Beiträge von dickie riba

  • "Dual" CDs

    The new dual CDs [audio on one side, video on the other] are marginally fatter than regular CDs and certainly don't work in the changer in my 840. I doubt if they would work in any other BMW 8 Series factory fitted unit either.


    I made a copy onto an ordinary recordable CD and the copy works fine.

  • Car history

    registration


    Prefix V is theoretically impossible as the 8 was discontinued before the prefix came in. I am informed that DVLA will not issue a plate with a prefix newer than the car. If yours is OK please advise.

  • 840 Ci Vindaloo

    :D Pollen filters were the culprit...obviously never been touched in 11 years...full of old leaves, gunge etc. Washed them, dried them, et voila! Smell gone.


    Thanks, everyone.


    Richard

  • Help choosing 840 or 850

    8 purchase


    Trouble here is the car itself. The 8 is so good looking, so comfortable and luxurious you forget you are actually buying a car probably at least ten years old, so you need to be very astute and pretty fussy. Service history is a good guide to condition but not the only one. In the end it will be like getting a puppy; they choose you.


    You must not fall for the oldest trick of all.."BMWs don't go wrong"..they do and often dearly."at 120,000 miles its just run in" all that stuff. Yes the engine lopes along fine at about 3000rpm at 100mph [840], but the engine has dragged a heavy car over unknown surfaces for that 120,000 miles and the engine is only one [admittedly important] part of the package.


    Ok they cost a hell of a lot of dosh when they came out and they appear excellent value now which they certainly can be. They have enormous presence people let you out and little boys gawk admiringly..great for the ego.


    My 1994 840 is pristine, has 54k miles and absolutely no service history at all! It is OK...It chose me!

  • 840 Ci Vindaloo

    I bought my 840 Ci in June and so far it has been fine after a few glitches. As winter approaches I have started using the heater a bit.


    In heater mode and without the central ice crystal button activated the air distributed has a distinct and quite strong smell of curry powder!


    Car has never been to India as far as I know.


    Any ideas anyone?

  • Who's got all the spare parts ??

    front lights


    I had a dodgy bayonet for the sidelight. My bloke fixed it for free, but the proper BMW part is £108+vat as the bayonet [probably worth 60 pence] cannot be bought alone and is indivisible from the whole backing unit which is pure extortion..now there is an intermittent fault with the indicator too..same side so I'll probably end up forking out the £108 in the end anyway.

  • Need advice

    rust


    8) Even with the rust the 8 is prettier, so I wouldn't worry. At least, unlike the car, you could change the chick for a better one and she could be great at treating rust too!

  • 840 Ci wobblies

    840 ci wobblies


    :D The sum of the parts. There is enough ovality in one of the tyres to set it off, but thanks to immaculate balancing [5th time] by Micheldever Tyres the problem is 90% eliminated. The remaining 10% can wait til the front tyres wear out.


    Thanx for help everyone!

  • Sidelight; 840 Ci

    I've got an erratic connection to my l/h front sidelight. The fault is in the wires at the lampholder itself; I can wiggle them and establish a connection, then I put it back into the bumper and it sometimes works, but mostly, not. A new sidelight lampholder is the answer, but I can't get just a lampholder from BMW. I have to buy the whole l/h lighting loom. A £2 part will cost therefore £120..which, even by BMW standards, is obscene. Any ideas anybody?

  • wobblies contd

    It would help if I could eliminate the possibility of square or oval wheels in this case..my pet mechanic thinks it remains the 90% option. Can anyone near me in the New Forest lend me a set of four wheels and tyres for an hour to test them on my car? This will probably eliminate the problem. Or can anyone tell me what other tyre/wheel combination could be used for test purposes [740/750; 540 and so on]?

  • 840 Ci wobblies

    Just bought a nice 840 [1994 with 54k miles] with Oz Racing 17" alloys.


    Steering wobbles sometimes between 51 and 56 mph. I can accelerate out of it or brake/slow down out as well. Steady at all other speeds. Wheels [all 4] balanced and rebalanced. Tyres OK., suspension OK. Any ideas?