[E92William]

Originally Posted by unixnerd

When I lived in Aberdeen I had access to two good pick and pull places, breakers we call them here. No I'm in the Highlands I have to get everything on ebay. Even Inverness doesn't have a good breaker I can wander round.

Years ago I bought used parts on German Ebay and sold them in the UK. I was spending £20k a year just on the shipping and doing pretty well but then it caught on and lots of other folk started competing. I could ship a set of wheels from Germany to Scotland for on £25, was doing so much I got great rates. Because they had a minimum tread depth of 3mm and it was only 1.6mm here wheels always had legal tyres. Used to get Alpina steering wheels, Hartge alloys, Schnitzer stuff, so many goodies.

There's a lot of people in that game now. Stuff like sport package wheels don't last at all in my local yards. Too many resellers nowadays parting out BMWs and selling a used M sport bumper for more than a brand new one The only good thing is that some of these junkyards here are stuck in time so if you go in person you can find some nice stuff on the small ones, they buy a car cheap from auction and just cut the cats off and scrap it later. They don't try to sell anything, they don't have an online inventory, eventually they'll get put out of business by LKQ and the like.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

Well as luck would have it I also have a 325i that's about to get put to the wrench. It's not getting all the M3 goodies, but I'm sure my OCD will compel me to to pull it out and clean it up

So speaking of subframes... I can't find all the great pics of your rebuild as reference.

I have a few questions because I'm about to dig into mine. I trust your experience along with E92William's. The rear subframe-to-body bushings, my plan is to just drop the subframe a few inches by strapping the diff to my under-hoist transmission jack. I'm trying to avoid disconnecting brake cables and brake hoses, I just want enough room to get the old bushings out. Based on your experience, do you think that would work? And what technique did you use to drive the bushings out/in?

TIA.

[Gregrobin]

Cleaned/scrubbed the exterior of the intake manifold then sprayed it with engine dressing, looks niiiice.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by 2one3E90

Got the red one 2 years ago and now since I got another e90. The blue I got on sale. Heads up get them cuz they are $4 off right now. Perfect for your e90 Fob! Funny thing is the start stop button on both of em is red and the other is blue but the keys go to the different color LOL.

You got a link to order one of these? Never seen em before, looks nice.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

So speaking of subframes... I can't find all the great pics of your rebuild as reference.

I have a few questions because I'm about to dig into mine. I trust your experience along with E92William's. The rear subframe-to-body bushings, my plan is to just drop the subframe a few inches by strapping the diff to my under-hoist transmission jack. I'm trying to avoid disconnecting brake cables and brake hoses, I just want enough room to get the old bushings out. Based on your experience, do you think that would work? And what technique did you use to drive the bushings out/in?

TIA.

not a BMW, but I made a tool very similar to this so I could do volvo bushings on the car by dropping the subframe down an inch or two with longer bolts.

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...st-easy-74022/

I bought a good condition artis metallic fender today to replace the one that has started rusting.
easy button for less than $100.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by nsjames

not a BMW, but I made a tool very similar to this so I could do volvo bushings on the car by dropping the subframe down an inch or two with longer bolts.

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...st-easy-74022/

I bought a good condition artis metallic fender today to replace the one that has started rusting.
easy button for less than $100.

I have a bearing removal/installation tool set already that should work for the large subframe bushings. I'm just looking for confirmation that dropping the subframe will work.

[dephrank]

Had my MOT done today. Inspector balanced and realigned the wheels. Car feels more planted now. Not sure how I forgot to get an alignment after swapping tyres

[2one3E90]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

You got a link to order one of these? Never seen em before, looks nice.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog...FKCHN_pg17.htm

STILL ON SALE

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

So speaking of subframes... I can't find all the great pics of your rebuild as reference.

I have a few questions because I'm about to dig into mine. I trust your experience along with E92William's. The rear subframe-to-body bushings, my plan is to just drop the subframe a few inches by strapping the diff to my under-hoist transmission jack. I'm trying to avoid disconnecting brake cables and brake hoses, I just want enough room to get the old bushings out. Based on your experience, do you think that would work? And what technique did you use to drive the bushings out/in?

TIA.

Nothing makes my day like someone wanting to see my pics I put some that might be relevant to you in a album so as not to hog a whole page here,,, https://www.e90post.com/forums/album.php?albumid=18464

I'll qualify by saying I believe you can do it with stock bushings without complete removal. The M3 bushings I installed have a different configuration, the flange is on top so the bushings have to be inserted from the top and drawn down. The OEM bushings have the flange at the bottom and only need enough clearance for the bushing tool.
The large rear bushings can be done with any bushing puller, even a PVC coupler, some washers and all-thread would work, the small front ones are another matter. There's no place to get purchase for a receiver ring on the thin lip of the bushing mount, I got a tool from a ebay seller that has a ring that snags the lip around the bushing and allows it to be drawn in or out.
The brakes absolutely won't come apart by turning the nuts, so good call leaving them alone unless you want to at the very least reflare the ends. They can be considered one piece, turn the nut you will twist the line. I went down the rabbit hole there and ended up replacing the subframe and fore-aft hard lines with CuNi lines.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by 2one3E90

https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog...FKCHN_pg17.htm

STILL ON SALE

Damn they are gouging the shipping, $9.50 USPS for a key case? Can't be more than $3 to stick it in an envelope.

I got the PN from that link, though, and it's on Amazon for the same price (well, 20 cents more) with free delivery that'll get here the same time Pelican expects to ship it out. Gotta love capitalism.

https://www.amazon.com/BMW-Leather-K.../dp/B00B1GVFKG

[JonOhh]

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

Nothing makes my day like someone wanting to see my pics I put some that might be relevant to you in a album so as not to hog a whole page here,,, https://www.e90post.com/forums/album.php?albumid=18464

I'll qualify by saying I believe you can do it with stock bushings without complete removal. The M3 bushings I installed have a different configuration, the flange is on top so the bushings have to be inserted from the top and drawn down. The OEM bushings have the flange at the bottom and only need enough clearance for the bushing tool.
The large rear bushings can be done with any bushing puller, even a PVC coupler, some washers and all-thread would work, the small front ones are another matter. There's no place to get purchase for a receiver ring on the thin lip of the bushing mount, I got a tool from a ebay seller that has a ring that snags the lip around the bushing and allows it to be drawn in or out.
The brakes absolutely won't come apart by turning the nuts, so good call leaving them alone unless you want to at the very least reflare the ends. They can be considered one piece, turn the nut you will twist the line. I went down the rabbit hole there and ended up replacing the subframe and fore-aft hard lines with CuNi lines.

When these cars get to the age they need restoration, and even now really, the couple of y'all who really put effort into documenting and sharing everything consistently are gonna be our saviors- though I say that not to devalue anything anyone else does, of course. I think we all know who those people are, but you're one of them.

Thanks for your effort man.

[2one3E90]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

Damn they are gouging the shipping, $9.50 USPS for a key case? Can't be more than $3 to stick it in an envelope.

I got the PN from that link, though, and it's on Amazon for the same price (well, 20 cents more) with free delivery that'll get here the same time Pelican expects to ship it out. Gotta love capitalism.

https://www.amazon.com/BMW-Leather-K.../dp/B00B1GVFKG

I was buying clamps for exhaust so i got free shipping

[Kuokonut]

Moved from Alpina TCU tune to XHP Stage 3 today. Smoother in D by a good margin. S is firm but not crazy. Going into a stop from 3rd results in really jerky downshifts. Will try -35 from 3>2 and probably -20 from 4>3

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by 2one3E90

I was buying clamps for exhaust so i got free shipping

Their cutoff is $100...you spent 78 bucks on exhaust clamps??

[2one3E90]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

Their cutoff is $100...you spent 78 bucks on exhaust clamps??

thats not my cutoff they are 9 miles away from me their warehouse

[E93_Savage]

Installed apex 90mm stud kit. Watched my 2yo beat my wheels with a branch, i never knew i could have a split second thought of punting my own child.


Searching for different nutz.

[S65Hunter]

Originally Posted by E93_Savage

Installed apex 90mm stud kit. Watched my 2yo beat my wheels with a branch, i never knew i could have a split second thought of punting my own child.

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by JonOhh

When these cars get to the age they need restoration, and even now really, the couple of y'all who really put effort into documenting and sharing everything consistently are gonna be our saviors- though I say that not to devalue anything anyone else does, of course. I think we all know who those people are, but you're one of them.

Thanks for your effort man.

Thanks Jon much appreciated, it's nice to have your efforts recognized especially so when 99% of ppl think you're nutz I wish I really was good at documenting, I keep promising myself I'll write in a journal but I never do and probably never will. The camera keeps it from being a total loss because I like taking pics and I've learned not to take anything apart until you photo-doc it so it has a chance of going back together. The pics and their date stamps usually let me piece together what I did some weeks or months ago or I'd forget what I did entirely

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

I've been using California duster too. It's been catching dust since sitting in the garage.

I don't like when it sits in the garage but I also don't like driving it in the snow

I did drive it in the snow at the beginning of 2020 because well I worked. So, I had no choice.

Now I don't work or anything so whenever I had to go somewhere, I'd take my mom's Sienna

I've been using Meguairs 3 in 1 wax. But, I've heard Meguiars Paste Wax is 10x better. I have the paste wax sitting in the "box of detailing" supplies. Idk if I should open the paste wax and use it or just wait until the 3 in 1 wax is finished?

Out of curiosity, what wax do you use? Or what wax does everyone that's active in this group/forum or whatever you wanna call it use?

This post got me thinking about why I use the Canauba. It's clearly great on cars but TBH I haven't tried anything else on a car I care about in a long time. I mostly like the old technology because it's demonstrably superior to new crap, or at least you could make a strong case for it,but not everything new is necessarily bad, even to a self confessed Ludite and cranky geezer. I've been in IT my whole career so it's not like I'm scared of tech or don't understand it, I mostly don't like it because at this point it's mostly aimed at letting stupid ppl do dopey things.

That said, I like products that perform, so I'm giving the new Turtle Wax polish and wax with the mystical graphene a try. I polished it out today with the porter-cable on a orange then a white pad then put on the wax. The polish is nice, no chalkiness like old school polish and wipes off easy, seemed to do a decent job for a consumer product used by a consumer level detailer. It's hard to tell on a silver car it hides the sworls so well but with a light on it it did remove all the lighter scratches. The wax goes on nice, it's different than carnauba in that you remove excess with a damp cloth then a dry one, but it was not horrible to use, not as easy as a good carnauba though. It does have going for it it doesn't leave white stain on plastic or door seals, give it a B for application. It seems nice and slick and shiny, we probably won't see if it holds up cause this thing will never see the elements, but I'm gonna try it on the Accord, stay tuned,,,

[colorado.e9x]

I did a very rough mockup on the R6S shock. Everything is supposed to slide in nice and easy.. Now I wouldn't be me if I didn't find the easy things a lot more difficult than they should be. Will I ever be able to get it back out? Who knows. But when it comes time to do so when I take it apart to paint everything, I'm sure it'll be a nightmare

The slide pin for the bottom mount is whats supposed to be easy going. Even with proper clearance it took a mallet to get it in. Is it the right way of doing things? Absolutely not. Should I have had the patience to do it right the first time? Absolutely. Am I patient? Once again absolutely not. I have a feeling the reason it was so difficult was due to my (temporary) shim. See pic 2. I couldn't find any spacer to put on either side (gap was too small) so I settled on one large one to one side. Not ideal at all but I just wanted to see it installed

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by colorado.e9x

I did a very rough mockup on the R6S shock. Everything is supposed to slide in nice and easy.. Now I wouldn't be me if I didn't find the easy things a lot more difficult than they should be. Will I ever be able to get it back out? Who knows. But when it comes time to do so when I take it apart to paint everything, I'm sure it'll be a nightmare

The slide pin for the bottom mount is whats supposed to be easy going. Even with proper clearance it took a mallet to get it in. Is it the right way of doing things? Absolutely not. Should I have had the patience to do it right the first time? Absolutely. Am I patient? Once again absolutely not. I have a feeling the reason it was so difficult was due to my (temporary) shim. See pic 2. I couldn't find any spacer to put on either side (gap was too small) so I settled on one large one to one side. Not ideal at all but I just wanted to see it installed

That thing looks beefy. The final fitting is always what puts the cuss in custom, if it was easy e1 would do it.

[colorado.e9x]

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

That thing looks beefy. The final fitting is always what puts the cuss in custom, if it was easy e1 would do it.

Way better than the old air shock
As always appreciate the kind words Jake! Won't be too long before I hit your PM about cleaning up all these old parts!