E39 Wagon Build - Practical Daily

7 minute(s) of a 81 minute read

Once it got cold an intermittent idle issue showed up. It happens under very specific conditions. When the temperature gauge is between the 20-40% area while warming up and I'm sitting at idle, the RPMs will drop every 5 or so seconds. If its sufficiently cold out it can stall the engine. When it is dead cold and when its warmed up it idles fine, and drive-ability is normal, no problems above idle. If I don't stop at a particular stop light on my commute I might not encounter it at all during the week. It isn't very serious but I've been researching it anyways. 

Unfortunately idle issues on the internet are so vague and varied every question gets dozens of potential solutions. I haven't found one that makes sense yet but while searching I read about the CCV system. This is a series of plastic tubes that vents air from the crank case, swirls it through a chamber which separates the oil vapor. The oil is sent to the pan and the air back into the intake. Some of these hoses were cracked, this wouldn't cause my particular idle issue but a clogged or malfunctioning CCV system could cause other problems including increased crank case pressure which can make the valve covers leak or worse. I figured if the visible hoses were cracked it would be worth it to replace the whole system.

This was a decent pain in the ass. The CCV is hidden underneath the intake manifold and behind a lot of stuff that you have to remove. The plastic tubes are supposed to snap together but don't very well, especially when you can't see and can barely reach where you are working. Some people's drain tubes are totally clogged with gunk, mine actually wasn't bad. Getting rid of the leak made it feel like it ran a little better. 

I hosed the car off and took some pictures in the anechoic chambers at work.

4/6/2015

It was bound to happen at some point, the first time getting stranded. My family came to town to visit. I dropped my Mom and Sister off at the hotel, hopped in the car and turned the key, nothing. The lights came on but there was no clicking or any sort of reaction when I turned the key. This was different then other no-start situations I've been in. It actually felt like some of the detents in the ignition were missing. The towtruck driver tried jumping it but it made no difference, I knew it wasn't the battery. 

Oddly the passenger visor mirror light is linked to the ignition switch. It wasn't coming on which combined with the other symptoms pointed to an ignition issue. After the family left for the weekend I checked all the fuses. Unfortunately one of the ignition fuses is conveniently located under the carpet underneath the passenger seat. These are fuses that the engineers figured weren't going to go bad often. They are also always live, even when the ignition is off so be aware of that. 

Leaning the seat back

Pull back the carpet and foam

I figured while I was there I'd check them all. 

No issues there. The next step is the ignition switch. I picked one up at the auto parts store and got to installing it. You have to take the plastic shrouding off the column and remove the bracket that holds it on.

Here it is

Removed

I replaced it with a new one and plugged it back in and tried it, still no dice. I pulled the switch off and watched the shaft in the above photo while turning the key, and it just flopped around like a lame duck, it wasn't even turning the switch. Looks like I need a new tumbler which necessitates a trip to the dealer to get one that works with my key. 

Thankfully I could still start the car. Just insert the key so the antenna reads the chip, then turn the switch with a screwdriver. It feels like you are hotwiring your own car but hey it works. 

Since turning the key isn't doing anything the steering wheel lock was stuck in place. I never liked steering wheel locks so I read how you can remove it. Most people who race do this to their cars as they don't want their wheel to lock up if something goes wrong while making a 100mph turn. I'm not racing, but the lock is standing between me and driving so it has to go.

Just place the drill like so and drill away

Use a pick to claw around inside until you find the spring.

Yank that sucker out!

Hurray! Your wheel is free from the ever oppressive lock! You can hear it squeal in joy as you turn it back and forth as if it were being turned for the first time. 

As the temps dropped far below zero the glass on my mirror started separating. Each day a new ring would appear making the cars behind me browner in color. If you counted the rings you could tell how lame this winter has been. I ordered a new one on ebay for $15, super easy to install.

Just pry that old bastard off

Plug in the heating element, pop it on and bam, back in business.