Jacking car and wiper blades?

[mbquart3000]

Hi everyone.

I'm relatively new at this BMW stuff so bare with me. I have a couple of questions.

1) Where do the dealers jack the car up from if they need to remove all 4 wheels? Do they use the same jacking points we would when changing a flat?

2) I just noticed that even the wiper blades are not standard for this car. What type of aftermarket winter blades could i use.

Thanks

mbquart3000 [???1]

 

[codex57]

Jacking up an E46 is a hazardous procedure. The jack that comes with the car sucks apparently. I haven't read too much about it, but I do know lots of people screw up their car cuz jacking it up is so hard to do. Dealers have those big hydraulic jacks that lift your car up from a much wider surface area. It's much safer than using the jacks we have.

 

[aNoodle]

Yes, they use the same jacking points as we would use to change a flat. There are other jacking points as well. There are two points in the center of the car, one in the front and one in the back to lift the entire front/rear of the car at once. The rear one is just infront of the differential. The front one is the circular point below behind the oil pan. This is a good site....

http://www.bmw325i.net/four_wheel_ramps.shtml
http://www.bmw325i.net/raise_front.shtml

 

[Average Jae]

question 1: i might've read it wrong, but dealers and tire shops usually have hydraulic jacks that runs the length btw the two wheels. i know that my local tire shop places rubber blocks at jacking points, then uses the lift to get the car up. (it's the safe way.)

question 2, i dun really understand this one either. there isn't a car company that gives you free wiper blades. (even if they change it as part of hte 50k maint program, they still bill bmw for em. i think all wiper blades are universal. walk into any auto parts store, discount store and goto the auto parts section. there's a wiper book w/ all the make and model. usually the difference btw wipers is the manufac's spec on length of the wiper blades. all the cars i've come across had all the same hooking mechanism in place. so you'll just have to pick a type of wiper, and get the right length for your driver and passenger sides.

 

[geneo]

there called lifting blocks and there are 4 most people call road side assistence to do the dirty work wipers inserts are cheap at the dealer if you just get the rubber if not you will have to go with the metal blade also

 

[theBMWenthusiast]

there called lifting blocks and there are 4 most people call road side assistence to do the dirty work wipers inserts are cheap at the dealer if you just get the rubber if not you will have to go with the metal blade also

wiper blade inserts runs about 15 bucks, should be no labor unless your dealer is evil

 

[Topaz330ci]

After I bought my car I went to the local Dealer for an alarm and those clowns charged me $7.50 to install some wiper blades. Needless to say I will find another service facility.

 

[mbquart3000]

Hi guys.

Sorry if I was not clear with my questions. Let me rephrase them.


As for my first question I know that dealers have big hydraulic lifts. I guess what i was really asking is where do they place the lift arms. Do they place them on the designated lift points provided on the car as specified in the owners manual or do they place them somewhere else underneath the car. The reason I'm asking is that I don't want to take the car to BMW dealer everty time I want to balance and or change my tires from summer to winter and what not. Just want to make sure these other tire shops know how to raise the car on a lift.

As for my second question, you cannot change out the wiper blade assembly with any aftermarket type. I tried and the hooking mechanism is very different.

The reason I want to do this is because I need real winter wipers and not just wiper blade insert replacements. I do live in Montreal, Canada and winters here are pretty bad. Typical average daily temp is about -10 to -15 deg c. Regualr wiper blades just freeze up and chatter across the wind shield.This not an option for me. I really wnat to put some winter blades.

Thanks again guys.

Nick

 

[dm_longhorn]

I took her to discount tire.. they lifted her up nice and careful.. they're not all mean and evil.. except "honest engine" on Louetta & Kuykendahl in the greater houston area.. horrible.