Special order parts…

They take a while to come in! Waiting on some parts so I can complete the flex disc/exhaust/center support bearing project grrr!!! I ordered the parts needed for replacing the tie rods as well but they are unrelated.

Replacing the flex disc? Might want to replace the center support bearing as well. By the way, replacing the disc and bearing requires dropping the exhaust and cats. If your exhaust is full of holes you might want to replace it now. Car really old too? The exhaust hardware is likely rusted to shit. Make sure to have new hardware (brackets included) on hand so you can actually install the exhaust.

I feel like this whole thing snowballed but I am happy to replace all this stuff. The car should be pretty reliable once all this is done. Hopefully it will allow me to save up for some huge projects like a manual transmission swap. The current automatic transmission does slip under certain conditions…

Lovemaking Inside of the Watercamel

Heard on somafm and posted for your enjoyment.

Exhaust

Scored a decent exhaust on the forums for $75. It is low on rust and in good shape. I took a peek at mine to see if I need new hardware…

Yup! Looks pretty nasty. Time for another shop at Pelican Parts! The new (used) exhaust is from a 328is so it has the mechanism for keeping one of the exhaust tubes closed off under 2500rpm. My ’94 325i doesn’t even have this system. No need for a golf tee here!

Replacement is very easy. I imagine the only trouble will be removing the rusted hardware. Speaking of old hardware check out these sway bar mounting brackets! Can’t wait to get new bars along with new shiny hardware.

Some routine maintenance…

Spent some time today replacing the differential oil, HID bulbs and cabin microfilter. The oil change was very straightforward. Man does that stuff stink! It was very black and definitely needed to be replaced. The new stuff was a nice gold color as it should be. I spent more time locating the new washers for the drain and fill bolts than actually replacing the oil. The pump that I bought to refill the transmission fluid pan was used to replace this oil.

The HID bulbs were easy as well. Removed the blinker housings and then removed the screws holding the headlight assembly. I don’t think I had the space to swap the bulb without removing the assembly but maybe I did. In any event it is simple enough to take them out. The bulbs were sourced from DDM and were very cheap. I hope these last as long as the original bulbs!

On to the cabin microfilter. Huge pain in the ass. And by ass I mean back. This requires squeezing into the passenger foot well while facing up. I followed the instructions on Doug Vetter’s site and was able to complete it with ease. The DIY is here.

Alignment and Flex Disc

I went to my local NTB yesterday so that I could get an alignment. It turns out that my tie rods are seized and my flex disc is trashed. Obviously both are important but I decided to order a new flex disc with bolts from Pelican Parts. The disc is so worn that I am afraid to drive the car. I am fortunate to have neighbors that are on vacation who are allowing me to borrow their cars when needed. The Audi A6 is comfortable but I still prefer my E36!

Pelican details how to replace the flex disc. I don’t think it will arrive in time for the weekend so in the meantime I will replace the diffy oil (been on my list for some time) and the cabin microfilter. Full tie rod replacement is after that. Next in line are SwayBarbarians from UUC or catback exhaust. It depends how loud the exhaust becomes in the next couple months… I am also trying to get a deal on the exhaust via forums. OF course I am pretty confident that the differential oil is leaking so who knows how far that road will take me. I’ve never done work on that part. This is an opportunity for knowledge and not a burden! Perhaps a seal replacement is in order.

Rear Suspension

I have installed the Bilstein struts and H&R springs on the rear of my car. It was far easier than the front suspension. The spring compressor is not required for the rear and the struts are easy to remove. The most tedious aspect of this was removing the trunk liner and related accessories such as speakers and my old aftermarket sub box. The old struts were completely worn as were the springs. The springs had rusted so much that the final bottom turn on each one was broken!

Along with new hardware the Z reinforcement plates were installed. My brother helped me with the repair but was crucial when removing the springs. After jacking up the rear trailing arm a bit and removing the strut all you need to do is slowly lower the jack and push down on the wheel hub so that you can yank out the spring. It does require a lot of downward force. I don’t think I could have pressed down and pulled the spring out alone. Do the same to install the new spring and use the jack to raise the trailing arm after the strut is bolted back in place in the trunk.

One of these days I will start drafting DIY articles for these repairs. Lately I have been so pressed for time I could not bother to take pictures after every step. I did take a few though.

thatgamecompany

Journey is set to be released March 13 and I am very excited about it. I look forward to getting lost in the desert environment and beautiful soundtrack. Hopefully I can convince a friend to tag along for the online adventure. I am also going to purchase PixelJunk Eden on Steam along with the soundtrack. I played the demo for PS3 and enjoyed it. The soundtrack to PixelJunk is more electronic but still has ambient qualities to it. I can’t wait to see how this music enhances my driving experience. I imagine the Journey OST would relax me during my daily commute and the PixelJunk OST would serve well during late night back road sprints. In addition, these games should provide me with relaxing breaks from intense SC2 training!

Car or boat?

With the help of my brother and a close friend my vehicle now enjoys Bilstein sport struts and H&R sport springs on the front. Per my brother’s suggestion we took care of the hardest ones first. A spring compressor was rented and the job was completed somewhere between midnight and 1am this past Sunday morning. I bought a cheap but effective pair of work lamps which allowed us to toil in the night. The hardest part was removing the bolts which connected the strut to the hub. New bolts were used upon installation which came with preapplied locktite. The old struts were shot but the springs did not look terribly corroded. The rear springs are heavily corroded. When I put on the new (used) wheels I was able to remove a turn of the spring from each side which had broken off.

I was happy to find out that H&R changed the sport springs from red to blue. This matches the yellow and blue struts nicely. The red color scheme is reserved for the race springs which would have been too low for my daily driver. Now I feel like I am driving on pavement instead of sailing on water. No more bouncing up and down after dips in the road!

I neglected to take many photos but will add more when the rear work is done. There was also a special tool required in order to screw the nut onto the top of the strut. We went looking for it at three different stores but couldn’t find it and ended up fashioning one ourselves. My dad sacrificed a socket and cut it so that we could grip it with a wrench. Fun times!

SC2

I caved last night and bought Starcraft 2. Here’s to long nights and no social life! Seriously though… many of my friends play this and rave about it. I hope I can have as much fun with it as they do!