Time to play Doctor. Now I just need a sexy nurse...:begging:p
Time to play Doctor. Now I just need a sexy nurse...:begging:p
SO intake manifold is coming out today. May not be going back in til next weekend.
So far, eliminated the lower CCV hose that connects to the dipstick as the source of my vacuum leak.However, after removing many parts, I notice there is a lot of oil on the engine around the Oil Air separator. There was also a big chunk of plastic just sitting there, so something is obviously broken.
Intake manifold is ready to come off. Fuel rail is unclipped and the manifold is loosened. Need a can of compressed air to blow crude away from ports before I take it off.
Will have some photos up when I take a lunch break. But for now, off to the hardware store.
Good luck.
Damn, so manifolds off. I believe my oil air separator was not functioning properly. None of the other hoses seems to be the problem, all seemed ok. One of the nipples on the back of the manifold is old and cracked a bunch, so that was another vacuum leak.
Under the manifold, there is a lot of oil on the block, and when I pulled the manifold off, there was oil all around the gaskets, inside towards the ports, and outside towards open air. I believe my CCV was not venting properly, and the seal between manifold and engine block was compromised.
Will have pictures up once my phone is charged.
Most likely wont have the car back together this weekend :(
Sorry for the bad cellphone quality photos. Once my iphone 6 is charged ill take some more photos, since its camera is far better than my samsung phone.
So i removed the intake manifold today, and found oil all around the gaskets. There was oil on both sides of the gaskets, both towards the ports and towards the open air. Here a re a few photos. Im pretty sure its not suppose to have oil there. There is also a large oil stain on the block below the oil air separator, so I believe that was not working as well.
You weren't kidding.
Hope you getting it cleaned and buttoned up soon.
Project is on hold til next weekend for now. unfortunately another week without the ZHP. Im hoping this massive vacuum leak is accounting for my power loss and that I won't have to do vanos seals.. but we will see.
Thanks BMWcurves. Did you see I found an answer to those ports?
Sucks. I was told to never mess with that F connect unless you have a spare on hand. Hope others will read and heed.
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"ZHP is a garbage option anyway- just some cosmetic upgrades with a different cam and diff to claw back some of the performance lost fitting those hideous and heavy wheels. Any 330 with a 3.46 diff will smoke a ZHP every time. The whole Mafia thing reeks of childish behavior." - anonymous
Yes, def keep one on hand. If you plan on replacing lower intake boot, cleaning ICV, rebuilding DISA, anything that would require you to remove it, buy one ahead of time ESPECIALLY if you plan on doing your work over the weekend. BMW list price is over $8 dollars, but they can be had online for $2-$4. I bought one at a BMW dealership for $4.xx, and I bought my entire CCV kit from the dealer here in Irvine, but did not pay list price
New CCV Parts.
Work continues tomorrow. Going to buy oil and prep the engine for the intake manifold to be remounted on the block. I covered all open holes but realized I never put anything over the vent on the hood. I am hoping that condensation didnt drip into anything. Buying oil and going to do an oil change before I fired it up again. Its been apart for a week and just sitting in the parking lot.
New Intake manifold gaskets, all new CCV, New F connector. Cant wait to drive it without a vacuum leak. I am expecting a noticeable difference in performance and driveability, but have a feeling the Vanos seals will need to be addressed pretty quickly here for full enjoyment.
Will have a large amount of photos coming on Sunday, so look for some updates
:thumbsup
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Thanks John! This car as been a journey, but honestly I like it that way. I've learned a lot about the engine already and have improved my skills and technique as an amateur mechanic
In to see how "easy" your install is... I have a leaky tube that will need addressed at some point.
Re install of the intake manifold wasnt as hard as I thought it was going to be. Just a lot of steps to keep in order so you dont get hoses and electrical cords crossed over in the back and so you dont forget the little things. Everything goes back in place really easy and the lay out makes sense. Dont forget to re clip things under the manifold before bolting it down again Took about 3-4 hours to do. Inlcuding a trip to the parts store and call to my buddy. His e36 M3 spontaneously caught fire while he was grocery shopping.
I didnt take that many photos today, just wanted to get it done. Ill have a big update post or two tmrw including most of the tear down
Keep at it and she will be up and running soon
Happy to report
MY CAR IS FINALLY RUNNING GREAT!
Sorry for the lack of major updates as promised, been so damn busy with work. My Bosses Boss is in town, and he is on East Coast time so Ive been working 6am to 6pm everyday.
Going to Euro Wednesdays Tonight in Irvine if anyone else plans on heading out, ill be there. My car needs a bath though :/
I'll have an update tomorrow with some photos and a review of removing the intake manifold. The job wasn't that hard to be honest. And IMO removing the intake manifold is harder than installing it. Once you've had the manifold off, and get a 360 degree of the unit, everything makes sense when putting it back on.
Also, already got parts rolling in for the next step of the maintenance puzzle. After that, putting a deposit down on a room in Irvine so I can be close to work.
Once that is done, I am going to do something to the car that is not maintenance....... MMMMmmmmmmm Mods
On a budget still, and Ive been really liking the Vibrant muffler w/ resonator delete that a few members here have. I may join that club as I can do the work myself with tools and a welder from work, so really the expense is the muffler.
Or a bluetooth adapter. This is much more practical and sensible, butttt that exhaust note.
Don't know what else is out there for a few hundred dollar modification, but im open to ideas. Also, getting some Michelin PSS for the Fiesta ST
Glad you have it rolling again and are out and about enjoying it!
As for some mods, maybe a short shift kit? New steering wheel? Cell phone mount? Tint? I can't remember what you've done so far, and I'm far too lazy to look right now :p
Tint is a good call. Black leather seats in Socal sun will get hot. Short shifter is not a bad idea either. I am not a huge fan of the shifter feel. Going to order some Motul or Red Line and swap out the trans fluid and go from there.
A new short shifter with a new alcantara ZHP knob would be very nice. warm and fuzzy feeling
So picked up new Idler Pulley, Tensioner Pulley, and two new belts. Good project for tomorrow.
Only update :/ Still owe everyone pictures from the intake manifold removal but work has been so busy.
Internal audit tomorrow, so we will see how that goes
Does anyone here have an aftermarket short shifter?
Recently, shifting has become harder and there is almost a noise as a gear is selected. I know I need to adjust my clutch engagement point as I can hear a difference between clutch in / clutch out. There is a little drag happening which needs to be corrected.
I am not super satisfied with the shifter feel in this car, and would like a slightly shorter throw.
My first step is to swap out the 105k mile old transmission fluid for some redline or motul. A new shifter bushing was recommended.
Was wondering if I should bother with the shifter bushing, or just go aftermarket. I'll search the site some but figured I'd asked.
Are shifter bushings expensive? I have the UUC Evo3 kit. I wasn't super happy with their customer service (sent me the wrong parts and had to fight them about it). That aside, I enjoy the kit very much. Pretty expensive though.
Rolled past 106,000 Miles!!!! Running the best it has since I bought it about 2 months ago!
Recap of maintenance thus far:
-New windshield washer fluid sprayer
-New windshield wipers and fluid
- New lower intake boot
-New air filter
- New F-connector
-New DISA valve
- Cleaned ICV valve
-New vacuum lines
- New intake manifold gaskets
-Cleaned intake manifold
- Cleaned injectors
- Oil Change
-Two new belts
- New idler pulley
-New tensioner pulley (tmrw)
This weekend I am going to put a spreadsheet together with part numbers and costs. This is something I have always done for my previous cars. I also include mileage at time of maintenance / mod. This goes a long way when it comes to tracking cost of ownership and due dates for continued maintenance. I am also going to round up all my photos and post them!!!! Should have some exciting stuff from the intake manifold to share. If I have some additional time, I'll start writing some DIYs so I can contribute to this community. Stay tuned! Happy almost Friday everyone
Well, oil level low ish and just did an oil change. Think the oil filter housing gasket is getting worse. Actually have hit a few red lines now that the ZHP is running good. Leaky gasket no like redlines.
Have the new gasket and spare oil so just need the time. Hopefully Tuesday after work.
Damn, hot day to be working on the car but need to swap out the OFHG. Once done ill come inside and cool off and upload some photos. Need to clear them off my phone, taking up all the space
Wow its been awhile. Have been really wrapped up in work as the Board of Directors had a plant tour schedule for today. Tour went extremely well and all the long days payed off. The CEO was impressed and came to thank me personally, which was a moment. I take pride in my work and was glad it was recognized by the Higher Ups.
Anyways, now I can have a personal life again. Car maintenance has been on hold the last three weeks. Plans for this weekend include massive updates here and on e46f. I have some good photos and a write up for when I did the intake manifold.
Also, I have a water pump thats been on my desk for 2 weeks now and it needs to be installed ASAP. My current pump is starting to fail and is seeping coolant on to the belt, which is throwing it throughout the engine bay. I spotted a bunch of dried white spots on the airbox and sure enough, there was a stalactite growing off the bottom of the pump. It is going to be installed this weekend and I will do a step by step write up with photos.
Also, a few weeks back I swapped out my oil filter housing gasket. Have some photos for that as well. Getting quiet familiar with the front half of the engine.
Re: work, congrats! It's always nice to feel appreciated.
Re: water pump. Yuck, but at least it's a pretty quick and easy job.
Ive watched a few videos and it seems pretty simple indeed. One thing I am worried about is my hydraulic tensioner, or atleast the rubber boot part. I took the old belts off and put a new pulley on. Then a week later replaced another pulley, and noticed there was some slight cracking in the rubber. Need to remove th belts for a 3rd time this weekend so hopefully it holds up.
The other not so good thing is I found out my plastic under tray is zip tided into place and the other plastic parts under the car look like theyve been driven through gravel for miles on end.
Did buy a big new catch pan for the coolant though, so yay to new shop equipment
Cleaned the car this past weekend. Beautiful Socal day spent outside cleaning off a months worth of road grim and dust. The roads to and from my work are all under construction,new pipeline being put in. Also, I have learned why no one parks at the far end of the parking lot and thats because the trash truck comes, and when it dumps the hopper, saw dust goes everywhere. Also, the landscapers will no longer be using leaf blowers on our property because I lost my cool with one of the guys and yelled at the supervisor nono
Still being in a drought, I rarely wash my car, but figured it was time. Had access to a pressure washer so sprayed it down and used a Wash & Wax in one to minimize water usage. Not too bad id say :)
Picked up a spare tensioner pulley yesterday. If any socal members need one, I got an extra on hand.
Recommend a good tint shop and it's yours. Dayum black leather gets hottt
Water pump with new hardware installed yesterday. I ended up doing a full coolant flush as well. The fluid that came out was disturbing. It was all brown and had an oily sheen to it. I noticed this while swapping the water pump and ended up flushing the system. Removed all the old fluid and added a new gallon of coolant mixed with distilled water. Being in Socal, my mix was not quite 50/50 but I am not worried about cold weather. I also bled the system properly and now my heat works! Its never that cold here, but I am up at 4 AM to drive to work some days and it is chilly.
I am dumping all the photos from yesterday on to my other laptop and will resize, name, and upload soon. In the mean time, this is something I have started to work on. There is a lot of data to be put in as well, but its coming together. I made an excel sheet to track all of my purchases, including tools, and the days & mileage the new parts were installed. Helps to organize continued preventative maintenance, and is also keeping my costs of ownership in perspective.
If anyone wants this excel sheet, I am happy to share. There are three pages, One for parts, one for tools, and the 3rd is used just to pile all the information together.
I'll have some photos and more updates this afternoon!
Very cool
I do something similar but with no pricing. Don't want a reminder lol
Very nice spreadsheet! :D
I made one for my car too but probably not as detailed as yours. I did hide the costs in there but it is present.. I color coded and separated the maintenance, services, parts for breakdown for costs.
http://i.imgur.com/bXGZRjqh.png
Awesome. Grt ss too.
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