Car first, studies later. lol
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Car first, studies later. lol
I wish!Quote:
Originally Posted by johnrando
I got my stainless steel brake lines from Tuner Motorsport along with a final stage unit for my father's E39 540i which I swapped out earlier today. I am seriously considering doing the clutch/brake bleed myself so that I can swap out the brake lines, clutch line, and perform the CDV delete all in one go while also possibly getting a chance to paint the OEM calipers black. If I do, that whole project will probably be put on hold until June. I think I'd purchase this brake bleeder kit from ECS if I did: http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330...uid/ES2765516/ (used and suggested by Shawn AKA Ssparrow here).
Other things coming up/I'm waiting on:
- Waiting on my BMW Performance brake rotors to arrive that I purchased from Tippey764 last week. I don't think I'll swap out the rotors until I get new pads, which I also need to look into.
- I have an appointment to get my car tinted next week. They use SunTek films which worked well on my previous car. I don't want to get it too dark, maybe 40 or 45%.
- I need to make an appointment to have an alignment done, have my windshield washers inspected as they currently do not work, and get the power steering fluid flushed.
- Waiting to hear back from Bimmian if their color-matched painted reflectors (linked) will fit the ZHP coupe bumper.
Attachment 19599
Received my BMW Performance brake rotors in the mail today. Those suckers are heavy. No pics, I did a quick inspection to make sure it was all in order and then put them in storage for the time being.
Think they are worth it ? Was thinking of getting a pair
Only time will tell to see if they were worth it. I figure I'd give them a shot since they'll last me a while. Some things I considered when purchasing them:
- They are BMW and I like to use as many BMW parts as possible.
- Supposedly shed about 3 lbs per wheel in the front. They're still plenty heavy though and give me an appreciation of carbon ceramic brakes.
- They were discounted through Tippey and were $550 before shipping, as compared to ~$720 elsewhere (about 24% off). Cheaper than anywhere else I've looked, but definitely more expensive than stock rotors and other drilled rotor sets I've seen.
- They don't have any sort of plating on them so the drilled holes will get rusty. I think I saw Charlie's M3 with Performance rotors and they had rust on them. Not a big deal, just something to consider.
- I read up on the basic differences between types of rotors and found that these should have a slightly higher bite, wet performance, and lower weight in the front due to the floating design. Seemed like good reasons, link to material here: http://www.zeckhausen.com/How_to_sel...ake_rotors.htm
Wonder how long they will last.
Plus they look good.
I don't plan to track the car so they'll only see street use. I imagine they could make it through two sets of pads with a resurfacing when replacing the pads. Maybe I'm just being hopeful :dunnoQuote:
Originally Posted by Vas
Part of why I picked them up! In the long run I hope to get some Apex ARC-8's and so the rotors will be easier to see behind those wheels.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnrando
Gave her a bath today, she's coming up on her 50k birthday. Those wheels are a pain in the ass to clean, looking forward to getting a set of Arc-8's soon. Still need to vacuum the interior tomorrow. The car gets tinted on Wednesday!
Attachment 19674
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...f37835bf07.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
Oh nice, do you have a link?
He is a member here. Udubbadger
PM him.
:hi
GoingHAM mobile
PM sent.
Managed to time it perfectly and rolled into the drive way just as the odo clicked over to 50k miles:
Attachment 19678
Walked out to my car this evening and unlocked the car but noticed something funny. Lock the car and unlock it again. Yup, one of the LEDs smack dab in the middle of the left turn signal is dead. Dammit. From a quick search around the internet it looks like I'm SOL for fixing it. Which means trying to find a replacement (part no. 63216920699), although it's not immediately necessary.
Bummer. How much are they?
Running the part number through Google shows that most places are about $200-220ish. Not terrible, but not an expense I expected to pay. I don't feel I need to replace it right now, but maybe I should and just get it out of the way.
I'm supposed to get my BlueMagic Polish today so hopefully I can take a crack at my fading side markers. I also received shipping confirmation for my color-matched front bumper reflectors from Bimmian.
Also noticed intermittent yellow oil light coming on when I turn off the car that lingers for about 30 seconds then fades out. I checked the oil level and it's just below full, as it has been since I did my oil change several hundred miles ago. Looking through the forums here and Google it seems this suggests the oil level sensor is failing, part no. 12617508003. OEM is ~$170 while Hella or ECS brand is ~$50-70. I like to be OEM, but basically $100 more for the same part? Hmm...
I'll swap it out next oil change.
I am having this exact issue for the last couple weeks. I have checked the dipstick and my oil level is exactly in between the two notches. The yellow light comes on sometimes after I shut-off the engine and at other times it does not for a day or two. Guessing its time for me to replace the oil level sensor.
I had replaced that sensor as well. Went with an OE BMW part.
I received the BlueMagic Polish from Amazon today for ~$6. I had seen this work on hcbeck's car so I figured I'd try it on mine before trying to swap out the side markers for fresh ones. Overall I think it went pretty well. I couldn't remove the side marker on the driver's side so I had to polish it on the car and take care not to scuff up the paint in the process. The polish didn't eliminate the yellowish hue completely, but definitely reduced the fuzzy/opaque look and reduced the yellowish tone. Not bad for $6 that I can use on my other lenses as well as metal bits like the exhaust.
The Packaging
Attachment 19712
Passenger side - Before:
Attachment 19713
Passenger side - After:
Attachment 19714
Driver side - Before:
Attachment 19715
Driver side - After:
Attachment 19716
This seems like a great product. I will have to use it one day. :thumbsupQuote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
My Bimmian painted reflectors came today (link: http://www.bimmian.com/REF/46). I had tried getting in contact with them via email for several weeks about fitment but they never responded so I eventually just decided to call them. There was a lot of miscommunication but finally it was decided that the ZHP coupe bumper shares the same reflector as the E46 M3 bumper so they could be used. I ordered them last week for $60 shipped. The swap was easy enough. Rather than using the suggested screw driver and risk scratching the paint or worse, I used a wide plastic trim removal tool I had on hand. It worked well because the width helped push down the spring equally across the reflector and with a little effort, they popped out. I popped in the new painted reflectors and it was done. One thing I did notice is that the painted reflectors are about 1mm shorter in length than the OEM amber reflectors so there's just a sliver of really dirty paint that is exposed. I'm not sure how much I can do about that, but really isn't noticeable unless you're right there next to it. Overall it was the cheapest option I could find, the ordering was a bit of a brouhaha but if you just order it as if you have an E46 M3 you won't have any issues. Installation was easy provided you have a wider tool like I did and the paint matches perfectly. I think it is a very subtle visual improvement.
Before:
Attachment 19786
After:
Attachment 19787
Nice
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Received some goodies from Turner Motorsport so I can hopefully get to do some brake maintenance this weekend. The package also included the plastic valve cover bolt plug (part no.: 11121726089) that I accidentally broke during my maintenance a month ago, which I promptly put in earlier today:
http://i.imgur.com/9oEJjh0.jpg
Today I did some brake maintenance. I replaced all the OEM brake lines with StopTech stainless steel brake lines I purchased from Turner Motorsport (link: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-17...-approved.aspx). I used two guides that were very useful detailing most aspects of the procedure:
Front brake lines: http://m3.madrussian.net/diy_front_brake_lines.shtml
Rear brake lines: http://m3.madrussian.net/diy_rear_brake_lines.shtml
A few things I would add to the above guides: there may be a significant amount of grime and dirt around the housing where the brake lines meet the hard lines and that you should clean that up before installing the new lines. I'm hoping I didn't knock any dirt into my lines by accident. Also, the clip on the bracket on the rear brake lines takes a ton of effort to get off. I had to get pliers and pull upwards on the clip while I stood on the bracket in order to get it off.
While I was in there I replaced the clutch line with UUC's stainless steel clutch line (link: http://store.uucmotorwerks.com/stain...l-xi-p466.aspx) along with their "unlock" aka modified clutch delay valve (CDV) (link: http://store.uucmotorwerks.com/unloc...kit-p1382.aspx). I opted to keep the modified CDV instead of just connecting the SS clutch line directly to the hard line because I already had the part, but I don't think it was strictly necessary in order to get the desired/improved clutch feel. The most useful guides I found and used to help me along are below:
Stainless steel clutch line: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=411194
CDV replacement: http://www.bmw330ci.net/projects/cdv.php
I should add that it took some 20 curse-filled minutes for me to dislodge the clutch line from the housing with the clip. It was really in there and required the use of vice grips to get it out. Otherwise relatively straight forward if not a bit difficult with the confined space (I chose not to remove any panels to free up work space under the car).
To flush and bleed the system I decided to try and use a pressure bleeder, specifically Motive's pressure bleeder (link: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-28...pean-cars.aspx). I used Pentosin DOT4LV and I followed two guides during this process:
Guide 1: http://www.bmw330ci.net/maintenance/bleeding.php
Guide 2: http://www.dvatp.com/bmw/brake_fluid_flush
Unfortunately, I ran into a snag. Reading through most guides it seems that you only need one liter of brake fluid to complete a flush, but I definitely ran out after one liter. So I have to put this off until Monday when I can go down to my local BMW dealership and get OEM DOT4 low viscosity brake fluid (part no. 81220142156). Some research has led me to believe it is comparable to the Pentosin brake fluid. Some websites list the BMW part number as the part number for Pentosin DOT4LV. Either way, I'm going to have to reflush my system with a whole bunch of BMW's stuff.
Also, there was pretty constant bubbling coming from my rear passenger brake caliper during bleeding, and it was incredibly slow draining from my driver side rear. Any ideas what would cause that? I'm hoping the latter wasn't a sign I knocked some grime into my brake line or caliper.
Pics:
Clockwise from top left: Motive pressure bleeder, TMS catch can, 1L of Pentosin DOT4LV brake fluid, UUC SS clutch line, UUC modified CDV, rear StopTech SS brake lines, front StopTech SS brake lines:
Attachment 19959
Car on stands and ready to be worked on:
Attachment 19960
New SS brake line installed on front driver's side:
http://i.imgur.com/2KbEH2R.jpg
Old brake lines, fronts on the left, rears on the right:
http://i.imgur.com/Avi4P03.jpg
New SS brake line installed on rear driver's side:
http://i.imgur.com/2ZYQfST.jpg
UUC SS clutch line and modified CDV installed. It was way more of a pain in the ass than I expected:
http://i.imgur.com/HlvpGW1.jpg
My pressure bleeder set up during my failed brake flush/bleed:
http://i.imgur.com/utX2efE.jpg
No idea. Got it fixed?
Negative, ghostrider. I'm going to try flushing it again later today with the new brake fluid I picked up from BMW.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnrando
I read something over on e46f about constant bubbling coming out. Turns out the guys bleed screw was a little stripped or loosened too much that it had a constant bubble. I think he removed the bleed screw completely and cleaned it up and added some Teflon tape to the threads. Maybe that's what you have going on? Good luck!
So I bought four 12 oz bottles of BMW OEM brake fluid (part no. 81220142156) from the dealership for about $20 which is supposedly a low-viscosity brake fluid that our ABS and traction control systems need. I removed some of the Pentosin DOT4LV brake fluid I had in the reservoir from my failed attempt at flushing my system on Saturday. I filled up my pressure bleeder with all four bottles under the assumption I would make three to four passes around the car at each bleeder point. I ended up doing four cycles, in the following order: back passenger caliper, back driver caliper, clutch, front passenger caliper, front driver caliper. I didn't have any of the issues I had from Saturday so I think I successfully flushed and bled the system. Overall I liked the pressure bleeder system, it seemed to work well if you have excess brake fluid in there. I cleaned everything up, got it off the jack stands, took it for a spin, and everything seems to be in order.
Some notes:
- The BMW brake fluid is an almost lemon gatorade color compared to the amber Pentosin so it wasn't too difficult to discern when the lines were flushed to the new fluid.
- The clutch now feels lighter but also more sensitive. It's not night and day, but an improvement in my mind. Not sure how much is up to the SS brake line, the modified CDV, or low viscosity brake fluid.
- Overall the job would be much easier now if I had the experience, but even without any experience it wasn't too bad.
- Removing the wheels was a serious struggle. The wheel and the hub had basically rusted together on all four corners. I had to put my whole weight into pulling each one off. I put anti-seize compound on the hub and the wheel where they made contact so hopefully they'll be easier to get off next time around.
- While the wheels were off I weighed them. The rears, with Toyo Proxes T1 Sport tires (manufacturer claimed 26 lbs), weighed an average 53.4 lbs, so the rear wheels weigh about 27.4 lbs. The fronts, with Toyo Proxes T1R tires (manufacturer claimed 26 lbs), weighed an average 49.8 lbs, so the front wheels weigh about 25.8 lbs. That's why a set of Apex Arc-8s are on my list of mods, try and shed about 7-8 lbs per corner.
Pics:
BMW 12 oz bottle of brake fluid (I used four to be comfortable):
http://i.imgur.com/HSbUAlA.jpg
I remember reading somewhere that someone thought that the OEM brake lines had stainless steel weaving in them so there was no point to upgrading to SS lines. I decided to cut open one of my old ones. Looks like rubber and cloth/cord (like a tire) to me:
http://i.imgur.com/9ZzOc9a.jpg
Good to hear you got it all worked out! I should of upgraded my brake lines when i flushed my brake fluid out a few weeks ago. I also really need to get that CDV out of there.
Yeah it wasn't bad. I would use the two guides I used for the lines and just be ready to spend an afternoon doing the swap and bleeding the system.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ssparrow
Nice! On my list as well.
Ordered:
- Koni Sport (Yellows) front struts (left: 8741-1390LSPORT, right: 8741-1390RSPORT) and rear shocks (8040-1271SPORT)
- Rogue Engineering rear shock mounts (RSMs).
Need to line up and order:
- Z4M front control arm bushings (FCABs) (BMW part no. 31107836862 [left], 31107836863 [right])
- Z4M or M3 rear trailing arm bushings (RTABs) with limiters
- OEM strut mounts
- OEM front and rear bump stops
- OEM upper and lower spring pads
- OEM dust boots
Nice. Still $498 shipped?
Yup!
My Koni Sport (Yellows) Shocks arrived in the mail today along with the Rogue Engineering rear shock mounts (RSMs). All the part numbers on the shocks and struts matched, although the left strut has a slightly rougher paint finish than the other strut and the rear shocks. Not sure what that's about but should not matter hopefully. Tracking for the other parts I ordered suggests they'll be here by the end of next week!
http://i.imgur.com/5tspFXn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/d1mnk1L.jpg
Most of my goodies have arrived so that means I can start doing more maintenance/mods on my car starting next week. The things I want to try and tackle myself are:
- Suspension refresh: Koni shocks/struts, Z4M FCABs, OEM ancillary parts (dust boots, bump stops, spring pads, etc)
- Swap out the stock intake box for the BMW Performance intake I got from illirep (for personal future reference, BMW part nos. 13720429613 [intake] and 13720431649 [filter]).
- Swap stock shifter for UUC Evo3 short shift kit, although I haven't looked at how difficult this can be.
- Swap old rotors for BMW Performance drilled rotors from Tippey764. Still need to pick out pads. Any suggestions? I'm thinking Hawk HPS but don't know a whole lot about brake pads.
- Paint the calipers yellow with my G2 kit (although I may go to red or phoenix yellow). I still like the way this looks in yellow: http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...582#post433582
- Full exterior detail, although I may leave this one to a specialist just to start from a solid base and do future detailing myself.
Things I'll probably leave to a mechanic:
- Shark Injector tune
- Power steering fluid (I have the fluid just rather not do it myself).
- Alignment
- Diagnose issue with my windshield washer pump.
Nice. Heard good things about Hawks HPS
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