Hi guys!
Not much to report other than turning over 218k miles and adding LED bulbs to rear turn indicators and reverse lights. Still running just fine but I need to find a better solution for the horn. It'll be two years in July since I bought this car and all this time I've been dealing with the extremely wimpy stock horn on this thing. Any suggestions? Also I've been contemplating a few things that I want to do to the car but I don't want to say what exactly yet hehe...
Till next time!
Edit: Whoo hoo! Page 2!
Hello all!
So I finally figured out a solution for the horn on the Mazda..... I'm probably going to go with the horns from a third gen Mitsubishi Outlander. They're a lot louder, as I found out, because my co worker has an Outlander and he scared the E36 M3 out of me lol. Sooooo..... Time for a bit of payback hehe.... anyone know where I can find some? Or if someone could help me out I will pay for both the price and shipping if need be. Contact me here for any other contact info. I would really apperciate it.
Till next time!
Hello again!
Hope all is well and healthy and dealing the best they can with this Covid-19 bullE36 M3 going on.
The other day I got my headlights buffed out by my buddy who does detailing as a side job, and the car looks so much better with them not looking like total crap anymore. I'll tell you this much though, for lenses that have been on been on the car for the past almost 219k miles, they cleaned up extremely well. I also ordered a set of PIAA Superior Bass horns recently, so those will be going on as soon as I can set up a time with my friend. I'm gonna be fun at railroad tracks now lol. And no more wimpy stock horn either haha. I'm also getting my AC charged up this coming Friday so I'm looking forward to that as well. Oh I've also been filling my tank up with 88 octane as of a couple of months ago. The car has 0 issues with it and I'm saving money as well. If I recall correctly it's a 15% ethanol blend, but I've noticed better performance and smoother idling which is nice.
Otherwise nothing else to really report.
Stay safe and healthy and until next time!
Bill
Holy Crap.... 6 months have passed since my last post. Sorry I've been away for so long.
So a few updates. Started a new job at the beginning of this year. Turns out that the place is a total E36 M3hole so I'm moving on. Got into a fender bender with a sixth gen Honda Civic where I got t-boned turning into my bank. Bent the passenger tie rod all to berkley but was fixable. She was down for about a month. New tie rods, strut and spindle were acquired and installed and she was back on the road. Then about a few weeks ago my drivers side HID ballast blew. Thankfully I was able to find two of them for under a hundred bucks off of eBay. If I went to the dealership, I probably would have been out at least $800 or more. Repair was easy once I found out that I didn't have to remove the entire front bumper. I was really glad that I was able to do it myself with the tools I had. While I was installing things, I acquired some LED fog light bulbs and installed those as well. Currently have 222k miles on the odometer and she's still going strong.
I'll try my best to be around here more so I don't worry you guys.
Until next time,
Bill
Good evening all.
I forgot to mention in my last post that I have been going through some familial health issues. Both my father and his brother, my uncle, have been dealing with stage 3 bladder cancer. It's been an extremely stressful past couple of months.. I've been pretty stressed out because I'm worried that I will lose them to this horrible disease. They are in good spirits so that's a plus. But it just seems like when things are going good, bam, another road block. I am particularly worried about my father because he's been having non-stop issues with the tubes and bags that they put in him. His doctor wants to try an aggressive form of immunotherapy but they want his immune system to be stronger before they attempt that. I fear that his body is just rejecting anything that they attempt which isn't good. I don't want him to pass away, but that is a very real possibility. I would really appreciate if the community could keep my family in their thoughts as we deal with this.
In car related news, I purchased a set of LED parking lights the other day and a amber LED light bar, so hopefully those should be in soon.
Till next time.
Bill
Happy Turkey day everyone!
Not much to report really aside from getting an oil change and a new serpentine belt for the Mazda. Ended up picking up a new one last week. Just have to get it installed. Heard it was a bit of a pain in the ass according to a few folks on the Mazda 3 Owners Club FB page because you basically need two people to do it. One to fish the belt down and another to get the belt on to the tensioner and the pulleys. Oh and you have to take the passenger side wheel off too...... This is going to be fun. Oh well. At least I have someone who can help me with that so I'm not too concerned. I don't want to continue playing berking Russian Roulette with it because as I found out, the 2.5 is an interference engine and if that belt breaks, I'll be looking for a new engine and I don't want that to happen. I'm genuinely surprised that the belt has lasted this long.
Also an update on my father.
Monday night he had to be rushed to the hospital because he had a high fever, low blood pressure and a blood infection because of the cancer. My step mom had to call 911 when she got home. They ended up taking him to Cleveland Metro Hospital where they got him back to a sense of normalcy. They ended up transferring him to Cleveland Metro's main campus that same evening. I talked to her yesterday and he's doing a lot better so that's good news. They're currently waiting for a bed at the Cleveland VA, but the VA is currently full due to the pandemic.
Hope all of you have a wonderful holiday.
Till next time.
Bill
Good afternoon all.
No major updates on the Mazda, just a few minor ones.
223k miles as of yesterday afternoon. Starting a new job sometime next year which will give me the chance to put some money into the old girl. If anything I'll get a new front bumper assembly, refreshed braking system with new rotors and pads, new exhaust system with O2 sensors, and possibly a cat back system, new passenger side door, refresh the entire suspension, new wheels and tires, new speakers and an amplifier, a new valve cover gasket, a better battery, a new starter, new AC compressor and a few other things. Hoping for a remote starter this Christmas. I'm going to keep this car as long as I can so I'm going to make it better and more comfortable for me to drive, and hopefully help keep my confidence in it's reliability, as I don't want to have to pay for another car any time soon. She's served me very well in the almost 2 and a half years I've owned her and I'm looking forward to many more enjoyable miles out of her.
Until next time
Bill
Hello everyone, long time no see.
It has been an extremely tough year for me. We lost my father on the first of February, a couple of days after his 69th birthday after his long fought battle with stage 3 bladder cancer and I am still reeling. I still can't believe he's gone.
I hope everyone is well.
The Mazda continues to soldier on. Had to replace a few things, like brakes, shocks, a wheel bearing, ac compressor and most recently a passenger side tie rod end. I have a dry rotted hose on the gas tank which is causing the check engine light to come on for a small EVAP leak, so that's something I'll have to deal with soon. And my mechanic had told me that the frame is good for at least another couple of years if not more, so that's some good news. I usually run it through the car wash to keep the salt off of it a couple of times a week during the winter months. This coming Monday, I'll be getting a remote start and a new set of speakers installed so I am really looking forward to that. Currently at 232,700 miles on the clock.
Take care and hope to be back soon
Bill
Hello everyone.
The Mazda hit 240k miles the other day. Still dealing with the small EVAP leak. Took her on a 700 mile round trip to McDonough New York a couple of weeks back for the Gambler 500 New York's 2022 Spring Broke event and had a blast where I got to beat the berkley out of a 2001 GMC Yukon, so that was fun. Bottomed out on logs, trees, rocks, you name it, and the Yukon just looked at me like, "Is that all you got?" I was on street tires the whole event and didn't have any issues. There was a couple of sticky spots, but I just stuck her in 4 Low and 2nd gear and let the 5.3 do all the work. The rear diff was pissing fluid onto the rear brakes so I had a cloud of smoke following me haha. Now I need to find a Yukon as my Gambler Rig.... Damn it 
Also got to ride in my buddy's 2021 Ford Bronco. New sway bar endlinks were installed recently. A remote start was also installed before Christmas along with the speakers, as well as a new battery because the cold days made it decide not to hold a charge. Sooo $200 something odd dollars later minus the core charge, I have a Duralast Gold in the car. As far as needed repairs currently, new gas tank, exhaust, and some suspension work on the drivers side front. Otherwise, she's been just chugging along without complaint.
Catch you all later.
Bill
