DesktopDave

[DesktopDave]

Out with the old:


In with the slightly-less-old:

Don't worry, I (eventually) put the missing anti-rattle spring back on. I have no idea what happened to the original one...I could have left it off last time when I installed the drilled rotors. According to my records, I last touched the rear brakes way back in June 2010. The handbrake hasn't worked properly since...hopefully my adjustments today will balance it out.

[DesktopDave]

I also determined where the pressure leak in the cooling system was. I was figuring the radiator had a leak, most likely at the expansion tank. So I bought myself the cheap HF pressure tester and got to work.

As reviewed, the pressure tester pump looked fragile. I'm only planning on occasional use, and if it saved me buying a new radiator i'm already ahead of the game. On the plus side, it was cheap and worked better than I had expected. The most important part - the late-model BMW adapter - was a pleasure to use. It fit perfectly and held pressure well. A thin film of silicone lube is a good idea. I really liked the air fittings, although they are a very small/non-standard size. ID is small, just a few mm (1/4"?). On the minus side, the pump provided some really great wrist exercise and almost a half-hour of quality meditation time. I might install a standard air fitting with a pressure reducer or a bike pump to improve it. I wish it came with a BMW cap tester. In my experience, BMW's 2 BAR pressure caps are usually bad anyhow. I just bought a new one, they're cheap insurance.

I had also been testing out an 88degC thermostat to see if I could get a few more MPG. It did give me a small gain, but the car took a long time to heat up and the gauge always looked uncomfortably warm. So I'm going back to the stock 80 degC unit and a matching 80/88 degC fanstat.

I started out by installing a new thermostat and expansion tank o-rings. The o-rings & gasket were all were in poor shape. I reassembled the system & popped on the tester. It failed to hold steady 1.5BAR pressure, leaking out slowly. I couldn't hear any leaks, but I did note a wee puddle under the middle of the car. Any ideas what that might be? 

Yup, bad heater core. I knew it was weak, but I had hoped to ignore it for a little while longer. So I ordered a new one, along with o-rings for the heater pipes. After I installed all that, the system finally held pressure. I'm told that BMW specifies a 1.5 BAR pressure test with less than 10% loss over a half hour. Mine held 2 BAR for over two hours with a 5% loss. I'm happy. I refilled it with a 33:66 mix of coolant:distilled water, bled the system, then came back the next day to top it off. I've found that a higher water content makes bleeding the system a bit easier. I had also hoped that thinner coolant would slightly improve fuel mileage and make the water pump live longer, but I haven't noted any substantial differences.

[DesktopDave]

Yesterday I managed to replace several brake hoses with some stainless lines from ECS. That went mostly OK. I also installed some cheap Centric C-TEK metallic pads. They're really cheap at RockAuto (like $5 a set...shipped). My expectations are pretty low, but I'll report back on their performance later.

Today's fun was bleeding the brake system. I whipped out my [sorta-trusty] Motive brake bleeder and got to work. Results are in...I have new fluid coming out of every orifice...including the rear brake reservoir bung. A little quick wash cleaned that right up. Happily, the brakes feel far more solid. The only casualty was the passenger front bleeder; it stripped. I got that off with some Vice-Grips and replaced it from my spares.

The final quick repair was replacing the alternator/pump/fan belt. The Dayco top-cog lasted seven years and I was out of adjustment space. I'll bet it could have gone longer, but why take chances? The car sits for long periods anyhow, and these Dayco belts are vulnerable to cracking on the outside radius of tight pulley bends. The loose belt was also likely undercharging the battery - it was barely taught even with the alternator tensioner adjusted all the way out. The new Bando is far tighter. I'm thinking it was $8 shipped at RockAuto?

Now the car is ready for the road. Who cares if the parking brake doesn't work?

[DesktopDave]

I have a dark secret to admit. I've left the poor little car sitting since those last posts in October. I ran into a rough patch last year so I just parked it. I had just done a good bit of work to the brakes and cooling system, but I didn't have a need for the car...I've managed to cut the need for a car completely out of my life as a frugal lifestyle move.

But I couldn't sell it. The kids love how small & simple it is, and how many good memories we have in the car...and I hate to sell a perfectly good car. So I took a little time to work on the old girl today...a vacation day from work...some unseasonably nice weather (75degF in Feb?!?). Here's what I discovered:

It's hard to tell, but that's water on the #1 plug. I dried it off, put it back, problem solved. I figured there was no way something stupid like this would work, but she warmed up and ran normally. I'll keep an eye on it but it seems OK.
 
How about some more pics for your viewing pleasure?

291K miles and she still looks spotless! Hardly any wear. That's what a reputable synthetic oil will do for you. I usually run 15w50 Mobil1, but I'm sure you could run any similar name brand with similar results. Wish I could say the same about the cam gears.

[DesktopDave]

Another update (finally). I've done a lot of work on the car recently, including a replacement windshield and a new tire. The car isn't in awful shape, considering how long it's been sitting (almost two years!). It'll need a little rust repair too, but that's understandable given our months of salt-spattered roads.

First task was the new windshield. I saved the old seal with a little elbow grease and swapped in a cheap used replacement. I had to re-seal the windshield to prevent leaks and repair a few stone chips. Permatex black RTV (affiliate link) and a Blue-Star two-pack kit (affiliate link) came to the rescue. First, some "before" pics. Note that the old windshield came out in one piece, but it was a wee bit damaged during this process:


Didn't take any 'after' pics yet, but I'll update when possible. I also didn't take any pictures of my adventures in tire mounting, that'll have to wait for another day.

[DesktopDave]

Did something else fun today. I took an E36 steering rack apart to 'manualize' it. I believe it's a 3.2:1 unit from an early '90s 325i. Has to be better than the stock 4:1 (?) E30 part, right? Since they both leak, I've decided to swap in the E36 part and just delete the hydraulic booster seal.

Pics to follow!

[DesktopDave]

E36 rack is cleaned, lubed & reassembled and waiting for me to find some spacers. The car unfortunately failed our safety inspection. I'm off to look for some brake tubing. Has anyone ever used the cupro-nickel-iron stuff? Sometimes called CuNiFe?

Here's what I ordered, from 'The Stop Shop': 25' coil of 3/16" (4.5mm) brake line tubing and a pack of ten 10x1mm bubble flare nuts. I already have a cheapo flare tool.

Reviews to follow!

[DesktopDave]

Today's fun was repairing the rear passenger window. It didn't work at all, and the switches both tested out OK. It took me a little while to figure out how to remove the the regulator assembly - the two bolts at the top were obscured by the inner plastic door membrane.

Once I got it out and over to the workbench, I couldn't figure out how the motor was attached to the regulator. I checked out some pictures on eBay; the motor mount bracket is spot-welded to the regulator rail/cable run. Or it should be, anyhow...mine was just "hanging out". JB Weld to the rescue...with any luck it'll cure up nicely (and I won't need a $100 used replacement!).

[Froos]

Good work man!

[DesktopDave]

The rear door power window regulator is finally back in! It's not perfect, pretty loud, buttons are temperamental, definitely needs new rubber wiper seals. As for the regulator repair, I ended up using a pair of sheet metal screws to hold it together long enough to bolt it back in. Despite the fact that the JB Weld gave up, the screws kept it together long enough to bolt back in. Those welds are not 100% necessary anyhow, since both the motor housing and the track are bolted to the door frame separately. The whole unit was very difficult to align properly, must have been slightly twisted. It wasn't in a cooperative mood. I also found out that it's best to tighten the window bracket at the bottom of the travel. Not only is it easier to get to, it aligned the window to the track a lot more precisely.

I also figured out how to fix a driver's outer door handle. I had pulled the outer handle a little too hard to open a jammed door, and it stopped working. The inner release still worked well. If you pull the inner door panel card and the membrane seal, it's not too hard. I had to fix a lot of stuff there. If you're thinking about trying this, I'd suggest a pack of BMW door clips while you're in there. Cheap and well worth it. There is just enough space to put your arm above the window motor and door beam. Using a large screwdriver, find the door handle extension and pry it outward. Your goal is to bend it towards the door skin, away from the inner door frame.

[DesktopDave]

Sway bar end link was the job for today. The ball joint nut had walked off a bit, causing it to clunk and rattle. I had to chop it off after I stripped the 16mm stud shoulder...and I used a really cheap "Flennor" part from RockAuto to replace it, I'll let everyone know how long it lasts.

[DesktopDave]

Wow, does that rear brake job look like a doozy! I put the car up on jacks, slid underneath, had second thoughts, went and got myself a beer. I spent the day rearranging the garage workshop instead. I'll get to it eventually, but that looked like the worst E30 job of them all!

This job wouldn't be all that bad if I dropped the exhaust, driveshaft, fuel tank, rear subframe, etc.. If I'm doing all that, might as well totally rebuild the entire back end! I'm not planning on anything like that, not yet anyhow.

[Froos]

What rear brake job did you mean? I rebuild my rear brakes subframe etc but never had to drop the tank

[DesktopDave]

I was talking about replacing the rear hard lines at the tee junction above the differential, they've failed our safety inspection here. I'm still considering dropping the rear subframe for bushing replacement.

[Froos]

Ah ok yes those better be replaced. Dropping the subframe can be a big job if the aluminium in the rubbers are fused with the metal from the car, like mine. But once its out the fun starts with removing the old rubber bushes...i put in powerflex and cleaned and painted the whole lot