E36 PPI results

[jterp]

Hi. Had a PPI done on a 99 m3 with 53,ooo miles... need some help deciphering:

They recommended that:

Front and rear rotors be replaced. They said that they are .01 mm past spec in the front and .02 mm past spec in the rear (I might have those flipped.) My question is how does "BMW spec" compare to real world usability? I drove the car and did not notice any brake chatter that typically indicates the need for brake service... I am thinking BMW "recommends" rotors be replaced before they actually need to be replaced?
(especially since it was there just for a PPI) I'm not expecting these to last forever, but do you think i could drive on them for 6 months or so? Or would they need to be replaced right away?

Also, the dealer recommended a brake flush but the brake fluid looks fine.. think they're being too picky?

Finally, they recommened a service 1. I have no idea what this means-- the car has 53,000 miles on it so i'm assuming this is just a standard service... Does anyone know what is covered in a service 1? Is it easy to do yourself? Would it be cheaper to get it done by another shop? Anyone know of any good m3 shops in the MD/DC area?

The total estimate for all this stuff was like $2200... which is a lot of money but they are all easily fixed things so i think i am still going to get it...
Thanks for the help -- hopefully i'll be picking it up on Thursday!

[jterp]

no ideas?

[thepolarfoxqx]

brakes are easy to do. if you have a buddy, you can do your pads, rotors, and flush your fluid in an afternoon for $500 all things included (and i'm asuming you'll put Brembo slotted rotors on, they are a good deal better than stock for fade resistance).

You could go six months i'm sure as it is, but your rotors will start to warp, and you will get chatter, and your brake pedal will be more responsive and firm with good fluid.

Fluid flushing is easy, here is how it goes, take off the wheel, fill your fluid resevoir to the max, have a buddy sit in the car. You open the fluid valve on the caliper, have your buddy push the brake to the floor, you close the valve (and only after it's shut) have him let go of the brake. do this a few times, and go add fluid to the resevoir again. After a bit, you'lll notice the color of your fluid will change (it happens pretty quick). At this point, it's good, and you can move on to the next wheel. I would reccomend using ATE's fluid (it's good shit, and not too expensive either), you can get it a bunch of places. Bavarian autosport (www.bavauto.com) has some for a fair price. It comes dyed two colors, look in your BMW's brake resevoir to see what color is in yours now, and get the other one, so you can see the color difference easily.

your rotors are held in by a single allen pin, what you have to do is remove the 4 bolts that hold on the caliper, gently pull that off (the pads and wear sensor will come with it). One that is off, undo the allen pin on your rotor, and pull it off. Then slip your new one on. I really reccomend you get a new set of pads when you do this, they will run you about $100 for all 4, and I'd get a set of Pagid Pads, the standard pagids are plenty good, you don't need to spend the extra dough for their pro street/track pads. Then all you have to do is compress the piston on your caliper (press on it with even pressure, or use a clamp to press it in), then put your pads on the caliper, slip the caliper back on, rebolt, and you are done.

it is really easy and straight forward, and every BMW i've ever done it to, everything just comes right off and on easy as cake. The maintainance is just things like fluids and such, which you can do yourself. It's all easy and common-sense stuff, but i'd be happy to answer any questions you had.

[LateNightCable]

Jterp, did you decide against the M3 with the repaired side?

[jterp]

thanks fox, that was extremely helpful! -- I've been thinking about tackling it myself... just didnt know how involved it would be. I'm sure I'll have more questions when the time comes!

I decided against the one with the repaired side -- it had high miles (77,000) and some sketchy things that bugged me out. For instance, the bumper color didnt match correctly and the guy promised to have it fixed before i bought it. Since it was going in to the body shop to have the paint imperfection fixed, i assumed they would fix the bumper then... but found out later the seller's "buddy" came over and was painting it in his garage ---

For only $1500 more I found an estoril blue 99 with 53k miles, no accident damage, and black vader seats (the first one had dove grey sport seats).. I think i am going to pick it up tommorrow..

[GIR]

Originally Posted by thepolarfoxqx Fluid flushing is easy, here is how it goes, take off the wheel, fill your fluid resevoir to the max, have a buddy sit in the car. You open the fluid valve on the caliper, have your buddy push the brake to the floor, you close the valve (and only after it's shut) have him let go of the brake. do this a few times, and go add fluid to the resevoir again. After a bit, you'lll notice the color of your fluid will change (it happens pretty quick). At this point, it's good, and you can move on to the next wheel. I would reccomend using ATE's fluid (it's good shit, and not too expensive either), you can get it a bunch of places. Bavarian autosport (www.bavauto.com) has some for a fair price. It comes dyed two colors, look in your BMW's brake resevoir to see what color is in yours now, and get the other one, so you can see the color difference easily.

Are you sure isn't any pumping of the pedal involved? My dad used to sit me in the car. First he would tell me to push the pedal in as far as I can. After holding is down for a while he'd tell me to let it go and after another while he'd tell me to pump the pedal, rinse repeat...

your rotors are held in by a single allen pin, what you have to do is remove the 4 bolts that hold on the caliper, gently pull that off (the pads and wear sensor will come with it). One that is off, undo the allen pin on your rotor, and pull it off. Then slip your new one on. I really reccomend you get a new set of pads when you do this, they will run you about $100 for all 4, and I'd get a set of Pagid Pads, the standard pagids are plenty good, you don't need to spend the extra dough for their pro street/track pads. Then all you have to do is compress the piston on your caliper (press on it with even pressure, or use a clamp to press it in), then put your pads on the caliper, slip the caliper back on, rebolt, and you are done. it is really easy and straight forward, and every BMW i've ever done it to, everything just comes right off and on easy as cake. The maintainance is just things like fluids and such, which you can do yourself. It's all easy and common-sense stuff, but i'd be happy to answer any questions you had.

Don't shy away to ask for some help if you run into a problem. My dad always used to say that "some people just shouldn't be allowed own cars". It's not their driving style but how they maintain the car. In my younger days I've seen alot of people who came to my dad saying they were replacing part x and didn't know how. A 10 min job if you know how and have the proper tools... but If you don't, well it can become a little complicated.

[thepolarfoxqx]

yeah, pumping is required, see that is where i said your buddy pushes the brake to the floor, he pumpes the pedal down, just like you said. It isn't a hard job.

My best advice, buy the haynes manual for your car. I taught myself most of what i know about fixing cars from the trusty haynes manual and just doing it. Brakes are easy, i promise.

Congrats on your new car! E36 M3s are a blast.

And any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[jterp]

leaving now to go pick it up -- will post some pics tommorrow or monday!

[thepolarfoxqx]

lucky bastard, you're going to love that car.

[jterp]

Here it is --
It's not very nice outside but you get the idea.



And yes, i do love it -- Thanks to you and LNC for suggesting the car in the first place![/img]