Damn..... My turn..... for car problems that is.

[lip277]

Nuts...
I was driving home in the 740 waiting at a traffic light in town when all of the sudden... buck,cough, frap.... <pfffttt> silence.

Pushed it off to an open handicapped :eeps: parking space just ahead.
Let it sit there for about 30 seconds.
Try to start it. It coughs, sputters and 'tries' to go but just can't seem to. On a carb car - I'd swear it isn't getting gas. But this is an entirely different animal.

Pop the hood - check the fuses. All - OK.
Tank 1/2 full.

Oh well -
Call my mechanic. check-
Call my wife to start her on her way to collect me. check-
Call AAA to arrange a tow. I swear they must hire the dumbest people to deal with road service calls. I mention I'm parked (stuck) in a handicapped spot in front of a doctors office. They want to send a 'tow' tow truck but I ask for a flat bed. She states that for a 1995 - A 'tow' tow truck is all the manufacturer requires. I mention that the car has later model wheels (but still E38) and springs (lower by 1"). I state that while this is not 'standard' for a 1995 - it is for a MY2000+ of the same car. That seems to be fine for her. I hang up thinking everything is OK.

20 minutes later I get a call from AAA (different lady this time - this time she is sharp :rolleyes: )
She says that the towing company won't tow a 'modified' vehicle. Huh?
I ask if they'd tow a 2001 740i? She says yes. I note that my car is just like that version (although altered from OE 1995 set-up). I also mention that I need to do something as I am stuck in a handicapped spot and so on. She didn't have that info on my location. Duh!

She'll call me back after she talks to the dispatcher for the tow company.

5 minutes later - She calls back. They're sending a truck. OK - Fine - Whatever..... :lol:

Flatbed comes about 15 minutes later. No sweat. Pulls me out of the parking spot and up onto the truck.

Now comes the fun part.
What the hell broke? We'll find out soon enough.

PS - This is the first time I've been towed since ~1986 I think. <knock-on-wood> I hope to keep on the 20 year plan. :mad2:

[John V]

Nuts...
I was driving home in the 740 waiting at a traffic light in town when all of the sudden... buck,cough, frap.... <pfffttt> silence.

Pushed it off to an open handicapped :eeps: parking space just ahead.
Let it sit there for about 30 seconds.
Try to start it. It coughs, sputters and 'tries' to go but just can't seem to. On a carb car - I'd swear it isn't getting gas. But this is an entirely different animal.



Bad HFM? They're known to have a relatively short lifespan.

It's a '95, so not sure why you didn't run the codes via the gas-pedal trick. And yeah, AAA sucks. I dropped them years ago.

John

[clyde]

I swear they must hire the dumbest people to deal with road service calls.

They want to send a 'tow' tow truck but I ask for a flat bed. She states that for a 1995 - A 'tow' tow truck is all the manufacturer requires. I mention that the car has later model wheels (but still E38) and springs (lower by 1"). I state that while this is not 'standard' for a 1995 - it is for a MY2000+ of the same car. That seems to be fine for her. I hang up thinking everything is OK.

20 minutes later I get a call from AAA (different lady this time - this time she is sharp :rolleyes: )
She says that the towing company won't tow a 'modified' vehicle. Huh?
I ask if they'd tow a 2001 740i? She says yes. I note that my car is just like that version (although altered from OE 1995 set-up).

I think you're expecting too much from the people handling the calls. If they aren't into cars, they're not going to understand any of that. They plug the year/make/model into the computer and it spits info back at them. Having any expectation that they may understand the nuances of what makes a car different from year to year or what specific modifications may be or their impact on transport requirements is setting yourself up for annoyance. If the car is "just like" a different model year, then tell them it's that model year and you don't have to deal with any of it.

[lip277]

If the car is "just like" a different model year, then tell them it's that model year and you don't have to deal with any of it.

They know what cars I have...

When I originally called in they asked what car I was in -
I said the BMW.

She responded - "The 1995 740i?"

:lol:

It all worked out in the end (so far) but it was just how the first lady I talked to was not really with it for lack of a better way to say it. Kind of like dealing with a rocket scientist at K-Mart (or someplace like that).

[John V]

I think you're expecting too much from the people handling the calls. If they aren't into cars, they're not going to understand any of that. They plug the year/make/model into the computer and it spits info back at them. Having any expectation that they may understand the nuances of what makes a car different from year to year or what specific modifications may be or their impact on transport requirements is setting yourself up for annoyance. If the car is "just like" a different model year, then tell them it's that model year and you don't have to deal with any of it.

Yes, very good point. I was thinking that but didn't post it.

[Roadstergal]

Clogged fuel filter? Bad fuel pump?

[Plaz]

Sock wrapped around your camshafts?

[lip277]

Sock wrapped around your camshafts?

Yep - That's it. :lol:

Clogged fuel filter? Bad fuel pump?

Don't know. I have a filter I can use if we need to (but I've never had a filter go from OK to not-OK w/o some warning first - and then the 'warning' was at higher throttle positions)

I'm thinking of FP relay or the pump itself... maybe.

[Jason C]

Sock wrapped around your camshafts?

[Roadstergal]

Sock wrapped around your camshafts?

:lol: :lol:

[lip277]

You guys are cruel.

;)

[rumatt]

:lol:

[John V]

You guys are cruel.

;)

Have you run the codes yet?

(turn key on, press and release gas pedal five times)?

[lip277]

That's my mechanic's job.
Regardless - The car is locked up over at their shop anyway so I don't have access.

And when this all was happening - Reading codes was not a real high concern of mine. Getting it off the street and to the shop (and locating my wife to get a ride home) were taking up all my energies.

[Optimus Prime]

That's my mechanic's job.
Regardless - The car is locked up over at their shop anyway so I don't have access.

And when this all was happening - Reading codes was not a real high concern of mine. Getting it off the street and to the shop (and locating my wife to get a ride home) were taking up all my energies.

Plus your one foot must have been pretty cold...













not having a sock and all. :D

[lip277]

Just got the call. Fuel pump gave out.

I'll have the car back this afternoon.

I'm glad it was something simple. (not cheap - but relatively straight forward anyway)

I'll have to remove the sock later I suppose.

[ZBB]

I'll have to remove the sock later I suppose.

You better do it quick... I hear they kill engines :dunno:

[Roadstergal]

Just got the call. Fuel pump gave out.

What do I win? :)

[lip277]

What do I win? :)

: pint:

;)

[lip277]

I had another thought....
(yeah - I know... that can be dangerous...)

The filter, pump and relay were changed out.
Would it be a good idea to put in a new pressure regulator as well?

I had one go out on our old Explorer and it was no fun (like this time with the pump). The regulator for the M60 is ~$55 so it's not that expensive.

Any history on these things being an issue for the M60/M62?

Thanks-

[rumatt]

Glad it was something easy.

Can't help you on the pressure regulator question though. :(

[John V]

I had another thought....
(yeah - I know... that can be dangerous...)

The filter, pump and relay were changed out.
Would it be a good idea to put in a new pressure regulator as well?

I had one go out on our old Explorer and it was no fun (like this time with the pump). The regulator for the M60 is ~$55 so it's not that expensive.

Any history on these things being an issue for the M60/M62?

Thanks-

Filter definitely a good idea.

I'd skip the regulator. Even if it ends up being bad at some point (unlikely - never heard of one failing), it's a seperate area from the pump so it's not an advantage to do it now as opposed to later.