Questions you thought were too dumb to ask E53 edition

[puddinboo]

post a pic of the vacuum line ,it could be just comming off the tranny ,which it doesn`t hook up to anything.

[Hairbear]

Why is it an oil temp instead of pressure gauge? On every car I've every owned you read oil pressure and if it's showing low oil pressure there's a problem. So at what temp is there a problem?

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Hairbear

Why is it an oil temp instead of pressure gauge? On every car I've every owned you read oil pressure and if it's showing low oil pressure there's a problem. So at what temp is there a problem?

A few reasons.

1) because low oil pressure is very uncommon
2) because generally, nobody watched or acted on an oil pressure gauge. This gauge was pulled from most vehicle designs because it was almost universally ignored. Low oil pressure was so uncommon that when it did happen people ignored it because they had decided the gauge was faulty.
3) because oil temp matters. People look at the coolant gauge and decide that it is the whole story. Not so.

If your vehicle ends up in the shop related to a temperature issue, it is far more likely to be due to not getting the oil up to temp that it being too hot. Most BMW gauges should be at mid range for normal. If it doesn't get up there, you aren't driving it long enough to get to temp. It takes longer to get the oil temp to spec than the coolant.

[stackz]

so my brake pad light came on the dash yesterday afternoon. going to stop and get pads later today and then replace them this weekend.

will I need to replace the brake pad sensor or is that only needed when you ride on the low brakes for a while and grind the sensor down or something?

[puddinboo]

Originally Posted by stackz

so my brake pad light came on the dash yesterday afternoon. going to stop and get pads later today and then replace them this weekend.

will I need to replace the brake pad sensor or is that only needed when you ride on the low brakes for a while and grind the sensor down or something?

if the brake pad light came on ,it means the sensor is finished ,yes you will need a new one.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by stackz

so my brake pad light came on the dash yesterday afternoon. going to stop and get pads later today and then replace them this weekend.

will I need to replace the brake pad sensor or is that only needed when you ride on the low brakes for a while and grind the sensor down or something?

If the light came on... the sensor needs to be replaced. The sensor is just a looped wire through some material (maybe ceramic or plastic). To trigger the light the material has to be worn through... and also the wire in the middle. Once that wire is broken it triggers the light since continuity in the circuit was broken.

So yep, the sensor has to be replaced.

[stackz]

is there just one sensor up front or one on each wheel up front?

also, I'm kinda pissed at walmart. had them put on new tires today and they said I was missing a lugnut.

bullshit. I checked before I went in there.

I'm wondering if they just lost one (hoping) or if they cross threaded one and then threw it away to claim it was lost (dreading)

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by stackz

is there just one sensor up front or one on each wheel up front?

also, I'm kinda pissed at walmart. had them put on new tires today and they said I was missing a lugnut.

bullshit. I checked before I went in there.

I'm wondering if they just lost one (hoping) or if they cross threaded one and then threw it away to claim it was lost (dreading)

There is a sensor on the driver's front and one on the passenger rear. BMW has done that on all their cars since back in the early 80's.

As for wal-mart. Not a great place to have tires installed. I usually use Discount Tire/America's Tire. Worst case scenario I'd use Sears.

[stackz]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

I usually use Discount Tire/America's Tire.

I would love to have a discount tire here in charleston. though, discount tire direct is where I ordered the tires I had mounted.

Its just really really hard for me to go to firestone and have them charge me $98 dollars for mounting/balancing when walmart is just $55...and I can walk to/from there from work so I dont have to sit around.

at least a new lug nut is only $4 and I can get one from oreillys this afternoon when I pick up the brake pads and sensor.

[Hairbear]

Thanks JCL for the info.