What did you do to/for your e46 today??

[Doge]

When I added LED side markers to my car, they are faintly lit whenever the can bus is awake. Its kinda funny, and I've never bothered adding resistors or anything because I almost like it.

Power save mode? haha!

[daytonatrbo]

I went with a staggered set of Style 286. Love the new look.

Anyone want to buy my 189s? See my sig pic. They are no longer plastidipped white. The tires are shot and I don't want to spend the kind of money to put good tires back on them.

[daytonatrbo]

Power save mode? haha!

At least I know when the car goes to sleep.

[Doge]

At least I know when the car goes to sleep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giaZnIr-faM

[Brickk]

When I added LED side markers to my car, they are faintly lit whenever the can bus is awake. Its kinda funny, and I've never bothered adding resistors or anything because I almost like it.

Haha that is kinda funny! I didnt bother adding any resistor or anything either mine were just a plug and play unit, mine stay off though! weird! I love how much cleaner the car looks now without that nasty orange thing sticking there

[Doge]

Agreed, clear corners are a far superior look.
I see some older e46 330Cis without them...kinda icky lookin'.

[daytonatrbo]

Haha that is kinda funny! I didnt bother adding any resistor or anything either mine were just a plug and play unit, mine stay off though! weird! I love how much cleaner the car looks now without that nasty orange thing sticking there

Agreed!

[xiTouringTim]

Got new tires. Coopers.. the old ones were dead...

[Doge]

New Bosch quietcast rotors and pads with a new sensor on the front.
Broken in with a method I saw suggested somewhere on these here parts.
'Find a "good" road (no hard braking getting to said road, engine brake when feasible), take it up to 60mph...brake semi-hard until 5-10mph achieved [DO NOT FULLY STOP]...back up to 60mph...lather, rinse, repeat 5 or so times. Still take it a bit easy first day or two when operating brakes just in case.'

Not sure if this is the optimal way to do it, but it made sense to me.
Chatter from hard braking is gone (along with those trash duralast rotors and pads) <-- before I am scolded...it was a carry-over ideal from owning an Accord. I made the mistake, I learned.
German design is once again installed and she seems very happy.
"Duralast - Built from trash..Duratrash"
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Simultaneous diagnoses of front compensation in steering wheel (pulls slightly left for straight)...No definitive conclusion, everything looks tight. May just be s#!tty tires and a going shock in the front, it's on my to do list anyway.
Noticed that front sway bar is loose in mounting, will replace shortly.
______________________
Replaced lower intake boot due to large hole leading to the IACV tee-off, pulled IACV and cleaned, re-installed original MAF (cleaned), inspected DISA again..looks like it needs a new o-ring now. Found a DISA repair kit on FCP for less than $45, gonna try it out.

[jglover]

Replaced parking brake shoes and hardware. First side 3 hours including breakfast. Second side 1 hour.

[daytonatrbo]

Applied some carb/injector cleaner fluid directly to the combustion chamber on my car to see if I could loosen up my seemingly carbon stuck rings.

Put 1oz in each cylinder through the spark plug hole, using this nasty contraption:




I didn't get to leave it soaking as long as I wanted. Only ended up being about 4 hours. After clearing the fluid out and putting the spark plugs and coils back in, preliminary results are promising.

I still had a miss on a cold start last night, but this morning everything was much smoother.

[angeleye540i]

Need me some facelift coupé tail lights, if possible... Still havnt put angels in...

Got a speeding ticket today 87 in a 65... "Super speeder" so whatever the ticket is plus 200$ super speeder fine

[Doge]

...Got a speeding ticket today 87 in a 65... "Super speeder"...

Did you try playing it off like the car wouldn't allow you to go slow?

[dhurley34]

Need me some facelift coupé tail lights, if possible... Still havnt put angels in...

Got a speeding ticket today 87 in a 65... "Super speeder" so whatever the ticket is plus 200$ super speeder fine

Naughty Naughty. Save it for the track.

[Thuppu]

Bought Style 68's

[angeleye540i]

Bought Style 68's

like this... Got to have them 68s...
Changed my oil after the speeding ticket... Operation "remove PO sludge" is coming along nicely... 5th oil change with seafoam since December (well this one I used STP seafoam knockoff), but fresh Castrol Edge LL-01 0w-40... Been a mobile 1 guy forever trying the Castrol thing out now. After a slight "break in"
Period of a few dozen miles, gave it the old "Italian Tune up" with the new oil with real seafoam, to shake rattle and roll and dirty ish loose and get things moving/burning...

[Thuppu]

225/45R17 front tyres and 255/40R17 rear tyres. Style 68 looks quite good.

[Doge]

Yesterday I removed my DISA and tore (literally) out the old "squared-out" o-ring seal to the intake.
I replaced it with a different type of o-ring material. I read up and most people seem to think that Buna-N was the material used, would make sense, it is a commonly used material for o-rings and in these engines.
I, however, decided to try out a different material...maybe you've heard of it? Viton.
I am currently giving it a test, if all goes well (when I installed it would not seat the DISA flush to the intake as was made previously) and the whole thing doesn't bust apart on me I will write up a DIY in that section.

[daytonatrbo]

I put the GAS DISA kit in my engine, and I think that comes with the Viton o-ring.

The original seal is vulcanized silicone.

[dhurley34]

Yesterday I removed my DISA and tore (literally) out the old "squared-out" o-ring seal to the intake.
I replaced it with a different type of o-ring material. I read up and most people seem to think that Buna-N was the material used, would make sense, it is a commonly used material for o-rings and in these engines.
I, however, decided to try out a different material...maybe you've heard of it? Viton.
I am currently giving it a test, if all goes well (when I installed it would not seat the DISA flush to the intake as was made previously) and the whole thing doesn't bust apart on me I will write up a DIY in that section.

I doubt you'll have any issues. Viton's tolerance for extreme cold weather is slightly less than Buna N. Viton has a slightly harder durometer and has a higher tolerance for higher temps. Both are superior to other materials when it comes to exposure to petroleum oils.

[Doge]

I doubt you'll have any issues. Viton's tolerance for extreme cold weather is slightly less than Buna N. Viton has a slightly harder durometer and has a higher tolerance for higher temps. Both are superior to other materials when it comes to exposure to petroleum oils.

I didn't want to get into those specs with this posting (I am an engineering tech) This is one of the (only) things applied to automotive uses that I am a relative expert regarding, as opposed to you seasoned veterans of BMWs/cars in general (to which I am intermediate at best).

Vulcanized Silicone, hmm..that one never came up. Though I'm not doubting you.

I specifically chose Viton for those characteristics you mentioned. I am not worried about the o-ring itself, more the DISA housing.
When I went to install the valve, due in part to the shore rating of 70A with Viton, I encountered an issue of too much back pressure on the plastic of the housing. It was creaking at me as I tightened down the bolts. I didn't/wasn't able to get the housing to sit flush, this is the only thing I am (slightly) worried about.
That being said, I know the seal is 100% when it is tight. My limitation is the availability of off the shelf o-rings with out having to custom order and pay out the . I just have to keep monitoring it for the thermal cycling to see when/if (more when than if I know) the o-ring starts to seat properly due to the lack of conformity. Since I wasn't able to tighten it down fully I just don't want the DISA to be loose and lose any bolts (I have attachment issues, pun intended).

I am still searching for an alternative sizing (non-standard) for Viton.
Similarly looking into alternative materials: PTFE, FEP w/ silicone core, FEP w/ Viton core, High-temperature silicone, maybe Kalrez (but the low limit for temp is a bit too high). Really anything that can handle hydrocarbons appropriately.
It's just a bit hard to justify dedicating so much time to such a small issue (especially when FCP has a re-build kit) but my DISA just had a "bad" seal ring.

I like tinkering..any additional input would be greatly valued.

[daytonatrbo]

I like tinkering..any additional input would be greatly valued.

When I first got my car, the disa butterfly was loose on the shaft. The hex was worn, and it was generally floppy. Not as bad as some, but used up.

I used some high strength epoxy and glued the butterfly to the shaft (in the correct position) and put it all back together. It did great for a couple of years, but in troubleshooting some other issues, I decided it was time for a more permanent fix.

I got the GAS kit because it replaces the plastic butterfly and shaft with all metal parts. It also eliminates the pin that sometimes gets sucked into the engine. It's not cheap, but its wonderful piece of mind.

Digging out the original silicone seal and replacing it with a standard o-ring is part of the swap.

[Doge]

When I first got my car, the disa butterfly was loose on the shaft. The hex was worn, and it was generally floppy. Not as bad as some, but used up.
I got the GAS kit...

I've checked mine a number of times, obviously yesterday being the most recent. And I'm pretty sure that it was replaced sometime in the recent past. The spring action is firm, the flap seals are in tact and "rubbery", and there is no rattle as has been reported by others. I just wanted to replace that o-ring alone...for the time being.

The GAS kit...where is that from? I saw Dr. Vanos has a re-built DISA utilizing a similar methodology (Aluminum butterfly valve, hardware, etc.). Is this similar? Or a step up from the standard DISA rebuild with plastic? Dr. Vanos was $225 with a $50 core...FCP std DISA as said elsewhere is ~$45.

[Doge]

I actually just looked it up...not too shabby.
I'll have to keep that in mind, plus the price isn't that bad...considering how bad it could be.

Aside from my wheel bearings (just ordered), front shocks and tires. Next up is whacking the vanos upside the head with some properly engineered seals.

[daytonatrbo]

I actually just looked it up...not too shabby.
I'll have to keep that in mind, plus the price isn't that bad...considering how bad it could be.

Aside from my wheel bearings (just ordered), front shocks and tires. Next up is whacking the vanos upside the head with some properly engineered seals.

I think I already mentioned this in one of our other discussions, but I ended up going with DrVANOS for the mere fact that they ultrasonically clean the whole thing.

If you take your VANOS apart, I do recommend painting the solenoids. Mine have a nice fuzz of surface rust from failing to do so.