Brake pads, fuel QDC etc. QUESTION

[SmokinJoe]

Hi everyone

Several quick questions in regards to the LT, I drive 90% w/ the wife on back, and I'm not all too aggressive on the brakes and have logged 14K on the OD;

1- Average front pad mileage life

2- Average rear pad mileage life

3- Spark plugs, mine look good book say's 12K

4- Air filter, BMW mechanic says if running good and MPG still good 24K is OK

5- Fuel filter, BMW mechanic says if running good and MPG still good 24K is OK

6- Fuel Quick Connects; why not just use a 5/16” M x M brass or bronze barbs and fuel rated wire ties or non marring hose clamps? I can easily empty the tank and or pinch the appropriate lines. It is not like you pull the tank monthly.



What do the high mileage do-it-yourselfers that have been there think?

All the best.

[Morley]

6- Fuel Quick Connects; why not just use a 5/16” M x M brass or bronze barbs and fuel rated wire ties or non marring hose clamps? I can easily empty the tank and or pinch the appropriate lines. It is not like you pull the tank monthly.

The biggest thing with that is making sure you connect the hoses properly. With the QD's you put a male on one side of one hose and the female on the other side. The other hose you do opposite. This way you won't get them mixed up.

[tbarstow]

The QDs are handy because you can pull the tank and not worry about having to drain it. You disconnect them and they self seal.

[kellenbenz]

Hi everyone

Several quick questions in regards to the LT, I drive 90% w/ the wife on back, and I'm not all too aggressive on the brakes and have logged 14K on the OD;

1- Average front pad mileage life

2- Average rear pad mileage life

3- Spark plugs, mine look good book say's 12K

4- Air filter, BMW mechanic says if running good and MPG still good 24K is OK

5- Fuel filter, BMW mechanic says if running good and MPG still good 24K is OK

6- Fuel Quick Connects; why not just use a 5/16” M x M brass or bronze barbs and fuel rated wire ties or non marring hose clamps? I can easily empty the tank and or pinch the appropriate lines. It is not like you pull the tank monthly.



What do the high mileage do-it-yourselfers that have been there think?

All the best.


On my 2nd LT....did it by the book first time and found a lot to be unnecessary in my opinion. A lot will disagree with me on that, but this is what I have found so far...

1- got 33K out of the front pads.

2- Got 33K out of rear pads.

3- Changed first set of plugs at 36K but they still looked good.

4- I have 52 K on fuel filter and mileage is the same.

5- I have 52K on air filter and mileage is the same.

6- I had one QD break and I replaced it with the 5/16 Brass fitting...if the other one breaks it will get the same. I can mark the hoses if necessary.

I do believe in replacing fluids regular....do engine oil changes @ 3K and Transmission and rear drive @ 12K....Clutch and brake fluid = 2 yrs.

I average a set of tires every 10 to 11 K.


To me it is a vehicle like my others, although it has gotten a lot more attention than my Toyota truck.

HTH, Ron

[SmokinJoe]

On my 2nd LT....did it by the book first time and found a lot to be unnecessary in my opinion. A lot will disagree with me on that, but this is what I have found so far...

1- got 33K out of the front pads.

2- Got 33K out of rear pads.

3- Changed first set of plugs at 36K but they still looked good.

4- I have 52 K on fuel filter and mileage is the same.

5- I have 52K on air filter and mileage is the same.

6- I had one QD break and I replaced it with the 5/16 Brass fitting...if the other one breaks it will get the same. I can mark the hoses if necessary.

I do believe in replacing fluids regular....do engine oil changes @ 3K and Transmission and rear drive @ 12K....Clutch and brake fluid = 2 yrs.

I average a set of tires every 10 to 11 K.


To me it is a vehicle like my others, although it has gotten a lot more attention than my Toyota truck.

HTH, Ron
You have answered my questions based on your real experience, I’d like to see what others say. BTW my BMW shop is not to far off from what you said, caveat being if dirty roads, air fuel at swamp stations, consider changing even MORE than the book!

[jackd]

Brakes are really on how you ride.. if your hot on the throttle and scream into red lights with the tips of your fingers turning white as you grab the brake then you'll do lots of pads... IF your conservative or engine brake.. then you won't..

I still have 3MM on my original fronts at 55K+ and 1MM is service limit. I've done two rear pad changes.. OEM and an EBC set.. I just did a new set of Carbone Loraines this week. You'll do tires enough to check them then..

I do air filter and gas filter every 12K and try to valve check then but doesn't always work out.. plugs 24K.

I think the gas filter is the real important one.. don't want to wait till it's bad. That's like waiting till the pads are scraping on the rotor to check for service limit. If it's clogged you are dead unless you bypass.. and the reason your bypassing is you have crap in the tank and your filter is clogged.. so you risk clogging fuel delivery system... :rolleyes: Penny wise pound foolish..

[was]

6- Fuel Quick Connects; why not just use a 5/16” M x M brass or bronze barbs and fuel rated wire ties or non marring hose clamps? I can easily empty the tank and or pinch the appropriate lines. It is not like you pull the tank monthly.

I can't call myself a high mileage guy, but I do have an opinion on this. My '99 came with the original plastic 5/16" M x M barbed connectors when I bought it several years ago. I could not see any reason for changing to the BMW QDs (especially since there were stories of them breaking or leaking), so I bought and used fuel hose pinchers, left the OEM clamps on different sides of the two hoses, took off the clamps on the other sides, pulled the hoses from the connector, and installed new SS fuel hose clamps. I can't get the two hoses mixed up this way, and it takes about 1 minute to pinch the hoses, unscrew two clamps, and pull the hoses off. However, this winter, working in an unheated garage, I had a difficult time getting the hoses off the connectors. I finally realized that the hoses were cold and stiff, and they came off pretty easily when I heated them a bit with a heat gun. But it made me think about what I would do if I needed to get them off on a really cold day by the side of the road. Use my cigarette lighter to heat them up? Nah, probably not a good idea. So I broke down and bought plated brass 5/15" QDs with auto cutoffs on both the male and female sides. They're not going to break, they are easier to disconnect even than the 2 screw clamps, I don't have to pry at the actual hoses (or even pinch them off), and they are a sinch to re-connect as long as I don't catch the O-ring (I got a bag of 100 with the QDs, and already have used one). So, I think it's a better choice for me, YMMV.

[SmokinJoe]

Thank you all!

[SmokinJoe]

Just did my 12K at 14K and the following is my experiance:



Hi everyone

Several quick questions in regards to the LT, I drive 90% w/ the wife on back, and I'm not all too aggressive on the brakes and have logged 14K on the OD;

1- Average front pad mileage life front like new

2- Average rear pad mileage life rear at 5/32"

3- Spark plugs, mine look good book say's 12K I repace anyway old ones like new

4- Air filter, BMW mechanic says if running good and MPG still good 24K is OK changed airfilter anyway although it was not dirt even when stood next to new one in the light

5- Fuel filter, BMW mechanic says if running good and MPG still good 24K is OK did not replace

6- Fuel Quick Connects; why not just use a 5/16” M x M brass or bronze barbs and fuel rated wire ties or non marring hose clamps? I can easily empty the tank and or pinch the appropriate lines. It is not like you pull the tank monthly. Saw what was needed to repair on the road if need be

7- the most valuable service I found was while removing the shift linkage to clean and relube, I found a wobbling loose ball fitting that screws to the iron transfer plate. Also the iron pivot shaft keeper bolt was loose and the grease crusty...so this was the most worthwhile important part of the 12K preventitive maintenance

8- replaced and balanced both tires, front has 50% life left

What do the high mileage do-it-yourselfers that have been there think?

All the best.

All in all it takes time but not hard to do.

[bowlesj]

7- the most valuable service I found was while removing the shift linkage to clean and relube, I found a wobbling loose ball fitting that screws to the iron transfer plate. Also the iron pivot shaft keeper bolt was loose and the grease crusty...so this was the most worthwhile important part of the 12K preventitive maintenance


That saved you for sure. That loose one would probably have broken at the shoulder. FWIW, I just did a 30k and looked at my linkages for the first time, all good and tight, cleaned and lubed the sockets and reassembled. Should be good forever.

[SmokinJoe]

That saved you for sure. That loose one would probably have broken at the shoulder. FWIW, I just did a 30k and looked at my linkages for the first time, all good and tight, cleaned and lubed the sockets and reassembled. Should be good forever.

Oh BTW, I also diagnosed a faulty steering damper for info obtained on the site. With brand new tires the 06 LT shakes like a rock star!
Sitting back towards the rear tire to lift the front, I get about 8-10" of FREE play before the damper kicks in resistance...should be covered under warranty.