monty23psk

[monty23psk]

I upgraded to a OEM lighted key sometime back. Believe it is in this thread. The bulb finally died so I decided to do the upgrade to LED as many have. I bought two bulbs from where I get my LEDs. a 3mm and a 5mm bulb. Everyone uses the 5mm but I want to see if I can get a 3mm to work so then I dont have to modify the housing to fit the bulb. The 3mm is only 1 lumens less. I also got the better 1632 battery. Here is a picture of both bulbs, in the cool white color and the battery. Both bulbs are very bright. Annoying bright if you face it towards someone's eye from 1 foot away.




My key, since it is probably then all those that wrote up a DIY, the different internal components. The copper ring is actually closed and does have the same vertical piece that many wrap one of the legs of the LED bulb. I had to improvise remove part of the copper ring and basically just use the bulb with out cutting any of the legs. It works perfect. I ended up with the larger bulp. I still need to trip the housing so that that the key closes better but ran out of time. The smaller bulb would be perfect but would need something to prevent it from moving. Probably a little hot glue. If a 4mm bulb exists, it would be a perfect fit.

Here is a picture of key put back together with the light facing the camera almost dead on.



Here is a picture of my front door from inside the house with no light and then a picture of the same area only using light from the key. The key is about 12-18" from the door knob. It can also work as a small flashlight, but I know the battery is not capable of working for a very long time. But good enough to use at night when opening car door or trunk.

I went with a cool white bulb. So basically $3 or less to get bulb and battery.

[Slowered318]

Another job well done, I always found the dull glow of the original key was useless.

Do you know of any LED's that match the interior dash bulbs? All I can find is yellow or red.

Here is a little LED project I will be installing soon.

[monty23psk]

Nothing much but finally got rid of my rough idle. My harmonic damper rubber sheared off, and car shut off due to crank sensor not getting a good signal. To confirm timing was ok, I took off the valve cover and made sure timing was right. It was off a few degrees on both intake and exhaust side. Most have been during my last rebuild as I only did the top end and didnt remove any lower timing components like the first time. The car was more peppy but running rich on idle. Now its super smooth, maybe not as peppy and my MPG should go up from the 23mpg I am currently receiving from combined city and highway driving. Besides changing the injectors for 4-pintle (which is an upgrade), a new FPR, was was defective due to FPR test, and a new fuel filter, I didnt really have to spend money on parts. I did replace my O2 which was at least 10yrs old, and it did increase MGP from 19 to 23. If timing was found to be fine, I would have to have looked at ICV and AFM, the two most expensive parts. Not bad idea to check timing every 5-6 years to play it safe.

[monty23psk]

Got my new exhaust installed a week ago. Old one had many leaks and small cracks in different locations. Went with a DynoMax Turbo exhaust, Magnaflow universal SS cat, with Jones SS resonator. Also added a basic SS tip. I went from the 2.25" stock size to 2.5" all the way back after the headers. All the stock mounting points still exist so I can remove it in two pieces if I need to work under the car. Here are two pics of the install. Car has a nice deeper idle sound. Does get a little raspy over the 4-5k band. Its not as loud as I thought it was going to be. With windows up, AC on and with the extra cabin insulation the exhaust is not heard unless it approaches the redline. Now with my sound system on a normal volume, it can only be heard if paying attention to it.

Here are the pics:

[Darky]

Hi
Does it feel like less power in the lower rpms with the 2.5 inch exhaust?
Cheers Rohan

[monty23psk]

Not really, I feel it the same but as you start to accelerate, you do feel the difference, but not much. I doubt I gained more than 3-4 hp. After fixing my timing, the car is a little less peppy on take off. That would be that now I am running less rich, less advanced on the timing.

[DesktopDave]

Nice work as usual. I'm really liking that exhaust setup. I went with a Magnaflow generic muffler the last time mine rotted off. It's not bad, but I'll save your parts list for the next time.

[monty23psk]

THanks Dave. It has settled in nice now. Just great to have the exhaust leak noises. Now car purrs especially after fixing rich idle issue. Wished it had a lower pitch and not as raspy at the higher RPMs but works ok for me. I know a Supersprint would be nicer but $ with this setup makes it easy.

[monty23psk]

I decided to upgrade my reverse lights with nice bright LED bulbs. What is nice, they come in a glass dome like OEM. The difference is huge. Very bright white light when both are swapped.

Bulb:


Installed on the driver side with stock on passenger side. Took pic without flash which shows a difference but picture does not give it any justice. I just bought a pair for my dad's e28 and he loves them. He is not into the newer LED stuff but he is really happy with them.


I also had my antenna motor die where I have to force the mast up and down to help motor. Even installing a new mast didn't help. I have fixed the internals so many times that finally bit the bullet and got one. Luckily there  was a mess up on the order and with BMW part NLA, I got a new Hirschmann for $130.  I was debating on using the Z version but I link the vintage look of the mast going up and down. I also like the minimized look when the antenna is down.

Newly received antenna.


Old one before removal:


New one prepped with old bracket for installation:


New one installed and it all works fine. Silky smooth operation. I got some free Hirschmann wipes to clean and lube the mast. Plan on using it every 3 months. If after 2 weeks all is well, I will sell the old mast, Hirschmann brand with black tip for a discount. Its not even a month old.

[Darky]

That globe is great where did you get it from?

[monty23psk]

superbrightleds.com

Part Number: 1156-CW3W-G

[monty23psk]

Happy New Year everyone!

So 2 weeks before Christmas, I noticed my clutch pedal would only get into gear if the pedal was against the floor. The MC and SC are not even 4 years old and I did try to bleed it. Nothing changed and I felt the issue was mechanical inside the bell housing. With the SC out, I noticed the plunger was going in at an angle. Weird. I felt the clutch for, and it was too noisy when I would tap it, seemed loose. I started the process last week of removing everything as I am off the last two weeks of the year. I have everything off and sure enough, the clutch pin on the opposite side of the SC behind the pivot fork broke in two. How a $3 plastic part is making me do all this work is not fun.

Here is a pic of the two piece issue:


I did order a performance clutch pin made of silicon bronze so that it outlasts this transmission and prevent this from happening again. Here is a pic courtesy of AGA in California.



Here is a pic of inside of the bell housing and you can see where the clutch fork kept rubbing against the bell housing. Glad I did it now as eventually I don't believe would you have been able to engage the clutch.



But like with everything I do, I am taking an approach of doing a lot of "while I am in there" repair. First thing, I need a new driveshaft. I believe this is the original and the rear u-joint is notchy. New one came in and silky smooth. I called the best in the business from research on the forums, Drivline in Portland, OR. They gave me a price and said they can ship one out of a warehouse in Virginia. They don't servive the BMW non-serviceable U-joints anymore and dont even sell the ones that came with serviceable U-joints. My thought which is what they stated, they never sold many of theses and normally a drive shaft should last you 10+ years. If you remove it, you might as well replace the whole thing then service the u-joints as the price is not a deal breaker. I then called Powertrain Industries in CA which I bought a driveshaft over 10 years ago for my M5. The guy gave me the option to send in my driveshaft or it would be easier and not a difference in cost to just purchase a rebuilt one. They also stated to have one in warehouse in Virginia. Coincident, I think not. Did some research and there is a compnay that pretty much handles all of the US for rebuilt driveshafts with 4-5 warehouses around the US. I ordered it from Powertrain, got it here on the 24th. Here is a pic of the old and new (inside the box).



Here is the tranny. I ordered all the seals and even ordered a UUC Evo3 SS with DSSR. This saved me on some funds which I was gonig to spend on rebuilding the shifter parts, a savings of about $75 which when towards the SS. Also they have a sale with a free DSSR.



I am going to replace the flywheel with the M20 conversion so need to put that order together. Just reading up on the how to make sure I get all the right parts.
 

[monty23psk]

Couple work pics are delaying progress. I did receive my m20 flywheel today. Also confirmed it by weight, 8lbs. Need to resurface it and will look at ring gear swap option and a light lightening.

[Darky]

Always get great ideas from you, awesome work!

Cheers Rohan

[monty23psk]

Got mor time to work on car while m20 flywheel gets the works. I found a local shop to swap out the m42 ring gear and add it to the m20 fw. This way, I don't need to modify the m42 starter or purchase a m20 starter. Getting it down for the price of a good used m20 starter. I am also looking at getting the TDC flywheel lock hole added to the m20 flywheel. Not a need but a want.

Today I swapped out the rear engine seal and started the cleaning the back of the block. I used the adapter to tap in the new seal used blue hylomar for the seal/carrier fitting. My rear seal was not leaking but rather swap it out now while in there. I have the pilot bearing to replace, and that is next.

I first drilled a tiny hole into the seal and the screwed in a machine screw. Then using the back of a hammer, I pulled the seal out. 10 mins total. Used the trick I read only a few times.

The parts, using BMW brand where I can:


After the install:


The pilot bearing:


Next up, will be the pilot bearing replacement, installing the flywheel, still debating on getting it lightened with the clutch masters stage 1 clutch and pressure place. I have all brand new OEM bolts and hardware straight from BMW for this install.  More pictures to come.