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I tngought some e34s had the option to set a time with the obc so they climate control would turn on to help cool the cabin before you got in. I could be mistaken but I thought there was some sort of function for that so maybe that’s why it’s witrd that way.Originally Posted by moroza
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This is gonna look stellar. Subbed.
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Yikes. Apparently November is done, and its almost Christmas. My work on the car has been intermittent. I’m trying to remember where I left off.
I finally got to fixing the drivers door check. The car didn’t come with one on the drivers side, and in fact, it had exploded at some point, leaving a nice dent on the exterior of the door. I first bent the carnage from the interior of the door back out so I could assess the damage:
Not pretty!
Got out my dremel and started cutting out the damage. Then using my files to smooth it all out a bit.
Got out the zinc primer to ensure that any corrosion be kept in check.
Picked up one of those cheapy color match kits to make sure it wasn’t suuuuper obvious something had happened. Then plunked in the koala motorsports doubler plates. Used two of them, the ears on the one on the doors interior bent to fit into the shape of the door cavity.
Note the use of the fender washer on top of the standard M6 washers to be able to use the stock door check gasket.
And the somewhat finished product:
Pretty happy with how it feels. Its much more stable than I was expecting. Can’t really tell its a repair. I’ll be curious to see how visually obvious it is when I get the door card back on. I have some door card repair to do before I’m ready to re-install though. Additionally the vapor barrier is missing. What are some good materials to use there?
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Last edited by a777fan; 12-15-2019 at 09:38 PM.
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More catch up. Picture dump from the UUC short shift kit install. Also ended up replacing all the bushings and that pesky leaky selector shaft seal.
The old stuff:
Since BMW is nice enough to drop the same electrical harness in every vehicle, i just used the existing Automatic Illumination wiring for my shift knob. The kit I got came with a harness for the knob, so I just had to crimp on the right connectors, plug it in and heat shrink it up.
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Last edited by a777fan; 12-15-2019 at 09:38 PM.
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Tapatalk was choking for some reason. Adding another post fixed it *shrug*
Last edited by a777fan; 12-16-2019 at 01:08 AM.
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You went UUC over the OEM e60 ssk ? Interesting.
Herr, wirf Hirn vom Himmel! ... oder Steine, Hauptsache er trifft.
88 Alpineweiss / black E30 M3 -Project.
Brilliantrot / black US SPEC 3/90 prod e34 M30b35 535i 5spd - Modded.
98.5 Tiag Silber /black e36 m3 - Modded.
99.5 Estoril Blau /dove e36 m3 - Modded.
07 Crimsonrot /black E83 X3 6spd - Stock..
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Yep. No in person experience with either prior, so can’t really give you a good reason why. i like the UUC though. Nice n crisp. The tranny def shifts better when its warm though. I think its had a hard 187k. Even after a fluid change with RP syncromax its a little crunchy when cold.
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Just noticed I've got the same issue but not quite as exploded. Since you just finished yours, any tips you can pass along?Installed the HVAC temp sensor fan today, and it spins!
https://youtu.be/Fry0QY6oHKc
That little guy spins for what seems like about 20min after you turn the ignition off. I haven’t been able to locate any E34 Specific info on whether or not thats to spec, but E39s seem to leave the fan on for ~16minutes after key off.
Installed my new dash vent. Think the dash is a little warped.
Wrapped up by starting to attack the exploded door check. Got the door card off. I’ve got a few panel pin holders to re-attach.
And then the carnage. This is what it looked like after I bent all the steel back out.
Going to cut it all out with a dremel disk then add in the re-enforcement plates from koala mtr sports.
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Really enjoying watching your progress. Time to meet up with bigern79 and others?
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Hey perm!
I wish i had snapped a pic of the interior plate, and the bends I put into it in order to better fit inside the door but I didn't. The how-to on koala basically follows the same procedure however...
http://www.bmw-stuff.com/tech/articl...4doubledrp.asp
The individual there scored the interior plate for better more precise bending, but I just put that sucker into my vice and beat down on one end at a time with a dead blow. Seemed to work out fine. The interior door shape is pretty complex and curvy, so you'll never be able to get it perfect.
We should meet up, but i need to get some new control arms/steering linkage and tires on it before I'm really willing to cruise with it. The fronts are totally bald, which is kinda horrifying in the wet weather. And cheep ole me wont pony up for new shoes until I know they aren't going to wear unevenly, which means new CA's and steering linkages.
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Triple 7, thanks for the tips. Are you looking for any turn signals or tail lights? I've also got an e32 rear window shade and rear reading lights if you're interested.
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Not looking at the moment. I’ve thought a rear shade would be neat, but I have bigger fish to fry atm.
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No worries.
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Found an individual who was selling the subframe out of a ‘91 M5 on C/L. Went and had a look and ended up picking it up.
Its a little rough at the moment, but should clean up nice. Will likely tear down and then powder coat.
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MORΩN ΛABIA
BMW CCA Member
Whew, that's rusty. I'd've instead welded tabs onto a cleaner subframe.
I think you missed my question about foam... Have you gotten around to installing it? Can you report if the new stuff is softer, firmer, or otherwise different from the quarter-century-old? My rear seat is a bit firmer than I'd like so I'm wondering if new foam will help.
Correct. My modification disabled this feature (which I never used anyway).
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Hah! Where is the adventure in that?!
Nope, didn’t miss it, just haven’t gotten back to putting the seats back together. Will let you know when I do.
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Got some time today to finish buttoning up the drivers door. This actually took a few days (hour here and there) but i wrapped up the install today so... here we go.
The door check was all in, so all that was left was repair, cleaning and installation of the door card. The thing was filthy, and the handle was all loose, which was really annoying.
Yuk.
I disassembled the whole thing and gave it a good scrub down. Before/After.
Unfortunately the finish on the door handle has worn away, so even after cleaning it shows wear.
I’ll have to investigate a leather dye kit if I want to bring it back any further. Still, it IS cleaner. Before/After.
The door pocket was all yellowed, and it was really annoying/gross to look at. I carefully removed it from the door card and found some light gray spray paint. I hit it with a couple of coats, and was pretty happy with the results.
It really freshens up the look IMHO.
I also took the time to repair the clips on the back of the door card and install new OEM door anchors.
Before and Finished Product:
Time to install!
Before slapping the card back on, I greased up the window motor and mechanism, as well as installing my new door handle gasket from shogun. All of the old ones are OG and totally shot.
Gross door handle
Cleaned all that up, installed the new gasket and put the door handle cover back on. The Aerospace 303’ed the crap out of it.
Much better!
The vapor barrier on the driver door was totally missing, so I had to make my own. First I cleaned off all the old glue/caulk from the frame. I ran across a youtube clip a while back that showed me this cool 3M product.
Perfect for this job!
Just used some plastic sheeting from the hardware store for the actual barrier.
Worked great. Started with about the right sized rectangle and then slowly cut it down.
Perfect!
The chrome strip at the top of the door had gotten quite ‘tarnished’ (?) and looked like poo, so I wanted to address that before re-installing.
You can see its all cloudy and marked up. I originally just hit it with a rag and some chrome polish, but it didnt seem to be doing anything. Soooo, i set up a little polisher.
Worked great.
Photos of the results didn’t really turn out, but you can see the difference pretty well in this video clip.
https://youtu.be/LxhRxS4o8FA
Anyway, I finished up the rest of the piece then snapped the door card and tweeter back together.
Not perfect, but nice to have a repaired door check and cleaned up and tightened door card again. Also nice to have a door handle. Lol.
The parts for the next major project are starting to show up:
Last edited by a777fan; 01-04-2020 at 08:38 PM.
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Scrolling through this thread brings back memories from when i did all of the stuff over the past 7.5 years of my ownership!
Very gratifying taking something in need of TLC and cleaning it up and getting it back to the way it would have left the lot as!
Cabin filter and control arms was the first two things i did. Completely clogged biohazard and signature 80kph death wobble!
Pity i hardly took pics of the first 3.5 years worth of TLC
I needed that strip caulk back in the summer when i repaired my door cards and replaced a missing weather sheet, used silicone instead...
Last edited by Wcsco123; 01-04-2020 at 10:31 PM.
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It is really satisfying. Also great ‘practice’... especially for things like that door check. Getting it done with enough fit and finish all while knowing its never going to be perfect, but hopefully avoiding this:Scrolling through this thread brings back memories from when i did all of the stuff over the past 7.5 years of my ownership!
Very gratifying taking something in need of TLC and cleaning it up and getting it back to the way it would have left the lot as!
Cabin filter and control arms was the first two things i did. Completely clogged biohazard and signature 80kph death wobble!
Pity i hardly took pics of the first 3.5 years worth of TLC
I needed that strip caulk back in the summer when i repaired my door cards and replaced a missing weather sheet, used silicone instead...
Those cabin air filters have got to be the most overlooked maint item in these cars. Mine was equally disgusting, and restricted the airflow so badly that it seemed like a blower motor or blend door issue.
Great job on your swap btw, and I really appreciate you documenting it here. Its a real shame how facebook has swallowed up a lot of the participation on these enthusiast run forums. I personally can’t stand the fb, and have vowed to never again have a profile there.
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This is great stuff! Hurry up and get that front end refreshed, so you can get some good tires on and drive the thing! Any specific reason for going with the Turners? Not against it btw, just wondering. E31 sphericals as well or going with stock rubber?
O o
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| BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! !!!!
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Ugh. I know! Can’t wait to get rid of those old shoes and have the m-pars on.
Good question on the turners... i got a lot of good feedback on the mooseheads via my other thread, but in the end I didn’t want a poly based bushing. Again, no real data there, just a gut feel. We’ll see how the turners, TURN-out. Hah!
The E31s showed up today to complete the set. Lems that were made in Deutschland!
All the steering gear is going to have to go too. Working on putting that order in now.
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Put the spherical bearing E31 control arms in mine last year. Well worth it, a little bit extra feedback from the steering wheel. Let us know how the all bearing set up treats you! I may end up going that route at some point!
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Will do!
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Been chugging along here and there on the project. Replacement of the control arms turned into a full front end refresh. Plunked some change down for new BMW sport struts, and am currently awaiting their arrival from Germany. I was only going to do the control arms, but... while you’re in there, right?
Speaking of, I have started to tackle the replacement of the power steering lines, which had been leaking for quite some time given the amount of gunk the local area had collected.
I got all the old lines out, but this ended up requiring the removal of the alternator. Perhaps if my jenga skills were a bit better I could have managed, but it was just easier to pull the alt for better access. It was pretty gross as well, and will need to be cleaned up before it goes back in. I think these cases are supposed to be aluminum right?
Oh the ‘air cooling’ system seems super effective too:
The whole area is pretty gross and will be cleaned thoroughly before re-installation.
Unfortunately today I noticed the following with the water pump:
https://youtu.be/tn_K_YBHkvU
Really surprised by this, as the previous owner had replaced the pump and thermostat right before I purchased. Perhaps he cheeped out with a URO part or something....
Cleaning up top has gone well though, and it does look a lot better already.
Last edited by a777fan; 01-26-2020 at 08:03 PM.
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Was there plenty of access to the power steering hoses with the alternator out?
I just started adding power steering hoses and seals to my TLC list and will be replacing them soon to fix a small leak I've had for a while.
Do you have the part number for the seat foam? last time I had the seat out I noticed the support springs had cut right into the old stuff.
That water pump wobble is frightening! sadly... the only replacement that has a metal impeller in it is a URO pump. unless they've added other options since I did mine!
Last edited by Wcsco123; 01-27-2020 at 01:43 AM.
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No alternator sure helped, but access to the hoses on top of the steering box is equally tight. Lots of fidgeting around to get the heat shield off. Then its kind of a pain getting anything in there to break the banjos loose. Ended up going commando with a bunch of extensions and the electric impact as I couldn’t get a ratchet in there with enough room to turn.
The sport seat bottom foam is PN 52-10-8-101-803. I also found my foam split along one of the bolster rails. The new foam is all nice an squishy. I owe moroza feedback once I get it back together and have a seat, but my prediction is that its going to be good.
On the pump...Yeah. Perhaps this is a URO unit. I’ll know more when i pull it. More surprisingly, there wasn’t any odd noise or any other indication that it had gotten that bad! Glad i saw it before trying to button everything back up.
Last edited by a777fan; 01-27-2020 at 02:03 AM.
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