What did you do for your ZHP/ BMW / MINI today? #2

[danewilson77]

Finally soldered LEDs for the rear doors in the M3 cluster



Also changed some of the warmup LEDs to red and wrote some arduino code to set an appropriate redline for the M54... but I didn't install the module in the car yet

Amazing work my man.

Sent from an S6 Edge

[BADCLOWN]

I'm still trying to find a suitable cluster so you can do this for my ZHP. Looks great, excellent work!

[Dr Dynamite]

Finally soldered LEDs for the rear doors in the M3 cluster



Also changed some of the warmup LEDs to red and wrote some arduino code to set an appropriate redline for the M54... but I didn't install the module in the car yet

That is awesome! !! Great work... how much did it cost $?

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

[UdubBadger]

I had the M3 gauge faces on my zhp but not the warmup lights. It's a great mod though!


GoingHAM mobile

[az3579]

I reset the mileage on the cluster to 0 and coded my ZHP's VIN onto it. Then after I plugged it in, it pulled the correct mileage from the LCM

I was under the impression that coding the cluster wasn't possible... Am I missing something?

Sent from my LG V10 on Tapatalk

[cakM3]

I'm still trying to find a suitable cluster so you can do this for my ZHP. Looks great, excellent work!

I have a friend who parts wrecked ///Ms.... maybe he might have a few instrument clusters laying around in his shop Jacob.....

I was under the impression that coding the cluster wasn't possible... Am I missing something?

I'm sure Mirza has many tricks up his sleeve to make things like this happen! Man... I would be willing to "pay" him to get an ///M cluster set up like his for my ZHP

[Karl Lazlo]

I have a friend who parts wrecked ///Ms.... maybe he might have a few instrument clusters laying around in his shop Jacob.....

Reading my mind...

I'm sure Mirza has many tricks up his sleeve to make things like this happen! Man... I would be willing to "pay" him to get an ///M cluster set up like his for my ZHP

Add me to the list.

[Aeternalis]

Just finished replacing the CHMSL in the car. PO said it would only work when cold due to some soldering insufficiencies. It was working when he handed the car off to me, but I put a new one in just to be sure.

[AggieBlake]

I think it's about time I create a maintenance/mod thread for my car. But in the meantime, here's what I did last night and today - replaced diff bushings with AKG black, replaced rear shocks with Koni adjustable Sports, and replaced stock RSM's with Rogue units. All in all, a good time. Here's a few notes for anyone considering doing any of this.

Let's get the easy stuff out of the way first: shocks and RSM's are cake. Worst part is removing the trunk interior. Thankfully, that won't be needed in the future due to the RE RSM's - they can come out the bottom. Use a utility knife to score the RSM sound deadening material in the trunk. If you tear it, it'll disintegrate into countless pieces. With scoring, you can get a nice, clean break. Install is easy. Remember to tighten the rear shock lower mount when the car is back on the ground.

The differential bushings are hard work, and correct tools are essential. Make sure you have the star sockets for the driveshaft and the differential bushing puller/installer tools. I was fortunate to be able to borrow the puller/installer tools from a friend. The DIY's were generally helpful here. But I did save some time with a couple edits. First, you do not have to remove the axles or pull the whole differential. I removed the exhaust (I have a Corsa, so I can just remove the rear 2 sections), diff brace, driveshaft from the diff, 1 side of the sway bar from the suspension, and the 2 sway bar mounts to the subframe (just swing the bar out of the way - you don't have to remove it totally from the car). I then loosened the front 2 bolts and big rear bolt. I then got a hydraulic jack under it, took up the weight, removed those 3 bolts, and slowly lowered and pivoted the diff. The CV joints have plenty of play to allow you to get the diff low enough to use the bushing tools. Here's what my set up looked like under the car when the diff was down...



Bushing removal went great, but was exhausting. It's a cramped space and even with the tools, you're expending a lot of energy. Installation of front bushes was easy. Rear bush... not so much. The sway bar flange is in the way when installing an AKG bushing (OEM would not have this issue - they press in from the opposite side). I thought I'd be clever and use the stock bushing tool. Installation went great, but when I tried to remove the tool, I saw the picture below.



I had not thought through removal ahead of time. The 8-inch bolt was stuck between the installed bushing and the sway bar flange, and the bushing removal tool was useless to me b/c it was stuck in install mode (different flanges go on it for install vs removal). Expletives ensued. I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out what to do, then an hour slowly removing the new bushing with the stuck bolt and a ball joint separator I have. It was exhausting... but it worked, thank God. Lesson learned. NEVER install a bushing without thinking about how you'll remove the install tool when you're done. Live and learn!

Finally, here's the cracked rear bushing that inspired this repair. 98k miles on it.

[oclvframe]

Got some parts in from Pelican Parts......Updated radiator, oil cooler hose, spacers and coolant for the e61 and plugs/VCG kit for the ZHP.

-r