What the heck do you use for coolant in that thing? Seawater?
I get to replace the alternator in the e32 tomorrow. When I left work for lunch it turned over a little slowly, then while driving the ABS light came on, and the cluster display started to dim. Then the radio and HVAC fan quit; voltage was getting low. With everything shut off it ran ok, but about a mile from home I forgot and used the blinkers when making a turn, and the whole thing just about shut down. By the time I got home it was barely idling, and when I checked the voltage (with it running) it was down to 5.4 volts. Yup; bad alternator. I guess swapping the alternator in my daughter's e36 a couple of weeks ago was just practice for this one; I can actually see the alternator without having to remove parts on the 735i, so I think it'll be a bit easier than the 318ti.
Same deal happened to me a few weeks ago....but at night. Managed to make it up the 1200ft climb that is Afton Mtn...but then it was drive and not see (headlamps off) or stop. I stopped. Coulda made it home if it was daytime.
slammin_e28 wrote:Same deal happened to me a few weeks ago....but at night. Managed to make it up the 1200ft climb that is Afton Mtn...but then it was drive and not see (headlamps off) or stop. I stopped. Coulda made it home if it was daytime.
slammin_e28 wrote:Same deal happened to me a few weeks ago....but at night. Managed to make it up the 1200ft climb that is Afton Mtn...but then it was drive and not see (headlamps off) or stop. I stopped. Coulda made it home if it was daytime.
One time 20 miles from nowhere on I80 in Nevada with a dead alternator I disconnected one headlight to get further on what charge I had. By the time I got to a gas station in Battle Mountain you couldn't even tell that one headlight was on.
slammin_e28 wrote:Same deal happened to me a few weeks ago....but at night. Managed to make it up the 1200ft climb that is Afton Mtn...but then it was drive and not see (headlamps off) or stop. I stopped. Coulda made it home if it was daytime.
One time 20 miles from nowhere on I80 in Nevada with a dead alternator I disconnected one headlight to get further on what charge I had. By the time I got to a gas station in Battle Mountain you couldn't even tell that one headlight was on.
Ha! I shoulda done that. My luck I would have gotten pulled over....Officer....mind giving me a ride home?
Ended up rolling by the next day with the Rover and towed the thing home. So far that Rover has been the most reliable car I own....knock on wood.
The e32's alternator played hard-to-get today, but it got done. That was a bear of a job, much harder than I expected. The new one is in and charging fine, but there's something else going on with the car, and I'm thinking coolant temp sensor. Runs like crap when cold (idles rough, spews black smoke occasionally on cold starts) and has an occasional miss at steady speeds. I've got another day off tomorrow, so I'll be breaking out the Bentley and DVM for some serious shooting of troubles.
Finished the Honda timing belt/water pump replacement and I only had two small bolts left over.
Now I just need to get the balls up to start it, I think the belt might be off a tooth or two. Maybe I'll have a beer first.
Found a place in Australia Marks 4WD, sells engine swap kits for the Land Rover Discovery II, a bolt in small block Chevrolet as usual. I ordered the kit, done with ck engine lights and all the other falter-all the Discovery offers over and above a sweet ride and mountain goat off road capability. So the MGB might get an Aluminum V8 (no time soon) yet since its age has exempted it from Louisiana emission control check. Seems like all the good stuff anymore is coming out of Australia.
Karl Grau wrote:Finished the Honda timing belt/water pump replacement and I only had two small bolts left over.
The bolts were for the fan shroud I forgot to put back on.
It started up without exploding and it ran great on the test drive to the beer store. It was kind of a pain in the ass but it was good practice for M20 timing belt that's pending.
I made incremental progress on the track car. Didn't have too much time this weekend. Pulled the engine off the stand to install the flywheel, which I need to do so I can lock the timing so I can pull the Vanos. However the new flywheel bolts I have (stock M50 M12x1.25 x 50mm) are too long for the aftermarket flywheel. Measured the original dual-mass unit and realized it is 21mm thicker than the new one. New one has a 3mm spacer, so the ideal bolts are 32mm long. I have access to 30mm and 35mm bolts. Any opinions on which to use?
I threw then engine back on the stand so I could return the (borrowed) hoist. So I turned my attention elsewhere. Installed the rear subframe, trailing arms, and upper and lower control arms with all new hardware. Got the front subframe, new (reman ZHP) steering rack, control arms, and tie rods in place. Now the car just needs the knuckles bolted on the front and dampers & springs to be a roller. I pulled the steering column coupling off the splines, cut off the rivets, chucked the worn out rubber guibo, and installed an AKG poly steering coupler. This and the front diff bushing (also AKG) are the only poly pieces on the car. Front diff bushing was delrin, but the inner sleeve of that siezed to the through-bolt and the delrin itself was looking pretty abused (chipping away around the edges, oddly). So I put the poly piece in, which at 75D is about as hard as the delrin that came out. Pressing it in was an awkward task given the subframe's shape.
It is amazing how tightly and smoothly everything glides through its range of motion. No rubber left in the suspension or steering--the car has spherical bearings at all moving joints and aluminum for all mounts and supports excluding the aforementioned front diff bushing. Obviously the driveshaft giubo and the rear shifter bushing are exceptions to the "no rubber" comment.
It requires removal of the entire center console back to front, so I've only been putting it off for five years. During the process a neighbor called the police and the cops stopped by to ask whether I owned the car, or if I was stealing a stereo
If you can't see it....there is coolant pouring out of this thing.
1yr old radiator. Something got in between it and the fan, left a bunch of divots in the core....then pierced it. Heard it bouncing around up there then smelled coolant....then the temps started rising. Fuk. Coolant poured out as fast as I could pour water in. Fan is in tact. IDK what the fuck got in there. Rovers @ Wintergreen is this weekend too. Great timing. Just great.
New fuel pump in the E34, I also fixed the telescoping for the steering column. I discovered that the person who ran the speaker wiring ran it in front of the column, preventing it from the full range of movement, the nut was also over tightened.
New rotors and pads all the way around on the Jetta TDI. Now I can put her up for sale with a clean conscience. Been a good car for the last five years. Sad to see it go.
Last week the e32 was running like crap. I didn't take the time to do much troubleshooting on it like I'd planned, but did pop the hood to check a couple of things and noticed that the idle smoothed out considerably when I touched the connector on the AFM. Shut the car off, cleaned the contacts on both sides, and it's been running like a champ ever since.
Changed out the radiator in the D2. Something got in there and punctured the year old replacement that was done when the headgaskets were replaced.
You're supposed to pull the grill, etc off the front of the truck to do this....but with a right angle screwdriver I could easily not do that. Ended up removing the trans and oil coolers to mount them to the new radiator. Lost a good amount of ATF.....and I think it was already low. Went to move the truck and no go. So figured it's a good time to replace the trans filter. Did that, went to fill it and the cooler line blew off. Stupid quick connect fittings....fuck those things.
Rovers at Wintergreen starts Friday.......and I'm taking it to the wire getting ready apparently.
Touring came home from the body shop wearing a "new" front bumper. Deductible well spent. Next time i'll have my wife back into something so I can get some of the hatch rust fixed.
For the first time in 2 years, the track car is a roller. Finished getting the suspension and steering in. It's currently sitting on a used (10k miles) Bilstein and H&R setup and a set of staggered DSIIs that came off an old parts car; they will all be for sale when the build is done. But for now they are keeping the car off the ground.
Installed new: ZHP rack (refurb from Rack Doctor), AKG poly steering giubo, tie rods, control arms. Reinstalled front hubs and got the shocks and struts on all around. Threw on rotors and wheels (no braking system yet).
I pulled the pedal bracket and clutch master, clutch and brake switches (no longer will be used), and front door glass and window regulators/ motors.. Still need to work out a couple things with the doors: 1) How far to strip them down (cut away the interior metal? Do away with stock door handle?), and 2) whether to go with lexan for rear door windows. There is some remaining sound deadening hiding around the car that I need to pull out, and I need to mock up the new brake/ clutch pedals and get a friend to weld in brackets for them, along with new master cylinders and reservoirs. Once any welding on the body is done, it can go for paint. Then I can put in the driveline, fit the new suspension bits, and actually have a working car. Maybe even this year!
I changed the oil in my air compressor. It's up in the attic, so I kinda forget it's there. First time I've changed the oil since I installed the whole thing in 2011. The old oil looked brand new...
Plugs cleaned and gapped, then some fresh VR1 in the e30. Dumped a full trunk full at the recycle station and lost some weight. That "blinky-blinky" turn signal and intermittent horn held out long enough for Saturday's yearly inspection, so I rewarded her with a few trips to 7000rpm.
Took the e46 to a glass shop for an estimate to get the windscreen replaced. The kid at the counter came up with $180. I'm like, are you sure that's installed? About that time the blonde babe pops out of the office behind him to check his quote. She says she'd ordinarily price the job at $410 because there's a $50 molding and 4 hours of shop time involved on top of the glass cost. He was new at the job, but since he'd already quoted it, they'd stand by the price.
By the time I got to a gas station in Battle Mountain you couldn't even tell that one headlight was on.
It was kind of a pain in the ass but it was good practice for M20 timing belt that's pending.
