By Nate Risch
05/08/2016
When last we saw Otto, his head was literally dangling from the ceiling of my garage. Pretty grisly. Once the head was off, I slid the head gasket off the top of the block and held it in front of me like a prize bass, fully expecting to see clear evidence of failure between the #3 compression ring and one of the coolant passages.
By Nate Risch
05/01/2016
This is a tale of loss and redemption, of bidding farewell to an old friend, and of new beginnings. When last we spoke, I was dealing with a broken turbo on our 2011 X5 diesel. As I weighed the pros and cons of repairing the beast, Betty arrived at a simpler solution: “Replace it,” she said.
By Nate Risch
05/01/2016
We interrupt this series on the Decapitation of Otto to bring you something less greasy and possibly more useful. Last week I was preparing to attend the Nor’East 02ers’ Spring Drive. I was going to take Otto, but he was, well, you know, decapitated. So I prepared to take Kugel, my ’72 2002tii, out of storage.
By Nate Risch
04/25/2016
Most West Coast track rats and probably more than a few East Coasters know of David Moody, his Cool Carbon brake pads, and his support of the BMW CCA. I know that many Golden Gate Chapter events have handed out Cool Carbon pads as door prizes, and Roundel has carried ads for these stoppers as well.
By Nate Risch
04/23/2016
Last week I explained that during a routine compression test prior to putting Otto (my ’74 2002tii) up for sale, the #3 cylinder measured only 50 psi. I described doing a leak-down test and finding that pumping compressed air into #3 pushed so much air into the radiator that the cooling system literally gurgled like a fish tank.
