That is amazing
So I have a few updates but they don't really mean much. No real progress has been made with respect to the goal of doing burnouts... I mean daily driving.
I borrowed a couple of DS2s from my dad so I could get the car on the ground and rolling around. The clutch feels good which is a bonus, but I've really only driven the car about 8 feet.
The style 32s were rubbing the crappy front coilovers so the helper springs had to go.
Then I found this awesome little guy.
Don't buy cheap parts kids, and please understand torque values.
Pissed that my suspension was crap I decided to focus a few minutes on the interior.
I busted out the Tough Stuff and got to scrubbing and turned this:
Into this:
Not bad! I actually like the two-toned dove door cards.
Then I scrubbed the steering wheel a bit and got it looking pretty decent.
I still have to actually vacuum and clean the seats really well but I want to sort other things before I get there. This quick clean was just to prove to myself that the interior still had some life left in it.
Fixed my lack of an oil pressure light with a new switch. Now I'll know when I'm about to blow up!
I then decided to investigate why my battery/alternator light on the dash was failing to illuminate. Most of my online investigation led to the conclusion that the voltage regulator was most likely to blame. So I pulled the alternator.
Yuck.
Hmmmmm this looks a bit dead...
Now we are talking!
Buttoned everything back up, and alas! Wasn't the voltage regulator :
Then i did a little voltage test, and discovered that the alternator when connected caused a massive draw. Must be a big short internally. Oh well! New alternator is on the horizon.
Oh yeah I also turned the car into a track car. NBD :
That's all for now.
Always two steps forward and one step back with this car...
So my brother and I headed down to the junkyard to pull an alternator and grab anything else I could use for the M3, as well as a few things for his E30.
Luckily I found a late 328i vert with dove interior and a bunch of the little grey trim pieces I needed for the interior. However, both doors were stuck closed so I had to find an alternative way in...
Luckily for me the interior was filled with rat feces, so I played a fun game where I dove in and grabbed as many pieces as I could while holding my breath. But it was worth it.
I got my alternator, the glove box trim, a bunch of the little plugs for the door panel screws, a cigarette lighter and a couple screw covers for the engine bay.
I also found a couple tools for the tool kit, but don't worry, they were the only ones I already had. :rippedoff:
Worked a bit more on the stripping:
Then I hooked up the new alternator. Success! We have a battery light.
Then I ran it to make sure all was good... it wasn't. Smoke pouring from the air intake on the alternator I' have a dead short somewhere, or I just got ANOTHER dead alternator... UGH
To brighten my mood my GF came out to help do some real interior cleaning. She's my hero!!
Cleaning interiors is zen.
That is all. Join us next time for more alternator bs!
Every time i start feeling crappy about my car, i check your updates and i don't feel so bad
You are a champion among men!
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So the alternator saga finally concluded today! After 4 different alternators (two used, two reman) I finally got one that works! Feels good man.
Then I started to look into my one and only check engine code, P0451. All signs pointed to the fuel pressure sensor, so I pulled the fuel filler grommet and low and behold...
It's funny how things don't work when they aren't plugged in :
All codes clear! Time for smog. Let's all pray it passes I'm not holding my breath though haha
Also I did this:
Yayyyy
Here's some of the work done since the last update:
Interior cleaning continues. It's starting to take shape now but it was a grind! Check out the back seats! :puke:
Did the passenger side carpet which was much worse than the driver's side, Still needs a bit more work but its leaps and bounds better than before.
I pulled the radio because half of the speakers in the car weren't working, and based on the rest of the PO's wiring jobs I was expecting a mess. I was right. :p
Duct tape is electrical tape right?? :
A little bit of tidying up and proper solder/heatshrink tubing later...
Ahh much better.
Cleaned out the trunk as it was pretty filthy.
Did the screw thing on the glovebox to fix the sag. Not super thrilled with the results but its better than nothing.
Fixed the broken interior passenger handle.
Bonus shot from upstairs of both my cars.
Installed a skid plate in my e30.
Here is the current progress on the paint stripping. Man this is a sexy car....
This is awesome and actually hugely entertaining. You should have a TV show (YT!?) on this.
Great thread and very motivating! I'm excited to see the paint after all the garbage is stripped off!
Big update, well at least for me!
The car passed smog with flying colors! No problem at all. Super stoked. The car is registered and finally totally mine.
Did some more stripping. Almost have the entire passenger side stripped/black. Not perfect but its getting there.
Scored some amber corner markers at the yard. I feel like they will compliment the black much better than the slightly pee yellow ones that used to be clear.
Did something that needed to be done since I bought the car....
Gtfo
Fixed the broken antenna ring on my ignition. Its pretty much a beauty cover now with no EWS but I don't care. It was ugly before.
And I polished the headlights!
More to come! Just made a deal on a fully stock set up M3 springs and Bilsteins. $50
Fixed the center vent that was broken. Happy to be able to point some breezes in my face finally.
Put some tacks in my headliner so it doesn't flap around so much while I drive. I can't wait to have tacks raining down on me as I drive!
Took this pic to show before ride height. God its ugly lol.
My brother came by so we could fix his e30. Here's a picture of his car that also conveniently shows the stock M3 suspension I'm about to put in.
Pulled the stuff. Man e36s are easy to take apart suspension wise! All of my strut towers looked really good luckily!
Bap
Got to reinstall the correct sway bar endlinks. Back to proper M3!
Then to the rear!
Shock towers in the rear look great as well!
Beep. Look at those yummy reinforcements yayyyy!
Found this little guy holding on the caliper bracket up front. While the backyard mechanic in me applauds the ingenuity of the PO, the perfectionist in me cries :doh::;D
Monster truckin'
The car rides 1000x better. The rear Bilsteins feel kinda stiff though (par for the course as far as E36 Bilsteins go according to what I've read online).
Who wants to buy these coilovers for $200? lol
Nice progress! NBD but I noticed your rotors, or at least the passengers rotor if they're mismatched, is on opposite. Should be "flinging" the air out not scoping it.
95 cosmoschwartz M3/2/5 : 2012-1/1/2014 (worn rtab's and bald rear tires in the rain)
98 cosmoschwartz M3/4/5 : 2016-3/10/2017 (understeering SUV)
99 Estoril M3/2/5: 6/16/2017-current
I haven't forgot about this thread. I just dropped the car off for paint this morning. Big updates soon!
All your images are down. Use the bfc albums and that shouldn't happen again!
tell me more of this bfc albums...
98 Estoril ///M3 4/6
S54 swap CSL
Just an idea for the blower motor. At the mileage you've got it could certainly be the motor itself, but easier (and maybe more likely?) is the final stage unit. Pre 1995 used some kind of resistor, 96+ uses a final stage unit to control the fan. It's like $40, and is located in the driver-side footwell in some of the HVAC ducting down there. I chased mine cutting in and out for literally years before figuring it out. My blower motor died a couple years later, but it gave plenty of warning as the bearings / brushes finally died.
-Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.
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