Keflaman

[keflaman]

Did you ever take said pictures?

I mocked it up and then noticed I had the tubing reversed when I reviewed the pictures, so I have to take them over again. I think I'll do a little DIY thread, so look for that in a week or two.

[keflaman]

That is quite a list of work you have done!  I am just gearing up to do the e36 steering rack swap here soon.  How is it without the power steering?  I am currently running the stock rack without power steering and I like it just fine, however I wonder how much the effort will increase with the quicker ratio....Thoughts?

Other than parrallel parking or making tight U-turns I don't notice a significiant difference between the two racks, however, my wife hates the steering at anything slower than 5-10 MPH.

One thing I want to revisit is the spacer placement. I always installed a couple of nuts to act as spacers on the bottom of the E36 rack, however, when I ordered the spacer kit from E30Tech (http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94377) I installed them on the top of the rack and the steering now seems to be easier at parking lot speeds (again <5-10 MPH).

[Marauder42]

I mocked it up and then noticed I had the tubing reversed when I reviewed the pictures, so I have to take them over again. I think I'll do a little DIY thread, so look for that in a week or two.

[keflaman]

So I discovered a set of Bosch 4303 sparkplugs in one of my top toolboxes and figured I'd replace the plugs and valve cover seals and perform a compression check while I was in there.

The outside of the cover would give you pause to doubt the inside wasn't a chocolate mess...


...however, a peek inside indicates a regular maintenance schedule as there was no sludge buildup on the inside of the valve cover.


I threw another cover on there for now. I plan to pull the motor/tranny this summer and do the MUTI and re-gasket everything as well as remove all the cosmoline from the engine and compartment.


Service records document an Inspection II was performed on 01/21/02 @110,460 miles which was exactly 45,433 miles ago. Do these plugs look like they have 45K miles on them? You could stick a coat hanger in there. Seriously. The coloring had me a little concerned as I have been slowly losing coolant. After my test drive I pressure checked the cooling system and found the lower, left radiator hose leaking. That's an easy fix. Whew!:p


I can't complain about the compression results for a motor with 155,893 miles; the high numbers may indicate carbon build up on the pistons or an inaccurate compression gauge. I don't get too hung up on compression tests other than to tell me if I have a problem that requires further investigation.


I buttoned everything back up, checked for obvious leaks and took a test lap; all clean and dry upon return and what a difference the new plugs made. Wow.:eek:

[keflaman]

Hmmm. I threw together a couple of quick disconnect fittings with a union and plugged my compression tester gauge directly into two different regulators; there was less than 4 PSI difference, so my compression numbers are accurate.

[keflaman]

My car came with the JOM spring/shocks combo, but was too low and didn't give me the ride and handling I was looking for. I replaced that setup with a set of Sachs shocks and Racing Dynamics green springs. The green springs are progressive, but I didn't like the way the front end rode, so when I saw a used set of H&R and Bilstein Sports (http://m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15056) show up I jumped on the deal.

I also installed a set of ~15mm drop hats for additional drop in the front and here's how we look with everything installed on the stock wheels and tires...


No before pictures, but with the drop hats the front end now sits ~1/2" lower in the front and 3/4" higher in the rear.

Handling is VASTLY improved, but what I found when I compared the Sachs, JOM and Bilstein struts side-by-side is that the former two are about 1.5" shorter than the Billy struts.:confused:


I have used the Sachs shocks on my 318is with the stock springs and the green springs; the ride was about equal and not satisfactory due to a choppy feel on moderate bumps. I now think that was due to a higher preload on the front springs with the shorter struts.

Doesn't really matter to me now as I absolutely love the current setup, but more contact patch with the pavement is needed!:D

Time to throw the BBSs back on...


Sachs P/Ns: 100 590 front, 105 750 Rear with .

[fixierider84]

Looks awesome!  How are the drop-hats?  I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on them, and how they can mess up the shock travel and cause binding mid-turn.  Any experiences with this, and if not, what brand are you using?  Thanks!

Evan

[keflaman]

Looks awesome!  How are the drop-hats?  I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on them, and how they can mess up the shock travel and cause binding mid-turn.  Any experiences with this, and if not, what brand are you using?  Thanks!

Evan

I haven't noticed anything similar to what you mentioned, but I'll pay attention to see if I do next time I drive it. I'm taking my favorite curves with a firmer, planted feeling and about 10-15 MPH faster.

I don't know what brand the hats are, but I believe they're a bit deeper than the E90 items.

[keflaman]

Now that my niece is back in college and I have my car back, I finally replaced the noisy fuel pump. There was always a surge and lag that took some concentration to get a linear acceleration. I drove it a few days to get an impression and it definitely drove nicer...and quieter.

With that out of the way, I decided to finally install the Mark D chip and see what that would do for the old girl. The idle still isn't the smoothest, but it's acceptable and I suspect a good cleaning of the ICV will take care of that.

Out on the road the overall feeling of the car is smoother. I always thought the M42's first gear was worthless and felt like the 1950 John Deere tractor I learned to drive as a kid. I definitely get more out of first gear with Mark's chip and I do so without feeling like I'm wringing the hell out of the motor.

Gas mileage is going to be tricky figuring out because the car is so much more fun to drive!:p

[DesktopDave]

Thanks for posting all this...great to see your progress.

I haven't even set up an electrolysis station yet and here you are tempting me to overhaul my suspension!

[keflaman]

Quote:
Originally Posted by fixierider84  
"Looks awesome! How are the drop-hats? I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on them, and how they can mess up the shock travel and cause binding mid-turn. Any experiences with this, and if not, what brand are you using? Thanks!
Evan"

I haven't noticed anything similar to what you mentioned, but I'll pay attention to see if I do next time I drive it. I'm taking my favorite curves with a firmer, planted feeling and about 10-15 MPH faster.

I don't know what brand the hats are, but I believe they're a bit deeper than the E90 items.

After a hundred miles or so I don't notice any binding.

On another note, I love having power steering back and wouldn't go back to deleting it again.

[keflaman]

Thanks for posting all this...great to see your progress.

I haven't even set up an electrolysis station yet and here you are tempting me to overhaul my suspension!

It took a while, but I have found the right combination that satisfies my driving spirit and the Significant Other says it rides pretty smooth.

What?!?:eek:

[keflaman]

I pulled the instrument cluster to replace the odometer gears I purchased from tfrain and instead of finding the usual set of crumbling, bubbling gears I found these...


They seem to be made of a semi-rigid rubber material and are in very good shape. I twisted them in my fingers expecting to see stress cracks of some sort, but nothing of the sort was noted and they snapped right back into shape. I put them back off to the side and finished the installation of the new gears and checked all the bulbs and cleaned the contact points. I then polished the face of the cluster to a nice, clean smooth surface.

Although I don't have the cruise control bowden cable or coding plug for the OBC I decided that as long as I had the cluster out it would a good time to run the wiring harnesses. Installation was pretty straight forward and in my excitement I neglected to check everything before installing all the trim and steering wheel.

So...a loose/AFU contact in the OBC/turn signal stalk causes the headlights to stay on bright, a burned out bulb in the cluster turned out to be the ABS light and the OBC light bar is burnt out as well.

Argh! I'm my own worse enemy!:mad:

[keflaman]

Although I don't have the cruise control bowden cable or coding plug for the OBC I decided that as long as I had the cluster out it would a good time to run the wiring harnesses. Installation was pretty straight forward and in my excitement I neglected to check everything before installing all the trim and steering wheel.

So...a loose/AFU contact in the OBC/turn signal stalk causes the headlights to stay on bright, a burned out bulb in the cluster turned out to be the ABS light and the OBC light bar is burnt out as well.

Argh! I'm my own worse enemy!:mad:

A little time off down in North Carolina's Outer Banks and I returned energized and excited to get back to the car and finish what I started/screwed up.:p

First up: cannabilize bulbs from other OBCs and test. Done.

With a little scrounging in the junkyard I made my own M42 bowden cable using M20 and M44 cables. With that installed and adjusted I went back to the wiring harness and discovered I didn't have power going to the system.

Using information from a post by "longtallsally" (http://www.m42club.com/forums/showpost.php?p=81563&postcount=74) helped me figure out what I did wrong, but I intend to install heated seats so I didn't want to use terminals "T" and "U" (Accessory connector 302) for cruise control. Instead, I tapped power from fuse #6 and ran a pin socket to terminal "S" in C302 and then tapped the green/red brake switch wire and installed a pin socket in terminal "R".

Before I took the car out for a test drive, I swapped out the SRS and ABS modules and that took car of my ABS and SRS lights!:eek: Yay!!

Buoyed by those little victories, I set out on the open road and after getting up to speed I somewhat tentatively pushed the cruise control lever forward and...

Voila!

The car maintained the speed I set it at and all functions worked as I ran through the different positions.

It was a good day!:)

[DirtyD]

This is an awesome thread! I am jealous of your suspension set up...
I have always wondered about cruise control on these cars. after some decent driving, let me know how it holds up!