—makes me feel like the sentences will never end. They could make the main column shorter (recommended width should be no more than 520px), but they have this huge “Get a free quote” banner in the middle of the text. Which, by the way, is a really bad placement and greatly reduces click-through’s. Not only because where it’s placed, but because too many people will ignore it thinking it’s an advertisement.

Okay, enough with all the techy stuff, onto the bottom-line summary.

Summary

I feel that CheapAutosInsurance.com provided me with the knowledge and tips I needed to get the best available deal on auto insurance and some great PDF’s to boot—even though it did take more time than I really wanted to spend.

Check out their site now. Can’t guarantee you’ll save money on your auto insurance, but you won’t be disappointed with their content.

Please let me know if this review was helpful to you. If so, I’ll keep it on the radar to review more sites and services in the future.

Happy motoring!

I have a great upgraded replacement part I make for our BMW 2002's.

I came up with this design when restoring my BMW 2002 and replacing the terrible original door brakes and finding out the high cost of the BMW replacement part.

I have sold over 42 sets of these brakes on Ebay with very positive feedback and no returns.

The Ebay item number is (330292849211 ) and they sell for $110.00 U.S plus shipping for a set of 2 brakes.

I am located in Rancho Cucamonga Ca. 91737 and ship worldwide.

For information or purchases please contact Harry Davis at creativesales.comments@gmail.com.

I have owned many 2002's (too many to count really) since buying my first -- a used 1969 BMW 2002 in 1973. Incidentally, that car was purchased from Michelle Pitteau (I brutalized that spelling for sure) of Circle Tire in Natic, MA. Michelle was one of the BMWCC founders way back in the day.

Attached is a photo of my 1967 BMW 1600.

My (4) children have gone to college and as the economy allows, I hope to give the 1600's interior and bodywork the deserved attention that is required after all these years. I have done the body once, extensively, but that was 20 years ago now.

Have you ever heard of a guy by the name of Gene Underwood? he was the Cedar Rapids, Iowa BMW service manager in the early 70's, also a Formula V racer, the engine builder and former owner of this car. In essence, this car was his baby.

I purchased the car in 1976 and while the car was absolutely stock with the exception of slightly larger than stock Borrani wheels, the motor was seriously modified. It was set up much like the 1800 TiSA motor pictured in the recent Roundel (top of page 77) with dual Weber 45 DCOE sidedrafts, Alpina racing pistons, Alpina race cam,a big air box with horns at the ends and a special Underwood built distributor. I have tried my best to keep the motor as is although its now got a Tii distributor and the air box is in my barn as I could not replace the rubber sleeves from the Webers to the box when they cracked years ago.

If you have a story you'd like to share about your classic BMW, please send them to us.

Thanks to Bob Johnston of Vernon BC Canada for sending in this quick and easy tip to replace your BMW 2002 sun visor holders:

The sun visor holders are fragile, replacing them with new (OEM) ones is an expense you don't need to incur as you can easily use visor holders from a BMW E-30. Not only do they bolt in without modification, they're really inexpensive - dime-a-dozen from any bone yard.

Since BMW changed the grille design around the headlights in 1972 and again in 1974, rain water or car wash spray can flow past the headlamp housing and, in the case of QI lights, seep past the bulb dust shield and into the reflector area.

Not that much moisture will condense on the inside of the lens but over a period of six months or so the high beam reflector will start to rust.

Do what the Europeans do. Tape the dust cover and the rubber or plastic boot to the back of the reflector in order to seal out the water.

Use racers tape or wide electrician's tape, and do it before you install the lights.

Don't touch the bulb. Just a trace of oil from your fingerprints is enough to make the bulb burn out prematurely -- like in five seconds. If you have touched the glass, clean it carefully with rubbing alcohol. Once you have driven with quartz iodine or quartz halogen lights, you'll wonder why we still use sealed beams with their inadequate and poorly directed illumination.

Author: Warren Markey

If you look in the BMW t-shirt section you'll see three designs; BMW 2002 Colors, Classic BMW 2002, and the BMW 2002 front grille.

The graphic used on the "Classic BMW 2002" items is a photograph of my BMW 2002 which was then converted into half-tone art. Pretty cool. I thought.

The graphic of the "BMW 2002 front grille" was hand-drawn on the computer. Again, from a photo of my car.

So here's the thing. John G. Froemming (on behalf of the BMW Group) sent a notice to CafePress.com (where the shirts are sold through) stating that the "use of the BMW Grille Design mark infringes upon their intellectual property rights (trademark)."

CafePress' response was to remove all items displaying the Grille from their store -- which means they are no longer available in the store section on this site.

I can understand CafePress' response - heck, who wants to be sued by a mega automobile manufacturer over some cotton? Obviously not them.

I personally have a good amount of knowledge in the area of trademarks and intellectual property so I'm very careful about the merchandise/designs I create. In fact, I never even thought about putting the designs up for sale until other 2002 fans kept asking me where they could get one.

If BMW has a trademark on the 2002 front grille and feels my designs infringe upon those trademarks, then so be it, the designs need to go.

I guess the issue I'm having is how BMW decides which artwork infringes upon their trademarks.

Doing a quick search on the Internet, I came across hundreds of designs and photographs of BMWs. All makes, all models, all types of artwork showcasing BMW cars.

But none of those were targeted as infringing against BMWs trademarks because the art wasn't showing the front grill.

Just about any make, model, or year BMW that has hit the streets can be recognized from just about any angle. You would think that those design's, in and of themselves, would be trademarked. Yet, the only thing they're focusing on is the front grille.

I understand BMW, and other large corporations, must have a heck of a time keeping up with all the knockoffs people are selling and making a buck off their brand. I just find the line between the front grill versus any other part of a BMW that's instantly recognizable is kind of silly.

Granted, the front grill is very unique and I can understand BMW having a trademark on it. But by the same thinking, would you not think that the side, front, or rear your profile of a BMW would also have a trademark?

So, even though I can take a pretty good guess at what the final outcome is going to be, I'm going to write a letter to Mr. Froemming to see if perhaps there isn't a different solution that can be had -- other than taking the designs off the site. Again, I'm sure the designs will have to be forever rescinded to the depths of darkness, but at least I will have tried.

So, for the items that did sell, I would like to thank the people who purchased them. I hope you enjoy your shirts and, hopefully, come back to 02restoration.com to buy some new BMW 2002 designed merchandise. Obviously, without the front grille.

If you have any thoughts on the subject, I'd love the year them. Thanks, and happy motoring.

As a site dedicated to restoring BMWs - specifically older model BMW 2002's - I imagine most of us have early model BMWs.

I found this info on http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ and thought I'd pass it along.

There is also an interesting video on how the EPA has changed the way it estimates MPG. You can watch the Windows Media version, QuickTime, or read the text transcription.

BMW Fuel Economy Chart

1989 Vehicles by BMW

Model	MPG (city)	MPG (hwy)	Annual Fuel Cost*	Greenhouse Gas Emissions (tons/yr)*	EPA Air Pollution Score From 0 to 10 (best)
BMW 325i Convertible 6 cyl, 2.5 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	16	21	$3102	10.20	NA
BMW 325i Convertible 6 cyl, 2.5 L,	16	22	$3102	10.20	NA
BMW 325i/325is 6 cyl, 2.5 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	16	20	$3102	10.20	NA
BMW 325i/325is 6 cyl, 2.5 L, Manual 5-spd, Regular	16	22	$3102	10.20	NA
BMW 325ix 6 cyl, 2.5 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	17	20	$3102		NA
BMW 325ix 6 cyl, 2.5 L Manual 5-spd, Regular	15	21	$3281	10.80	NA
BMW 525i 6 cyl, 2.5 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	16	21	$3102	10.20	NA
BMW 525i 6 cyl, 2.5 L, Manual 5-spd, Regular	16	22	$3102	10.20	NA
BMW 535i 6 cyl, 3.4 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	14	18	$3722	12.20	NA
BMW 535i 6 cyl, 3.4 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	14	20	$3488	11.40	NA
BMW 535i 6 cyl, 3.4 L, Manual 5-spd, Regular	14	21	$3488	11.40	NA
BMW 635csi 6 cyl, 3.4 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	14	18	$3722	12.20	NA
BMW 635csi 6 cyl, 3.4 L, Manual 5-spd, Regular	14	21	$3488	11.40	NA
BMW 735i 6 cyl, 3.4 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	14	18	$3722	12.20	NA
BMW 735i 6 cyl, 3.4 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	14	20	$3488	11.40	NA
BMW 735i 6 cyl, 3.4 L, Manual 5-spd, Regular	14	21	$3488	11.40	NA
BMW 735il 6 cyl, 3.4 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	14	18	$3722	12.20	NA
BMW 735il 6 cyl, 3.4 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	14	20	$3488	11.40	NA
BMW 750il 12 cyl, 5.0 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	11	16	$4291	14.10	NA
BMW 750il 12 cyl, 5.0 L, Automatic 4-spd, Regular	11	17	$4291	14.10	NA
BMW M3 4 cyl, 2.3 L, Manual 5-spd, Premium	15	26	$3124	9.60	NA
BMW M6 6 cyl, 3.5 L, Manual 5-spd, Premium	9	17	$4948	15.20	NA

Annual Fuel Costs and Greenhouse Gas Estimates are based on 45% highway driving, 55% city driving, and 15000 annual miles.

Assumed Fuel Prices:

• Regular: 3.72
• Premium: 3.96
• Diesel: 3.96
• CNG: 1.65
• Electricity: 0.08 per kilowatt hour
• E85: 3.27
• LPG: 2.10

If you've ever considered putting a bag of rock salt in the trunk of your BMW 2002 during the winter, here's a tip: don't.

When they break, as they always do, those corrosive crystals scatter everywhere and in a year or two, you'll notice a patch of gasoline forming on the garage floor. It's gas tank leak time!

Even if you've not got a gas tank leak, I'd suggest you pull the tank the next time it's near empty and check for rust along the seams. Following the steps in the Service and Repair Handbook, (mine's a Clymer and it's great).

1. Disconnect battery ground strap.
2. Remove tank drain plug.
3. Remove trunk floor panel and expose tank.
4. Disconnect the electrical leads on the sending unit.
5. Disconnect fuel hose from sending unit.
6. Detach hose clamp at bottom of filter neck and push rubber sleeve upward (also disconnect fuel return line and plug is on post-73 cars).
7. Unscrew fuel tank securing bolts and lift out the tank.

If you see any signs of rust or corrosion, steelwool them down to bare metal and spray on three to four coats of rustproof paint. The preventive care is well worth the effort, as BMW 2002 tanks cost $80-$100 to replace, and welding or soldering a leak is not without its drawbacks.

If you do have a repairable leak, shop around until you find a gas tank repair shop that fills the tank with inert gas, not water, before welding. The guy who fixed mine steam cleaned and submerged the tank and now, a month later, I've had to clean the fuel pump filter, replace fuel line filters twice, and pull and rebuild the carburetor. A clot of rust doesn't do much for an idle jet. After all that, it looks like I'll be able to keep up with the sludge accumulation by pulling and rinsing the tank once more and changing fuel line filters again.

Believe me, the half-hour it takes to remove and clean the tank is well worth the effort.

Author: Kevin J. Craw

Tech Ed. Note:

The rust, more likely than not, was scale in the tank. After the repair, rinse tank out with a gallon of gas and dump it.

Gas tank leaks are caused more often by the sponge rubber that the tank is mounted on. This rubber catches the water thrown up by the rear wheels and causes the tank to rust out. I've replaced many gas tanks on 3 year old cars where the owners never had rock salt in the trunk compartment. Possible cure? Remove the gas tank when it's a year old, clean the rubber, and spray a good undercoating on the tank after wire brushing it and painting it with a zinc chromate-based primer

BMW 2002 Fuel Tanks

This TV commercial for the BMW 3 Series aired during 2008 Summer Olympics. You know, the one where Michael "Aqua Man" Phelps has been dominating the pool.

I specially like the part about starting a religion (ahem, BMW 2002).

BMW 3 Series Commercial

Voiceover:

"We didn't set out to be a getaway car.
Or an art car.
We didn't intend to be a part of a sub-culture.
Or pop culture.
We didn't set out to play games.
Or to start a religion.
We just made the car.
The BMW 3 Series.
Another expression of independence, from a company built on it."

(Fade up BMW logo)

For a while now, my brother has been telling me about this auto part supplier he found online. He's purchased parts and gives them two hardy thumbs up. Even with returning parts he says it's been a really fast and easy process.

Whenever the discussion arose, we were always talking about his car so it never even occurred to me that they might sell parts for our classic BMW 2002's. Dumb thinking I know, but there are very few places that cater to older vehicles—classic or not. Which, of course, is why I started a list on the BMW parts suppliers page.

So earlier this evening my brother sent me an email with the link to Autohaus Arizona. Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to select "1972" and "BMW" from the search drop down menus. And lo and behold, they carry parts for BMW 2002!

In fact, they look to carry parts for BMW model 2002, 2002 Cabriolet, 2002tii, 2800, 3.0 Bavaria, 3.0CS, 3.0CSI, and the 3.0S. Granted, that's just the listed models (see below) for year 1972.

Here's a list of BMW models they carry parts for as listed on their BMW Parts page -- pretty impressive.

Anyway, my brother is pretty picky about auto parts so recommendations don't come lightly.

As for the "new" part, Autohaus has apparently been around for 25+ years so I guess this means that they're just "new to me".

Good luck in your hunt.

I've mentioned using fused relays for QI (Quartz-Iodine) lamps before, but the caution is worth repeating.

Make sure you use a fuse link in all QI lighting systems!

For some reason, BMW tends to fuse the low-beam circuits, but not the highs. (On pre- '72 BMWs neither circuit is fused.)

Buy an in-line fuse holder (about seventy-five cents including a 20-amp fuse) and install it in the high-beam line. If the lamp element does not conduct properly, it can effectively produce a "dead short" to ground.

The lamp wiring then heats up, exactly like an electric resistance heater, melting the vinyl insulation. It is even possible to start an electric fire this way. The "ounce of prevention" is very cheap.

I'll be glad to answer any questions on the particular procedure to use on your year and model BMW.

Author: Bence Boelskevy

When you need a new replacement element for one of your quartz-iodine lights, or wish to keep a spare light bulb in the glove compartment, you do not have to use a Marchal in a Marchal, a Carello in a Carello, etc.

Most replacement elements available in this country are made by Phillips -- an H1 will fit anything that uses an H1, an H4 will fit in any H4 application, and so on.

Remember, don't touch that expensive new bulb with your fingers any oil left on the element will fry it soon after you install it and hit the light switch.

Author: Unknown

BMW Headlights

After trying all kinds of tools to get the oil filter off my BMW Tii, I found the ideal tool for the job.

I tried modified oil filter wrenches, channel lock pliers, a screwdriver through the filter, and God knows what. Then I found the ideal thing. Try a "can lid twister-offer." The one your wife uses to get lids off jars and cans.

I bought mine at a local dime store for 39¢ and it works perfect every time. You take the filter off from the underside with the device. It grips the filter great.

Author: Leif Anderberg

If you have problems trying to remove your BMW 2002 tii oil filter, try using large

Channel Lock pliers. They will permit you to get a good grip on the oil filter, squashing it, and then getting it loose -- from which point you can remove it by hand.

This also works great for other BMW models.

Author: Unknown

BMW 2002 Oil Filters

I wish to report a fuel injection problem that I experienced with my 1974 BMW 2002 Tii. Hopefully it's unique as it proved both difficult and expensive to diagnose and repair.

The problem was first picked up at a 16,000 mile major service, when it appeared that the cold start enrichment device was malfunctioning. The device was not decreasing the richness of the fuel mixture as the engine warmed up, requiring unusual and excessive engine temperatures to shut off.

After replacement of the enrichment device, the car exhibited extremely poor gas mileage (13 mpg highway), extreme difficulty starting, easy stalling during the first 15 minutes of operation and a high idle rate (1500-3000 RPM). If the radiator front was totally covered while the engine idled, the engine temperature would increase and after about 10 minutes, the idle rate would decrease as the cold start enrichment device shut off. Idle rates would not drop during normal driving.

The car was taken to Karzundpartz (Greensboro, N.C.) where the problem was corrected.

Casting flash in the passage of the water pump leading to the cold start enrichment device prevented the circulation of water to the device so that the engine temperature was always interpreted as "cold" under normal conditions. Removal of the flash relieved the symptoms and increased gasoline mileage.

I have no idea why the car did not exhibit difficulty immediately upon delivery as the water pump had never been replaced to my knowledge. I do know that before the onset of symptoms my highway gasoline mileage was 23 whereas after correction it is now 30, so evidently the car was defective from the beginning.

Author: L.B. Holt

eBay Deals: BMW Fuel Injection

In response to Delph Wilson's comments in the June, 1977 issue concerning gasoline leakage from a BMW fuel filler, I too had a similar problem. The gas cap didn't form a tight seal due to a 1/8 inch gap between it and the filler neck.

Fritz Peterson of BMWNA provided the following list of checks to be made to resolve this problem. These are:

BMW Fuel Filler Gas Leak Checklist

1. Assure that the gas cap has been sufficiently tightened. Turn cap until ratchet mechanism has clicked at least two times.
2. Check rubber seal on filler cup to insure its integrity.
3. Check filler neck to assure that no damage has been done by a gas filler nozzle. Damage to the neck will prevent a good seal.
4. Inspect cap for proper manufacture and replace if necessary.

In my case, the cap was defective and replacing it cured the problem. Incidentally, the gas cap is one of the items covered by the five-year/50,000 mile emissions control system warranty.

Author: Robert L. Kreger

BMW Gas Caps

If your BMW fouls its spark plugs, use anti-foulers with care.

Generally available in auto parts stores, anti-foulers are first screwed onto the spark plug and then screwed into the cylinder head.

Use of anti-foulers may increase plug tip temperatures to the point where pre-ignition may occur, consequently damaging the engine.

If it becomes necessary to use anti-foulers, perhaps while you are waiting to have a ring job done, check the plugs frequently for burning away of the electrode and discontinue use if the engine pre-ignites. (Based on information contained in Champion Spark Plug's Service Corner.)

In conversation between Michel Potheau, BMWCCA Tech Editor, and Thomas McGurn, Rainer Fruechtnicht, Til Roemer, and Jim Ryan of BMW of North America concerning the BMWCCA Techline, one of the points which came out was that the points and condenser are not interchangeable between the 1975 and earlier and 1976 BMW 2002. Although they physically fit, they do not function properly if changed, burning out in a short time.

Author: Michel Potheau