That was the project for tonight. :D I began by removing the driver's side front drive axle just as I had the first time. Once I had it on the bench, the fun began. Both the inner and outer joints felt funny so I serviced both of them. I worked on the outer joint first, the one with the 6 captured balls inside. I found vise grips to work well for removing one type of clamp-band. The internal components were completely covered in grease so I ultrasonic cleaned everything as best I could. The end of the spline which contacts the center pinion was fairly chewed up and the pinion would no longer slide on. Using a triangular jeweler's file, I carefully filed the teeth smooth until the pinion slid on. Once that was repaired, I used a tiny amount of grease to get the internal components back into place. Next I tapped the splined shaft into the pinion and seated the circlip.

I also rebuilt the "inner" joint, the one with three roller bearings inside a housing. One of the three roller bearings had come off its post. The remaining two were captured as intended, so I'm not sure how this one got removed. Anyway, it would not easily slide back onto its post. It is an interference fit.

So, I baked the bearing in the oven at 250-degrees F for about an hour. Then I placed the bearing onto the post. It didn't drop right on as I was hoping, but I used a C-clamp to squeeze it into place.

After that, I just greased up the bearings, housing, and boot and sealed everything up! Installation was a breeze since a friend helped and the test drive was a success! :thumbup:

Sweet work. Congrats on getting her running.

"I ultrasonically cleaned the parts as best I could"

LOL

;)

Awesome, congrats!

Thanks guys! I currently have three issues to sort out:


1. P0444 DTC which appears to be related to the evap purge valve. Maybe I missed a wire, or the solenoid has gone bad? Or I got water in the vapor line when I was pressure washing?

2. Hard starting. It usually cranks for up to 2 seconds before it fires up. I'm thinking tiny leak in the hard fuel lines somewhere?

3. Seat belt restraint failure lights. Does anyone in the Bay Area have a BMW cable I can use to read/reset this?

OK, I got the seat belt lights turned off by a friend of a friend with a scan tool. Nice.

Next up: P0444 "Evap. Purge Control Valve Circuit Open"
The purge valve is the small white and black thing attached to the intake manifold. It has two connectors going into it, each controlling a solenoid valve. I tested both valves and they actuated successfully when given 12V, and stopped air from moving through them.

The trouble code leads me to believe something is wrong electrically. Weirdly, my car has two identical connectors, one of which goes to the bottom purge valve. When I first received the car, the 2nd connector wasn't plugged into anything. It was just dangling. I actually labeled it "NC" or No Connection when I disassembled the car.

Can anyone with a 35i N55 engine check their purge valve and tell me what color wires are coming out of the bottom valve? It's either a black shielded cable, or two loose red/white wires. I'm very curious.

The attached schematic screenshot may help.

Thanks, that's great. My car is 2011/05, so I did have the "tank vent shutoff valve" connected correctly (red wire & red/white wire)

On to other theories. My next thoughts are:
Broken vent hose out of the fuel tank?
Failed pressure sensor at charcoal canister?
Bad charcoal canister?

I remember specifically that I accidentally got water in the fuel vapor escape hose during pressure washing (leading into the charcoal canister) so that's the only lead I have at this point.

In your top picture, arent there two connectors on that valve?

Therefore the two connectors in your hand would connect there, Id think. In the schematic there are two solenoids-

Fuel Tank Vent valve, with a white/Blue and Red

Tank Vent Shutoff, with White/Red and Red (this one looks like one of them you are holding...)

Yeah, the component in my picture actually has two solenoid valves and two connectors. The right-hand connector is obvious and only fits one way. The left-hand connector is ambiguous but was solved by the electrical diagram posted above.

So, I think the "Evap purge valve" is crossed off the lists of suspects.