Tech Tips For
The Do-It-Yourself'er
Feel
free to share these with others giving credit where credit is
due. And send me your own Tech Tips and I'll post them here, too.
Most of these tips apply to E36 BMW's but many of them will apply
to other BMW's as well.
These tips have been written and are provided simply to help the do-it-yourself'er with fairly common repair and service tasks. They are not intended to replace instructions from the BMW Repair Manual or from any other source for that matter.
Be safe... never work under a car not fully supported by jack stands or on a lift. Chock wheels. Use good tools and wear adequate eye and ear protection.
Do not attempt any project you are not sure you can complete safely. Leave the big jobs to the trained professionals.
- How
to safely secure your E36 BMW to your trailer (also for
E46 BMW's, Boxters, Corvettes, and many others)
- R&R the Trailing Arm Bushings on an E36 BMW
- Install new brake pads/rotors on an E36 BMW
- How to properly season new pads and/or rotors.
- Install a cat-back exhaust on an E36 BMW
- Remove and install new struts and shocks on an E36 BMW
- How to tune your shocks and struts for maximum performance (including the shock tuning guide from Koni NA)
- What's a good baseline alignment for autocross and road racing? <--JUST ADDED!
- How can you tell a motor with Vanos from a non-Vanos motor just by looking?
- A spreadsheet for calculating mph at various rpm's <download> (helpful when purchasing new tires or installing a new diff ratio)
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