Well, I looked under my front end and saw the serpentine belt had started cutting into the expansion tank and the engine fan. My front skid plate ripped off a while back and I THINK the radiator needs that skid plate to be in place on the bottom. If anyone can verify, that would be great.
So, to sum up, in order to fix my expansion tank, I need to mount my radiator correctly. I need the skid plate and bottom sealing mount for that. Those need the inner fenders to mount right, which need a front bumper that doesn't hang off to one side to fit right.
And if I'm going to get a new front bumper I might as well replace both fogs with those LED ones, because one fog ripped off with the skid plate.
this project is getting out of hand.
Oh yeah, the intake boots are ripped so I'm replaced those and doing the DISA rebuild from GAS while I'm at it AND doing a CAI because WHY NOT at this point. Maybe I should supercharge it while I'm in there! Who knows!
I know this is basically BMW sacrilege.... but I really like the M3 headlights, fenders, and hood. I kind of wish I'd done this instead of replace them all myself:
http://www.2mautowerks.com/store/p63...28Pair%29.html
Plus these guys do paint and I need a paint job pretty pretty pretty pretty bad.... So much for a cheap, fun, DD
OK, so i looked at the radiator, and it seems to me that the reason why there's serpentine belt interference is the dealership installed the radiator and AC condenser wrong a while back. The condenser wasn't sitting in 1 bracket. It took me a good hour to get it in so I can see why they left it, but still, that's pretty shoddy work. And on the right it wasn't seated correctly. So it looks like they just slapped it back together. I've never had a good experience with any dealership - chevy, BMW, nothing. Maybe it's just the area I live in. Anyways, it's all sitting in there right now but I'm going to zip tie on side back because it's slipping around a bit more than seems right to me.
So, I guess I don't need to wait for all the body parts to drive it again. Just the intake stuff and the expansion tank and brake bleeder stuff. So I should be able to test out the lowering kit and short shifter then. I'll take to the frame shop and have them align it and then finish everything else when I get it back. Around here, going to the mechanic is always a multi-day event, even if it's an oil change and tire mount.
I like blue car parts.
I’m still waiting on the steering rack. That’s the last thing I need before it’s mechanically complete. Then I’ll just being waiting on body parts.
After that, I think I’ll get it repainted.
Cool. Git er done.
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Randeaux/Rando/John/jr - '06 Cic ZHP; Southern California
"ZHP or not, I still like you"
ZHP Performance Package, Cold Weather Package, Leather, Jet Black/Black/BlackCube, NAV, Anthracite Black "my individual" interior trim
ESS Stage 1 Twin Screw Supercharger, Sprint Booster, BMW Perf Intake, Magnaflow Exhaust, Dinan TB & STEP S/W, UCC Sway Bars, Apex EC-7 18x8.5 ET38
Suspension: AST 44100 dampers, Bimmerworld front adjustable end links, Swift springs (8K front, 10K rear), Vorshlag camber plates
Dynavin D99+, Hardwire V1 (w/V1 Connection), BSW Stage 1 Speakers, Kicker Amp/Subwoofer
BMW Performance Strut Brace, Orion V2 Angel Eyes, No-holes License Plate, SMG Paddle Shift Mod, Besian VANOS, Gold DISA, Fan Delete, M3 Side Mirrors
Note: Actual car no longer resembles signature picture
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I got it aligned and then drove it straight to the dealership to get the most recent recall - checking the passenger side airbag from the last recall, i think.
They say I need a new battery (i knew that - done already), a new oil pan gasket (i suspected), a driver side curtain airbag (I was hoping cleaning the connection solved this but I guess not), and rear brakes.
So I was this close --> || to having all my warning lights off, but I guess not. My headliner was sagging anyways. And the oil pan is leak is making my oil "less than a quart low" so the oil light is coming on when i turn the car off. Also, I wanted to start on fixing up the interior but I guess these last few things will have to get fixed first. At least I have time now. I got laid off from the 'rona a few weeks ago, which is why I have been able to make so much progress. At least I got a decent severance package and unemployment benefits are good now, and hopefully after Monday they continue to be good ��*♀️
edit - i guess i should add, since someone was asking about the short shifter. It's great. I love it. It was hard to get used to the much shorter throw. I thought I wasn't getting into gear and trying to jam it harder, but I'm used to it now. I can see what people are talking about with positive engagement now. It feels super accurate, like a robot shifting or something. Also, I got it up to about 115 on the highway and it felt great. Very smooth, even with my cheap tires. Don't worry, I live in west texas and the roads are long and flat and straight for miles and miles and every drives at least 90 so it wasn't that unsafe :D
I was so disappointed with the Avant 3 that I got a pioneer head unit, but I put off installing it until I saw the new and improved Avant 4. I’m a sucker and my typical BMW owner autism won’t let me install anything that doesn’t look 100% factory.
I liked the bigger screen. Of course, bigger is always better and I’d install a computer monitor in there if I could, but I like the medium size screen. As you can see from the picture, it matches the interior very well. The really big 9” screen ones look cool but the way it extends out of the frame seems out of place in an older car.
It’s a whole lot faster and slightly easier to install but you’ll still end up taking it out 10 times. Still no instructions, but there is a pretty good support staff now. They forgot a main wiring harness, so I emailed them at like 3 am and they put one in the mail at about 5 am Texas time.
There are still a few bugs to work out but at least I have better steering wheel controls. We’ll see about the rest of the bugs.
My factory NAV screen has dead pixels. I will do something about it eventually. What is that unit on your pic ... the Avant 4 ?
2005 IR / black / 6MT157,000 miles