applehero
///Member
Hello all
I find owning an older BMW is a pleasurable experience, but the downside is that they inevitably have higher mileage - 320 000 kms in this case. With this sometimes you need to approach a straightforward task in a slightly different way.
This came about recently when my Speedo wouldn't work consistently - dropping to 0 MPH while traveling at highway speed. I had the codes read to narrow down to the cause. It turned out that there was a problem with signal from the rear left wheel. A quick google search suggested the wheel speed sensor needed cleaning. I jacked the car up and took the wheel off. Now I am always careful loosening bolts because the car has done so many miles. So after tightening the bolt slightly, backing it out was quite straightforward.
The problem came in when trying to remove the the wheel speed sensor. That thing is properly in there - no gentle persuasion would help. Without wanting to damage the sensor I resorted to a less intrusive approach. I had bought a endoscope previously to investigate a particular issue, which was then used to take a look at the sensor from the drive shaft side. Have a look below at what I found. It looked a little dirty, but nothing too crazy. (The pics were taken over the weekend - I forgot to set the date on the endoscope)
After a couple of blasts of sensor cleaner, the sensor looked a lot cleaner.
I thought all was good. After a little more cleaning I found the sensor was in fact broken! You can see the white internals of the sensor from a slightly different angle.
My theory is that something stuck to a tooth on the driveshaft and as it came up to the sensor, it just destroyed the sensor housing. The upside is that at least the teeth on the driveshaft are still in good condition.
Now in most DIY cases you can clean / fix up a problem with little cost, but sometimes you need to splash out and buy new bits.
The fun at the end of the day is enjoying BMW ownership. :=):
I find owning an older BMW is a pleasurable experience, but the downside is that they inevitably have higher mileage - 320 000 kms in this case. With this sometimes you need to approach a straightforward task in a slightly different way.
This came about recently when my Speedo wouldn't work consistently - dropping to 0 MPH while traveling at highway speed. I had the codes read to narrow down to the cause. It turned out that there was a problem with signal from the rear left wheel. A quick google search suggested the wheel speed sensor needed cleaning. I jacked the car up and took the wheel off. Now I am always careful loosening bolts because the car has done so many miles. So after tightening the bolt slightly, backing it out was quite straightforward.
The problem came in when trying to remove the the wheel speed sensor. That thing is properly in there - no gentle persuasion would help. Without wanting to damage the sensor I resorted to a less intrusive approach. I had bought a endoscope previously to investigate a particular issue, which was then used to take a look at the sensor from the drive shaft side. Have a look below at what I found. It looked a little dirty, but nothing too crazy. (The pics were taken over the weekend - I forgot to set the date on the endoscope)
After a couple of blasts of sensor cleaner, the sensor looked a lot cleaner.
I thought all was good. After a little more cleaning I found the sensor was in fact broken! You can see the white internals of the sensor from a slightly different angle.
My theory is that something stuck to a tooth on the driveshaft and as it came up to the sensor, it just destroyed the sensor housing. The upside is that at least the teeth on the driveshaft are still in good condition.
Now in most DIY cases you can clean / fix up a problem with little cost, but sometimes you need to splash out and buy new bits.
The fun at the end of the day is enjoying BMW ownership. :=):
