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Here are some tips and tricks about my favourite Bimmer: The BMW 6series csi coupé (production code E24):
Some are based on my experiences, some are taken from the BMW Big Coupé Mailing List

INDEX Removal of the center console
Door handle removal
Window alignment

Removal of E24 center console:
- take out handbrake cover (with power seats, remove buttons by pushing from below through the handbrake opening, pop out small covers at the rear end find the screws at the lower back end. There is another screw at the top under the brushes to remove the front part) pull out towards the back and up
- remove gear shift knob (pull strongly!) and leather shift cover
- remove ash tray and all window switches
- remove screws below ash tray and below shift cover
- remove radio and all center console switches (heated seats, fader)
- plug out obc-harness (reach through radio opening) (26-pin, same type as at the instrument cluster, pop out securing device first)
- remove all screws that hold the lower part of the center console (in driver/pass. side legroom area, open glove box to see the screws, there are also screws below the heater control. It might also be necessary to take out the panel under the steering wheel to get access to all screws, can't remember exactly. Watch closely, most screws are black!)
- switch into 2nd gear or put auto tranny to D
- pull center console back and up (tilt it) to get it out.
Installation is the reverse of removal!
HTH,
Joachim Steinle, Munich, Germany
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Door handle removal
1986-87 door handle:
The shop manual helps a little but it lacks decent pictures and anything remotely resembling useful instructions. It basically says "Remove handle." The actual wording was not quite that terse but it was still an extremely concise description of a mechanical Chinese puzzle. The work requires a patient and steady hand and it is best done all in one sitting. If a long span of time elapses between remove and install - for me this means over night - take good notes. The shop manual pictures just are not sufficient. This description applies to the driver's door. Mirror image kinds of adjustments need to be made for the right door.
From what I remember about the driver's side handle (viewing the door handle workings from the inside):
1. Remove the door panel.
2. Pull off vapor barrier from rear 1/3 of door. (You will be working in the top of the rear 1/3 and retrieving small bits from the bottom of the rear 1/3.) A magnetic retriever can be a real friend.
3. Detach lower end of actuator rod which connects the lock cylinder to the door latch. (If necessary, remove locking clip at rod's lower connection.) Make note any orientation markings stamped into the end of the lock cylinder. Mine had a small line pointing forward.
4. Detach the upper end of the actuator rod assembly by pushing and pulling out the flat pin which goes through the end of the lock cylinder. It's a bit of a bastard since it's tight but you don't want to break the lock cylinder with heavy tools. After this pin is removed, there is a spring loaded detent ring that can slide off the end of the cylinder and the cylinder itself may be then be pushed out. WARNING! However, in addition to the wound spring you can see, there is a tiny coil spring through a perpendicular bore in the cylinder which pushes two tiny, tiny
balls into detents on the inside surface of the detent ring which you cannot see until it's too late. This is the sort of thing you want to deal with on the bench, not in the cramped quarters of
the door access hole. If you cannot avoid removing this detent ring until the lock is out of the car, at least be mindful of those hidden, tiny parts under spring pressure. There is some grease to help keep the balls from flying away but ...
5. Remove the clip which holds the electrical "microswitch" to the cast metal switch bracket. On cars with lock heaters (all?), this casting is integral with the heating coil unit and also serves to latch the lock barrel into the handle. Keep track of the delicate metal switch actuator finger behind this switch. It shares the same locating pins as the switch.
6. Push out large "C" retainer clip at rear of handle. This is parallel to the plane of the door skin and separates the heater/switch casting from the lock barrel. Mine released toward the rear.
7. The heater coil / switch casting is now free to slide along the axis of the lock cylinder away from the door skin, toward the inside of the car and off. However, the ends of the wound spring on the detent ring may interfere. If necessary, it is possible to carefully remove the wound spring from the detent ring while leaving the ring in place to trap the inner detent balls mentioned in item 4.
8. Once the heater/switch casting has moved a quarter inch or more away from its normal location on the barrel, the lock barrel may now be rotated 90 degrees to release it from the handle. Tangs on the heater/switch casting normally prevent this rotation. For the driver's side lock, viewing things through the door access cutout, this is a CCW rotation. With the heater/switch casting removed, the entire lock may now be removed from the handle.
9. Remove the lead counterweight bar from the door handle extension arms. This is retained by spring clips in a tricky arrangement. You'll just have to look at it. I had good luck releasing the rear clip first. The the bar may be released by pulling it toward the rear.
10. At the front of the handle, unbolt the tang which contacts the handle pull sensing switch from the interior handle extension arm. This requires a small, 8 mm perhaps, wrench or similar. A compact, 1/4" drive socket may work to speed things up.
11. Remove the handle pull sensing / temperature sensing module which is retained by the forward handle-to-door fastener. I think it's a 10 mm hex nut.
12. Incredible as it seems, the handle may now be wiggled out through the door skin.
I don't have a lot to add regarding reassembly. You will have master most of the tricks already. I did find it challenging to press the big "C" clip back into place since there is no room to gain leverage against it, let alone get it into position. finally managed using a small pry bar with the hooked tip against the clip and the shaft against the side of the access cutout. I padded the door metal with a sheet of thick rubber to avoid chipping or bending the metal.
I've only done this once so there are surely some tricks I've missed. I would say it took me half a day including messing around with the assortment of tumblers to make a new lock fit the original key. Best luck.
I hear ya.
DeWitt Harrison
Boulder, CO
87 635CSi
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**Here are some tips and tricks about my favourite Bimmer: The *BMW 6series csi* coupé (production code E24):**
**Some are based on my experiences, some are taken from the BMW Big Coupé Mailing List**

INDEX Removal of the center console Door handle removal Window alignment
Removal of E24 center console: - take out handbrake cover (with power seats, remove buttons by pushing from below through the handbrake opening, pop out small covers at the rear end find the screws at the lower back end. There is another screw at the top under the brushes to remove the front part) pull out towards the back and up - remove gear shift knob (pull strongly!) and leather shift cover - remove ash tray and all window switches - remove screws below ash tray and below shift cover - remove radio and all center console switches (heated seats, fader) - plug out obc-harness (reach through radio opening) (26-pin, same type as at the instrument cluster, pop out securing device first) - remove all screws that hold the lower part of the center console (in driver/pass. side legroom area, open glove box to see the screws, there are also screws below the heater control. It might also be necessary to take out the panel under the steering wheel to get access to all screws, can't remember exactly. Watch closely, most screws are black!) - switch into 2nd gear or put auto tranny to D - pull center console back and up (tilt it) to get it out. Installation is the reverse of removal! HTH, Joachim Steinle, Munich, Germany *Back to the top* Door handle removal 1986-87 door handle: The shop manual helps a little but it lacks decent pictures and anything remotely resembling useful instructions. It basically says "Remove handle." The actual wording was not quite that terse but it was still an extremely concise description of a mechanical Chinese puzzle. The work requires a patient and steady hand and it is best done all in one sitting. If a long span of time elapses between remove and install - for me this means over night - take good notes. The shop manual pictures just are not sufficient. This description applies to the driver's door. Mirror image kinds of adjustments need to be made for the right door. From what I remember about the driver's side handle (viewing the door handle workings from the inside): 1. Remove the door panel. 2. Pull off vapor barrier from rear 1/3 of door. (You will be working in the top of the rear 1/3 and retrieving small bits from the bottom of the rear 1/3.) A magnetic retriever can be a real friend. 3. Detach lower end of actuator rod which connects the lock cylinder to the door latch. (If necessary, remove locking clip at rod's lower connection.) Make note any orientation markings stamped into the end of the lock cylinder. Mine had a small line pointing forward. 4. Detach the upper end of the actuator rod assembly by pushing and pulling out the flat pin which goes through the end of the lock cylinder. It's a bit of a bastard since it's tight but you don't want to break the lock cylinder with heavy tools. After this pin is removed, there is a spring loaded detent ring that can slide off the end of the cylinder and the cylinder itself may be then be pushed out. WARNING! However, in addition to the wound spring you can see, there is a tiny coil spring through a perpendicular bore in the cylinder which pushes two tiny, tiny balls into detents on the inside surface of the detent ring which you cannot see until it's too late. This is the sort of thing you want to deal with on the bench, not in the cramped quarters of the door access hole. If you cannot avoid removing this detent ring until the lock is out of the car, at least be mindful of those hidden, tiny parts under spring pressure. There is some grease to help keep the balls from flying away but ... 5. Remove the clip which holds the electrical "microswitch" to the cast metal switch bracket. On cars with lock heaters (all?), this casting is integral with the heating coil unit and also serves to latch the lock barrel into the handle. Keep track of the delicate metal switch actuator finger behind this switch. It shares the same locating pins as the switch. 6. Push out large "C" retainer clip at rear of handle. This is parallel to the plane of the door skin and separates the heater/switch casting from the lock barrel. Mine released toward the rear. 7. The heater coil / switch casting is now free to slide along the axis of the lock cylinder away from the door skin, toward the inside of the car and off. However, the ends of the wound spring on the detent ring may interfere. If necessary, it is possible to carefully remove the wound spring from the detent ring while leaving the ring in place to trap the inner detent balls mentioned in item 4. 8. Once the heater/switch casting has moved a quarter inch or more away from its normal location on the barrel, the lock barrel may now be rotated 90 degrees to release it from the handle. Tangs on the heater/switch casting normally prevent this rotation. For the driver's side lock, viewing things through the door access cutout, this is a CCW rotation. With the heater/switch casting removed, the entire lock may now be removed from the handle. 9. Remove the lead counterweight bar from the door handle extension arms. This is retained by spring clips in a tricky arrangement. You'll just have to look at it. I had good luck releasing the rear clip first. The the bar may be released by pulling it toward the rear. 10. At the front of the handle, unbolt the tang which contacts the handle pull sensing switch from the interior handle extension arm. This requires a small, 8 mm perhaps, wrench or similar. A compact, 1/4" drive socket may work to speed things up. 11. Remove the handle pull sensing / temperature sensing module which is retained by the forward handle-to-door fastener. I think it's a 10 mm hex nut. 12. Incredible as it seems, the handle may now be wiggled out through the door skin. I don't have a lot to add regarding reassembly. You will have master most of the tricks already. I did find it challenging to press the big "C" clip back into place since there is no room to gain leverage against it, let alone get it into position. finally managed using a small pry bar with the hooked tip against the clip and the shaft against the side of the access cutout. I padded the door metal with a sheet of thick rubber to avoid chipping or bending the metal. I've only done this once so there are surely some tricks I've missed. I would say it took me half a day including messing around with the assortment of tumblers to make a new lock fit the original key. Best luck. I hear ya. DeWitt Harrison Boulder, CO 87 635CSi *Back to the top*

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Updated June 15th 2000