Hey guys,

I have always appreciated the simplicity,and easy of working on my RX-7,but today made me appreciate it even more. I was helping a guy remove an engine from a 83 BMW 320,and man was it a tough car to work on. It has some sort of wierd fuel injection system on it,and the wiring harness was way too complicated,and poorly routed. Maybe it is the difference in manufacturing countries,but man was it strange how more complicated it was than my 79 RX-7. I have worked on GSL-SE's,and second gen cars with fuel injection,and they were/are way easier to wrench on than this german sled. I think I could have had the whole engine swapped out in the time this guy spent getting the intake manifold out. So the next time you ae pissed off at your 1st gen while wrenching on it,just take solice in the fact that it could be worse,you could be working on a german car.

P.S. I don't hate german cars,or motorcycles,but this thing was a pain.

 

That's because you are familar with the 7 and he is not familar with the BMW :-)

When I was a Service Manager at a German repair facility the guys could have a cylinder head off in about an hour or less with the intake. That's because they were "Familar" with the vehicle. This applies to all vehicles.

 

The thing is this guy was a BMW geek,and knew everything about the car,but it was still put together it a wierd way. The starter was in an odd place as well,and didn't look to be very accesible to me.

 

I agree that german cars can be a little rough to work on.

 

I forget who's signature has it that states "With 3 moving moving parts what could be more complex? With 30 springs and seals, how do you make it even worse? Add turbo and boost."

Granted I'm paraphrasing, but you get the gist. Every car out there has its quirks.

 

You put an inexperienced person taking off the carb on a stock 12a and they will spend the day doing it. I can have one off in around 10 minutes or less. :-) When they would look at the rats nest and solenoids they would think that they were the most complex thing they have ever looked at. It's all a matter of experience!

 

Well when I was first trying to take my carb off my first RX-7 10 years ago it was a daunting task,but it sure didn't take me all day.Now I am like you,andcan have my carb off in about 20 minutes.

I still maintain the RX-7 as a whole is leaps,and bounds easier to work on than this BMW. I had never even changed my own oil before I swapped the blown engine in my 83 10 years ago.It took me a week to get the thing done a few hours at a time by myself,but I was very green.

 

Everything is harder the first time around. But, second time around, it's much easier since we know how it needs to be done.

 

I have no clue who you are reffering to.........

 

One of the things that make sthe BMWs harder to work on is the size of the engine and its location within the chassis. The rotary is so small its easy to get at everything in the 7s.

Not so for a BMW. I have a 2000 323i and I had to replace the equivalent of the PVC valve on it. Normal procedure is to remove the intake manifold! I didn't go that route but because of that it took a long time none the less. I still have to remove the air box and the throttle body along with the dipstick tube.

That said, the 7 and the Bimmer are similiar in that they are both really well engineered and very logical to work on. Much better than most domestic cars I've worked on.

 

Much of my career at Boeing was spent trying to improve maintainability, to make the airplanes better from the mechanic's perspective. Of course the airplanes are many times more complex than even the most elaborate car, but we had some stringent criteria, things that had to removed and replaced in a 2 hour turnaround, or overnight, etc. We actually did computer modeling to show a mechanic could reach into a difficult area with the wrench in his hand and turn the wrench. The difference is the customer is maintaining the airplane, whereas very few cars today are maintained by the owner. Car owners have just come to accept the ridiculous labor costs, because "that is the way it is".

I have worked on cars, foreign and domestic, for 50 years, and I have never seen a car that I would consider even mediocre from the maintenance standpoint. They are all bad. My criteria is that I should be able to change a heater core in an hour and any light bulb in the car in 5 minutes, including the headlights, dash lights etc. That is certainly doable, but the manufacturers just don't care. If components can be changed without using a cutting torch, that is considered good enough, no matter how long it takes. The worst examples are the transverse mounted FWD engines, regardless of who builds them. Several years ago someone showed me the flat rate book for a Honda Accord - it showed 6 hours to change an alternator. How long does it take on your 1st gen?

Back in my college days I had a friend who worked on foreign cars, mostly Jaguar. He said "the nice thing about being a Jaguar mechanic is you only need about six or eight customers to make a pretty good living."

If you ever wondered why people will pay so much for a 55 chevy, just take a look under the hood.

 

I had a '86 318i. It took me 15 minutes to change the brake pads. <1/2 hr to change the fuel pump and 1 hr to change the water pump, without a FSM.

Had to change a lot of parts but dirt easy to work on. I liked the car.

RXDad

 

Couldn't agree more. And, I'll never touch a FWD again. They cram everything under the hood of the car. Especially the foreign ones.

Wow, do I know how to butcher a signature, or what?

 

BMW (bavarian bayeriesche motor works) cars always remind me of Sgt Schultz on Hogans Heros, except with a cigar.

Mercedes' always struck we as ponderous and slow witted.

Chryslers of fonzi on happy days

Fords of Archie Bunker in All in the Family

 

When I bought my 83GS new in 82 I thought it was far too complex, now I think it's very easy compared to other cars.

 

"Planned Obsolescence"

 

my thoughts to the T..... it costs so much to do minor repairs, that it is cheaper for the consumer in the long run to just purchase a new vehicle.....

kenn

 

a friend and i were working on his 56 chevy, and its huge in there, but EVERYTHING is impossible to get to and takes a special tool! we were wishing it was a stock t2, because those are easier.....

BMW: not too hard to work on, but the "ultimate driving machine" just isnt right. the ultimate driving machine wouldnt have the low oil level light on the roof...
if you want to drive the ultimate driving machine, use the rx8

MERCEDES: had a couple of these too, working on it, you're wondering if these guys passed any engineering classes, at all....