Inspection II....if you had this service, what did you pay?

[racerbruce]

Curious - thanks.

[coh661]

Actually haven' had mine done yet but i did get a quote from my local BMW dealer for $1500. Not sure if this price is competitive or not. This includes all the prescribed Inspection II work. My problem was i only needed a valve adjustment as i pretty much did all the other work myself. So I'll probably just go to a local indy for just the adjustment.

[chickdr]

Would the dealer not give you a quote for just the valve adjustment?

[86Zed]

$900-$1100 is the going rate - $1000 at my Indy last time around.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by 86Zed

$900-$1100 is the going rate - $1000 at my Indy last time around.

THIS. Tack on 20-25% if done at dealer.

If you DIY, all the parts cost you about $300 total. Depending on how "friendly" the mechanic is, and how often he/she works on M cars with solid lifters, you may be able to save some $$$ in that he/she may already have all the shims on hand. Otherwise just the shim kit is about $200 I think.

To break it down using typical shop rates:

Oil Change: $120-$150
Brake Flush: $80-$100
Coolant Flush: $80-$100
Thermostat: $50-$80
Transmission Fluid (optional): $80-$100
Diff Fluid: $80-$100
Valve Adjustment: $500-$800 (I know there's a big variable. Like I said, if the mechanic has a full shim kit or a partial shim kit, you might be able to save some, but labor alone is probably going to run $500 range)

Visual inspection of brake lining, rotor thickness, bushing condition, suspension joints (tie rods, ball joints etc), suspension components, inspect visually for leaks (PS hoses and pump, engine gaskets, oil pan gasket etc), test for alternator draw and battery condition etc: $45-$100.

Of course, this is assuming that the various inspections do not spot anything that may require some L&L. If you need brake pads and rotors, tack on another $500. FCABs another $100. PS steering hose? $200. Bad/weak battery (at 60K miles and 10 years old? probably going bad)? Another $160.

[coh661]

Originally Posted by chickdr

Would the dealer not give you a quote for just the valve adjustment?

Honestly I didn't ask. I got the quote than decided to do everything that I could myself. I'm not at the level to tackle a valve adjustment but everything else was doable with some research and tools.

[Boosted 1]

I just did my inspection II last week.
Let me start off by saying I'm NOT a professional mechanic by any means. This was the 1st time I've ever even taking a valve cover off anything! I tackled the valve adjustment and boy was I surprised by how smooth it went!!! All of the tutorials really helped but they made it look harder/scarier than it actually was. If I had an m3 it would have been more time consuming considering i would have to take off the cabin filter and fan,etc. I had 6 valves out of adjustment. Key to it is have all your parts/tools before and and be organized

I'm glad I didn't pay anyone to do it.

[coh661]

Originally Posted by Boosted 1

I just did my inspection II last week.
Let me start off by saying I'm NOT a professional mechanic by any means. This was the 1st time I've ever even taking a valve cover off anything! I tackled the valve adjustment and boy was I surprised by how smooth it went!!! All of the tutorials really helped but they made it look harder/scarier than it actually was. If I had an m3 it would have been more time consuming considering i would have to take off the cabin filter and fan,etc. I had 6 valves out of adjustment. Key to it is have all your parts/tools before and and be organized

I'm glad I didn't pay anyone to do it.

Man I really want to try the valve adjustment myself but even after watching the videos I'm not confident in doing it. I pretty much have all the tools needed minus the shim kit. Maybe by the time my car hits 60k I'll be brave enough to give it a shot

[Boosted 1]

I was nervous as hell. But as soon as I got in there it was ok. I dropped the very first shim I tried to put in, but luckily I had rags covering the holes! If you decide too Ill try and answer any question you have. Too bad I don't live closer!!

[jdoublehcubed]

I've done inspection II twice on my car; I'm pretty sure the cheapest you can possibly get all of the parts/fluids is about $500, assuming you don't need to replace anything listed on the sheet as "Inspect." I've heard dealer quotes anywhere from $2000 to $2800 for the whole thing.

I have a shim kit (with the related stuff you need) available for rent if you want to do it yourself.
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=763512

Its honestly a pretty easy job because its so well documented.

MOST IMPORTANT THING: when you open up the valve cover, take the opportunity to check on the Vanos tabs on the exhaust gear.

[coh661]

Originally Posted by jdoublehcubed

I've done inspection II twice on my car; I'm pretty sure the cheapest you can possibly get all of the parts/fluids is about $500, assuming you don't need to replace anything listed on the sheet as "Inspect." I've heard dealer quotes anywhere from $2000 to $2800 for the whole thing.

I have a shim kit (with the related stuff you need) available for rent if you want to do it yourself.
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=763512

Its honestly a pretty easy job because its so well documented.

MOST IMPORTANT THING: when you open up the valve cover, take the opportunity to check on the Vanos tabs on the exhaust gear.

Nice, I might be contacting you this summer!

[coh661]

Originally Posted by jdoublehcubed

I've done inspection II twice on my car; I'm pretty sure the cheapest you can possibly get all of the parts/fluids is about $500, assuming you don't need to replace anything listed on the sheet as "Inspect." I've heard dealer quotes anywhere from $2000 to $2800 for the whole thing.

I have a shim kit (with the related stuff you need) available for rent if you want to do it yourself.
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=763512

Its honestly a pretty easy job because its so well documented.

MOST IMPORTANT THING: when you open up the valve cover, take the opportunity to check on the Vanos tabs on the exhaust gear.

Based off your encouragement I've decided to do my own Valve Adjustment. I have one question after reviewing the DIY's. If my spark plugs were recently replaced, do i need to remove them to do the valve adjustment? Appears to me that people remove them because they need to be replaced as part of the inspection II. But mine are new, literally only a couple hundred miles on them. So can i just leave the plugs themselves in while I continue with the adjustment? I know I'll still need to remove the coils and wires to get the valve cover off but the plugs look like they can stay.

[jdoublehcubed]

Originally Posted by milamookie

Based off your encouragement I've decided to do my own Valve Adjustment. I have one question after reviewing the DIY's. If my spark plugs were recently replaced, do i need to remove them to do the valve adjustment? Appears to me that people remove them because they need to be replaced as part of the inspection II. But mine are new, literally only a couple hundred miles on them. So can i just leave the plugs themselves in while I continue with the adjustment? I know I'll still need to remove the coils and wires to get the valve cover off but the plugs look like they can stay.

You can leave them in, but you need to loose them a few turns. You need to rotate the crank throughout the adjustment process, and if the sparkplugs are in all the way the cylinders are still sealed, so you're fighting the engine compression as you rotate the crank.

Good luck, its a really satisfying service to do yourself. The actual adjustment process is fairly easy, but somewhat tedious to get each valve gap set right to the middle of the range. I'm convinced the dealerships never bother centering the gap like that and just get it to one end or the other; so you get the added satisfaction of knowing that you've done a better job than the dealership would have done

[coh661]

Originally Posted by jdoublehcubed

You can leave them in, but you need to loose them a few turns. You need to rotate the crank throughout the adjustment process, and if the sparkplugs are in all the way the cylinders are still sealed, so you're fighting the engine compression as you rotate the crank.

Ahhh makes sense that it would make it difficult to hand crank. I'll just pull them out than. I'm actually looking forward to this now. Now just need the weather to warm up.

[zwest1]

What tutorials are you using as guides? I'd like to try this myself

[coh661]

Originally Posted by zwest1

What tutorials are you using as guides? I'd like to try this myself

This one was suggested by Jdoublehcubed and I must say it is excellent. I read through the whole thing and realized that it's doable. It also made me scared that the dealer wouldn't take the time to do it as thorough as I would.

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=492445

[Boosted 1]

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=450097

this is the one I used. We can skip alot of the first steps since we dont have an m3

[StickMon]

Originally Posted by milamookie

T... the dealer wouldn't take the time to do it as thorough as I would.

^This is why I do it myself.
Your car's running fine. You take it in for scheduled service. You get it back, it's running fine.
Did they even open the hood?
Maybe hide a mousetrap next to the valve cover and see if the mechanic has a band-aid on his finger when you go to pick it up?

[xeux]

This motivated me to do my own Inspection II as well. Just recently picked up a roadster and this is happening ASAP.

[coh661]

Originally Posted by xeux

This motivated me to do my own Inspection II as well. Just recently picked up a roadster and this is happening ASAP.

Nice, I'm going to go the route of renting the kit from jdoublehcubed. I don't expect to do the valve adjustments too often since i don't put a lot miles on my car so it avoids me having to but feeler gages, micrometers, and a whole shim kit which i probably won't use.

Anyone have a capable alternative to using Drei Bond? 1209? That stuff is like $20 a bottle.

[jdoublehcubed]

Originally Posted by milamookie

Nice, I'm going to go the route of renting the kit from jdoublehcubed. I don't expect to do the valve adjustments too often since i don't put a lot miles on my car so it avoids me having to but feeler gages, micrometers, and a whole shim kit which i probably won't use.

Anyone have a capable alternative to using Drei Bond? 1209? That stuff is like $20 a bottle.

is Drei Bond the brand of RTV they reccomend? you can use any RTV gasket material from Autozone/NAPA/etc. I like to use the black (instead of clear) so you can see exactly how much it squeezes out. you need like half a teaspoon total.

[coh661]

Originally Posted by jdoublehcubed

is Drei Bond the brand of RTV they reccomend? you can use any RTV gasket material from Autozone/NAPA/etc. I like to use the black (instead of clear) so you can see exactly how much it squeezes out. you need like half a teaspoon total.

Yeah the TIS calls for Die Bond. I ordered it from ECS. Not only is it expensive but there's a delay on shipment. I could probably use another RTV but I'm OCD like that. Maybe I can sell whatever not used and recoup some cash.