New to my BMW and have I got questions...

["the evil seed" <esayre@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey there!!

I am now the proud, if a bit saddened, owner of a 1984 318i that 
belonged to a late friend of my family.  I live in a very rural, very 
isolated part of Maine -- nearest BMW dealer is at least four hours 
away and not many mechanics up here with any experience with 
BMW's.  So, at least for the basics of both body and engine repair, 
I'm it.  I'm not tremendously experience as a mechanic myself but I 
bought the books (Bentley, Chilton, Haynes) and am ready to have 
some fun under the hood.  To that end, I have a few questions:

1.	The engine has been run on standard 10W30 oil for 15 years.  
	Can I switch to synthetic?  Any reasons not to?  Never had 	
	reason to think about it before this.

2.	The pully on the power steering pump is mostly gone.  All that 
	is left is a little bit of metal attached to the phlange (?) on the 	
	pump shaft.  This turns freely and I can't figure out how to hold 
	it in place while I loosen the three bolts on the phlange so I can 
	put on a new one.  Help!

3.	The car was in an accident a few days before my friend died 	
	and his family never had the heart to fight with the insurance 	
	company about repairs.  I know I'll have to take her to a body 	
	shop for the actual work but I'm not even going to chance it 	
	until I know a bit more about it myself.  I want this done right.  
	The damange is to the driver's side.  The door and the section 
	of the body directly under the door are bent inward about 3 	
	1/4	inches from "square" (I measured from the centerline of the 
	car and compared the damaged side to the side that is intact).  
	Are there any special issues I need to consider in getting this 
	taken care of?  I am assuming, since it's uni-body 			
	construction, that the shop will place the thing on a jig and pull 
	the body back into shape and then the door gets replaced 	
	refitted.  Then the whole thing gets a new paint job.  Am I 		
	missing anything?  Wrong assumptions?

I realize that I am probably going to spend more money on this car 
than it's actual value but I am a slave to sentiment and the thing is 
a *ABSOLUTE BLAST* to drive.  Any help, suggestions, web-sites, 
books, whatever are greatly appreciated!!

Enjoy!!

Liz Sayre
1984 318i


I don't know where I'm going but I'm making progress.

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