15% cheaper at USD $144
https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-33...Brace/ES10995/
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15% cheaper at USD $144
https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-33...Brace/ES10995/
and free shipping within the US (had it sent to my brother-in-law's place in VT, will have to wait until christmas to get it - no biggie).Quote:
Originally Posted by anandoc
Nice
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
update -
getting super close to being done. tuesday night i got the shift fork pins out, and the old selector shaft seal out, as well as the shift linkage rebuilt. pics below...
tips and notes:
- shift fork pins: mine were stuck. had to pry them out from the inside edge of the pin, lots of initial force and then they 'popped', and once they were out about 8-10mm i could get some pliers on there and wiggle them out.
- selector shaft seal: forget picks, or even the $75 tool from BMW to get this $11 part out. i used a small flathead screwdriver, using this method, and it was out in 5 minutes - this was after 2-3hrs of trying with a pick set. here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkTzhZxBYaw
- shift linkage: i used ECS delrin shift fork bushings, which were too long by about 5mm each - had to shave them down to fit, but otherwise they work nicely. replaced the shift lever ball cage, the yellow plastic washers and clips for the selector shaft rod, the selector shaft rod joint, and the rear shift fork bushing - which i inserted two o-rings into the front side, and then filled with flexible RTV. the idea of this is to minimize lateral movement of the shift fork, but still allow axial movement (not that there is much in the shift fork movement). i also doubled-up the yellow plastic washers on the rear of the selector shaft rod, because with just one, there was still some lateral movement. inserting two there was tight, but removes slop. the result is a shifter that feels precise, and special. will try to post a video soon; if it can even convey the feel, i don't know. :)
- i also clean everything that comes out that is going back on the car, and use a PFTE lube for assembly unless it requires something heavier duty (like the shift lever ball cage).
once all that was done, i got this done over the last 2 days:
- UUC black trans mounts installed
- new flex disc installed
- rear subframe installed
- rear suspension installed, and bushings pre-loaded correctly (important for long bushing life, and non-binding suspension)
- swapped input and output shaft flanges from stock diff onto MFactory 3.46 helical LSD, and filled with pennzoil 75w90 synthetic GL-5 gear oil (will change in 1500km's after break-in period to motul 300 synthetic 75w90 GL-5 gear oil)
- installed MFactory diff
- installed subframe/driveshaft brace
- installed 20mm OE E46 vert rear swaybar and poly bushings
- reconnected handbrake cables (still need to fine tune)
- reconnected rear brake lines (still need to flush)
- installed bilstein rear springs and adjustable perches
- installed bilstein rear shocks with rogue RSMs
- reinstalled all trunk carpeting, etc
whew! items left to do:
- install driveshaft
- install heat shields
- fill trans with fresh fluid
- bleed brakes
- clean rotors with brake clean
- adjust handbrake
- put wheels on :)
- adjust ride height
- drive to fab shop for exhaust work (have an appointment for tuesday)
PICS -
first pic is everything that i removed that got replaced/upgraded. springs and some shift linkage bits are missing from the pic. second pic - the shift fork pins and selector shaft seal - good riddance! third pic - rebuilt shift linkage (minus selector rod bits), before it went in the car. note the rear bushing with o-rings (can't see them ;)) and RTV, and delrin bushings.
Hot damn, that list is long. Nice work! Excited to hear how all of this maintenance and upgrades makes the car feel. Which Bilsteins did you go with?
me too! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
i went with Bilstein PSS... i wanted the PSS10 but i got a great deal on the PSS, buying directly from germany - they were half the price of the PSS10!
Man, people are snatching up deals on Bilsteins left and right, congrats!
P.S. dope shop rug in the first pic.
thanks, the CAD>EUR exchange rate at that point (last spring... can't believe it's been that long since i ordered them!) was too good to pass up...Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
LOL @ the rug. :) it was a child's 'racetrack' rug from ikea, and was in my son's room for a long time - he decided he didn't want it anymore (he's 8 now), so i put it in the garage. :) my garage is built out of a lot of 'found' objects - i am a huge advocate of recycling stuff where/when i can.
FINALLY!
as of 1AM this morning, the car was on the ground again. the car now has all fresh fluids too. i drove it this morning, sans exhaust, to a trusted shop to have the exhaust welded back together and all 4 downpipe studs removed/drilled out.
it was raining, and the car hasn't been driven in over 5 weeks... but MAN it was good to drive it again. and it felt really, really good - not over the top in any respect, just balanced. it is currently sitting on Style 68's with michelin pilot sport AS3's, because it's only 43F out and i think it's too cold for the super sports. i think i have to raise the front up a bit, i eyeballed the height in the garage last night and of course it settled a bit after it's first drive.
the bilstein PSS feel a hair stiffer than stock, but much better body control. of course, my old dampers were tired - but not as tired as i was expecting when i removed them.
shifter is ballistically awesome. i think my wife will hate it.
i could not detect any whine from the poly diff bushings, but the lack of exhaust kinda made that impossible. :) the pops and burbles from the open headers sounded so good...
LSD felt good, very playful. i think i need to visit derbo's posts on recoding the DSC settings for the LSD.
can't wait to wring it out. more pics and a full maintenance/mod list recap coming later in the week. pic below is of shiny newness.... that rear swaybar is a 20mm bar from an E46 vert - got it for $60 shipped on ebay. :)
:cheers
Must be nice to have it back and drive it.