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DIY Ignition Lock Assembly Replacement
The ignition lock is a useful anti-theft device that we all take for granted, when it works. When your steering wheel locks while you’re still driving, it’s a little like being in that nightmare in...
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DIY Cooling System Troubleshooting: BMW E36
Mechanical husbandry is not glamorous. The other day I saw a guy walking along the side of the freeway towards a dilapidated flat-bed truck that was broken down on the shoulder. He was carrying an...
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DIY BMW Transmission Fix
EPROM software update chip for BMW 325is A guy named Tim put a new wheel bearing in my car the other day. Tim is a sprightly dude in his 40s who works at a shop called FAME in Redmond, and I’d met him...
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That’s Not Cool
Reading George Orwell’s diary, I’m always impressed by the scope of his interests: bird watching, and ridiculing fascism. Turnip planting, and colonial history. I’m always the most impressed when he...
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Gasping For Breath: Cleaning a Dinan Air Filter
When the 325 sputtered and nearly died on the way to work on Friday, I lifted up the hood and tried to make some sense of the complex mess of sensors, tubes and wiring in there. The engine would...
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BMW E36, the Talking Car
It’s easy to see why this didn’t last, but for a period of time in the late 80s and early 90s, BMW designed an on-board diagnostic system that let a driver ask his car, “Are you feeling alright today,...
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DIY Mass Air Flow and Oxygen Sensor Replacement
Woke up very self assured that I had solved the riddle of my sputtering BMW this morning, and read a few Al Jazeera articles before heading down to Autozone. The Rainier Beach Autozone loans tools for...
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