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My server had been running flawlessly for over a year. It's very basic in configuration: Asus P5KPL-CM (Intel G31 chipset) Intel E5300 Pentium Dual Core 2x1GB DDR2 Windows Home Server with PowerPack 2 (based on Windows Server 2003) I use it for backing up my home PCs and storing shared data...

I've always been more interested in keeping the family fleet up & running well rather than how they look. However, something on my wife's '97 black BMW is really bothering me. There were a lot of chips, scratches and blemishes on the hood and the trunk. I took care of the hood with touch-up...

I just bought a twenty-year old Snap-On box that has friction slides for all the drawers except the bottom one. The slides are sticky since the previous owner had lubricated them with a heavy grease. I'm planning on taking off and cleaning all the drawers and slides but didn't know what...

I wanted to see how this combination of 3 qts. Castrol Syntec Blend 10W30 and 1.5 qts. Syntec 0W30 would work out. I'd like to extend the OCI somewhat beyond regular dino but not too far because I've had indications of an intake coolant leak in the past. I used a half bottle of Irontite...

I've been working on my Mom's '95 Subaru Legacy L to get it ready for winter when I noticed two problems--a torn rubber boot on the steering rack and a torn outer CV joint boot. The steering rack boot looks like a simple repair but I was wondering if you have to lubricate the area that the boot...

After having run German Castrol twice with good results in this car, I thought I would try a blend of 6 quarts Castrol Syntec 10W40 and 1 quart Redline 10W40 for kicks. After about 2K miles, the oil darkened--a lot. I never had that happen before, and I've run Delo, Chevron Supreme and other...

I was wondering if anyone has knowledge & experience with aftermarket cats. Two of my cars that are older than 10 years recently had emissions problems. Since they're BMW's, replacement OE converters are really pricey--at least $1K-$2K. My local exhaust/muffler shop put on a Magnaflow...

I bought this car a few months ago, and have been changing out all the fluids. This weekend I tried changing the brake fluid. Old fluid in the reservoir looked old, discolored. There was even residue on the bottom of the plastic reservoir. I suctioned the old fluid out of the reservoir...

Latest UOA is on the right. The cylinder head was removed, with new valves and guides installed at 156K miles last summer, so I wanted to check to see if everything looked okay or not. I'm hoping to get at least 250K miles on this car before retiring it. At 15K miles/year, that'll take me...

Not sure whether I truly have a trace coolant leak or not. Schaeffer's does not test for sodium or potassium. Their comments suggest everything is normal. Note the high lead in the third column. Looks like the AutoRx rinse oil picked up some wear residue.

Some of us have vehicles with difficult to fill transmissions or differentials. I have two BMWs with automatics without dipsticks. Instead there is a fill plug on the pan. Here are two tips: 1. I've been using a funnel with a length of ATF hose on the BMWs. Now I can fill the automatic...

I bought this car just a few months ago. The previous owner said he had changed the oil at 172K miles with Valvoline All Climate 10W30. The owner's manual specs 20W50 so I changed it out a little earlier than usual. Car now has 175K miles on it. I changed out the K&N air filter with an OEM one...

This is my wife's car which had the intermittent misfire. We finally fixed it about 3K-4K into this oil change interval which explains why the fuel % is a little high but better than the last UOA. I'm very happy with how GC is working on this car. Right now I have 6 qts. of Syntec 10W40 with 1...

I changed my wife's car over from GC (9.1K OCI--hope to have UOA to post soon) to a blend of 6 qts. Syntec 10W40 and 1 qt. Redline 10W40. I had both oils in my shrine, so I thought this would be an interesting comparison (planning on taking this blend out to 9-10K). Anyway, I checked the oil...

Again, thanks to Mark at Butler for running this VOA for free for the forum. I bought this during the clearance at AutoZone this year. Note that this oil has 2ppm of lead from the very start, so you may have to subtract that from any UOA you run on this oil.

Data courtesy of Mark at Butler. Purchased this year during the AutoZone clearance. Note that this oil does have additives that would set off the test for anti-freeze.

Thanks to Mark at Butler for running these and other VOAs for the forum. I'll be posting info on MaxLife Syn 5W30, Havoline Syn 10W30 and GC later (all purchased this year).

For awhile now, I've been looking to buy a manual transmission BMW e30 ('83-91 3-series). I think they're very attractive (classic styling) and a lot of fun to drive--a more intimate and involving experience than the newer BMWs. Also, you don't have to be at insane speeds to enjoy the handling...

I'm considering installing a bypass filter on my '95 525iT. It has over 163k miles, and I'd like to keep the car for a long time. Since it has a canister type oil filter, I can't use a spin-on filter adapter. My choices seem to be: 1. Drilling, tapping a hole into either the filter canister...

I've been chasing down the cause of ignition misfire in my wife's 1997 BMW 328i for a few months now. The most recent UOA with German Castrol can be found here: 1997 328i UOA I've gone through spark plugs, a new battery, camshaft position sensor and ignition coils (the last two due to OBD-II...