Fatharris' bargain basement barge (HermanTheGerman)

[fatharris]

Well, it's been six months since I started this thread with a service, and since then, Herman has simply just been used, he didn't even have a wash. I've simply been too busy with a house move and a move within work to a new department.

 

This week, I finally had a free afternoon here and there, and I was going to spend it looking after the car that's looked after me.

 

So, Saturday afternoon, I decided to tackle the oil leak. For months, he's been dripping oil onto the exhaust manifold, resulting in an almighty stink.

 

Firstly, Herman was shoehorned into the garage:

 

 

The survival pack was prepared:

 

 

Sadly, Haynes don't do a 7 series manual, but the 5 series pretty much covers the lot anyway.

 

With the bonnet up, there isn't much clearance with the garage door!

 

 

Cap and cover off:

 

Labels on the coil packs, I'm always keen to keep stuff exactly where it came from:

 

 

Coil pack wiring removed. The manual say just to unship it, but why make it harder to get access?

 

 

Many bolts later and the cover came off with a sharp tug!

 

 

On inspection, the cam lobe wear seems excellent and everything seems ticketty boo!

 

My hunch was right - the rubber had become very, very brittle, and snapped in several places. All came out easily bar one spark plug gasket, which required careful screwdrivering and swearing.

 

 

With a dab of bodge fluid as a belt and braces scenario:

 

 

The rocker cover was refitted:

 

 

And all the trimmings went back on:

 

 

With it all done, I fired it up and waited. The only sign of panic was a strange smell which I can only deduce to be a spot of the Hylomar solvent dripping onto the manifold. Five days later and all is good, which is a right result!

 

 

Pulled out and pushed back into service once again, pictured with the garage helper dog!

 

I was busy today as well, but that's for another post.

[anonymous user]

You must have a very fast shutter speed on your camera to be able to get an apparently stationary spaniel in shot.

[fatharris]

And into another early finish at work today. Again, due to lack of time, I've been ignoring a knocking noise at the front over bumps.

 

Eventually, I got it on the ramps at the car club and pinpointed the fault, with great relief. It turned out to be the ball joint on the OSF lower control arm. Thankfully, I actually got given a brand new set of lower control arms from a friend who had the wrong set delivered for their E39, and the sellers didn't want them back! For once, a permanent repair is literally free, bar a couple of beers as a thank you.

 

Once again, into the garage!

 

 

Wheel bolts loosened:

 

 

Jacked up, onto my new stands (cheap as chips from SGS engineering, and recommended!) And wheel off.

 

 

The culprit was finally accessible!

 

 

Having done suspension work on other cars, I was expecting this to be a proper pain in the arse.

 

Not so in this case, it was a breeze, nothing seized or broken! I love working on this car sometimes.

 

Behold, the source of the knock! There was a bit of play in the ball joint and it just flopped around!

 

 

Also, fair play to BMW for making a set of arms last for 18 years!

 

 

New one went in without hassle.

 

 

Got my Amazon bargain ARB links today too at £4 for the pair, so I figured now would be the best time to do them.

 

 

All in!

 

 

Once done, the wheel was refitted and Herman lowered to the ground for the final torquing of the arm.

 

One side done, good practise to do the other!

 

Only one snag this time, the ball joint started spinning when undoing the nut and there was no clearance for an Allen key in the top.

 

Got around it by cutting the dust cover off and mole gripping the smooth section. Worked a treat!

 

 

Annoyingly, I discovered the track rod end rubber boot has split and grease is pissing out. I'll waiting until my front upper control arms arrive, order some track rod ends as well, and change them both together and get the tracking done.

 

 

The upper control arm boot was perished too

 

 

Another drop link change.

 

 

Finally, wheel fitted, dropped and torqued.

 

Once the tools were cleared away, there was a lot of concrete dust on the paintwork, so he got a good wash.

 

 

 

The test drive was a success and reminded me why I bought Herman in the first place - it's such a peaceful, serene place to be. Soon I will sort out the other knocking issues when the parts arrive, and I've got a BIG order coming through soon!

[fatharris]

Also, bonus points to anyone who can identify the steel wheel leaning against the wall - it was left in the garage when we moved in.

[Honey Badger]

Nice work, they really are one of the last good looking BMWs.

 

I drove past Cudrose today for the first time in a few years, the Seaking up by the Sainsbury roundabout looks a bit sad. 

[320touring]

Good work! looks like its enjoying being used:)

[fatharris]

Nice work, they really are one of the last good looking BMWs.

 

I drove past Cudrose today for the first time in a few years, the Seaking up by the Sainsbury roundabout looks a bit sad. 

Ah, XV673, I was on 771 until the end, and 27 was a surprise gate guardian, there was a lot of preparation involved with getting the old girl on that plinth, but I'm really chuffed how she sits now. They need to knock that old wall down though, you can't bloody see her properly!

 

 

Cheers Tayne, I'll stick it up for free somewhere then, I have no use for it.

[fatharris]

I think it might be French - they had a motorhome based on a Citroen Relay. The tyre is a Pirelli P4 - as new with the sticker on, so old as the hills!

 

EDIT - I hope it's not an old Mini wheel - I've got 13 of the buggers in the shed!

[Honey Badger]

Thats the girl, i still think of them as fairly new, forgetting that they are all decades old, did they not want to put her at a jaunty angle like the Hawker Sea Hawk down by the bridge.

 

I'm stopping in Porthleven this week so I'm getting a regular Merlin fly over as i walk along the coastal paths, the Merlins are so quiet in comparison to the Seaking that flew over on Monday.

 

It reminds me of when i was a kid in Kettering in the 80s, the USAF eagles and A10s used our school as a waypoint.

[fatharris]

I'm on Merlins now, and I much, much prefer the Sea King, they just worked. Sea Kings are still flying though, with 849 Squadron, so you may get a chance to see one whilst you're down! 

Enjoy Porthleven, it's a lovely place to be

[rantingYoof]

Volvo could take notes from a Herman in relation to suspension component longevity...

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[fatharris]

So, another day, and more parts arrived prior. The final lot of my £40 Amazon haul

 

So, today is brought to you by:

 

 

This time, Herman's bum went airborne! Garage assistant keeping me company as usual!

 

 

However, I had just completed a 12 mile journey home, so whilst everything cooled down, I started at the front.

 

 

Engine cover off to reveal a sheared rubber cover mount.

 

 

At this point, I lost the replacement part and spent ten minutes hunting for it! Old Vs New.

 

 

Garage supervisor paid me a visit.

 

 

And finally back together!

 

 

Next up, I had finally had enough of the boot lid smacking me on the back of the head in strong winds. Time for new boot struts. Old ones came out with minimal fuss, with a C clip and a ball joint clip and a wiggle.

 

 

Old vs new.

 

 

Fitted with no dramas. Onto the other side, had a couple of trim bits to contend with, but they were easy to come off.

 

 

Ew, dirty. Will rectify later.

 

 

Then, just a case of uncoupling the wiring harness...

 

 

Cleaning the dirty area...

 

 

And refitting the strut with trim bits.

 

 

Quick squirt of white grease on the hinges and all done, much stronger!

 

 

Right, onto the potential pain in the arse. Need to prepare....

 

 

...better.

 

Herman has had two distinctive knocks for a while, one being the control arms which were rectified last time, and this time, the exhaust mountings on the centre bar.

 

 

Good work by BMW, every nut and bolt here was a 13mm, which meant the centre bar came out quickly and easily.

 

 

The mountings, less so. The top nuts were very, very stiff, with poor access. Eventually, the N/S one came free, Old Vs New.

 

 

And the O/S mount was an arse, plain and simple, brute force was required to get the end result.

 

 

Luckily, the nut threaded out with little effort so I could re use it.

 

Mounts went back in.

 

 

A jack was utilised to get the bar close enough to thread the bolts in.

 

 

And all done!

 

 

Finally, I gave him a wash to get rid of the concrete dust that accumulates whilst working in the garage.

 

 

Annoyingly, this morning, I was on the way to work when I heard a loud bang.

 

 

Bollocks. Is it terminal? Passenger side.

 

Cheers!

[fatharris]

Been a little quiet lately. Let's have an update.

 

Today, I'm travelling up to Portsmouth for work. I elected to take MrsH's Rover, as it was a diesel, with MrsH taking Herman to work today and tomorrow. Luckily, I was planning to leave in the evening, because less than 20 minutes after she left, I received a phone call.

 

 

 

Thank God she took this over the Rover. She's a little sore, but otherwise okay.

 

Got Herman recovered a couple of hours later.

 

 

 

 

And parked on the drive. Still drives.

 

 

So, insurance company have been called and they should be collecting the car some time tomorrow for inspection.

 

I can't say for certain what my plans are at this moment until I get the report back, but anyone who knows me personally will know how hard this has hit me, because I bloody love that car.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!

 

An assessor will come to look at your car. Do NOT under ANY circumstances allow anyone to take it away.  Drive the car to a bodyshop and get an estimate - take it to two. If they take it away on a truck, it'll be at Copart before you know it. Chances of getting it back - the square root of fuck all.

 

Do not let them take it. That incurs costs for them. 

 

1. Get two estimates.

 

2. Send them in and have an assessor out.

 

3. Work out a deal where they pay you but you keep the car. 

[Tickman]

That is a heafty bump.

If you are 'happy' to have cash instead of the car then let them take it for assessment, however if you even consider fixing the car don't let it leave your property.

 

I think we can all agree that with parts and labour the insurance will write it off with the current price of cars. Look for similar cars advertised so you can get some idea of true value to replace.

 

Hope it gets sorted quickly and most importantly hope the Mrs is ok.

[oldcars]

Glad to hear the good lady is ok. Sad to see poor herman  . I hope you can get it fixed, looks like the boot floor could be pulled out.

[fatharris]

No need, I called the repair shop and as they've already seen Herman last year and did an assessment, they've recommended that the value of the work isn't cost effective, so they're recommending writing him off.

 

Important thing is, he's staying on the driveway and an engineer will come to me.

[Supernaut]

DISLIKE.

 

 

However....

 

 

Epic collection thread time?

[trigger]

I must say, if your planning on keeping the car then don't let them take it anywhere, like Rev. BJ says they come to you and assess it, they don't take it, once it's gone you'll never see it again.

[Jim Bell]

This sucks, but at least nobody was hurt. Took it up the arse well. I would have hated to see a knock like that in a 106/205 or similar.

 

Gulp. Wince.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

That will go again. A lot of hammer beasting to the spare wheel well, secondhand green bumper, fixed* for £100 - more value waftage.

 

Collect £800 from insurance company, feel free to pass go.

[rantingYoof]

That modern Merc is completely destroyed! Crikey.

[Supernaut]

That modern Merc is completely destroyed! Crikey.

 

Looks as if it went under Herman, lifting Herman's back end off the ground (oo-er).

[oldcars]

Looks as if it went under Herman, lifting Herman's back end off the ground (oo-er).

Yes, looks like it must have hit the brakes last minute, nose went down and hit the bmw low under the back.

[DeeJay]

Tell the missus to go to the Doctors for a check up.

[Jim Bell]

Whiplash symptoms usually begin to manifest the following day.................

[Slartibartfast]

Oh sheet. What a bunch of bollards.

 

On a different topic, is the Mighty Car Mods sticker yours or the previous owners? MCM has rather nicely filled the gap left in my life by the end of Top Gear.

[Pillock]

Oh, buggeration.

I hope the settlement is enough to make Herman ride again and a bit more for the trouble.... Main thing, as said, is no injuries. I guess the Saab is more likely to be hanging around for a hit?

[mrbenn]

What a horrible sight

 

Glad your wife is ok, but that's really sad to see.

[DVee8]

Oh shit that sucks.

 

Won't make up for it but

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201611230026151?advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1500&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&body-type=Saloon&fuel-type=Petrol&model=7%20SERIES&postcode=dh23hx&year-from=1995&year-to=2002&sort=price-asc&make=BMW&page=1