How to Change the Shock Absorbers on a BMW 735Il

1. Lift the front end of the car up using a 2-ton floor jack. Place a jack stand under each side of the car to provide adequate support. Move the floor jack to the rear of the car and lift the rear end of the car up. Place a jack stand under each side of the rear of the car.
2. Use the lug nut wrench to remove the lug nuts from the wheel assembly. Remove the tire and wheel assembly.
3. Use the socket wrench and appropriate size socket to remove the top nuts and bolts from the shock absorber. After removing the top nuts and bolts, remove the bottom nuts and bolts in the same fashion.
4. Replace the used shock absorber with a new one. Insert the top bolts and nuts and tighten with the socket wrench. Now insert the bottom bolts and nuts and tighten with the socket wrench.
5. Repeat these Steps on each shock absorber. Once complete, replace the tire and wheel assemblies and put the lug nuts back on. Tighten the lug nuts with the lug nut wrench. Place the floor jack under rear of the car. Remove the rear jack stands and gently lower the rear of the car with the floor jack. Perform the same Step with the front of the car.

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How to Decode the VIN for a BMW Motorcycle

1. Locate the VIN. Depending upon the model year of the motorcycle, the VIN could be stamped on the steering head, on the lower right of the framing tube or below the right cylinder. It can also be found on the motorcycle's title.
2. Make sure the first three characters are 'WB1.' This designates the vehicle as a German BMW motorcycle. The fourth through eighth characters will designate the model, including engine type. The ninth character is a check digit designed to ensure that every VIN is unique. The 10th character designates the model year (see Resources for a model year chart). The 11th character designates the final assembly plant while characters 12 through 17 are a unique serial number for the vehicle.
3. Use BMW's 'CPO Model Search' (see the link in Resources below) to fully decode the VIN. Select 'All Preowned' and then enter the VIN at the bottom left of the search field. If you do not find results there, do an Internet search for 'BMW motorcycle VIN decoder.' Many search results will come up, but Motoverse.com provides a BMW motorcycle VIN decoder free of charge (see Resources).
4. Call BMW customer service at 1-800-831-1117. If your motorcycle was made prior to 1981, the VIN will have 10-12 characters and will most likely not be searchable using online sources. The customer service representative will be able to help you decode the VIN.

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How to Do a Voltage Test on a Oxygen Sensor

1. Park your car in a safe place and warm the engine to operating temperature. This will kick the oxygen sensor into operating range. Make sure the emergency brakes are applied, and block the front and rear wheels with wood blocks or bricks.
2. Open the hood and locate the oxygen sensor following the front exhaust pipe connected to the exhaust manifold. The sensor is threaded into the front pipe between the manifold and the catalytic converter. If your vehicle has two sensors, you will find the second one on the exhaust pipe between the catalytic converter and the muffler. You may need to raise the vehicle to gain access to this sensor. Raise the car using a floor jack and safely support it on a jack stand.
3. Set your voltmeter to millivolts (mV) and back probe the O2 sensor signal wire with the meter's red lead; connect the meter's black lead to a good ground on your vehicle. A regular oxygen sensor only has one wire, while a heated oxygen sensor has three wires: signal, heater and ground. Make sure you are probing the signal wire. If necessary, consult your vehicle service manual to identify this wire.
4. Read the voltage from the sensor for about one minute with the engine running. You should get a fluctuating output voltage between 0.2 and 0.8 volts. with an average of about 0.5 volts. A voltage reading that remains low (close to 0.2 v) or high (close to 0.8) means the engine has a lean or high fuel ratio, respectively. Either the sensor is not responding, a fuel injector is leaking or clogged, or some other problem is affecting the air/fuel ratio.
5. Disconnect a large vacuum hose form the engine. Keep the engine idling and at operating temperature. The sensor's output voltage should go down to a lean condition--close to 0.2 volts. Connect the vacuum hose.
6. Snap the engine throttle open and close while reading the sensor's output voltage on the voltmeter. The sensor should cycle rapidly with the extra air.
7. Block the air inlet at the air intake system using one or more shop rags. The sensor's output voltage should go up to a rich fuel condition--close to 0.8 volts. Remove the shop rags from the air inlet.
8. Replace the oxygen sensor if its output voltage does not react to these tests.

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How to Repair a Fog Light Lens on an Audi A8

1. Park the Audi 8 on a flat, level surface and apply the parking brake. Use a clean rag soaked in soapy water and wash the fog light lens thoroughly. If there are any large pieces of tar or road grime stuck to the lens, use a plastic kitchen knife or putty knife to scrape off this material.
2. Dip a second rag into some denatured alcohol and rub it onto the lens. The alcohol will help to break down any yellowing or cloudiness on the lens. Wait two minutes for lens to completely dry before continuing.
3. Soak a piece of 800-grit wet/dry sandpaper in clean water. Gently sand the lens using short circular strokes to eliminate any larger scratches or chips in the lens. After about one minute, start using a 1000-grit paper to smooth out the lens. Finally, end with the 1500-grit to give a clean translucent finish. Make sure all sandpaper stays wet throughout the process.
4. Dab the corner of a third clean rag into some regular car wax. Apply the wax to the fog light lens by rubbing it into the lens for 30 seconds. Let dry for one minute and then buff the lens with a clean corner of the rag.

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How to Modify BMW 325i License Plate Brackets for European Plates

1. Go to a BMW dealer and order the Euro plate base, Part Number 51118146076. It should cost about $25 and take about a week to come in.
2. Remove the two eight-millimeter screws holding the license plate holder onto the bracket. Pull the holder to separate it from the rest of the vehicle trim and discard.
3. Place the newly acquired base onto the front plate bracket of the BMW 325i and screw the 8-millimeter screw back in to secure it. You have now successfully modified the BMW 325i license plate brackets to fit a European plate.

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How to Replace a BMW X3 Tail Light

1. Push the button on the trunk's side panel to open the trunk and access the bulb area.
2. Grasp the bottom bulb and turn it counterclockwise. Pull the bulb and socket out of the tail light assembly. Pull the bulb straight out of the socket.
3. Insert the new bulb into the socket. Position the bulb and socket inside the tail light assembly. Turn the socket clockwise to lock it into place.
4. Push the side panel into place until it locks. Repeat the process on the opposite bulb if needed.

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How Do I Get My BMW CD Player to Shuffle?

1. Insert the CDs that you want to listen to into your BMW's CD changer. Pop your trunk, pull down the velcro covering that hides the CD changer, press the 'Eject' button to open the disk changer and insert the CDs you wish to listen to before pressing the 'Eject' button again to close it.
2. Press the 'Tape CD' button located on your dash unit to toggle between cassette and CD. Set the stereo to CD player.
3. Hold down the 'Scan' button on your dash unit to activate shuffle. The CD player will now shuffle.

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How to Change the Timing Belt on an Audi A4 TDI

1. Locate the band clamps. These should be on the oil filtration system of the engine. Loosen the band clamps using the flat band clamp pliers to remove the intake tube of the intake manifold.
2. Unplug the connector of the coolant tank. The coolant tank is the plastic container with water that cools the engine. Undo the clamp on the overflow tube using a pair of regular pliers and pull off the overflow tube. Push the overflow tube to under the firewall to secure it and insert a cap to the open end of the coolant tank.
3. Remove the screws holding the coolant tank using a Philips head screw driver. Remove the allen bolt on the power steering using the 5 mm 3/8 inch drive allen socket and extension then unplug the fuel lines from the filter. Raise the power steering reservoir and gently remove the coolant tank. Allow the coolant tank to hang from the side of the car.
4. Remove the upper cover of the timing belt. Remove the rear and front allen bolts of the valve cover using the 5mm 3/8 inch drive allen socket and extension. Do not remove the two allen bolts that are next to the oil filler cap. Lift and remove the valve cover. Locate the first two lobes on the camshaft and turn them to the up position.
5. Locate and remove the vacuum line (this should be running under the vacuum pump). Remove the lower and upper 10mm nuts using a ¼ inch drive deep socket. Using the 10mmm 45 degree offset wrench remove the support brackets of the vacuum line. Remove the front, rear and lower bolts of the vacuum pump using the 13mm deep socket. Remove and bend the vacuum pump out of the way.
6. Lift the car using the jack stands and the hydraulic lift. Crawl under the car from the passenger side and locate the turbo compressor outlet pipe. This should be at the back of the engine. Remove the spring on the turbo compressor using the flat clamp pliers and pull off the hose. Remove the nut on the turbo compressor using a 10mm socket. Remove the whole duct assembly by removing the clamp on the intercooler using the flat clamp pliers.
7. Remove the washer nuts of the engine side panel using a long screwdriver and remove the panel. Relieve the tension on the belt tensioner using the 41831 serpentine belt tensioner tool and remove the belt.
8. From the upper side of the car, rotate the engine clockwise using the 30036 camshaft holding bar to a 'lobes up' position. The groove in the cam pulley will be aligned to the valve in the cover deck.
9. Insert the 3418 camshaft setting bar into the groove at the end of the camshaft. Locate the timing mark on the flywheel (a circled A with minus signs on either side).
10. Remove the engine mount alignment plate using a 13mm deep socket with extension. The lower bolts can be removed using a 16 mm and ½ inch drive socket.
11. Lift the engine so that it is an inch off the car frame by placing a block of wood on the jack on the passenger side of the vehicle. Remove the remaining engine mount bolts using the ½ inch 18mm socket and remove the engine mount.
12. Raise the engine on the jack further to expose the mount bracket hole. Use a 3/8 inch deep socket to remove the center and front bolts. Lower the engine and remove the four allen bolts of the harmonic balancer using the 3/8 inch deep drive rachet. Remove the harmonic balancer.
13. Loosen the bolts on the lower engine mount using the 3/8 inch deep drive rachet and 16 mm socket. Remove the timing belt cover plate bolts using a ¼ deep drive rachet and 10mm socket. Then remove the loosened bolts of the lower engine mount. Remove the cover plate of the timing belt.
14. Remove the nut on the tensioner. Place a 2587 two pin spanner wrench on the tensioner and rotate anti-clockwise. Loosen the bolts on the camshaft pulley using a 19mm 1/3 inch drive socket. Install the T40001 puller set in the camshaft pulley snaps and remove the camshaft pulley bolt. Remove the camshaft pulley.
15. Remove the old tensioner. Slide the old timing belt between the engine mount and blocks to remove the belt. Slide the new belt between the engine mount and blocks and around the pulleys. Install the new tensioner and reassemble the engine. Double check to see if the flywheel is at TDC (the timing mark should be just visible).

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How to Determine a Vehicle#039;s Manufacture Date

1. Locate the tire placard for the vehicle. Most often this is located on the driver's side door jamb. On a few models, it might be located in the glove compartment, on the gas cap door, under the center console hatch door or on the passenger's side rear door jamb (Ford sedans only). There is a lot of information listed on the tire information placard, but the month and year the car was manufactured will be listed.
2. Locate the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). VINs are now required by law to be visible on a plate mounted to the driver's side dash just beneath the windshield. This standardized location is to assist police when searching for a specific or stolen vehicle. The 10th digit of the VIN determines what year the model was sold as. Letters were used to determine the year prior to 2000 and will be used again starting in 2010. But from 2000 to 2009, the 10th number of the VIN correlates to the year: 1 for 2001, 2 for 2002 and so on.
3. Open the hood and locate the engine displacement label. This label could be found on the underside of the hood, on the front frame rail, on one side of the frame rail or on a strut tower. This label will also present the model year under the vehicle emission information. Sometimes this label will be faded and unreadable, covered in engine grease buildup or missing if the engine has been replaced or body work has been done.

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How to Tune a Mercedes CLK 320

1. Replace the factory exhaust system on your CLK 320 with an aftermarket performance exhaust or a custom performance exhaust. These units will offer better flow of combusted air out of the engine and can directly improve horsepower. By creating a less restrictive exhaust, you are increasing the capacity for more air to be drawn into the engine.
2. Install an aftermarket cold air intake system to replace the factory-equipped, plastic air box and air filter. A cold air intake exposes the air filter directly to the ambient environment, allowing it to draw in colder air as the car moves forward and replacing the air in the air box, which is prone to 'heat soak,' meaning the air box is continually filled with warmer air because of the engine's operating temperature.
3. Replace the factory-equipped engine control unit, or ECU, with an aftermarket unit that is designed to work with a performance exhaust and cold air intake. With the addition of the cold air intake and exhaust, your factory ECU will be making constant adjustments to accommodate the changes in airflow. Replacing the factory ECU with an aftermarket unit will essentially give your CLK a custom fuel map for the engine that optimizes the new air intake and exhaust ratios, providing the best and most efficient fuel disbursement to compliment the other two upgrades.

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