Firstfives.org

Hi Art, I just pulled the dash apart to replace the expansion valve in the AC evaporator, and iirc the bulbs were readily accessible from behind the controls. Do you have the blue manual? Those instructions for removing the heater/AC controls are what I followed and they were sparse but adequate. Th...

I tried a couple of things, including solder and aluminum brazing rods, but ultimately failed with the condenser still in the car. So the condenser will need to come off, and if I'm doing that then I'll replace the serpentine condenser with a parallel-flow and replace the original fuse-melting fan. ...

Hi Karl - this sounds like a fun winter project - perfect for scraping frozen knuckles. You have a Bav in your sights? I've obviously never done such a swap, so take these comments for what they're worth. As you may already know, the Bav was one of the New Sixes, which came originally with an M30B30...

The likely cause of this problem is the control shaft, which has a connection using two circular discs, one with attached nuts and one with arcuate slots. When the machine screws are loose, the discs can slip. The control shafts are located behind the controls and the universal joints connected to t...

A very slow leak in my AC system was still there following an evaporator refresh. I found a pinhole on the condenser inlet pipe just where the lug is for the flare fitting. I want to delay replacing the condenser (I'm still running the original serpentine) with all that entails. Has anyone successfu...

I finally attacked the evaporator. Boy that thing sure is buried. I found all kinds of electrical "artifacts" from the previous owner during the excavation, which were corrected. It's much easier to do when everything is apart. The expansion valve was stamped "Made in West Germany&quo...

For the first time, and likely the last, I completely ignored the problem and it disappeared. I don't advise this approach for, say, a persistently cherry-red oil pressure light or a spurting fuel line in the engine bay. I'm sure the ventilation issue will resurface when I next need the defroster.

All: My ventilation knob (right side) isn't working. The knob doesn't feel to be just spinning freely, so it feels like the little u-joint is still intact. I suspect the problem is at the bellcrank on the firewall side of the box, and that it'll need to come out to access it. Has anyone addressed an...

Thanks Jay, I think I'll move this to it's own thread.

Jay - I'm curious how you fared on this. Did you wind up pulling the entire heater box? My ventilation knob (right side) isn't working. I suspect the problem is at the bellcrank on the firewall side of the box, and that it'll need to come out to access it. Has anyone addressed this? I'm hoping this ...

Hey Joe - nice to hear from you and great news about the E12. Is Naomi back on the road? I think the last pix I saw were from last fall during the repaint and rear axle rehab with the LSD.

Hi Carl - Other than Joe Boston, I know of zero E12s on the road up here. I've seen only one over the years, a 530i in Connecticut that was obviously still be driven as a daily or nearly so. When I saw it it, an older woman was behind the wheel. I assume the road salt has done its part to thin the h...

Following up for posterity - a 1/4" drive thin-walled 10mm socket can access the rear oil pan bolt.

Gents: I noticed an annoying leak from the oil pan gasket, annoying because it was replaced less than 3000 miles ago in 2019. Some of the bolts were torqued below spec. I can't get to one bolt at the rear which is recessed and the bell housing has an annoying little ridge so a socket cannot pass. Th...

I think they're readily available, but I bought one from Faulkner.
https://www.faulknerbmwpartssource.com/