BoldUlysses' 540i/6 Log & Thread o' Questions

[IronmanE30]

Your car is looking great! Nice additions.

Cheers,

Jim

[BoldUlysses]

Thanks guys. Small updates:

1. Gave it a bath last night and tried to take some pics today but the white balance on the DSLR was off, so everything came out blue-tinted. Will try again in the next day or so.

2. DUDMD provided a loaner DME while he installs the chip in mine. The loaner is from a 540iA, so the mapping is a little off. There's a wicked hesitation on throttle tip-in and the CEL flickered a few times at low speed on trailing throttle. I need to ship my DME tomorrow; may do next-day air if it's not too too expensive.



Edit (6/12/13): Replaced the rear passenger-side seatbelt receiver (thanks Ben!). My son no longer has to climb under the seatbelt because the buckle is jammed.

In other news, I cannot WAIT to get this auto DME out of my car...




Edit (6/13/13): Fixed the non-closing driver's rear ashtray (thanks Ben!). Door came off and was disassembled amazingly easily. All done in 20 minutes.

[BoldUlysses]

Small shock replacement update.

To go in:



Old strut, note what look like burn marks:



Had to trim the new bumpstops:



And then this happened. Five stitches:



The responsible party:



Wrench slipped while tightening the swaybar end link.

Got a local guy coming to finish the job tomorrow morning. I hate the idea of someone else working on my car, but I need this buttoned up by Wednesday. The "curse" of a DD.

[gixxerboy63]

Sorry about your hand. That looks painful. Did you figure out the settings on the Konis?

[BoldUlysses]

Thanks Tim. No, I'm not there yet. The well-nigh indecipherable instructions from Koni don't help. either.

[ShapeShifter]

Ouch! That should buff right out.

Seems like your physical relationship with the car is off to a shaky start. I hope it's smooth sailing from her on out.

[BoldUlysses]

Ouch! That should buff right out.

Seems like your physical relationship with the car is off to a shaky start. I hope it's smooth sailing from her on out.

My "physical relationship."

Thanks Pat. Stitches out next Monday...

The weird thing is that I was under the car working with a 90-lb hunk of metal (the diff) last weekend for 8 hours and didn't get a single cut; then I do an "easier" job and I get mauled...

[Binjammin]

Matt, how exactly were you tightening the end links on the housing?

[BoldUlysses]

End link to strut bracket. Strut bracket is designed in such a way that there's very little room around the nut for a socket. Was using a 12-point box end wrench with my right hand and holding the flats on the balljoint on the other side of the bracket with a 16mm open-end wrench in my left hand. Right hand slipped.

[Binjammin]

Yeah from my memory the end link has the two flats on it for an open end wrench. I could swear I remember using a socket and ratchet on the other end, a medium deep socket with any old ratchet. It's been a few months or more but I'll have to double check, but the open end wrench slipped and got you huh? No matter how you slice it, that would have happened regardless of how you drove the nut on.

Be a man Matt. Take out your own stitches

[ShapeShifter]

That sucks, I hate replacing end links.

[BoldUlysses]

Well if the brake disc had been there my finger would've just bumped (hard) against it rather than letting the backing plate slice through.

Or I could've just worn gloves.

I have insurance. Imma let the pros do it.

[gixxerboy63]

Thanks Tim. No, I'm not there yet. The well-nigh indecipherable instructions from Koni don't help. either.

Yes, I had fun with those instructions too!
NOT.

[Binjammin]

Well if the brake disc had been there my finger would've just bumped (hard) against it rather than letting the backing plate slice through.

Or I could've just worn gloves.

I have insurance. Imma let the pros do it.

Yeah but it's a waste of a copay. They just snip the stitch and pull. I went through that once and someone was like... why not just remove them on your own? So the next couple times I did. After that, I never bothered to get stitches as superglue covered it. Most recently with the thumb crushage there were no stitches, trying to remember the worst injuries I've had in recent years that I might have needed stitches but didn't... that scar on my wrist may have been a candidate... hrm... can't really recall.

[BoldUlysses]

Got the Konis and DUDMD chip in (thanks Dima; loaner DME will head back your way tomorrow).

I accompanied my daughter to one of her classmates' birthday parties Saturday and talked at length to another dad with mechanical experience, ASE certification, etc, and asked him what he'd charge to come over and finish the shock install. He said $50 a corner; I said sure. So he spent the better part of the afternoon installing them while I lent my good hand here and there.

Got the chip in too, took her out for a test drive earlier... What a car. It's just...perfect. The Konis are so smooth, shrug off bumps and make the car feel completely planted. I've heard it takes a couple of days to really notice the difference the chip makes but already the car feels...sharper, if that makes sense. And it might be all in my head, but I swear the engine sounds more prominent, even though I haven't touched the exhaust.

Regardless, I love this car. It's difficult to overstate how well it drives. And between all the recent repairs, it's very close to being back to 100%. Outstanding issues:

- Door bottom rust
- Weatherstripping shrinkage
- Still need foglight connectors for the HID ballasts

A trip to the you-pull-it should take care of those last two issues.

Finally, a gratuitous shot of a (nearly!) bone-stock 540i/6 with no centercaps (removed them just for kicks):

[DUDMD]

I'm glad you like it. Once the DME adapts completely, you'll never want to go back. I'm going to offer the loaner DME with a manual chip as well, just didn't have the time to do one for your order.

Sent from my iPhone using BF.com

[Leonator134]

Glad you're diggin' the chip, Matt. Look for increase in fuel economy too, mine bumped up significantly! The day after I put it in I averaged 31mpg on the highway at 70mph in 6th. (Verified at the pump).

Glad you're loving it! It's a pretty infectious car.

[clevertd]

Loving it

[thatonedood]

I dig it sans center caps. Out of curiosity, are you tired of the spoiler yet?

[BoldUlysses]

Thanks guys. Cleaned out the garage earlier and the E34's back in it for the first time in a couple of months (house projects, etc). Nice to have it "home." I need to take a pic for the "Where Your E34 Sleeps" thread...

I dig it sans center caps. Out of curiosity, are you tired of the spoiler yet?

I don't know. I just don't know. I'm so on the fence about it. On the one hand it's just extra clutter; on the other hand it does look nice in profile and gives my E34 a point of difference from others...

I think the real deciding factor will be once I put wheels on it. If it clashes with the wheels, off it comes.

[Binjammin]

put the caps back. thatonedood has a serious impediment to seeing good taste.

[BoldUlysses]

Hahaha

Caps have been back on since last night.

Just fixed the driver's headrest. Cable sheath trick FTW. Now if I could just get the bottom screws back in...

[93FIM5]

Car looks great and good choice on the chip and Konis!

[K Fox]

*sigh* You're making me jealous again. Your car was so tight except for the shocks, and now that those are done it's gotta be pretty awesome. Mine is so tired in comparison - but at least I know that now. It's funny how the 'tired' sneaks up on you over mileage...you don't notice it till it's really 'tired', then you're disappointed you let it get that bad. At least, that's my feeling... Very nice on the new parts - enjoy them. One other thing - where are the Koni's set right now? Full soft?

Fox

[bubba966]

So, now that you've got the Koni's in, how is the feel compared to your old 525? I recall you saying how you felt the 525 handled better/lighter. Do the Koni's close or eliminate that gap?