Self maintained?

PKS
For my first year of ownership I did all my own work except mounting the tires. At the start of my second year (after 4000+ miles last year) I sent the speedo and clock to Palo Alto Speedo for service. That will be my first bill for service.

I hope I never have to open the motor! I am comfortable with most everything else. Doing a valve adjustment is borderline for me on this motor.
Ken

 

The 400i is a great car to work on. Everything is rock solid and built for the long run.
The only item that defies repair is the Bosch K-Jet fuel injection system. When they work, they work. When they don't, they never will. The central piston in the fuel meter is built with VERY tight tolerances and once the proper fit is lost, forget it.
Mine went bad on the right side and now I'm in the process of replacing both with an electronic system. It went lean and caused the right bank to overheat.

Other than that, everything else just takes time.

 

I do all my own work, except I had my tires mounted on the wheels by a shop also.
There is so much of every thing that things just take a lot longer. Two alternaters, two fuel systoms, 12 cylinders, lots of little acorn nuts, etc.
What really got me on my car the first year is the amount of repair for stuff that should have been done along time ago. Retorqueing the heads, changing v-belts (took me 11 hours!!) wrong thermal switich for the electric fans, came on to late. One fan did not even work. bad rear whell bearing, new brake bads in front, batt. hold down bolt broken in tray, etc. So it is taking a little time to catch up on all the previous owners and mech. neglect.

 

I change my own oil/filters and little stuff like that.

 

Just to confirm Mark's view on K-jet some more, My car came to me with both fuel dist. just changed to NOS. I chose the 400I over the 400 becouse I thought the K-jet would be less trouble than the carbs. shortly after getting the car home it quit running on one bank, changed bad fuel pump. Then later a gas smell in back of car, found bad acumalter, changed it. Then it would not start after it got hot, bad check valve in the other pump had to change whole pump since the earler pumps the check valve was internal in the pump. I also changed all the injectors from the old steel body type to the new fuel compatable bronze body type, I now belive the carbs would have been much cheaper and easery, or maybe a new fuel injection systom like Mark is doing.