Ok Back again. Looked at the 325--and real DUMB questions came up (for any BMW)

[AFARR]

Ok, went to the guy that had the BMW. I won it on Ebay, so I am kind of committed.

Now, some more questions came up.

This is a 325 (1987) with 160k miles. Sticker on the MAF sensor says timing belt changed at 125k (dealer service sticker, not a homemade sticker). There were a few dealer service orders in the glove box. Looks like routine maintenence at regular intervals.

Auto trans--I did read the things about the manual tranny in my earlier post, but the wife has a hard time driving a manual (she hates it in traffic). So, I am somewhat limited.

The car is Pristine. The only visible dents on the passenger side could probably be sucked out by someone good at giving hickeys. The interior has one small rip in the door panel vinyl. The seats (vinyl--it doesn't appear to be leather) are better than my wife's 11 year newer car's. The dash has no cracks. The passenger side visor has no spring, so it falls down.

The fluids are clean (good pink tranny fluid, oil of about 10w30 consistency, clean brake fluid, clean PS fluid, clean radiatior fluid). The dealer offered to change the oil if I wanted. No visible leaks while running.

Drives smoothly. No problems shifting, and I (before I shelled out the cash) shifted rapidly from reverse to forward repeatedly with no slippage. No slippage at any gears.

Not much acceleration, though as noted in the earlier post (thanks for the help), but it gets up to 60 quickly and is smooth.


So, now for some dumb questions:

1. What is the "S" desingnation on the Auto shifter? P, R, N, D, S, 2, 1 ?

2. On the Dash is a series of LED's (rectangular) below where the spedo is. Green/yellow/red--what are these for--I really didn't pay attention to see if they light up during normal driving?

3. There is the reported smoke when cool until it warms up. No an oily smoke. The dealer said the next door mechanic thought the Mass Air Flow sensor was off, making it run rich. Any thoughts--could this cost some acceleration?

4. I am assuming that the Snowflake symbol on the climate control section is for the AC, and the symbol (circular arrows) is to recirculate air. The AC doesn't blow anything, and the recirculate (?) lights when you push it, but doesn't stay in or stay lit. I'll get more in depth later to see if I can change from the R12 to R134 easily, or just use the 'four window AC' method.

5. I'm thinking I can get a little better acceleration from a tune up (although the timing seems to be good), a KN air filter, changing plugs, running premium gas, and maybe putting the Lucas oil stabilizer/thickener in. Any ideas, or are any of these bad ideas?

6. What tools are supposed to be in the trunk? I see about 1/2 of them. I can replace them easily enough, but would like to know the proper mix of tools.

7. Anywhere to get an owners manual? I didn't have one for the Windstar for an extended period of time, and when you go to check the fuses, it is a pain in the ass if you don't have a diagram.

8. The earlier posts said the Tranny "Goes Out" at the milage on the car. Do you mean a catastrophic failure, a starting to slip in gears, or what? My BIL (the mechanic in SW VA) tells me they put Lucas trans tune in all the cars when they service the tranny, as it smooths out the ride and makes the cars tranny run longer with fewer problems. Any ideas on this (worth draining out a quart, or just having the fluid changed and leaving a quart low to add the stuff)? Can a competent local shop rebuild, or is it a specialty swap out only of a factory rebuilt tranny?

I figure for the $1100 I spent, I could recover my money in a trade in with no problem, but would rather keep it as a driver if possible.

Any other ideas/suggestions?

I pick it up Monday (won it on Ebay, so couldn't back out without a legitimate reason), but paid for it today.

Thanks!!

[MADM5]

The "S" is for sport mode...when driving a little agressivly through canyons it'll hold the gears a little longer before up shifting. The color bars are for service indictors, when you first turn the key they light up and then go off you need an owners manuel to fully describe. contact your local dealer for this. as for the ac check the final stage. make freinds with local repairs that can assisit you in this good luck.