[autoart]

Changed the radiator(had a hole in it), that's what started it all. Changed the coolant flange(fell-a-part in my hands) and the top radiator hose. Changed ofhg & thermostat gasket while I was in there. It had a small leak too. It's a 09 335i with 110k miles. The ofhg was done under warranty at about 50k miles

[ny325]

Got a nail in my rear tire. Had it plugged.

[Mosaud1998]

Went in the garage and took a look at it I haven't driven it since Jan 4th 2021

[longm1985]

Originally Posted by McLovin1

Honestly I like it, it's subtle but it needs a fresh coat of clear done and some the the trunk spoiler 😂

Yeah the clear on mine is bad too. I'm torn... Do I actually redo the clear or just get rid of it?

[unixnerd]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

Went in the garage and took a look at it I haven't driven it since Jan 4th 2021

24th December for me! Lockdown + lots of snow = old RAV4
Had to stick a battery charger on it.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by unixnerd

24th December for me! Lockdown + lots of snow = old RAV4
Had to stick a battery charger on it.

Haven't driven since late Dec. when I had to move it to get the snowblower out...not good

[longm1985]

I found my wife's old iPod I got her back in like 2008? Anyway I found the cable from her Mini and tried it in my car. Works perfectly, but the iPod needs a new battery. Much better sound quality than my phone into the AUX port for good files.


2021-01-26_08-50-02 by Michael Long, on Flickr

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by John 070

Haven't driven since late Dec. when I had to move it to get the snowblower out...not good

Yeah, I want to drive it but now we have like 9 inches of snow and I dont really want to take it out and get it all salty and dirty (I detailed it late November before it sat for this long). Starting it and letting it run won't do any good from what I've been hearing. So, I guess I'll keep it on the trickle charger and wait until next week to take it for a long drive.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by unixnerd

24th December for me! Lockdown + lots of snow = old RAV4
Had to stick a battery charger on it.

I just haven't driven it at all. Good thing it's got somewhat fresh oil in it (drove around 1,500 miles on the current oil in the engine). Filled the tank up with shell Jan 4th

[John 070]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

Yeah, I want to drive it but now we have like 9 inches of snow and I dont really want to take it out and get it all salty and dirty (I detailed it late November before it sat for this long). Starting it and letting it run won't do any good from what I've been hearing. So, I guess I'll keep it on the trickle charger and wait until next week to take it for a long drive.

I did check the fuel the other day and it's probably 7/8 which isn't bad (close to full)...someone here said no need for the ethanol treatment....and let's face it the car is 14 years old and I never used Sta Bil yet so should be ok....be nice to take a good 1+ hour drive....

[Buug959]

I just paid for the next month of storage for my car. I haven't seen it since mid Nov. and won't lay eyes on it again until late April or early May, depending on the weather.

[E92William]

I had the starter crap out on it yet again lol. Guess I'll hit it with some stick or something and actually replace it this time

[Hoody007]

Originally Posted by longm1985

I found my wife's old iPod I got her back in like 2008? Anyway I found the cable from her Mini and tried it in my car. Works perfectly, but the iPod needs a new battery. Much better sound quality than my phone into the AUX port for good files.


2021-01-26_08-50-02 by Michael Long, on Flickr

I have the same iPod (the U2 edition with the red click wheel). The reason it sounds better is that generation of iPod, the 5.5G, has a phenomenal Wolfson DAC - this is especially noticeable when playing uncompressed audio. I use it in my ’09 which has the Bimmertech PP82 amp, Logic 7 mids, and Vifa OT19 tweeters, and you can really tell the difference, even from a modern iPhone, like my XS. You can get OEM batteries from eBay as well, still, and drop an SSD in there for even more storage!

[E92William]

Few hits and she cranked right up. Now to find a reasonably priced starter while I continue to drive on borrowed time lol

[tcphoto]

That makes me think that perhaps BMW should offer an extending baton just for that purpose. A tool/self defense item but where would the roundel go?

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by E92William

Few hits and she cranked right up. Now to find a reasonably priced starter while I continue to drive on borrowed time lol

fcp is where id get one from

[Mosaud1998]

Question, would it really be harmful if I started the car and let it idle for 10-15 min? I haven't started it since Jan 4th. I dont want to drive it since we just had a snowstorm and It took me hours to detail it a few months back.

[colorado.e9x]

I idle my car 10-15 minutes almost every day in the winter. You should be okay, only reason they say it's bad is because of emissions I bet ya

[JonOhh]

Technically it's bad because cylinder temps don't get high enough during extended idling periods, especially from a cold startup where AFR is already very rich, to prevent fuel from piling up on the cylinder walls and "washing down" the oil film meant to protect the rings and cylinder walls.

Extended idling can also be bad for the timing system, as at low rpm the entire system gets jolted around by engine pulses.


Now, that being said, 15 minutes is not too bad at all, especially once or twice. You won't wear your engine any significant amount by doing that, and people do it all the time, so it's okay.

Cylinder wall washing is especially bad in diesel engines, so you'll find a lot of trucks that idle for extended periods of time usually do so in a "high idle" mode that keeps cylinder temps adequate.

That's just some of the technical information as to why people advise against idling, not necessarily trying to tell you you'll damage your engine. My personal limit is 5-10 minutes before I manually increase the idle to 2000 with the throttle. Probably unnecessary but peace of mind is worth it.

[Mosaud1998]

It's alive. Felt so good to hear it run Idk why the video quality is ass. Ignore the somewhat dirty garage

0 fault codes except for this which I've been getting. Doesn't seem like anthing major so

Smoke coming out of the oil cap (I opened it after I shut the car off). I think that's normal and a good sign that the engine got up to operating temps, I think.

[3PedalJake]

Re. my last post about figuring out where to cut the exhaust for the catless midpipes, I'm getting cold feet. There is nowhere I can cut it that will give me 1.75" of straight 2" pipe to either side of the cut, which is what the band clamp needs to go on tight. before I get into pipe expanders and things I decided to polish it up and try to fix the gash I put in the flange area and hang it back up whole until I figure out a better solution for the cat delete (I think it needs to be welded not clamped, but my welding skilz are lacking). Which brings me to my next point, any input on the best way to weld this gash shut appreciated. I have a HF "Titanium 200" multipurpose welder, both .03 and .035 solid wire and a tank of 75/25 gas, any suggestions on settings? I think the pipe is 409 stainless, not sure about that tho, also believe it is 16ga thickness. I don't have any stainless wire, and not sure it matters for a patch or not, I just need to seal up this oopsie crack I made while cutting it free from it's rusty studs.

[bmw335ie90]

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

Re. my last post about figuring out where to cut the exhaust for the catless midpipes, I'm getting cold feet. There is nowhere I can cut it that will give me 1.75" of straight 2" pipe to either side of the cut, which is what the band clamp needs to go on tight. before I get into pipe expanders and things I decided to polish it up and try to fix the gash I put in the flange area and hang it back up whole until I figure out a better solution for the cat delete (I think it needs to be welded not clamped, but my welding skilz are lacking). Which brings me to my next point, any input on the best way to weld this gash shut appreciated. I have a HF "Titanium 200" multipurpose welder, both .03 and .035 solid wire and a tank of 75/25 gas, any suggestions on settings? I think the pipe is 409 stainless, not sure about that tho, also believe it is 16ga thickness. I don't have any stainless wire, and not sure it matters for a patch or not, I just need to seal up this oopsie crack I made while cutting it free from it's rusty studs.

With 75/25 and regular steel wire the weld will rust eventually, but i don't think that will really matter. When I have welded exhaust pipes i used high voltage and medium wire speed and just made a bunch quick tacks stacked on-top of each other. Since you are only welding in one area, i would only do 1-2 tacks and let it cool. If you work too fast its going to warp the pipe and it is possible the flange wont line up well anymore.

Take this with a grain of salt though as I have only welded thin walled stainless pipe and handful of times.