Philes' Forum by Vic Lucariello

Hello, Bimmerphiles! This month I have for you a special treat. I'm sure you've heard of the Hollywood Rat and Brat Packs, but I'll bet you didn't know we have our own version right here in the NJ Chapter. Well, we do and they are known as the Scat Pack. This is a group of up-and-coming driver school hot dogs, some of whom are already contributing to the Chapter's administrative and driver school functions. These folks are:

• Alexei 'Bleed yourrr brrraks, Baybay?' Tsekoun
• Joe 'Man, doesn't Roxana laugh like Olivia Newton-John ?' Peng
• Roxana 'My knee hurts!' Melnitschenko
• Renata 'Don't you think Peng is cute?' Melnitschenko
• Ed 'E28 Lightweight' Walters.
• Ricardo 'Brakes? I don't need no stinkin' brakes!' Venegas

Alexei recently was asked to join the driver school tech worker team and Roxana has been the Chapter's Director of Social Events for two [hopefully more!] successful terms. Ed won the 1999 NJ Chapter Driving Championship in his modified E28 535i . I suspect and hope that you will be hearing more about the Scat Pack folks as they fill more of the Chapter's positions over the next few years.

Anyhow, when I returned from the three-day Watkins Glen Driver School in June, I had a couple e-mails indicating that the Scat Pack had held a so-called 'Tech Fest' [Renata's term] over that weekend. Tech Fest generated a couple questions for me that you may be interested in, and Renata kindly agreed to compose a report of the event. First, here is Renata: [As usual, my 'witticisms' appear in brackets.]

"I was invited to my first Tech Fest and did not know what to expect.
It seems when you do to a Tech Fest everyone brings equipment, supplies, beverages, food, knowledge and muscle power (Ricardo & Joe Peng). ['Muscle Power' is a relative term, folks.]

"At this Tech Fest, our mission was to accomplish the following maintenances:

Brake Pads Swap on Joe's 318i

Oil Change on Roxana's M3 - Postponed to the next fest -- After stopping at 5 different stores in Bergen County, she could not find Mobil 1 15W50. [A good alternative for Summer is Valvoline Synpower Synthetic 20W50 if you can find it. Try NAPA stores.]

Brake Fluid Flush on Renata'a E34 525i, along with a possible replacement of [front upper] control arm bushings, depending if a fellow E28 Tech Head (Ed Walters) would show up.

Oil change along with replacement of [passenger compartment intake air] MicroFilter on Alexei's 318ti.

And as a added bonus a Brake Fluid Flush on an Joe's E28 -- which I believe in all the 10 years of ownership has never had one done, but don't quote me. [Sorry, Ren.]

"At this Tech Fest, the major maintenance was to learn about replacing Control Arms on an E34, which never happened -- due to the E28 Tech Head doing a no show and we were not going to attempt to do it without any knowledge or help. My BMW is special and I wanted to drive it home, without parts falling off. [Ren, Walters has had problems keeping his muffler from falling off, so it may have been a good thing that he wimped out.] Most of the other maintenances were performed, however a problem did occur on the brake bleed of the E28. Sludge developed while bleeding the brakes.

"What I learned from this Tech Fest is you come away with more knowledge of the car and a camaraderie with your fellow car friends. I also learned from Ricardo and Joe that the most important aspect of automobile maintenance is when performing it yourself, safety is an important factor. You should also have plenty of room to work, along with the proper equipment/tools. [Ren, I'm glad that's all you learned from these two characters!]

"I was pleasantly surprised as to how easy it is to bleed the brakes, to
actually do it on one's own vehicle was such a thrill -- now I understand my fellow car nuts better. I have come away with knowledge, a little experience, some disappointment -- but am looking forward to attending my next Tech Fest. P.S. I did make it home in one piece and the brakes were fantastic. Better than before, perhaps due to me doing them myself."

Thanks to Renata for taking the time to report on Tech Fest I. What I found significant about this event is that some new and not-so-new Chapter members [who met at Chapter functions] of varying mechanical ability and experience got together and collectively got a bunch of work done and had a good time doing so. As I have preached many times from this podium, there are many tech procedures anyone with an interest and a couple tech head friends can perform on her/his Bimmer. Oil and brake fluid changes, and brake pad/rotor changes are a good place to start, even if you have had no prior mechanical experience. Specialized tool and equipment requirements are practically nil for these procedures. Some of you may recall that Alexei and his 318ti were the victims of a brake fluid change demo we did at the Bossert's Camptown Tool and Die Co. at our October '99 membership meeting in Kenilworth. Alexei is now helping and inspiring other Bimmerphiles to get involved with their own maintenance, and that, folks, is what this Chapter is all about!

A question which arose from Tech Fest I is what to do when sludge accumulation prevents the flow of brake fluid to one or more calipers. This sludge results from long-delayed brake fluid changing. [The EZI-Bleed pressure bleeder which the Scat Pack was using only applies about 15 psig pressure to the brake system and plastic fluid reservoir. Higher pressures might rupture the reservoir.] What I do in this case is:

1. Depressurize and disconnect the EZI-Bleed from the brake fluid reservoir.
2. Shoot the owner who allowed such a travesty to occur. Dip the bullets in brake fluid sludge.
3. Remove the bleeder screw from the affected caliper[s] and poke the holes in the screw and the caliper with a paper clip to ensure they are not blocked.
4. Reinstall and tighten the bleeder screw and connect the fluid catch bottle.
5. Have an assistant apply firm pressure to the brake pedal.
6. ENSURE you have your eye protection on!
7. Open the bleeder screw. The brake system can apply over 1000 psig pressure, and the muck should be expelled into the catch bottle.
8. Close the bleeder screw, reconnect the EZI-Bleed to the brake fluid reservoir, and resume changing the fluid.
9. In the unlikely event that brake system pressure cannot get the fluid flowing, your caliper[s] pistons are very likely frozen in place and need overhaul or replacement. If Alexei is real nice to us, maybe we'll demonstrate this next time!

Scat Pack members can be reached for autographs at almost any chapter function. [Confidential to female Bimmerphiles {Bimmerfiglie?} from Renata and Roxana: If a handsome, intelligent, seemingly sweet, gentlemanly man with a Russian accent approaches you and wants to demonstrate how to change your brake fluid, take heed! This may be Alexei, or worse yet, a disguised Walters trying to impersonate Alexei!] Thanks again, Ren!

Anyone wishing to contribute to Philes' Forum should contact me via the info on the masthead. I'm interested in tech tips, repair /maintenance questions and/or tips, dealer horror stories, product evaluations, etc. Please call before 8 PM, and if you leave a message, PLEASE INCLUDE A PHONE NUMBER WHERE I CAN REACH YOU ON WEEKDAYS. Also, please be patient, I try to return every phone call, but it sometimes takes a while. If you don't hear back from me within a few days, please call again. The best way to contact me is via e-mail.

Copyright 2000 - V.M. Lucariello, PE