1984 633CSi Rises again!

[hornhospital]

PM sent, Song. I'll take the hoses if they aren't spoken for.

[songzunhuang]

PM sent, Song. I'll take the hoses if they aren't spoken for.

Hey Ken, I replied to your PM. The hoses are yours. Send along the shipping info in a PM and I’ll have it on it’s way to you. Thanks.

[hornhospital]

PM and Paypal sent. Thank you!

[songzunhuang]

Once again I am posting about a rather trivial but nice cosmetic update. The plastic interior surrounds on the door handles had cracked and would not stay in place. I found a set of 2 on eBay for a measly $13. OK, I thought I'd give it a go. Here they are as I replaced the old cracked plastic ones.

Extremely good match and perfect fit.

Door trim.png (1.8 MiB) Viewed 992 times

I was really impressed with the quality of these. The texture of the moulding and the quality of the plastic seemed really good. The plastic wasn't brittle or hard and seemed like it will last as really long time. Anyhow, if you need new interior door trims, I'd say you can't go wring with these.

This is all I have done to my car in months. Everything is operating as it should. The groaning from the power steering has gone away. It seems the new hoses did the trick. Recently, it's been "hot" in California sometimes reaching 90 degrees. My A/C is performing like a champ. I am really enjoying this period when all seems to be good in the universe, at least where the e24 is concerned.

[hornhospital]

Woooohooo! Song is back!

Looking good there, buddy! It's amazing how something so insignificant can make such a difference in the appearance of the interior. You'd notice a cracked surround right away, but a new intact one blends in. I guess that's part of pleasing the eye. Nothing stands out as less-than-good.

[songzunhuang]

Hello, I've seen lots of thread on how terrible the MTC kit performs, if it performs at all. I came across this repair kit on Pelican Parts that basically replaces the rubber parts. Has anyone tried just cleaning up the original parts and replacing the rubber with this kit?

Pelican Parts repair kit.

Heater repair.png (362.7 KiB) Viewed 848 times

As it's not too expensive, I went ahead and ordered it anyway. I'll report back.

(A few days later)
This weekend I got a chance to take apart the heater valve in my car to get an idea of what I was up against. It wasn't too bad and my valve seems to be in good shape, aside from the rubber bit at the end. Here's what it looked like when I took it out. It was covered in deposits and the rubber end piece was all ragged.

Right when it came out.

HeaterValve b4.png (830.5 KiB) Viewed 848 times

I tried to clean up the ragged rubber piece it basically dissolving when I touched it. The black stuff on my fingers was just from touching the rubber. My valve was not moving freely and I had to clean it the best I could.

Needs some cleanup.

Heater Valve before.png (1.21 MiB) Viewed 848 times

Here's a video to show what happens when you turn the temperature knob.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6QxiRrLZneMPSChP7

It doesn't seem to move a lot or with much force. Oh well, we will see how it all works as I drive this week. Note that the valve is normally retracted, allowing hot liquid into the heater core. This is the heater "on" position. When you turn the temperature knob to cooler, it energizes the valve and it extends, closing the port to the heater core. This blocks the hot liquid from entering the heater core and is the "off" position. Maybe you knew this, but I'm recording all this for my own record.



When the new rubber bits come in, I'll take it all apart and replace it.

[sansouci]

It's really too bad they don't design them to use standard faucet washers which are available everywhere.

[songzunhuang]

OK, here's a little more information about the rebuild kit I got for my heater valve. First, here are my initial impressions of this kit. For the most part, the pieces seem pretty good, except that the diaphragm doesn't seem to extend as much as the OEM version. It looks like the replacement diaphragm has to stretch; whereas the original kind of has a concentric fold to make it easier to extend and retract with a large range of motion.

Here's the new replacements vs. the oem part. It was clear that the rubber parts were extremely deteriorated. One little cone shaped rubber piece that goes around the shaft was a surprise when I took it all apart.

The URO replacement parts for rebuilding.

Rebuild kit.png (1.55 MiB) Viewed 677 times

The diaphragm fit around the steel circular ring quite well. However, I had to pull out the plunger to install the "c" clip at the end.
Here's a picture of all the parts exploded before I assembled everything.

All the parts in the right order.

TheParts.png (1.22 MiB) Viewed 677 times

I chose to use the original wavy washer as the new one seemed overly stiff and wasn't as springy as the oem part. So far, everything has been fine since I installed it. There are no leaks, which is what that wavy washer does. It creates pressure to seal the diaphragm to the valve case. Here's everything back together.

Complete rebuild in place, minus the wavy washer.

Rebuilt.png (1 MiB) Viewed 677 times

So it all went together easy enough. It's been a week now and here's my impression of how it all worked. In the off position, it certainly does shut off the heat. My A/C works much better now without the heat defeating it. As for the heater, it seems like the flow is slightly less. My heater doesn't appear to put out as much heat as before. It does work, but not as well as I recall. In the end, I think it'll do for now. Winter is coming and we'll see when the temperature really starts to drop.

In the end, it looks like the $20 rebuild seems to work reasonable well. If it acts up again, I'll just get the oem BMW part.

[songzunhuang]

Well, I noticed that my repaired speaker pod was failing again. I had used Gorilla Glue before, but it seemed that the heat in the back shelf had done it in. So here's what my pod looked like from the inside. It had been around 3 years since I glued it last.

Pod vinyl coming up again.

PodFail.png (875.82 KiB) Viewed 676 times

So, was the Gorilla glue failing or did I just neglect to prepare it well? As I took apart and cleaned up the metal parts of the pod, I noticed a lot of brown dust. It smelled like a lot of rust dust, if that makes sense. Along with that, there were sheets of hardened glue that came off easily. Clearly it didn't have a good bonding surface. This time, I cleaned it well with a wire brush and acetone until no residue was coming off. I also made sure to mist the vinyl part with some water as instructed in the instructions.

Then, there were a lot of clamps. Luckily, one side was still holding so I concentrated the clamps on the opposite side. I used every clamp I could find in the garage as well as some things to help spread the pressure from the C-clamps. I didn't want to indent the plastic too much.

It's going to take a lot of clamps for 16 hrs.

Clamps.png (1.38 MiB) Viewed 676 times

After the glue cured, you can see the foaming action oozing out the edges. This is how the "gap filling" properties work. It's easy enough to trim off the excess.

Glue expanding and coming out the front.

Frontooze.png (893.83 KiB) Viewed 676 times

So after the trim and cleanup, along with some black restorer, it looks pretty good. I hope that this one holds a lot better. Problem solved for now. The glue seems like it'll be fine. I think Brucey was right in that it was just bad surface preparation.

Finished pod looks good.

FinishedPod.png (1.16 MiB) Viewed 676 times

[sansouci]

Superb job!

Song, how do you get to the nuts holding the hinges in place?

Somewhere along the way, I recall that some chap with great woodworking and laminating skills made pods out of exotic woods with a P-U coating. If I dig it up, I will post although it could have been for another BMW application.

Found it---
XBOSS in the e38 subforum of bimmerforums was making laminated veneer parts (mostly trims)
Ken

[songzunhuang]

Superb job!

Song, how do you get to the nuts holding the hinges in place?

Somewhere along the way, I recall that some chap with great woodworking and laminating skills made pods out of exotic woods with a P-U coating. If I dig it up, I will post although it could have been for another BMW application.

Found it---
XBOSS in the e38 subforum of bimmerforums was making laminated veneer parts (mostly trims)
Ken

Ken, I used a screw driver that I have with two right angles at the end.Here's a link to a similar item on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Coolais-Screwdri ... 127&sr=8-6

It was still a pain. It probably would have been easier with a small socket with a phillips at the end.
Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Welle-Ratche ... 303&sr=8-3

[songzunhuang]

OK, I am posting this question here as I am getting no responses to my post in the "Interior" section of the forum.

The right side of my climate control system no longer has a backlight. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to reach the back of the climate control, but if I knew what I was feeling for, I may have better luck. So the question is as follows.

Is the little round receptacle in the picture below where the light bulb sits? I think I can reach that if I take out the Hazard and the A/C switch.

Is this circular part the location of the balckight bulb?

Climate Right Side.png (745.27 KiB) Viewed 386 times

When I replaced the trip computer backlight, I felt something dangling about that felt like it could be a bulb. Maybe it fell out and I just need to put it back in this circular receptacle. Everything was done by feel as I can't see anything back there. I'd hate to disassemble the console or dash just to change a light bulb.

Thanks in advance for any insight on this.

===< Update >===
I verified that the receptacle in that picture is in fact for a light bulb assemble that illuminates the right side of the climate control.

[jps635]

Yeah Song from memory u're on the right track.

I had lots of fun and games with the backlighting after replacing the heater core. One of the bulb holders was loose and the bloody thing kept dropping out. I recall fishing around with with both the rear screen and hazard switches removed several times to get everything sorted. Some of the cables to the back of the switches don't allow much free play and you'll be swearing if you drop one and have to fish it back out. As you pull the switches out lasso the spade terminals with a thin cable time so you can easily pull them out again once you've had your digits in there.

Also handy to have a small mirror on a stick and flashlight to see what's going on in and remove the guesswork

Good luck. Messing about behind there gives me the shits.

[songzunhuang]

Ok, I tinkered around and figured out how to replace the bulb that illuminates the right side of the climate control. The trick is to remove the Hazard and Air Conditioning switches and reach your fingers in through the holes. Here's a visual.

Schematic of how to reach the bulb.

BulbReplace.png (1.45 MiB) Viewed 302 times

If you look at the back of the unit (picture 2 posts before this), you can see the receptacle you are trying to reach.
Now, the bulb is a simple Osram 12v 1.2 watt bulb. It looks like this. I believe Sylvania makes the same bulb.

An Osram 12v 1.2w bulb.

OsramBulb.png (593.37 KiB) Viewed 302 times

I realized that these are the same bulb that are use in the gear selector indicator of the instrument panel. I broke out the soldering iron and removed one of the bulbs that I have in my spare gear selector part. There are 9 bulbs on that board! I removed the one on the far left.

Gear selector board with 9 bulbs.

GearSelector.png (1.41 MiB) Viewed 302 times

It turns out these work perfectly. Yeah, I could have purchase new bulbs, they are not expensive. But since I had these lying about, I just used one. Everything is fine now.

So, that's how you replace the bulb on the right side of the climate control. Now you know - and it didn't give me the shits.

[songzunhuang]

Well BigCoupe folks, today my commute was cold and rainy here in California. I've been living with a tepid heater condition for weeks as I tried to convince myself that I could live with not-so-great heat since the weather here is mild compared to other parts of the world. After waiting a long time for my windows to de-ice in the mornings and driving to work in a chilly car several times, I have concluded that the URO replacement parts kit for the heater valve isn't cutting it. Once again the URO brand face-plants. Also, I didn't want to deal with the rather poorly rated MTC unit that seems to be available everywhere. I wonder how they keep selling those when everyone says they suck?!

Bottom line is that I broke down and order the genuine BMW part from FCP Euro for $160.
I just hope this fixes my heater properly.

[baders]

Song I have seen people adapt an E46 heater valve quite successfully for much lower price. Just an afterthought though as you've already ordered the valve.

[songzunhuang]

Song I have seen people adapt an E46 heater valve quite successfully for much lower price. Just an afterthought though as you've already ordered the valve.

I appreciate the info and maybe it'll help others who have this issue. I did come across a few posts about adapting an E46 for this and it seems the flow is reversed or something like that. I didn't want to mess with figuring it out. I know I can swap the part in a matter of minutes with the OEM unit. I've done it 2 times already as I was trying to figure things out.

[86_6series]

Song,

You won't regret your decision to install the OEM valve.
I had the same issues with the rebuild kits.
Installed the OEM 12 years ago and never looked back.

[songzunhuang]

Well, today my part came. I was a little anxious as I opened up the heater valve since I had heard that some folks may ship me an aftermarket valve even though it's advertised as OEM on their website. Well, I'm glad to report that the folks at FCP Euro came through with what I think is a genuine part. They did charge me close to $159+tax for this. Here are a few shots and why I think they are OEM.

Look closely at the box and it is marked "made in France". That'd be a weird place to make a knockoff part!

Nice quality and correct packaging.

BMW-Valve 1.png (961.87 KiB) Viewed 13 times

Examining the rubber seals, I can see that it's like the part I took out and not like the MTC or URO parts I have seen. The larger rubber diaphragm folds into itself, instead of just stretching like the cheap replacements.

Correct diaphragm action!

BMW Valve 2.png (1.02 MiB) Viewed 13 times

As it's late in the evening and raining, I can't put this in for a few days. I'll report back when I've had a few days with the parts installed.

Oh, I also had my driver side headlight burn out on the way home this evening. I ordered a replacement sealed beam, but then almost immediately looked for an upgrade. Well, you guess it. I also ordered a set of Hellas with H4 bulbs. That's a story for another day! The fun never stops.

[baders]

I've said it before and will say it again. You have to hand it to FCPEuro for service. In 5 years of dealing with them, they have not put a foot wrong for me. I recently ordered a temperature sensor from them an it took 5 days to arrive to my door...................at the ass end of the universe.