In reply to OHSCrifle :
I have the same floor liners - I'm not crazy about them (too slippery when wet), and have casually thought about replacing them with rubber mats - but in any case, I misplaced the anchors the year after I bought them. I contacted Weathertech and they shipped out replacements at no cost.
I love the look of the staggered 18" style 246 wheels but I'm not liking the feel of the high performance run flat summer tires on worn suspension. Not enough sidewall.
Thus, I've posted the wheel and tires I grabbed from FBM... back on FBM.
Will see what happens next. Also stumbled across a guy called Strut Monkey online who sells pre-assembled suspension kits with all the bump stops and misc hardware. Soup to nuts. Price appears to be barely more than the sum of the parts and very convenient. He seems to run a sale on Black Friday so going to keep an eye on that.
02Pilot said:In reply to OHSCrifle :
I have the same floor liners - I'm not crazy about them (too slippery when wet), and have casually thought about replacing them with rubber mats - but in any case, I misplaced the anchors the year after I bought them. I contacted Weathertech and they shipped out replacements at no cost.
They just did the same for me!
Weekend update: new Bosch wipers, new stickers and a new CEL.
FCP Euro order placed. Gas cap, leak detection pump, grommet and filter.
Still wearing the staggered wheels and run flats.
Money light resolved.
Picked up a E90 Haynes manual a couple weeks ago. Replaced:
Fuel tank cap (Blau 16117222391)
Leak detection pump & grommet (Bosch 16137193479, BMW 16131183912),
Engine air filter (Mann C27114). What a goofy bit of packaging this airbox is! Fortunately even though it's a pain in the ass, it did a great job capturing a ton of salty sand that made the trip from FL to GA.
also purchased but didn’t install a “leak detection pump filter” (BMW 16137439425) from FCP Euro. It appears to be a vapor canister filter but I'm not sure where this canister is located. The canister I pulled to swap the pump appears to be a sealed unit.
Anyone?
What EVAP code are you getting? Every once and a while I get a close gas cap message and eventually a CEL but it is very intermittent. Following along to see how you make out as I haven't really dug into my issue yet.
In reply to adam525i :
2A17 DME: DMTL, system fault.
Replacing the leak detection pump seems to have resolved the CEL.
One other symptom I noticed before the CEL that my subsequent reading says could be related... was the fuel tank would never fill fully on the gauge. It would stop at about 7/8 full. During a very short test drive, I filled it yesterday and got it to about 15/16 so I will see how it does after some additional miles.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:To OHSCrifle: if they are the same part number as the E92 (2010 328i RWD), i believe i have a set i will send you for free, because someone from this forum sent them to me for free. I never installed them, then sold my E92 a couple weeks ago and these were not included in sale.
Acquired Whiteline subframe bushing inserts for the price of a future beverage. Thanks Angry!
For giggles, I decided to buy a Carfax report. Reddit said I could get one for $8.75 from carfaxvinreports.com - which seemed like a risky click but it worked (and it appears to be a genuine Carfax). It is pretty informative except all the work I have paid a shop to do in the last four months is not listed. Still a fun car. Hope to get new suspension parts during Black Friday sales.
Notables: regular oil changes, oil pan gasket replaced at 75k. Brakes flushed a few times. Trans fluid replaced 2x since 80k. Replace the AC evaporator 2x in first 20k.
captainawesome said:Gonna follow along on this one. I've almost pulled the trigger on a few of these over the years but never did. Now if I could find a slicktop white auto 128i with paddles I'd be golden.
No paddles but this one is a slick top in GA. NMNA
Got package 1 of 2 from Chris at www.strutmonkey.com (ordered on Monday when he announced Black Friday discounts).
I decided to update my base suspension to factory M-sport spec parts. New springs and Bilstein B4 dampers and all the hardware - fully pre-assembled.
Package 2 with the new rear springs should arrive tomorrow. I also got a breaker bar, a strut spreader tool and a set of e-torx impact sockets from the big river. Early Christmas.
Good day today
Package 2 arrived from Strutmonkey with the new rear springs so tonight I thank GRM for giving me the confidence to tackle this suspension refresh. Over about three hours, the OE front struts and coils have been replaced. It was a first for me but I got some new tools so all in all it's a #win.
There was not much drama except the drivers side front strut fought me a bit more than all the YouTube videos that I watched. But with some patience I got it in. My hands and back hurt but I hope to work on the rears tomorrow.
On a less good note.. found a coolant leak.
I removed the bottom engine cover to improve access to my lower control arm bolts. With the cover off I looked around and found a new (?) leak. This photo is looking up at the bottom corner of the radiator on the drivers side - at the hose fitting just above the rad drain. What does GRM think this means? Just a hose or do I need a new radiator (and water pump, t-stat, etc ".. due to age and mileage)?
I decided when I'm done with the dampers and springs to put my original 17x7 (square) style 256 wheels back on the car. The wide tires on staggered 18's looked awesome but I didn't care for the ride quality of the 35 and 40 profile run flat tires.
The summer tires also didn't like the 20 degree temperature today at all - so even though I'm just north of ATL I've swapped to my "winter set".
A couple more hours on Saturday morning and I've got the full damper and springs refresh complete.
Took it for a test drive and... SILENCE! in place of the old creaking and groaning. There's nothing like fresh soft parts.
The old spring seats were remarkably decent looking for sixteen years old. Some cracking visible and the left rear shock was shot.. and the rear foam parts were pretty ragged.
The old front strut assemblies don't "look" bad (the bump stops look just fine in fact - perhaps they got replaced at some point) but the new found silence tells a different story.
Having long legs forces me to sit back pretty far so I Christmas gifted myself a steering wheel extender from 949 Racing.
Not cheap but hopefully this will help with the ergonomics for a giraffe in a small coupe. I have long arms but would like them to not be so straight all the time.
Also picked up some BMW coolant, and o-ring and hose for my leaky radiator hose - hopefully that doesn't turn into a fiasco.
Lastly, I didn't feel comfortable under the car with the aluminum jack point adaptor pucks teetering on the top of my concave jack stands so I ordered a different style that wrap around like this:
leaving this for myself and others:
You are doing a great job with this car! It's fun to watch the progress.
dyintorace said:You are doing a great job with this car! It's fun to watch the progress.
Thanks. I sometimes wish I had held out for a manual transmission car but living in ATL and using this for a DD.. I don't miss shifting.
Otherwise it's running great and with second hand OE sport seats and newly refreshed M-sport springs and dampers... it's quite fun.
I just priced tires for the Style 207M wheels I got from you and they're remarkably inexpensive. If I can sell the original Style 256 wheels I will change them - otherwise I'll put the 207s on eventually (whenever I need to replace tires).
I toyed with buying a second hand set of Quickjacks but have pretty much decided I'm not doing enough under the car to justify the spend [rather dump the money into my retirement savings]. With the safer jack stand tops I should be fine for most everything - even the rear subframe bushing inserts I got from AngryCorvair.
Long term plans include the 1M/M3 front control arms that increase the camber. And probably a water pump sometime soon... then just drive it.
I also removed the limo tint. I couldn't see out of the damn thing when I backed out of my driveway before sunrise. Much better now.
(photo before I sold the second hand 135i wheels)
In reply to OHSCrifle :
I would replace the whole coolant system. Water pump, hoses, etc. Especially if there's no record of it being done. Easier access and less likely to be chasing down leaks down the road (and now lol)
I didn't watch the video, but what do you think of the steering wheel extender?
Does it make turn signal and other stalk usage feel unnatural?
I mean, I know it's a BMW, so turn signals might not get used much, lol.
In reply to OHSCrifle :
I need to have the tint redone on my Touareg. Car got tinted down in Arizona and is much darker than I like, I have a hard time seeing out of it when it's dark out
docwyte said:In reply to OHSCrifle :
I need to have the tint redone on my Touareg. Car got tinted down in Arizona and is much darker than I like, I have a hard time seeing out of it when it's dark out
I don't get tinting car windows past a very minimal level. If other drivers can't see the driver's face or hand gestures.. it's dangerous. Then you get people tinting their windshields too. It's nuts. JMO.
And get off my lawn!
wvumtnbkr said:I didn't watch the video, but what do you think of the steering wheel extender?
Does it make turn signal and other stalk usage feel unnatural?
I mean, I know it's a BMW, so turn signals might not get used much, lol.
I haven't received the steering wheel spacer yet. But I do expect the signal and wiper and cruise control stalks will be a bit harder to reach - but I think it'll be okay. If I had tiny hands I might be more concerned.
EchoTreeSix said:In reply to OHSCrifle :
I would replace the whole coolant system. Water pump, hoses, etc. Especially if there's no record of it being done. Easier access and less likely to be chasing down leaks down the road (and now lol)
I get that but I'm trying to find the delicate balance between reliable and perfect. Trying to break my usual habit...
OHSCrifle said:docwyte said:In reply to OHSCrifle :
I need to have the tint redone on my Touareg. Car got tinted down in Arizona and is much darker than I like, I have a hard time seeing out of it when it's dark out
I don't get tinting car windows past a very minimal level. If other drivers can't see the driver's face or hand gestures.. it's dangerous. Then you get people tinting their windshields too. It's nuts. JMO.
And get off my lawn!
I agree. I also have had cars in hot places where the ac could not keep up unless there is tint on the windows.
The cheat code is to get ceramic tint. With it you don't need something really dark to get the temperature control you want in a sunny climate.
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