[WoodbigG]

Hello just thought i share my running report for the last 4 months. Firstly what a great car i had wanted one for a long time, but the running costs allways put me off.
The car i purchsed is a 1994 6 speed imported form Germany by munch legends in 1999. I had the car inspected by Pmw a independant specialist in Essex and they found a front edc shock was needed and the air con electric fan was seized, but apart from that a good car. The last owner payed for a new edc shock and i was left with paying for the fan.
First word of caution Pmw said this was a difficult job. So I changed the fan myself ,but it still did not work Pmw then said it must be the fan switch so i fit one of those but still no joy, they have the car again and decide its a bad earth and rewire the fan still no air con though. Next regas the air con it worked for one day ) ) back again to Pmw and as you can see my confidense is starting to waver , the next thing they want to change is the evaporator under the dash (6 hours labour) because they filled the system with green die and connot see it leaking anywhere else.
At this point i had decied to replace the radiator as it looked very old. On removing the old rad not only was it adout 70% blocked but guess what i find the condenser has adout 6 areas of green die leaking out.
So the new radiator has made the car run alot better the fan cuts in much less a new condenser was fitted by my new friend at Lind Bmw and i have working air con. My new friend also replaced the pollen filter and the fan blows twice as hard . He said he is willing to work on anyone else's m5 if they are having problems, the only problem i can see is that you do not get any paperwork as he works on you car on the side. But you get a Bmw trained person and Bmw parts and Bmw Knowlege.
The other things i have changed on the car rebush the rear subframe change to Avo sport spring 30% stiffer 20 mm lower, new brakes all round Haywood & scott stainless steel exhaust (very loud) custom air filter.
I have read the coments about fitting cone filters and the lack of inprovement they offer. I have used a K&n racing cone filter rated at 370 bhp and first of all the car performed worse, so i removed the mesh screens in the air flow sensor and then perforated the front of the car around the head lights. I have kept the filter sheilded from the hot air in the engine bay and feel the car know performs much better, still pulling strong at an indicated 165 at 6450 the other day then run out of straight road.
Two new problems have arisen one easy one not so easy
first a oil on the front of the engine cured with a new oil cap (£2.52)
second the suspension level fault on the dash comes on after 10 mins of driving, Bmw have checked the car and no faults are registered in the system the think it faulty wiring as the loom is know to break near the rear diff. So for the moment i have to live with it, but it would make it interesting if i was selling.
Any way happy motoring and i hope some of you enjoyed my rambellings
woodbig G :M5launch:
Do you guys from around London ever meet up ?

 

[DrSakke]

Hi!
And welcome to the board!!!
The self leveling suspension varning could of course be the wiring, But there`s one thing I thought of already when I read about your new springs (20mm lower). When I came to the last part of your post, my suspicions grew stronger.
The EDC suspension means you have self leveling suspension all-round (I´m not sure if the front have level sensors though). when your lower the car with only springs in combination with the original shocks and functional EDC the car tries to self-level alll the time(of course it does this always, but now it must work harder especially with the springs being stiffer....) so this could mean that the system is all the time on the limit for normal settings, when you drive and have load on the car, it gets lower than the system tolerates, therefore it "thinks" that there is a fault as the car is lower than intended.

This is of course my spontaneus thought , I could be wrong. I think the level sensor is near the rear diff and is possible to adjust though.......

:cheers:
Sakke

 

[BURTON]

Hello and welcome also..

Where abouts in Essex are you as I am in Suffolk. My M will need to be looked at as I don't think the A/C is as good as maybe it should..

 

[DrSakke]

Hi again!
Here`s a useful link:

http://bmwe34m5.com/faqs/?theme=1&l...70&chapitre_id_select=27&document_id_select=3

And one more on ride height adjustment...
http://bmwe34m5.com/faqs/?theme=1&l...58&chapitre_id_select=37&document_id_select=3
:cheers:
Sakke

 

[Jahangeer]

Hello just thought i share my running report for the last 4 months. Firstly what a great car i had wanted one for a long time, but the running costs allways put me off.
The car i purchsed is a 1994 6 speed imported form Germany by munch legends in 1999. I had the car inspected by Pmw a independant specialist in Essex and they found a front edc shock was needed and the air con electric fan was seized, but apart from that a good car. The last owner payed for a new edc shock and i was left with paying for the fan.
First word of caution Pmw said this was a difficult job. So I changed the fan myself ,but it still did not work Pmw then said it must be the fan switch so i fit one of those but still no joy, they have the car again and decide its a bad earth and rewire the fan still no air con though. Next regas the air con it worked for one day ) ) back again to Pmw and as you can see my confidense is starting to waver , the next thing they want to change is the evaporator under the dash (6 hours labour) because they filled the system with green die and connot see it leaking anywhere else.
At this point i had decied to replace the radiator as it looked very old. On removing the old rad not only was it adout 70% blocked but guess what i find the condenser has adout 6 areas of green die leaking out.
So the new radiator has made the car run alot better the fan cuts in much less a new condenser was fitted by my new friend at Lind Bmw and i have working air con. My new friend also replaced the pollen filter and the fan blows twice as hard . He said he is willing to work on anyone else's m5 if they are having problems, the only problem i can see is that you do not get any paperwork as he works on you car on the side. But you get a Bmw trained person and Bmw parts and Bmw Knowlege.
The other things i have changed on the car rebush the rear subframe change to Avo sport spring 30% stiffer 20 mm lower, new brakes all round Haywood & scott stainless steel exhaust (very loud) custom air filter.
I have read the coments about fitting cone filters and the lack of inprovement they offer. I have used a K&n racing cone filter rated at 370 bhp and first of all the car performed worse, so i removed the mesh screens in the air flow sensor and then perforated the front of the car around the head lights. I have kept the filter sheilded from the hot air in the engine bay and feel the car know performs much better, still pulling strong at an indicated 165 at 6450 the other day then run out of straight road.
Two new problems have arisen one easy one not so easy
first a oil on the front of the engine cured with a new oil cap (£2.52)
second the suspension level fault on the dash comes on after 10 mins of driving, Bmw have checked the car and no faults are registered in the system the think it faulty wiring as the loom is know to break near the rear diff. So for the moment i have to live with it, but it would make it interesting if i was selling.
Any way happy motoring and i hope some of you enjoyed my rambellings
woodbig G :M5launch:
Do you guys from around London ever meet up ?

-------------------

Woodbig G

Welcome to the board!

Do you have any pics of your engine bay - it would be interesting to see how you have set the air filter up and shielded it.

 

[WoodbigG]

Hello

I an based in chelmsford 5mins from Pmw(specialist) or Lind Bmw(main agent).
My air con will now chill down to 3d inside the car which is very nice at the moment.

Hello and welcome also..

Where abouts in Essex are you as I am in Suffolk. My M will need to be looked at as I don't think the A/C is as good as maybe it should..

 

[WoodbigG]

Hello and thanks for the advise

The fault code was coming on before the springs went on the car . they are a good 5cm shorter than the standard sprigs side by side but the car is not any lower at the rear with them on be it parked or running. The front spring i cut one coil off to get the ride height i wanted. After reading the links you supplied i will check the ride height and work my way through there instructions.
thanks WoodbigG :cheers:

Hi!
And welcome to the board!!!
The self leveling suspension varning could of course be the wiring, But there`s one thing I thought of already when I read about your new springs (20mm lower). When I came to the last part of your post, my suspicions grew stronger.
The EDC suspension means you have self leveling suspension all-round (I´m not sure if the front have level sensors though). when your lower the car with only springs in combination with the original shocks and functional EDC the car tries to self-level alll the time(of course it does this always, but now it must work harder especially with the springs being stiffer....) so this could mean that the system is all the time on the limit for normal settings, when you drive and have load on the car, it gets lower than the system tolerates, therefore it "thinks" that there is a fault as the car is lower than intended.

This is of course my spontaneus thought , I could be wrong. I think the level sensor is near the rear diff and is possible to adjust though.......

:cheers:
Sakke

 

[WoodbigG]

Hello i will take some pictures soon

-------------------

Woodbig G

Welcome to the board!

Do you have any pics of your engine bay - it would be interesting to see how you have set the air filter up and shielded it.

 

[DrSakke]

Hello and thanks for the advise

The fault code was coming on before the springs went on the car . they are a good 5cm shorter than the standard sprigs side by side but the car is not any lower at the rear with them on be it parked or running. The front spring i cut one coil off to get the ride height i wanted. After reading the links you supplied i will check the ride height and work my way through there instructions.
thanks WoodbigG :cheers:

Hi!
I`m not an expert on the area, but if you have put on lowering springs that are already 5cm shorter and in addition have cut of one coil off (which isn`t that good anyway) then this in combination with the electro-hydraulic self leveling shocks could result in that the car is resting on the shocks, not on the springs as is normal, this could seriously shorten the life span of the precious EDC shockers (you know what it costs to replace them???).

Sorry if this sounded a bit harsh, it is not intended as critics, but just merely a reflection on the matter.
Maybe someone else could also chip in with more knowledge?

cherrsagai
Sakke

 

[M500PMW]

Firstly I would like to introduce myself, Peter Mould Director of PMW Ltd Chelmsford. To my knowledge Mr Wood Alias WoodbigG left my premises happy? To date, the first I learned of any diss-satisfaction is this thread, when I was alerted to it by another board member. To be totally honest this job was not as straight forward as we would have liked and a certain number of visits were required. As usual I was more than aware of the age of this vehicle and am very careful not to get too carried away with costs etc. On the last visit we investigated the A/C in/op. No external leaks were found hence we suggested an evaporator leak. Note SUGGESTED! I reccomended not spending that sort of money on the vehicle and this is the thanks I get for being honest. To expect us to remove a radiator to check for leaks is reduculous, if when replacing a radiator leak(s) are noticed that is another matter? We have tried to work alongside Mr Wood and help him where possible. We have got involved with the Trader he bought the vehicle from and recovered costs regarding the EDC shock.
We are BMW trained/qualified and resent the negative feedback left here. Any customer of ours that feels we have not given them 'great' service is urged by me to get in contact first, I will at all costs endevour to sort out any problems. Customer satisfaction is our greatest weapon! Ask many of the other board members.
Mr Wood I am glad you have sorted out your A/C problem. If you encounter a problem with anyone else along your life's journey, do them the courtesy of letting them know and not attempting to sabotage their perfectly reputable business!grrrrrrr
Regards
Peter.

 

[farrell]

Hi!
I`m not an expert on the area, but if you have put on lowering springs that are already 5cm shorter and in addition have cut of one coil off (which isn`t that good anyway) then this in combination with the electro-hydraulic self leveling shocks could result in that the car is resting on the shocks, not on the springs as is normal, this could seriously shorten the life span of the precious EDC shockers (you know what it costs to replace them???).

Sorry if this sounded a bit harsh, it is not intended as critics, but just merely a reflection on the matter.
Maybe someone else could also chip in with more knowledge?

cherrsagai
Sakke

I agree here.
It is easy to become harsh with comments when you have yrs of experience with a certain type of vehicle or in my case its worse being an Engineer as you expect others to know what you know yourself. Its does not work that way.

My personal experience of AVO on another vehicle some yrs ago was not positive & the quality is nowhere nr o/e or Eibach, H&R etc.

The main concern here is a spring that is already wound in such a way to be 50mm shorter as installed but also stiffer as installed.

The springs increase in stiffness (compressed) rate is based it on it being installed as designed by the maker regardless of wether it is a constant or variable wound spring.
As the spring is sitting in a std spring pan the cross section of the spring coil will be the same, so then, its either material or no of coils plus length change.
Did the removed coil come off the top or the bottom of the spring ?
If a coil is removed then the spring rates as calculated by the maker are useless. This is doubly worse on a spring that is already shorter in its uncompressed state.
Springs are tempered & shot peened to de-stress them. cutting them up after this kind of work has been done on a completed spring does nothing for long service life & can reduce their strength.
Most serious is the chance of spring dislocation when the damper is in jounce(full extension) condition.

The bonging could indeed be caused by chaffing of the harness that exits the rear bulkhead nr the rear suspension carrier but likely reason is rear suspension so low that the self levelling system is seeing a false warnig indicating an overloaded vehicle. You might also get a bong at between 110 to 120 mph warning you to restrict speed.

You may also see excessive wear to the inside edges of your tyres due to excessive camber angles.

I would guess that were you to put your vehicle vehicle on BMW's KDS geometry alignment test, car would not calibrate due to ride height affecting the figures on all corners plus a low ride height warning at the rear.

Im sorry that you have had issues with PMW.
Did you report your concerns to them personally ?
The reason I ask is that over the last 4 yrs, they are the only people people apart from myself who I will allow to work on my car.
Yes, one issue on my car, but when bought it to their attn, there was no shirking or bitching.
Yes , hands up, its down to us.
Just bring it in & we'll attend to it. The job was quite big.
Nearly a yr later they accepted the responsibility & did the job again.

They have helped out with access to consult fault checks ( free) & Geometry checks at vastly reduced rates. The added comfort of my vehicle being insured whilst with them under any circumstances makes it all worth it IMHO.

Good blokes in my experience.

Just my tuppence worth

Regards

 

[Jahangeer]

Firstly I would like to introduce myself, Peter Mould Director of PMW Ltd Chelmsford.
Welcome and Hi

To expect us to remove a radiator to check for leaks is reduculous, if when replacing a radiator leak(s) are noticed that is another matter?
why?

We have tried to work alongside Mr Wood and help him where possible. We have got involved with the Trader he bought the vehicle from and recovered costs regarding the EDC shock.
nice one!

We are BMW trained/qualified and resent the negative feedback left here. Any customer of ours that feels we have not given them 'great' service is urged by me to get in contact first, I will at all costs endevour to sort out any problems.
I dont understand where you see that Mr Wood has left negative feedback, I dont construe his as such?! Judging from what you said - and others on the board - I would still bring my car to you - if I lived near.

 

[BURTON]

Well seeing this post made me remember that I was going to give PMW a call. So I have done.. Waiting for a call back...

Very friendly and Local!!!!! Always 2 plus' in my book.

 

[hertfordshire1]

I too exclusively use PMW.

Having suffered open wallet surgery with another garage, it was a refreshing change to get things finally sorted on my car.

Yes there have been times when problems needed re-addressing, but speaking to Peter has always got these issues resolved.

Such is the customer satisfaction focus, that Peter has even offered me the use of his own M5 while my car is being worked on........

:wroom:

Steve

p.s I was joking about the car loan bit!

 

[WoodbigG]

Hello Peter Mould,
I was shocked to read your response to my observations - I am not trying to sabotage anyone's business, in fact I appreciate your services and was hoping to continue using your knowledge and expertise in the future?
After reading up before purchasing this car PMW come very highly recommended from this website, clubs and a personal friend.

I must however, stress a couple of points. Firstly, the air con needed to work, which we agreed on the phone, if I was going to keep the car and enjoy using it. I could not therefore just simply accept either £1000 bill (which as you suggested might not even have fixed the problem) or put up with the problem, therefore I needed a second opinion so naturally made an appointment with my local BMW garage. The Friday before the car went in I installed a new radiator and on releasing the 2 plastic clips at the top of the rad the radiator can be moved back a couple of inches and the green dye could be seen on the air con condenser - I don't agree with your comment that you needed to remove the radiator to check this. As the car was already booked in to BMW I phoned to speak to the chief technician and he said he could work on the car privately the next day, which suited me as this was extremely convenient and at a price I was happy with.

I understood that this forum was an open forum for people to share experiences both good and bad, with other members and to inform people that someone else had offered their service to help members keep their cars on the road. I am not suggesting that people use him rather than you, only that I found him to also be helpful.
My Years of experience with garages and specialist cars have taught me that as much information as possible in relation to a problem is very helpful. I am sorry that you have taken such offence to my comments - it was not meant to be taken this way. Peter, if you still are unhappy with my observations, please feel free to phone me and discuss this privately.

G. Wood :M5thumbs:

Firstly I would like to introduce myself, Peter Mould Director of PMW Ltd Chelmsford. To my knowledge Mr Wood Alias WoodbigG left my premises happy? To date, the first I learned of any diss-satisfaction is this thread, when I was alerted to it by another board member. To be totally honest this job was not as straight forward as we would have liked and a certain number of visits were required. As usual I was more than aware of the age of this vehicle and am very careful not to get too carried away with costs etc. On the last visit we investigated the A/C in/op. No external leaks were found hence we suggested an evaporator leak. Note SUGGESTED! I reccomended not spending that sort of money on the vehicle and this is the thanks I get for being honest. To expect us to remove a radiator to check for leaks is reduculous, if when replacing a radiator leak(s) are noticed that is another matter? We have tried to work alongside Mr Wood and help him where possible. We have got involved with the Trader he bought the vehicle from and recovered costs regarding the EDC shock.
We are BMW trained/qualified and resent the negative feedback left here. Any customer of ours that feels we have not given them 'great' service is urged by me to get in contact first, I will at all costs endevour to sort out any problems. Customer satisfaction is our greatest weapon! Ask many of the other board members.
Mr Wood I am glad you have sorted out your A/C problem. If you encounter a problem with anyone else along your life's journey, do them the courtesy of letting them know and not attempting to sabotage their perfectly reputable business!grrrrrrr
Regards
Peter.

 

[illjah]

Firstly I would like to introduce myself, Peter Mould Director of PMW Ltd Chelmsford. To my knowledge Mr Wood Alias WoodbigG left my premises happy? To date, the first I learned of any diss-satisfaction is this thread, when I was alerted to it by another board member. To be totally honest this job was not as straight forward as we would have liked and a certain number of visits were required. As usual I was more than aware of the age of this vehicle and am very careful not to get too carried away with costs etc. On the last visit we investigated the A/C in/op. No external leaks were found hence we suggested an evaporator leak. Note SUGGESTED! I reccomended not spending that sort of money on the vehicle and this is the thanks I get for being honest. To expect us to remove a radiator to check for leaks is reduculous, if when replacing a radiator leak(s) are noticed that is another matter? We have tried to work alongside Mr Wood and help him where possible. We have got involved with the Trader he bought the vehicle from and recovered costs regarding the EDC shock.
We are BMW trained/qualified and resent the negative feedback left here. Any customer of ours that feels we have not given them 'great' service is urged by me to get in contact first, I will at all costs endevour to sort out any problems. Customer satisfaction is our greatest weapon! Ask many of the other board members.
Mr Wood I am glad you have sorted out your A/C problem. If you encounter a problem with anyone else along your life's journey, do them the courtesy of letting them know and not attempting to sabotage their perfectly reputable business!grrrrrrr
Regards
Peter.

I didn't view his comments as a negative towards your business, and I don't think that his points indicate any incompetance or lack of service on the part of your company. Infact, not only has he (and you) reminded a previous poster to call you (and no doubt bring you more business) it has also alerted me to your presence, and having read all the feedback (positive I may add!!) about other peoples experiences, I would certainly consider using you as well! I'm sure from his wording he did not mean to slander your business at all.:M5thumbs:

 

[M500PMW]

Thanks everone for the positive notes expressed in all of the replies posted after mine. When working on vehicles it is very easy to upset customers along the way, we work very hard to avoid this and as a result of this enjoy good feedback from our clients on web sites like this one. When confronted with text that implies otherwise (or not?) I spring into action to defend the business (I haven't sweated for 6 years for nothing!)

Mr Wood, I am very pleased you have posted and applaude your response. If we can be of assistance in the future or give advise in any way please do not hesitate in contacting me/us @ PMW Ltd.
Best regards
Peter.