PDA

View Full Version : The Horney Plug 2.0



Hornung418
11-20-2011, 05:54 PM
So a little back story for everyone:

I did the cooling overhaul this past Summer at The First Annual Mafia Family Reunion at Dane's house. Was quite the bitch of a task. I replaced all of my drive belt components and everything but the radiator in the cooling system. Getting ready to fill the fill the system back up with coolant and I misplaced the Block Drain Plug :facepalm

Long story short, Dane has a spare M52TUB28 in his garage and he graciously let me have the plug from that block. That plug became known as 'The Horney Plug' after me.

Fast forward to a month ago. Coolant starts to leak from somewhere on my engine, I'm thinking it's something new...so that would be the heater lines or some of the hard plastic return lines under the manifold...UGH not what I wanted to deal with on my Thanksgiving break :/

So I tear into it first thing this morning, it's a brisk 50 degrees and it's all very familiar. Fan comes out, Loosen Power Steering and Water Pump Pulleys (Which are under drive pulleys) belts come off, driver headlight comes out, intake comes off. I drain all the coolant from the Radiator, Expansion Tank and Block. Soon as that's done, I take the Upper Radiator Hose, remove the return and heater lines from the expansion tank and up and out it comes. Next up are the WP and PS pulleys. I finish unscrewing them and they come off.

Now that they're out of the way, I can clearly see the mess I've made :( Coolant is everywhere on the front of the block! I followed it all the way up to the Thermostat...which was replaced at Dane's with a new gasket. So I need to get a new gasket :/ My only hints to what could have happened was the fact that I never plugged it in after the refresh. Dunno if that would cook the gasket or some how cause it to fail...

So I continue to the Oil Filter Housing Gasket and Intake Camshaft Position Sensor O-Ring repair. I followed Scorpious' DIY for that :thumbsup Thanks for doing that! Boy was it a mess back there! No pics of that, I was all greased up and didn't want anything to do with my phone. I will say this tho, my alternator's power supply is different than the ZHP in the DIY Video. Instead of a high strength plastic 17mm cap, I have a rubber flap that peels back and underneath that is a 13mm metal nut that is undone and then the flap needs to be pulled down to remove the power cable.

Getting ready to pull the OFH and realize that I need to drain the housing of Oil...I don't have a '32mm' socket or open ended wrench to do so...So off to Advance...Get there, they don't have a '32mm' socket...go to Pep Boys, none there either...Go to the AutoZone (which is fairly new to town, YAY!) And they have the '32mm' socket I've been looking for! So I buy the damned thing and scoot on home. Go a head and try it out...no dice. WTF?! How did I get the wrong one?! Check out online what I need to get and it's a mothertrucking 36mm socket! Head over to AutoZone and make the return and pay an extra 6 bucks for 4 trucking millimeters...Scoot back to the house and continue my business as intended.

So I get the OFH off and I can clearly see the mess under the intake...it's everywhere...and covered in road grime and other crap. I clean as needed and try and soak up all the oil, the rest should just burn off. I also replaced the Intake CPS O-ring which was never the right size to begin with. Didn't get one when I initially did it and had to get the Standard equivalent to the OEM piece.

Everything is clean and I'm getting ready to button everything up. Clockwork in reverse. Start filling with coolant and I get one gallon in with heater on 91 and the blower on low. Start to pour the second gallon in and I hear it...trickling at my feet. I stop what I'm doing and drop to the floor floor, do a do a split split...Poke up under the radiator and what do you know, "Where the fuck is the radiator drain plug?!" Seriously...who is a repeat offender of this shit? I took extra special precautions when I was doing this. How could I have put it somewhere and never thought to re-install it? The Expansion Tank has a nifty plug that stays with the unit...

So I put the gallon jug that I had already poured into the car under the drain and catch what little is leaking out, the rest is in the block, safe and secure. Off to the parts store! It's 5:00 and I'm burning daylight...Advance is closest, I'll start there. Part not available...Something about patents...moving on to the next store. PepBoys...nope. Auto Zone...Nada! Apparently this part is Dealer only...FML. It's Sunday...clearly they will not be open until Monday at 9 a.m.

Head home to put all the tools away and clean up my mess. One final check and I shut the hood..."Crack!" WTF was that? I look and the hood grill is popped out on the drivers side...Inspect the damage in the dark and I just ripped the thing out. Three of the clips that hold it to the hood are broken and the grill won't stay in...Are you kidding me! NOOOOOOOOOOO! I don't want to go back to Chrome :( So I will take out both Kidneys and will roll the ghetto whip with no hood emblem and a debadge with some real dirty 44s and some snowtires for the week until I get back to the apartment with the ambers and chromes...

I'm so furious.

/coolstorybro

tl;dr I'm a trucking idiot and lost my Radiator Drain Plug...this shall be known as 'The Horney Plug ver. 2.0'. I just don't know how I do it, I amaze myself.

Some pics of the mess...BMW Blue all over the damn place. Serious mess.

http://i776.photobucket.com/albums/yy41/jhornung318i/2011-11-20_10-15-10_74.jpg

http://i776.photobucket.com/albums/yy41/jhornung318i/2011-11-20_10-15-18_756.jpg

danewilson77
11-20-2011, 06:11 PM
I don't know what to say Justin.

The Dane plug-Version 1.3 is still good to go though, right?

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

nike001
11-20-2011, 06:14 PM
ghetto mobile ftw.

Hope you get this all worked out tomorrow

Hornung418
11-20-2011, 06:18 PM
I don't know what to say Justin.

The Dane plug-Version 1.3 is still good to go though, right?

HTC Thunderbolt+TT
Yep! That plug was a total life saver!

Sockethead
11-20-2011, 06:28 PM
Dude, that's amazing.... I was there when you lost that plug the first time...I couldn't believe that we couldn't find it.
Don't feel too bad... I'm guilty of moron sht like that... usually it's tools though...

Hornung418
11-20-2011, 06:34 PM
Yeah...neither can I, Rob. Neither can I...It's bright blue and it's an obvious out of place item if it's just chilling somewhere in the grass or on the pavement. I just don't know if someone walked by and took it while I was running errands or maybe a bird swiped it...IDK...I just don't get how the last piece of the puzzle seems to go missing when I do big projects.

I'm doing my brakes after thanksgiving due to the impending storm of doom that's happening right now. My car is still up on the stands and it's on the street...I think I just knocked off $10k in neighborhood property value...

danewilson77
11-20-2011, 06:36 PM
You crAck me up Justin.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

Sockethead
11-20-2011, 06:52 PM
Maybe someome will get you a bag of those plugs for Christmas....

Hornung418
11-20-2011, 07:02 PM
Maybe someome will get you a bag of those plugs for Christmas....
Maybe I'll just get a gift that can somehow keep me from losing things that are of importance at the task at hand...maybe a fanny pack is in order :shifty

Hermes
11-20-2011, 07:03 PM
Maybe I'll just get a gift that can somehow keep me from losing things that are of importance at the task at hand...maybe a fanny pack is in order :shifty

like dis?
http://holsterheaven.com/handgun-fanny-pack.jpg



oh yeah, fanny packs are Chuck Norris approved (so is the shocker)

http://6.media.collegehumor.cvcdn.com/c/0/collegehumor.167f422c28a67b5d581a7af0dfa6125e.jpg

Hornung418
11-20-2011, 07:10 PM
Haha!

:chuck

ryankokesh
11-20-2011, 07:17 PM
Hahaha... Sorry, not laughing at the story, just the property value comment :) Hope things start goin better. Careful not to strip the rotor bolt when you do your brakes! (cause I definitely did not do that recently...)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hornung418
11-20-2011, 07:22 PM
Thanks for the tip, Ry. I've never done brakes before. Should be a fun day.

Johnmadd
11-20-2011, 08:49 PM
Thanks for the tip, Ry. I've never done brakes before. Should be a fun day.

Make sure when you compress the caliper upon replacement with brake fluid cap off. :)

echo46
11-21-2011, 06:31 AM
Hope it is fixed for good. By the way, fanny packs are very 1990 ish, even with the rachette inside.

kayger12
11-21-2011, 06:42 AM
Careful not to strip the rotor bolt when you do your brakes!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Better yet, buy some spares. They're really small-- and easy to misplace. :innocent

danewilson77
11-21-2011, 06:44 AM
Better yet, buy some spares. They're really small-- and easy to misplace. :innocent

Lmao. If you lose a rotors hold down bolt....no bigger really. Just don't strip out the ones that are installed. Make sure the hex drive is firmly seated...even give it a light tap with a hammer....as mentioned.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

echo46
11-21-2011, 06:53 AM
Those retaining bolts are a disaster. I tried and tried to baby those things out but still stripped the shit out of the head. I ultimately had to drill the head off then unscrew it with a pliers.

Ryans323i
11-21-2011, 08:35 AM
Sorry to hear about the plug, again, Justin. Hope you're able to get hooked up today.

However all these stories make me feel a little better. I had just done my VCG like a week before I met David (Mtnman) for the first time. When I put my engine cover back on, I did it a little wrong. The first thing David says as he looks under my hood, "What happened here? (in a sincerely concerned voice)". I was so embarrassed.

I also lost my torx bit set for ~3 months. Found it in the "drug bin" under the hood.

Hornung418
11-21-2011, 10:30 AM
Mom drove me to the Dealer first thing this morning so she could get to work. Got a thermostat gasket and a new plug. 11 bucks...

Just finished up at 1. Drove around and the light came on. Didn't want to overfill. Topped her off and hopefully this is the end of my woes.

Hornung418
11-21-2011, 10:42 AM
Oh yea...here's some news. Bank 1 exhaust leak on cold start up...Ebay headers are nigh!

Ryans323i
11-21-2011, 10:44 AM
Mom drove me to the Dealer first thing this morning so she could get to work. Got a thermostat gasket and a new plug. 11 bucks...

Just finished up at 1. Drove around and the light came on. Didn't want to overfill. Topped her off and hopefully this is the end of my woes.

Should have bought 2!

kpro
11-21-2011, 10:54 AM
Horney having bad plug luck...imagine that :p I hope all is well now, you're car has really shit on you this past week...the flat, and now missing Horney plugs and crazy 02 sensor!!!

Hornung418
11-21-2011, 10:58 AM
Kpro, it's not the O2 sensor...which probably needs replacement soon...but I have an actual exhaust gas leak into the engine bay on a cold start.

Sockethead
11-21-2011, 11:08 AM
Kpro, it's not the O2 sensor...which probably needs replacement soon...but I have an actual exhaust gas leak into the engine bay on a cold start.
that sucks.... those manifolds look like a bitch....

Hornung418
11-21-2011, 11:12 AM
Not thrilled about that. But I am thrilled about getting headers...Should give me quite a boost in power to the wheels.

Hornung418
12-06-2011, 06:02 PM
So I'm still leaking coolant :( somewhere on the front of the block. It has reduced in pace and I can get about 400 miles before the ET is low...probably gonna piny up for an inspection so I can see what else is wrong with my car :(

Courtesy of Gingerbread...

bimmeryota
12-06-2011, 06:23 PM
Not sure if this had already been suspected but did you look around the water pump somehow with a small mirror or anything? I know it's kind of buried in there but if it's coming from the front of the block I can't think of what else it could be...

Hornung418
12-06-2011, 06:35 PM
Waterpump was replaced with a Stewart EMP and was checked for torque on Thanksgiving. I'm starting to suspect that my o-rings got fried with the Thermostat disconnected :(

Sockethead
12-07-2011, 08:36 AM
Waterpump was replaced with a Stewart EMP and was checked for torque on Thanksgiving. I'm starting to suspect that my o-rings got fried with the Thermostat disconnected :(
When the thermostat is bad or disconnected, it's in the open position... should cause any overheating....

ryankokesh
12-07-2011, 08:54 AM
I've been considering headers... seems like a lot of work though. Can't wait to see how it goes for you :)

Hornung418
12-07-2011, 08:55 AM
So I was always cycling coolant when the T-stat was unplugged.

So it's leaking on my belt, again...and ruining my pulleys...I'm going to have to do belts and pulleys again. It's somewhere around the T-stat. I'm thinking it's a hose or something.

Mom is paying for it to be fixed when I get home. She says that she's glad I want to work on it myself, but she values my time with the family, more than the money it would cost to get it fixed. :wub

Ryans323i
12-07-2011, 09:30 AM
Awe, you're mom is sweet! Hopefully everything gets handled with the mechanic. Do you know who's going to do the work?

Hornung418
12-07-2011, 09:37 AM
If my old Porsche Mechanic, Gennady Soykher, owner of GTPerformance (http://www.gtperformanceinc.com/), is in town, he'll take care of it. If not then I'll probably take it to Auto Eurotech (http://www.autoeurotecbelair.com/). Never worked with them, but they always have 5ers and 7ers in the shop.

Ryans323i
12-07-2011, 10:40 AM
Sounds like a good plan.

Sockethead
12-07-2011, 11:28 AM
Mom is paying for it to be fixed when I get home. She says that she's glad I want to work on it myself, but she values my time with the family, more than the money it would cost to get it fixed. :wub

Sweet! I like fixing my own car as much as the next guy but when I can afford it, I say F it and have someone else do it... especially when it's cold out... when it's cold, one mild contact on the hands feels like some one hit it with a sledgehammer....

Hornung418
12-07-2011, 11:31 AM
Sweet! I like fixing my own car as much as the next guy but when I can afford it, I say F it and have someone else do it... especially when it's cold out... when it's cold, one mild contact on the hands feels like some one hit it with a sledgehammer....
OMG So true. VANOS last November was ridiculous. So many cuts and bruises LOL

ryankokesh
12-07-2011, 12:55 PM
I did hit my hand with a hammer when I did my brakes last month. It wasn't pleasant. Not my proudest moment...

Sockethead
12-07-2011, 06:44 PM
I did hit my hand with a hammer when I did my brakes last month. It wasn't pleasant. Not my proudest moment...
Man, I hate it when that happens.... among others, I've stabbed myself with a screw driver, hit myself in the face with various tools, set my self on fire welding... you name it.... and I swear, I'm a really good mechanic... :scratchinghead

ryankokesh
12-07-2011, 07:21 PM
holy crap. i feel so...coordinated.

Hornung418
12-07-2011, 08:19 PM
Man, I hate it when that happens.... among others, I've stabbed myself with a screw driver, hit myself in the face with various tools, set my self on fire welding... you name it.... and I swear, I'm a really good mechanic... :scratchinghead
No where on that list do I see, "Misplacing important car parts" :shifty

ryankokesh
12-07-2011, 08:30 PM
at least you didn't misplace your entire car. that'd be embarrassing.

Sockethead
12-08-2011, 05:26 AM
No where on that list do I see, "Misplacing important car parts" :shifty
That's because when I misplace them I don't stop looking until I finds them...haha

Hornung418
12-22-2011, 06:30 AM
So...update from the shop that my car is at: Starter motor is not disengaging from the flywheel, and that is the source of my noise, not the alternator bearing. Having a starter with a lifetime warranty installed.

Second order of business, Stewart Components is sending me a new pump. I mentioned that Derbo has seen three pumps in two years, and he commented on the O-ring that they use. He said that the pumps themselves are perfectly fine when they get them back, but the outer seal has failed.

To remedy this, I'm going to have an OEM composite pump installed and pull that when the new Stewart pump arrives. The OEM pump will go in the refurbished engine when I get that started.

Finally, I may need a new thermostat housing...which is just as old as the Water Pump. That's an extra $100 that could be spent elsewhere.

Overall, looks to be just over $600 and the work has a warranty...can't put a price on assurance. Shame that my hard work over the summer didn't work out for the better :(

Courtesy of Gingerbread...

kayger12
12-22-2011, 06:39 AM
Glad it's getting worked out.

It will be nice to not have to chase leaks anymore.

Hornung418
12-22-2011, 06:43 AM
Glad it's getting worked out.

It will be nice to not have to chase leaks anymore.

Santa's footing the bill for me ;)

Courtesy of Gingerbread...

kayger12
12-22-2011, 06:50 AM
That's a good Santa.

danewilson77
12-22-2011, 07:06 AM
A very good Santa...

NDubSki
12-23-2011, 10:55 AM
So when are you getting/installing the ebay headers?
I have a set in my closet, band new, that im def not installing because of emissions in ma.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

Hornung418
12-23-2011, 12:33 PM
So when are you getting/installing the ebay headers?
I have a set in my closet, band new, that im def not installing because of emissions in ma.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk
Still don't have the car back. :(

Headers probably won't be going on this car...I'm just going to fix the leak and keep it stock and fix the exhaust leak with a set of OEM gaskets and reinstall the SAP and get the latest US DME Update.

I'm going to focus on the e30 as a fun-time, go-fast car Racecar. I just need to save up for one...Jobless and hating it!

Hornung418
12-28-2011, 01:41 PM
Car's back! Hairline crack in my Thermostat Housing...Wasn't expecting that one! Put the replacement Stewart Water Pump is in place. Starter is different sounding...but it gets the job done. Total came to a whopping $738.11...that stupid Thermostat housing cost $111. Um...WTF?! I bought that for $67 from AutohausAZ. Wonder if there's a warranty for that. Everything was properly installed and never over pressurized. So I wonder if I can get credited $67 to my account. Anywho...just happy to have my car back :) Tomorrow I'm putting my Ambers, Chrome Grilles and new CF Roundels back on the car :) Pretty soon I'll have some sick Bi-Xenons in there to complete the front end for now.

kayger12
12-28-2011, 02:20 PM
Did you buy the Behr or the Wahler, Horney?

Hornung418
12-28-2011, 02:31 PM
'Twas a Wahler, Keith.

kayger12
12-28-2011, 02:33 PM
Roger. I bought the Behr-- was a little worried.

Autohaus should definitely refund you for the defective part.

Hornung418
12-28-2011, 03:36 PM
I'll give them a call tomorrow. The starter doesn't sound like a BMW...I'll have to check the invoice, maybe mine was just really bad and always sounded bad.