[Quicksilver_M235]

Call me stupid, that's fine, I can take it... but here's the tic...
I'm an 'old school' owner who is moving to a 'new school' ride, and some of the things I see under the 228i (this is the vehicle I'm migrating to) is a LOT more busy under the hood than I'm familiar with, I'm hoping I can get someone to help breakdown on what's all in there?



Here's where I'm currently coming from (a 79 Chevy C-10)..

[p912guy]

Seriously? Night and day - the BMW is digital and you can't get much more analog than your old C-10. As a potential "do-it-yourself" guy, the only thing you really need to know is the oil filter is under the black screw cap immediately to the right front of the plastic engine cover. If you remove the engine cover you'll find the spark plugs and coils and parts of the injection system. Unless you have several specialty tools and electronic diagnostic equipment, there's not much you're going to be doing under the hood other than checking and adding fluids. If you like to tinker, hopefully you still have the C-10 or something similar.

[Maynard]

I can relate, as I'm in the same boat - they won't even let me come into the repair bay to look at the underside (not that I'd recognize a/t there either).

The red 'plus' cover back near the passenger hood hinge is an aux positive terminal for the battery - very helpful for jumping somebody, if you are brave enough to try that. (and the washer fluid fill cap is right next door). Everything else in there is just basically a small grenade that will blow up your bank account if you mess with it enough to set it off .

[TajoMan]

I don't see much difference.
BMW just has smaller underhood area. lol

[XutvJet]

It's really not that complex once you retrain your brain; there's just a lot more plastic covers, vacuum lines, and wiring.

1) Search the owners manual as it will tell you a lot about the major systems.
2) Yank the various cover and upper intake pipes to see more. They come off easily.
3) Research the particular motor you have and look at the parts diagram.


- The turbo and exhaust system is on the lower passenger side of the motor.
- Battery positive (red cap) and ground terminal are on the passenger side of the engine compartment.
- The white bottle on the front driver's side is the radiator expansion tank.
- Yank the engine cover and you'll see the coil packs and the injector rails.
- The two black triangular covers by the firewall simply remove with a 180 degree twist of 10mm plastic nuts. Under the covers are electrical services, wiper motors, and the brake and clutch master cylinders and ABS.
- The big plastic piece in the front is the airbox and intake snorkel.
- The alternator and A/C sit on the lower driver's side front of the engine.
- The water pump and t-stat sit on the lower portion of the passenger front side of the engine.
- The oil filter and oil cooler housing sit on the driver's side front/top of the engine.
- A primary engine compartment fuse box is mounted to the driver's side inner side of the strut tower.

[Quicksilver_M235]

Originally Posted by p912guy

Seriously? Night and day - the BMW is digital and you can't get much more analog than your old C-10. As a potential "do-it-yourself" guy, the only thing you really need to know is the oil filter is under the black screw cap immediately to the right front of the plastic engine cover. If you remove the engine cover you'll find the spark plugs and coils and parts of the injection system. Unless you have several specialty tools and electronic diagnostic equipment, there's not much you're going to be doing under the hood other than checking and adding fluids. If you like to tinker, hopefully you still have the C-10 or something similar.

P912guy
True, I am a do it yourself guy, and yes, I would like to futz around a bit in there, hence my inquiry... I'm just trying to get a lay of the land, so to speak. That seal that spans the width of the car, does that contain a strut tower brace? What are the round objects you see just behind the headlights?

Originally Posted by Maynard

I can relate, as I'm in the same boat - they won't even let me come into the repair bay to look at the underside (not that I'd recognize a/t there either).

The red 'plus' cover back near the passenger hood hinge is an aux positive terminal for the battery - very helpful for jumping somebody, if you are brave enough to try that. (and the washer fluid fill cap is right next door). Everything else in there is just basically a small grenade that will blow up your bank account if you mess with it enough to set it off .

Maynard
Yeah, I'm fortunate in that I do have a mechanic for a friend who has his own lift, so I'll likely take a peek under the carriage when the time comes. That red 'plus' cover I was able to glean as the + terminal for the battery from the start (which I hear is in the rear), where does one find the 'negative' connection up front? I see the washer resevoir you mentioned. What is that large white resevoir I see on the right? Also, what's under that plastic case just behind that resevoir? The two black structural elements I see near the front two corners, I see that on this convertible image I snagged, but not on the ones I've viewed for the coupe... is that normal (an added stiffness bracing)?

Originally Posted by TajoMan

I don't see much difference.
BMW just has smaller underhood area. lol

TaJoMan
True, the thing that I was totally enamoured with on the C-10, was that you could easily sit under the hood on either wheel well with plenty of space to futz with the carb, filter, plugs, exhaust manifold, steering column... essentially everything. It was great for when you needed the leverage. Alas the C-10 is on the way out to make space for the new mid-life-crisis mobile

[emtrey]

Negative terminal is on same side as positive but forward toward front of engine compartment on passenger side. Its a silver pole that sticks our parallel to ground about 1 1/2 inches long.

No strut braces within any of the cross members that has been mentioned anywhere.

[Quicksilver_M235]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

It's really not that complex once you retrain your brain; there's just a lot more plastic covers, vacuum lines, and wiring.

1) Search the owners manual as it will tell you a lot about the major systems.
2) Yank the various cover and upper intake pipes to see more. They come off easily.
3) Research the particular motor you have and look at the parts diagram.


- The turbo and exhaust system is on the lower passenger side of the motor.
- Battery positive (red cap) and ground terminal are on the passenger side of the engine compartment.
- The white bottle on the front driver's side is the radiator expansion tank.
- Yank the engine cover and you'll see the coil packs and the injector rails.
- The two black triangular covers by the firewall simply remove with a 180 degree twist of 10mm plastic nuts. Under the covers are electrical services, wiper motors, and the brake and clutch master cylinders and ABS.
- The big plastic piece in the front is the airbox and intake snorkel.
- The alternator and A/C sit on the lower driver's side front of the engine.
- The water pump and t-stat sit on the lower portion of the passenger front side of the engine.
- The oil filter and oil cooler housing sit on the driver's side front/top of the engine.
- A primary engine compartment fuse box is mounted to the driver's side inner side of the strut tower.

Thanks for the details. I was able to find the manuals online, so thanks for the tip...

2014 228i - https://carmanuals2.com/d/39147 (Page 175)

2015 228i - https://carmanuals2.com/d/91751 (Page 189)

[Quicksilver_M235]

Originally Posted by emtrey

Negative terminal is on same side as positive but forward toward front of engine compartment on passenger side. Its a silver pole that sticks our parallel to ground about 1 1/2 inches long.

I think I see what you are talking about on the photo, just in front of that black structural brace.

[SteveInfante]

I've found that tinkering with this car has been fun and still enjoyable. I've done a bunch of little things here and there maintaining it for the last 68+k miles. I grew up turning wrenches on muscle cars from the 70's with my dad. Do your research and get the right tools.

Engine oil changes are easy ( 10mm torx for the composite drain pan plug and get a filter housing wrench)
Spark plug changes are easy with the right socket
Coil packs are easy to remove
Air filters are straight forward (cabin filter is in the underside of the passenger dash panel)
Brakes are easy ( I'm about to do rotors/pads/fluid/wear sensors/stainless lines)
Suspension is pretty straight forward ( I'm about to do Koni yellow/H&R lowering springs)

Welcome.

[3rdcoast228i]

Well one of the things you probably looked at regularly on the C10 was the engine oil dip stick. Your BMW doesn't even have one.

[Shovelman]

Looks like you changed the alternator recently, did you loose the nut for the bracket?

[Rayscott]

You are not stupid. I used to work on my cars. 68 Chevy truck, 57 Chevy, 66 GTO. Today, forget it. I own an X3 and 228ix. The dealer or a local guy does the service. I do add washer fluid when it needs it. I wanted to check the oil level and couldn't find the dip stick. DUH, there is no dip stick. The computer tells you when you need it. I learned more from this post then I have in the last 6 years. Thanks guys, OLD FART.

[Quicksilver_M235]

Originally Posted by SteveInfante

Brakes are easy ( I'm about to do rotors/pads/fluid/wear sensors/stainless lines)
Suspension is pretty straight forward ( I'm about to do Koni yellow/H&R lowering springs)

Welcome.

Let me know how these go for you. I'm interested in how much difficulty you may experience with these items... though at some point my goal is to replace the front disk entirely as well as replace the suspension with an aftermarket coilover set.

[Quicksilver_M235]

Originally Posted by 3rdcoast228i

Well one of the things you probably looked at regularly on the C10 was the engine oil dip stick. Your BMW doesn't even have one.

Huh? Really? Wow, I sure feel antiquated knowing that little gem.

Originally Posted by Shovelman

Looks like you changed the alternator recently, did you loose the nut for the bracket?

Yes, went with a slightly more powerful alt unit, but no the nut is not lost, just didn't need it. Stays in place without.

Originally Posted by Rayscott

You are not stupid. I used to work on my cars. 68 Chevy truck, 57 Chevy, 66 GTO. Today, forget it. I own an X3 and 228ix. The dealer or a local guy does the service. I do add washer fluid when it needs it. I wanted to check the oil level and couldn't find the dip stick. DUH, there is no dip stick. The computer tells you when you need it. I learned more from this post then I have in the last 6 years. Thanks guys, OLD FART.

I'm with you... lack of a dip stick just seems... wrong somehow.

Wait till its all full electric, then what are we gonna do? Go back to school and get our Electricians degrees?

[SteveInfante]

Originally Posted by Erebus

Let me know how these go for you. I'm interested in how much difficulty you may experience with these items... though at some point my goal is to replace the front disk entirely as well as replace the suspension with an aftermarket coilover set.

I will. I'm not going crazy with the suspension. I don't need the height adjustment. Yeah I forgot to mention the lack of a dipstick.

[Rayscott]

Learned something new. I couldn't figure out why there was a positive terminal under the hood yet no negative so I hooked my trickle charger to the battery in the trunk. Now i have learned that the negative stud is on the passenger side of the engine bay near the front bumper, correct? I read the manual but I need to read it again as there is so much stuff in it.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Rayscott

Learned something new. I couldn't figure out why there was a positive terminal under the hood yet no negative so I hooked my trickle charger to the battery in the trunk. Now i have learned that the negative stud is on the passenger side of the engine bay near the front bumper, correct? I read the manual but I need to read it again as there is so much stuff in it.

Correct. On the 4 banger cars, the negative post is that vertical stud on the frame behind the passenger headlight.

[SteveInfante]

And something I just noticed about the posted engine bay picture is the bracing. That is the bracing from the vert. I plan on getting that for my coupe at some time.

[Tpeterson]

When you get the car up on your friend's lift you'll see that there is no drain plug for the diff. BMW says it has a lifetime fill. Being an old school guy, I doubt that you believe this in this type of maintenance. You just have to suction the old fluid out of the fill hole to do a fluid change. That's what I plan on doing.

[SteveInfante]

Transmission does have a drain plug. At least my 6MT does.

[Quicksilver_M235]

Originally Posted by SteveInfante

And something I just noticed about the posted engine bay picture is the bracing. That is the bracing from the vert. I plan on getting that for my coupe at some time.

I noted that too and am surprised that it is not left on the coupe version as well.

Do you know if the aftermarket is currently providing any good options for strut bracing on the 228/235?

I had inquired P912guy about whether there is a bracing unit under that hood seal or not, but have not gotten a response.

Would you happen to know?

Originally Posted by Tpeterson

When you get the car up on your friend's lift you'll see that there is no drain plug for the diff. BMW says it has a lifetime fill. Being an old school guy, I doubt that you believe this in this type of maintenance. You just have to suction the old fluid out of the fill hole to do a fluid change. That's what I plan on doing.

Say what now?

I'm sorry, but lifetime fill? That is a joke. You've got god knows how many moving parts going on in there and this is not a perpetual motion machine, so there's gonna be some friction... with friction comes 'stuff'... need to get rid of the 'stuff' from time to time... that's just common sense to me.