jerry

do the other 3 sparkplugs seat easily when hand tightened and only need a ratchet/torque wrench to finish up?

are you unable to hand tighten this particular spark plug to the same extent?

is your idle abit rough from what you are used to?

if yes, then it sounds like exactly like what has happened to me. about a month or so ago i got the sinking feeling when installing the No.3 plug into my daily driver that it just wasn't seated properly. i don't dare torque it down because i think/know that it's now cross-threaded.

i bought a thread insert repair kit from Kragen's yesterday. i'm afraid it will require removal of the head to actually do it right and prevent metal filings from getting into the cylinder.

the kit was about $15 and comes with its own tap and a couple of inserts. not really wanting to use some no-name insert repair kit, i tried to obtain a 'heli-coil' brand kit from NAPA, but they did not have a 14mm size, so it appears i'm gonna use the Kragen kit afterall.

if there's an alternate solution available, please post.

BBS somethingorother 15"x7" ET20. Got 'em on a rusty '71 I bought and have yet to see 'em anywhere else.

davin,

you're not referring to that wonderful white car (VIN 2570440) that i ended up with 2-3 PO's after you, are you?

i could not imagine those fancy tires on it. it now sports early tii steelies on it, that i swapped from a 73tii that i sold off, btw. still has the rust, still awaiting a temporary heart transplant.

what you're showing is exactly what i had to deal with. save the nose. it's much easier to weld new metal in place and can be done with a bit of patience.

i took a couple of photos of my repair and included them in my project blog on this forum. typically resides near the bottom of the 2nd page.

while you're there make sure and tap/vacuum/scrape by whatever means possible any residual crap hiding in the recess. you may even consider opening up a drainage hole on the inside for easier flow of debris.

before you weld it up shut, consider spraying some underbody protection in there.

good luck.

ooooooooohhhhhhhhh,

you gots a LONG way to go friend (till paint, that is).

my condolences

i am unable to find the pictures

could some explain how to see them

thanks

stone

i just checked and the photos and captions seemed to have just disappeared into thin air. sorry but i don't know why that happened.

oh well. the point of the post is that opening up the steering box is not a big deal and well worth the effort to clean out the sludge and replace the seals.

Folks,

I've been cleaning and rehabbing a steering box as part of my 02 project and after realizing how many photos i took decided perhaps to put it in the construction zone instead.

I hope it removes some of the mystery contained within. I know I was curious. They're really pretty straightforward.

click here for a look:

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/p,382346/#382346

Okay, so my ordering for this writeup is a little mixed up...

If I had the opportunity, I'd like to replace the brass bushing in the upper cover to see what effect it has on the service life of the steering box. The most obvious wear occured at this location.

My future plan is to disassembe a Close Ratio Steering box and a normal Steering box and compare the differences in gears. I will be looking for any differences in wear amounts and location with respect to the box I just completed.

Well, this set of photos should precede the previous set. but I didn't want to spend time seeing how many photos I can install in a single post only to loose them.....

Note: This post is contained in 3 separate posts. The photos are somewhat in reverse order. Oh well....

Ever wonder what's inside a steering box?

I did and I took photos to show anyone who cares.

Hopefully, these may serve as an encouragement to clean and refresh your own box. I am fortunate to have a couple on hand, just in case.

I will try to identify the wear locations. Unfortunately, unless you have access to a decent machine shop, about all you can do is clean it up and install new seals.

Noticeable wear occured on the brass bushings. These could be replaced by a competent machinist.

There are two ball bearings with plastic separators that support the input screw.

The output shaft rotates within two brass bushings in the bottom of the steering box casting. The fit was still snug after 30 years. On the upper end of this shaft, within the coverplate is another brass bushing where an appreciable wear step was found.

The teeth on the input and output shaft looked smooth and no obvious wear step was observed. Again, I would have liked to compare these with those parts from a relatively good box, just to make sure.

The forward end of the input shaft is supported by a set of ball bearings that ride against a steel race which is adjusted with shims. Some wear was observed on the cover plate.

Garbage.

the fracture occured at the leftside shown in your photo. typical location.

toss it.

I thought about that Jerry but I prefer a semi-permanent mounting option. Plus, I'll end up loosing the cap and the flashlight just like the 3 100 dollar oakley glasses I've lost so far in 2 years.

you know Armond, 3 strikes and you're out!!!

i hope you're not wearing oakley glasses anymore, and if you are let me know and i'll follow you around till you misplace 'em. wonder what a used pair would fetch on ePay?

is your frame rail out of alignment from where it needs to be?

If NO, then i'd probably just weld a support plate to it for added 'comfort level/strength'.

If YES, then you have no choice but to either hot work it as you described or replace the section.

I wouldn't replace the whole section unless I was obsessed with appearances.

Quenching it after heating isn't really gonna do much for you. I doubt it's a high carbon steel and you're not making knife blades or leaf springs out of it. But heating it up before working IS a good idea to minimize potential for cracking.

Armond,

how about a flashlight mounted to a baseball cap? wherever you are peering the light will follow.

or, alternatively, a small AA cell flashlight that you can install in your mouth temporarily whilst perusing a map.

however, i can see issues with this alternate suggestion if you are using this flashlight to locate an errant frenchfry for consumption.

I honestly have no idea what the term 'flocked' means, or why I should do that to my glovebox. ???

flocking is what was done to criminals in the middleages in a public square for all to see and consider....

i learned my lesson on doing 'no expense spared' restorations 12 years ago. spending $50 to flock a glovebox is probably a good deal, but i'd rather spend that money on something that'll make the car more:

dependable

faster

less prone to rust

weather proof

not necessarily in that order. currently, i think i have decent ones in my stash and if not i'll improvise.

but thanks for sharing. this is good news for those seeking full-up restoration, and there's nothing wrong with that, btw.

besides, i typically keep the glovebox closed 99% of the time.

if i recall, the shim tolerance is up to 0.006in (verify this in the manual). i reused my shims and spacers but i did not sort them beforehand as you suggest (a good idea, too). yes, you probably will be fine. it's not a big deal to do the measurements. i did mine just so i could say i did it.

btw, clean and inspect your bearings before throwing them away. the thing about bearings, assuming normal operating conditions, they tend to fail in early life or last a LONG time. of the 10 or so rear bearing i've inspected, i believe i rejected 1 or 2.

you said up front that you lack time to complete your current car and you now want to start on a new seemingly bigger project.

there's a very real possibility that if you don't FINISH your current project, you probably won't finish your next project. you need to overcome your boredom with it and work it out a piece at a time. otherwise it will end up in someone else's hands and just as likely never see the light of day again (parted out/neglected to death).

i agree with an earlier comment regarding original cars. other than swapping trannies out, modding an original 'roundie' should be taken under great advisement. leave the modding to the squaries or the previously modded survivors.

san leandro color on E14th Street in san leandro carries that stuff, if you must use it.

it's not a cure-all, btw. i've peeled bits of it off of prepped metal before.

i prefer DuPont 2K epoxy sealer. it's tenacious as heck. i painted my subframes with it and hate to paint over them cuz the color looks very similar to the factory grey found on older 02's undercarriage parts.

alot of issues here.

first off it sounds like the castleated nut holding the ball joint in place has become a rusty amophous mess. use a Mapp Gas plumbers torch, your favorite penetrating oil, a cold chisel or punch and ball pein hammer to coax the nut off.

if you're lucky you'll see enough of the residual cotterpin to try to punch it through the hole, before trying to unscrew what's left of the nut. chances are it's too small and rusty for a socket to fit on. use your punch and hammer and start tapping the edges to try to unscrew it.

if you have a die-grinder that can get a cutter/grinder in there, have at it. i think Dremels are toys so i avoid those. patience, oil, heat are your friends.

on to the three nuts holding the arm onto the struts (i'm assuming these are the ones with safety wire):

i had this on a tii strut i acquired. i had to use a drill press to drill through the remaining bolt and after alot of oil, heat and coaxing was able to free it up to unscrew it. make a flatspot on it a carefully drill through the center. i was slightly off-center but it worked out okay.

as for a stuck strut insert: haven't come across that yet so i can't relay my personal experience as i have with the other two issues.

as winston said, there is a good write-up on this subject in the reference section. it's all spelled out.

you can get rubber grommets that will work for the heaterbox inlet tubes and are considerably less expensive than the OEM ones. i added black sticky stuff around the perimeter for good measure.

also, save that brass valve, it can be refurbished by simply cleaning it up. careful with the two machine screws that hold it together. soak it in oil first and treat them with kid-gloves but they WILL unscrew. it all depends on how much moisture got to them. two rubber gaskets are all that's needed to seal them up. you'll find them in a well-stocked hardware store in the plumbing section.

i used anti-seize when reinstalling the little machine screws (after cleaning them up of course) and then put some more of that sticky black stuff on the head to seal it against moisture so that the next guy down the road will have a much easier time opening it up 30 years from now (that's a hope, btw).

i used graphite powder to lube the cables. i was afraid oil might attract dirt and bind up eventually.

oh yea, if your hardware store is well stocked, look for some flat rivet-like screws (there's a male and female side) and they're nice because they don't need to be drilled out 'the next time'. i had to file a little off the female side so that they would not sit too proud of the surface.

Jerry. Got any grills for a '73?

grover, i'm holding my BEST stuff for my next project, a 73 02tii that will get the full treatment (within reason, and as best as i'm able to do). what remains is only in OK condition.

i suppose it depends on your tolerance level. your car is probably too nice for what i'd have available but you're welcome to come by for a look-see.

not much to comment on at this point. it's all about reassembly now. it's very satisfying. most of the parts were cleaned previously so i'm getting the enjoyment of pulling cleaned, painted parts out of nice little zip-lock bags. it's still alot of time sorting through stuff.

Darn it. It's exactly what I have. Sorry for the trouble. Darn door stop.

armond, repeat after me:

"dings are not bad. dings convey history. dings give charm"

if you want to look through my stash i think we could find something, near perfection, or at least in your tolerance level.

my educated guess, having just looked at the same reference herewith,

use the same torque specs as for the timing cover because, essentially they are so similar.

ie, 6-8 ft-lbs

this is the automotive equivalent of the nerdy kid whose mother dresses him funny.

underneath all those 'upgrades' is a sweet car dying to be free, i'm sure. this one was just misunderstood and well-intensioned.