Newbie- Help me make a horrible automotoive decision

[douglawrence42]

The secondary air pump is an irritating and useless part, it's literally only there to please the emissions people on cold starts. They're easily removed and coded out— you save weight and avoid having your E39 sound like a vacuum cleaner upon a cold startup.

I just went through your epic 2 year laundry list of cars. Epic! I am both inspired and frightened.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[douglawrence42]

https://youtu.be/E-XSpy4_zts

The obligatory "what sounds is my engine making" post. This is engine hot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[XAlt]

*dock dock intensifies*

It's the VANOS doing its job.

[dannyzabolotny]

I just went through your epic 2 year laundry list of cars. Epic! I am both inspired and frightened.

Haha yeah I went through quite a few cars... A mountain of 540i's, a 1995 750il, a 2003 Mercedes S500, a 2004 Range Rover, a 2003 X5 4.6, a 1987 Porsche 944S, and most recently I got a 1996 Mustang GT, yikes.

[douglawrence42]

*dock dock intensifies*

It's the VANOS doing its job.

Thanks. I guess I should have more confidence in a car that seems strong and only has 100k on the clock. In my younger days (25 years ago), I went through 7 garbage, sub $500 cars between the ages of 16-20. Every trip was a question mark. Will it start, will it run, will it catch fire, will it strand me? I lost a good roofing job because it took me 2 days to make a Suzuki samurai run (it should never take 2 days to make a Suzuki samurai run, but the internet wasn't really a thing yet). The best used lot near my house had a main section, a "all cars $2999" section, and the junk section in the far back. I shopped the far back, but I remember distinctly how completely in awe of those 3k cars I was. I was convinced that if I could ever scape together the impossible sum of 3k, I would be living the life of luxurious reliability. It took me 4 years to get there. I took 20 years off to become a grown up, and this is my first time to buy a bad idea for fun. Now if this thing blows up and is a total loss, It won't hurt me a bit (But it will cost me in the wife management department). However, it is unbelievable how that cloud of impending vehicular doom from 25 years ago comes right back.
So, if the oil pan is clean next week, I'm going to roll the dice and refresh the suspension. If the motor blows up, I'll get another one.

[XAlt]

Hm, what sub-$500 cars did you go through?

[douglawrence42]

1981 Mazda B2200 (should have kept this, diesel would have run forever, but I was able to make money selling it)
1979 Monza (same thing as a Vega). Constant vacuum issues. Engine blew up. Total loss (of $300).
198? Toyota Streaker? Made primarily out of rust, lucky the bad ball joints didn't kill me. Motor sold at a profit though
1979 F-250 (had the 460 in it). Sold it when the transmission started to go. Motor again worth more than the vehicle attached to it. I doubt the transmission was really bad, but I was scared of transmissions.
1986 Suzuki Samurai (God I wish I could have kept it. It had been a flood vehicle, so constant electrical gremlins, which shouldn't have been a problem on something that simple, but hey, I was 18)
1984 Ford Conversion Van. The roof was dented in from to many people dancing on it. That was fun. When I watched half the wiring melt during a jump start, it was over
1984 Ford Ranger The one that finally stuck. Carried me all the way from 1998 to 2004 when I had a diploma and a real job.

That is the junk history.

[douglawrence42]

Whenever you need to add a 240 circuit in your shop, something good is going to happen

I believe adding 480 3 phase spontaneously generates extra testicles



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[douglawrence42]

First extra base hit
First kiss
Getting married because you want to
Birth of a child
Having a lift in your garage

Game on!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[douglawrence42]

And adding a lift doesn't cost space, it saves it




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[XAlt]

Can we mail him some headlights?

Anybody?

[douglawrence42]

Can we mail him some headlights?

Anybody?

Well, I was going to eventually refinish the originals, but now that I know they bother you....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[XAlt]

Well, I was going to eventually refinish the originals, but now that I know they bother you....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You might get run off the road by confused enthusiasts.

Don't take the risk. Hell, splice in a prefacelift assembly.

[douglawrence42]

Well the underside of the engine is definitely oil covered.

I see power steering leaking as well

But the great news is I have a clean oil pan and a clean pickup!


Oil pump bolt torque was %100 good. I added some tension to the pump chain. Now to look around and find out what I can see with a boroscope


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[douglawrence42]

TCG's look good as far as I can tell. Buttoned up the bottom end, and moved on to chain tensioner.

Mine was shot, no spring left at all.
Finally, changed all the plugs. I think the old ones could be original.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dannyzabolotny]

Your tensioner wasn't necessarily bad, it just had a shorter spring. The old tensioner design has a short spring and the new tensioner design has a much longer spring. That was an update done at some point to address the startup rattle issues.

[douglawrence42]

Your tensioner wasn't necessarily bad, it just had a shorter spring. The old tensioner design has a short spring and the new tensioner design has a much longer spring. That was an update done at some point to address the startup rattle issues.

Well, I don't think I had the cold start problem so many people who do the replacement are chasing. But I had virtually no spring stroke, less than 1/8", so I feel pretty good about doing it. Who knows, I really haven't seen anybody actually resolve something long term by doing this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[builtinbetter]

1981 Mazda B2200 (should have kept this, diesel would have run forever, but I was able to make money selling it)
1979 Monza (same thing as a Vega). Constant vacuum issues. Engine blew up. Total loss (of $300).
198? Toyota Streaker? Made primarily out of rust, lucky the bad ball joints didn't kill me. Motor sold at a profit though
1979 F-250 (had the 460 in it). Sold it when the transmission started to go. Motor again worth more than the vehicle attached to it. I doubt the transmission was really bad, but I was scared of transmissions.
1986 Suzuki Samurai (God I wish I could have kept it. It had been a flood vehicle, so constant electrical gremlins, which shouldn't have been a problem on something that simple, but hey, I was 18)
1984 Ford Conversion Van. The roof was dented in from to many people dancing on it. That was fun. When I watched half the wiring melt during a jump start, it was over
1984 Ford Ranger The one that finally stuck. Carried me all the way from 1998 to 2004 when I had a diploma and a real job.

That is the junk history.

My past list of $500-800 beaters doesnt look much different than yours!
I drove my mazda b 2200 from Seattle to NY and then down to Atlanta. I didn't shut it off for the first 24hrs of the trip because I just had this feeling like it wouldn't crank back up again.
I find myself missing some of those old beaters now and then and to fill the void without having to keep them is to buy, fix and flip them. Makes for a profitable hobby and it reminds me why I don't need them anymore!
I think you got a pretty good deal on your 540. I just sold my 540i6 with clean title and 217k miles on it for $4000.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[douglawrence42]

I'm confused. I put the car up this morning to check for leaks on my oil pan job. I looked and realized that I had forgotten to plug in the level sensor. So I drove 20 miles or so last night with the sensor unplugged, but I got no warnings. How does that happen?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[douglawrence42]

It was the original, 100k mile, 16 year old fuel filter

And I wonder if these are original plugs?

Not looking like a strong service history


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[douglawrence42]

I figured out why the wiper fluid was "leaking".

That'll buff out


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[XAlt]

It was the original, 100k mile, 16 year old fuel filter

And I wonder if these are original plugs?

Not looking like a strong service history


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Uh, 100k mi fuel filter is fine, I'm shooting for 300k.

I think the plugs are probably from the last service in 2006 or so.

[StephenVA]

The logoed plugs are 100% factory installed and depending on the dealer sourcing the logo plugs are/were available in the service lines. Most dealers source high volume parts from multiple OE venders to increase the margins like air filters and cabin filters for example. Plugs are a cheap diy efforts so moving to a newer plug design like the NGK IRDIUM thin single wire ones provide a better idle and tip in acceleration feel. The multiple strap (ground prongs) the OE plugs used were for long life back in 1998. The newer precious metal plugs do that and much more for the same $$.

[douglawrence42]

The logoed plugs are 100% factory installed and depending on th dealer sourcing the logo plugs are/ were available in the service lines. Most dealers source high volume parts from multiple OE venders to increase the margins like air filters and cabin filters for example. Plugs are a cheap diy efforts so moving to a newer plug design like the NGK IRDIUM thin single wire ones provide a better idle and tip in acceleration feel. The multiple strap (ground prongs) the OE plugs used were for long life back in 1998. The newer precious metal plugs do that and much more for the same $$.

Thanks. Yes I used NGK iridium to replace. After all the maintenance, I think things sound better, but I don't really know what I'm talking about, and my butt dyno is non calibrated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[douglawrence42]

Anyone have a part number for what I think is a metal spring / tab that goes here and retains the climate control unit? Real oem just shows the whole unit. Thanks



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk