Motivated

    Hello fellow 8ers,


    My beloved 850 has not turned a wheel in 10 months. It's been watching me drive my other cars with its sad eyes - closed, but today I decided enough was enough. I'm getting it ready for its MoT, so today I changed the lower front wishbones, disks and pads and adjusted the handbrake so it actually does something. There's lots and lots left to do but I want to get it road legal first so I can unleash it onto the roads of Hertfordshire again.


    I mainly wanted to share my new found motivation and confirm that I was not dead, or worse, had sold my 8, but since I'm here I may as well ask for some advice from this esteemed group. For the last 2 MoTs I've had advisories regarding rusted under car fuel lines. I have the replacements in my garage, but I'm fairly scared of the replacement process. Has anyone done it? Is it a massive pain in the hole? The brake lines at the back look pretty "crispy" too, these too fill me with dread, is my dread justified?


    Cheers, Nick

    There's a thread on here by Gerry, showing that it was easier to remove the whole rear suspension in order to replace a brake line!!

    Nr Welshpool, Powys, Wales[INDENT]E31 840 Ci Sport - 1999
    VW Passat Alltrack - 2013
    Mercedes SLK 320 - 2002
    Toyota Rav4 - 1997[/INDENT]

    dread fully justified then! The brake lines aren't that bad thankfully - I think I'll just clean them up and hope for the best, it's only brakes after all. The fuel lines are fully knackered though...

    It does help, thanks BB. Some jobs have a "reputation" and I'm hoping this is not one of them.


    Does anyone know where the long pipes terminate/start in the engine bay? The two supply lines on the passenger side clearly start at the fuel filters, but they disappear up into the engine bay, that's the disturbing bit. I've replaced all of the flexible fuel lines under the bonnet so i've probably already bumped into them. Same goes for the fuel return and the breather lines on the driver side, the fuel tank side looks straight forward but the engine side gives me the heebie jeebies.

    NickF: It's been a while since I've been in that area, but if I recall correctly the fuel supply pipes end somewhat below the water valves assembly - around where the brake master cylinder is. They enter the engine compartment through a hole in the body. You get better access to the area when you remove the intake manifolds.

    Nick (hello everyone else) I changed my fuel lines on my old 850 and fuel filter and given at the time I was using a ramp at work it was an easy job and very rewarding when you see the shiny replacements in place. I think I had a thread detailing it and some welding I did at the time to under the sill covers!

    :driving2:Its been a year since I sold her and I still miss her.......





    Lloyd

    Hello Nick, greetings to sunny St Albans, I don't know about the fuel lines but of the two brake lines one is fairly easily replaceable as it just runs from the front to rear wheel arch under the LHS. The other one crosses the rear axle from the LH rear wheel arch and would be a pain, you could try cleaning it up and repainting it as sometimes the corrosion looks grim but pipe pitting is very light and easily removable without thinning the pipe. Alternatively if the corrosion is restricted to the run along the sill you could replace that section and use a repair union.

    Thanks guys. I might have access to a four post lift, so hopefully the fuel lines can wait for that. Lloyd, did you need to remove anything significant? Like Intakes, sills, etc? I cleaned the front brake lines up and they looked horrid before I started, now they look OK. Hope they're not wafer thin....


    Lloyd, you're regretting selling aren't you.. We forgive you, but only if you get yourself a CSi, you know it makes sense.

    Nick I bought all new brackets to clip the pipes into as a couple of the centre screw were broken. Other than that it went just fine on the 4 poster. As for another 8 its not if its when most days I look at the for sale ad's. There are some nice 840's out there but like you say a CSI is the answer. I would love a barn find etc. I plan to have a double garage build at Easter at my new house then I will start to look. I have the BMW magazine in my office with the 8 series special (and me and my car) in it. Man she was lovely looking albeit high mileage so next time I fancy a young model with less miles on the clock....I am still talking about a car you understand....

    :driving2:Its been a year since I sold her and I still miss her.......





    Lloyd

    Lloyd, you're like me, V12 or nothing. It's not based on logic but for me it's a big part of what makes the car special. If I was to buy another one, along with a certain divorce, it would be a CSi. I know we all look at the potential of the values appreciating with 8 tinted spectacles, but the CSi has to be a good investment due the rarity alone. Buy one Lloyd, no time like the present. They are becoming rarer and will become more expensive.


    I think we've got him boys.

    Replacing the fuel line is not too bad. They go from the fuel filters, along the underside of the car, up behind the NSF wheel arch liner and up behind the engine. The most difficult part is getting the pipes out of the clamps under the car without damaging them. If they all come undone, its a 2 hour job. I have some good used ones here too that were discoloured so I replaced them on my car.


    8Tech.

    Turns out my motivation wasn't what I thought it was. I'm disgusted to admit that my 8 has been sitting on my drive for approaching 3 years without a proper drive. I keep it insured and drive it around the block every few months but that's about it. Every time I start it up it reminds me of what a great car it is as it starts immediately after being sat for weeks (albeit on a trickle charger). Anyway, I'm coming into some cash in the new year and I'm really hoping that I can get the motivation together to get it MOTd and on the road. There's nothing obviously wrong with it and its not failed an MoT but I know it will, probably with some serious stuff, I just need a kick to get me back in the zone. I still absolutely love the car and every time I see it (that's often as it's inches from my house) it makes me feel bad that I've neglected it so. They are so rare now (i don't care about prices, I'll own the car when I'm in my box) I need to keep it running properly. I'm pleading with you to make me feel bad and spell it out that I'm killing a proper classic by leaving it neglected. Come on chaps, give me both barrels, I need to sort this.

Jetzt mitmachen!

Sie haben noch kein Benutzerkonto auf unserer Seite? Registrieren Sie sich kostenlos und nehmen Sie an unserer Community teil!

Benutzerkonto erstellen Anmelden