15 Aug DIY Event Passport BMW

[Zchild]

Today we Passport BMW hosted one of the best DIy's to date. I believe at one time we had 22 NCC bimmers on lifts in their shop at one time. Hats off to their Service Manager Mr. George Ault and all the Technical supprt staff that made this event awesome. I believe we worked on 27 different NCC bimmers today. Please feel free to post a few words concerning this event. I'm in the process of writing a personal thank you letter to Passport for hosting such a magnificent event. I'm already lloking forward to being back at Passport in 2010. Thanks in advance for your taking time to post a few kind words or words of wisdom so that we may continue to make a great club program even better. Happy Motoring...

[bimmer325imt]

My wife was at her first LDIY at Passport. Terri enjoyed Caroline's PowerPoint slide show and the tour of Passport BMW facility. I assisted fellow club members with their E46 breakpads and rotor replacements. Looking forward doing more assisting and own work at passport next year.

[beef1020]

That was the most fun I have had changing my oil and transmission fluid!!! I will definetly be going to another DIY at Passport. I can not say enough to show how much I appreciated the techs letting me use their electric pump for the transmission fill, as well as their help changing the air filter. Plus their prices for the CCA group were amazing. Literally I was expecting to pay 40%-50% more for parts based on what my local dealership with national parts distribution charged Thanks to everyone who lent me tools and shared their knowledge, it was a great time.

[pseto]

i also had a great time at the Passport DIY. thanks to fellow club member Andy Miller who helped me with changing my waterpump and thermostat.

thanks to those who i borrowed tools from, as well as those who gave great advice. it was also nice to see the women have a good time at their session

[Munchenman2]

Saturday's DIY at Passport BMW in Marlow Heights, MD has set a new standard!

As far as I know, we had the largest group of NCC members fettling their BMWs - all on lifts at the same time - with superb guidance from the Passport staff.

Concurrently in the second floor conference room, the DIY Ladies' Team - headed by Brenda Gates-Anderson - hosted an excellent DIY tutorial for perhaps twenty of our chapter ladies. Caroline Miller presented a superb PowerPoint display, and used her outstanding public speaking skills to keep it light, funny, and entertaining. The other ladies' Team members of Kendra, Angela, and Terri [please provide proper spelling of last names] contributed to keep the tutorial light and lively. Naturally the attendees enjoyed the tea, coffee, and pastries, as well as the Goody Bags full of useful DIY items. Well done by all, Ladies Team!

Although I had postponed the R&R of my rear shocks to a later DIY, in the afternoon with guidance from a Passport technician I was able to trace and fix two blown fuzes and restore the power to my radio amplifier and the CD deck in my trunk.

Many thanks again to the entire Passport BMW management team, mechanics, and staff.

Alan
DIY chair

[thotts]

This was my first DIY event and further, my first time doing my own maintenance on any car. I was 100% lost when I first arrive at the huge Passport facility; didn't know where to go (yes I went into the wrong garage :-). A sign outside the garage door where you entered would have been great.

I got nothing but help on my projects (changed oil & filter and brake fluid). Also inspected the brake pads and rotors. Thanks so much to everyone, especially Richard, Paul and Zach, for all the assistance. I will be attending the next DIY, so I can change the rotors and brake pads before the next driving school.

I didn't get a chance to get over to the LDIY, but I'm going to sign up for DIY extra #4 at Martin Motorsports and hopefully I can get some "girl-power" encouragement. ^_^

BTW, I was suppose to ask a car question for a fellow NCC member, but I forgot on Saturday: to replace a water pump in a 1995 E36 M3, does the radiator have to be removed? About how long does that job take and, more to the topic, can that be done at our DIY event?

Thanks again for a great event. I learned TONS!

[mcoupemindy]

BTW, I was suppose to ask a car question for a fellow NCC member, but I forgot on Saturday: to replace a water pump in a 1995 E36 M3, does the radiator have to be removed? About how long does that job take and, more to the topic, can that be done at our DIY event?

That could EASILY be done at a DIY. It's about a 2.5 hr. job. No need to remove the radiator. You will need to remove the engine fan (it's a reverse thread - turn right to loosen) and then you can get to everything behind there. The thermostat housing (you should replace the thermostat if doing a water pump) is held in by 4 bolts and the waterpump itself is four bolts too. You'll dump coolant all over the floor, might get a bit greasy, but it's a pretty easy job!

[pseto]

That could EASILY be done at a DIY. It's about a 2.5 hr. job. No need to remove the radiator. You will need to remove the engine fan (it's a reverse thread - turn right to loosen) and then you can get to everything behind there. The thermostat housing (you should replace the thermostat if doing a water pump) is held in by 4 bolts and the waterpump itself is four bolts too. You'll dump coolant all over the floor, might get a bit greasy, but it's a pretty easy job!

Easy for you lol!!! Andy Miller helped me replace my waterpump/thermostat and we pulled the radiator/expansion tank/shroud/fan (maybe I have less room in the Roady b/c i can't see how there's enough room w/o pulling everything out).

We definitely made a mess though, coolant was everywhere since we were only able to drain the radiator and not the engine block (couldnt get to the plug - i swear BMW hires little stick men to assemble these cars).

[pseto]

This was my first DIY event and further, my first time doing my own maintenance on any car. I was 100% lost when I first arrive at the huge Passport facility; didn't know where to go (yes I went into the wrong garage :-). A sign outside the garage door where you entered would have been great.

I got nothing but help on my projects (changed oil & filter and brake fluid). Also inspected the brake pads and rotors. Thanks so much to everyone, especially Richard, Paul and Zach, for all the assistance. I will be attending the next DIY, so I can change the rotors and brake pads before the next driving school.

I didn't get a chance to get over to the LDIY, but I'm going to sign up for DIY extra #4 at Martin Motorsports and hopefully I can get some "girl-power" encouragement. ^_^

BTW, I was suppose to ask a car question for a fellow NCC member, but I forgot on Saturday: to replace a water pump in a 1995 E36 M3, does the radiator have to be removed? About how long does that job take and, more to the topic, can that be done at our DIY event?

Thanks again for a great event. I learned TONS!

you did a great job and learned very quickly. you'll be swapping manifolds soon

[mcoupemindy]

Easy for you lol!!! Andy Miller helped me replace my waterpump/thermostat and we pulled the radiator/expansion tank/shroud/fan (maybe I have less room in the Roady b/c i can't see how there's enough room w/o pulling everything out).

We definitely made a mess though, coolant was everywhere since we were only able to drain the radiator and not the engine block (couldnt get to the plug - i swear BMW hires little stick men to assemble these cars).

OK slow poke!

Maybe I need to come to a DIY to show you guys how to do it. Betcha I can do a water pump, thermostat and coolant change in under 60 minutes. Come on, bet me. :P

[MPWR]

It really didn't take that long- we just started it late. It was after lunch by the time we drained the coolant, to give it time to cool off.

I suppose you could replace the water pump on a '95 M3 without removing the radiator, but there is very little space between the front of the engine and the radiator. Unless you have really thin (and strong) arms, it's easier to take the radiator out. The radiator comes out pretty easily.

[beckley]

I'd like to post a special thank you to Zach, who coordinated this whole event, and to Tony, who showed up super early just to bring a tool to the DIY that I needed to press in a bushing.

I'd definitely say that this was the best DIY that I have attended so far. The Passport staff (especially Roland) went out of their way to lend me at least 5 tools that I used to replace my control arm bushings and tie rods. And the fact that we had so much time on the lifts, made the experience of doing a big job so much easier. There was no pressure to get my car off of the lift because there were so many lifts open for everyone to use.

Again, special thanks to Zach for being "the man" on this one.

Jim