What did you do to your other car(s) today?

[1st 5er]

[a]

Procrastinating on tightening up the Rat's LR brake shoes.

[cddallara]

Installed an end tuning chip and a 413 dme in the wagon.

Initial results are favorable.

[cddallara]

The grey is a tad darker than stock, but the fit is fantastic.

The woofer is hideous, but sounds good, and reasonably priced.

GAS 10 channel crossover, PPI 500watt amp, Luke Box. Stock late model e34 speakers.

It's nice to be able to turn it up loud!!

[Ray's Classic]

The E28 M535i was suffering from moderate power loss when accelerating out of tight bends, or doing a u-turn.

Replaced Tank Fuel pump - the general symptom of reduced fuel flow. Sorted.

Fuel tank in excellent condition. No corrosion inside or outside, and no sediment. (I waxoyled the tank body many years ago, thus the condition).

If doing this replacement, in addition to working safe, thoroughly brush and vacuum clean around the pump flange and tank, as dirt will drop in. Also clean around the sending unit (part of the assembly), as this is removed first, so that the pump can be manipulated from the tank.

[wkohler]

The grey is a tad darker than stock, but the fit is fantastic.

The woofer is hideous, but sounds good, and reasonably priced.

GAS 10 channel crossover, PPI 500watt amp, Luke Box. Stock late model e34 speakers.

It's nice to be able to turn it up loud!!

So how easily does that move for touring-related tasks?

[cddallara]

It isn't mounted to anything really. It's a 'friction fit' against the back seat and shock towers. Disconnect it, pull it out.

I personally haven't folded my seats down for quite some time so its not a big issue for me.

[wkohler]

That's the best part of that car, how easy it is to do it. I usually find myself with at least one seat down in the back. I like the stock stereo anyway. It's really nice.

[davintosh]

My daughter is home for the weekend, and mentioned that her Compact has been making a strange noise when idling, and the lights flicker a little; headlights, dash lights & dome lights. Checked the voltage at the battery when running, and it was a little high, so I think the voltage regulator is bad. And this on a remanufactured alternator I installed in April. I drove it over to the Advance Auto where I got the alternator & had them test it; the battery showed about 10% more cranking amps than it was rated for (probably getting over charged) and the output on the alternator was about a volt higher than it should be. The alternator is still under warranty, so they ordered another, and it'll be in on Monday. So that means I get to tear the airbox out again to get at the alternator again. Such a pain in the arse.

At least our hot spell has passed, and the high on Monday is supposed to be in the 70's (instead of the 90's, like we've had for the last two weeks.)

Oh, and tonight the wife & I drove a couple of cars to the parking ramp at the hospital about 8 blocks away to protect them from a passing hail storm. A cold front blew through tonight that triggered some heavy rain & golf ball-sized hail. It didn't last long, but it was impressive to watch!

[djazz]

Yeah, we getting a cold front too. Highs should drop down into the mid 90s.

As far as other cars go, I think Cindy bought herself an E36 today. Details when available. She's gonna end up with more cars than I have!

[1st 5er]

Yeah, we getting a cold front too. Highs should drop down into the mid 90s.

As far as other cars go, I think Cindy bought herself an E36 today. Details when available. She's gonna end up with more cars than I have!

[davintosh]

Spending some quality time under the hood of the 318ti today, replacing the alternator. Also decided it was a good time to change the oil, and while under the car noticed one of the sway bar brackets on the front had broken loose; turns out to be another common problem with the e36, common enough that replacement brackets are readily available.

Of course, installation involves cutting the old ones out and welding the replacements back in. Great.

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14838

[Adam W in MN]

Had to do new pads and rotors on the E39 540i, brake pad warning light went off a week or so ago. The local place was going to do fluid flush and stainless lines for me, but I was going to save money and do the pads and rotors myself this afternoon then take it there thursday.

On the very last corner of the car, the very last bolt to loosen (caliper bracket) the big 19mm shears off, mutha F... Tried drilling it out and had a spare boot that was close but a little too long, but couldn't drill the stub out. Gave up, put it all back together, and drove it to the place less than a mile away very carefully with shifting and use of the emergency brake. Didn't have to hit the brakes once.

Hopefully they can get to it tomorrow since its 2 days early.

[lance1a]

Bought it back.....my old e36 320i coupe. Bit odd really since no one in their right mind would buy this car. I did though, about three years ago. 1992 (so cast iron block which is one of the factors that I took into consideration), one previous owner car with full selling dealer history up to 425000 miles. Now on 454000 miles and still going great. I'm the only one who has serviced the car since it changed hands, even when my customer had it and I'm a fully trained BMW tech anyway...so in my eyes it's still full BMW history. I get a lot of stick about the next statement.....about the truth of it anyway....it's still on the original clutch and the motor has never been opened. I can prove this from the full BMW history that came with the car incl three service books fully stamped and every invoice and accompanying BMW check sheet.
It needs refreshing, so whilst some might think I'm nuts trying to wring more out of the old girl, I have a fondness for the car that makes me want to keep her on the road.

[djazz]

Bought it back.....my old e36 320i coupe. Bit odd really since no one in their right mind would buy this car. I did though, about three years ago. 1992 (so cast iron block which is one of the factors that I took into consideration), one previous owner car with full selling dealer history up to 425000 miles. Now on 454000 miles and still going great. I'm the only one who has serviced the car since it changed hands, even when my customer had it and I'm a fully trained BMW tech anyway...so in my eyes it's still full BMW history. I get a lot of stick about the next statement.....about the truth of it anyway....it's still on the original clutch and the motor has never been opened. I can prove this from the full BMW history that came with the car incl three service books fully stamped and every invoice and accompanying BMW check sheet.
It needs refreshing, so whilst some might think I'm nuts trying to wring more out of the old girl, I have a fondness for the car that makes me want to keep her on the road.

You're what we call "taeched." Nothing wrong with that. Most of us here have the same affliction. Pretty nice looking car too.

[Ray's Classic]

Found the root cause of door latching with more force.

Normally, the E28 doors close with a deliciously firm sound - seeing as they are double rubbered and solidly engineered, and require no real force.

Greased the lock plates and found one of the clasp plastic covers (Bump Stop) was cracked, which caused me to check the other doors. The one door had lost its bump stop.

With a bit of thought I realised how essential the little plastic cap is, as without it the C-clasp on the door will latch late as the door is closed (also make a metallic clunk sound), and thus affect the timing of the latching as the door meets the seals and the latch plate.

Set of 4 new ones on order.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showphoto.do?id=51211809735

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=41&fg=40

[Ray's Classic]

Bought it back.....my old e36 320i coupe. Bit odd really since no one in their right mind would buy this car. I did though, about three years ago. 1992 (so cast iron block which is one of the factors that I took into consideration), one previous owner car with full selling dealer history up to 425000 miles. Now on 454000 miles and still going great. I'm the only one who has serviced the car since it changed hands, even when my customer had it and I'm a fully trained BMW tech anyway...so in my eyes it's still full BMW history. I get a lot of stick about the next statement.....about the truth of it anyway....it's still on the original clutch and the motor has never been opened. I can prove this from the full BMW history that came with the car incl three service books fully stamped and every invoice and accompanying BMW check sheet.
It needs refreshing, so whilst some might think I'm nuts trying to wring more out of the old girl, I have a fondness for the car that makes me want to keep her on the road.

Excellent to get the car back. I hope to have at least one of my cars reach 1/2 million miles. Currently reached the Moon on my E30 325i, so all I have to do now is make it back ! I'm proud of my odometers.

[mkoepp]

I finally got around to getting my Chevy II running.



I decided to use an external fuel supply to eliminate possible bad fuel and or lines. Now I need to drain the tank and replace fuel and brake lines.

[w0014170]

New wheels & Michelins with 4 wheel alignment, instrument cluster & detail for Rhonda's car.

Located an entire E55 interior with ortho seats for her car in black leather to replace the silly grey leather, waiting on her to say yea or nay

[djazz]

I have various alternative names for the Taurus. Unfortunately I can't repeat them here.

Last night I "supervised" while William helped his sister replace the rack that's been peeing all over the driveway.

[1st 5er]

One step closer... http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?p=1189191#1189191

[a]

Spent a buncha time fooling around with a stuck LR brake on the Rat. Turned out to be a frozen E brake cable. I tried to free it up, but it was crunchy and the out side jacket had failed. The plastic cable jacket was cracked. I looked the cable up on Auto Zone's site. The store downtown had one for twenny bux. . I have 70 $ into this particular brake. The new Chinese parts are cheap and available. Trouble is I have replaced 90% of the entire brake system. I prolly should replace the RR cable too. The set up was easy to work on but cheesy. The last E brake cable, I replaced was on a 58 Bug over 40 yrs ago.

[1st 5er]

A couple of hours on Monday night, and another tonight, the T got:
a new aluminum thermostat housing,
a new thermostat,
a new water pump,
new serpentine belts,
a new to her radiator,
and new coolant.
Now to get her up in the air, level, to replace the spilled a/t fluid.

[unt0uchable]

We picked up a new daily for the wife a few weeks ago. Here is sitting in the parking lot of our hotel in Fort Dodge, IA where we drove to pick it up from.


Then last weekend I decided to get all crazy with a variable speed buffer and came out with this:


It's a 2008 Saab 9-7x Aero (essentially a Trailblazer SS rebadged) - LS2 under the hood, awd putting the power down. It's fun to roll up on Mustangs and then smoke em off the line. Puts a big on my face, and hers too.

[geordi]

Put new rubber on...



for the drive to this...

[alabbasi]

I've been trying to focus on the Porsche over the last couple of weeks. One of the things that I was able to organize was a replacement exhaust system. The one that was on the car was an aftermarket system that made a lot of noise. Something I would have loved when I was 20, but not so much now.

I found a used OE muffler in Oklahoma city, so I drove up there and took a look.

Before mounting, I thought i would clean it up a little bit so I laid it out and hit the pipes with a scuff pad which took off most of the corrosion on the popes. For the mufflers, I decided to paint them in a flat black high temp paint.













It cleaned up pretty well, so the following day, I ran it to the muffler shop to have it mounted. It sounds so much better now it was almost fun on the drive home... had it bot been for the fact that the A/C was not working and it was 105 degrees outside.

Here's what the old unit looked like. I would expect that though it's louder, it's probably more restrictive then the OE mufler.






Yesterday, I decided to take a look at the a/c system to see what was going on. I suspected the heater control valve and after a few back and forth on the rennlist forum, I decided to replace the heater valve and ordered one today.

I started taking the air cleaner assembly apart to get to the heater valve which is controlled by vacuum so before I continued, I decided to chase the vacuum line going to the heater valve down to see if there were any breaks.

Sure enough, while the vacuum line was intact, it went to a 4 way connector and one of the other lines was broken which resulted in weak vacuum that kept the heater valve open. I reconnected the line and cranked the car. I was able to see the heater valve close and the a/c very quickly started to blow cold. I'll leave the heater valve for replacement for another day. It's not always this easy, but when it is, it's very nice.

[unt0uchable]

Nice setup for the Porsche! Looks like it turned out great.

[alabbasi]

Yep, now I'm on the hunt for an exhaust system for my 85 m635. Apparently BMW is refusing to allow their dealers to order parts for Euro cars. I guess that they must still be upset about all the cars that were imported 30 years ago on the grey market. Man they can hold a grudge.

[Mike W.]

Yep, now I'm on the hunt for an exhaust system for my 85 m635. Apparently BMW is refusing to allow their dealers to order parts for Euro cars. I guess that they must still be upset about all the cars that were imported 30 years ago on the grey market. Man they can hold a grudge.

I've heard if you show proof of ownership of said gray market car they can order them. No personal experience though. What about Blunttech, I think they can do dealer parts.

[alabbasi]

Apparently not, after talking to the BMW dealer, I decided to call the customer relations number of BMW USA and seek an explanation. They confirmed the policy but refused to give an explanation.