jc43089

Speaking of alignments, I have had an AWESOME morning. Got to Olson Tire in town for 2 tires installed on my 1st gen Sienna and to fix the alignment from the last time which was not what i wanted. In the meantime I had installed shims on the rear axle and installed camber bolts in the front to get the range needed. I gave them their previous printout with notes on what I wanted, which was about -.5 camber in front and right at the minimum Toyota toe in spec which was .07 degrees. After waiting 2 hours the guy comes out and tells me he just got it in and won't mount the tires because they are too big. 215/70R16, stock is about 2" smaller diameter but they are going on the back and I plan to sell this van soon and use the wheels/tires on my 2nd gen which the size is almost exactly the right diameter for. So I say ok just get the alignment done how I asked and I will just buy the tires loose and bring them in off of the vehicle sometime. Ok no problem, an hour and a half later they say all done and the alignment has better camber in the front but the toe is still .3 degrees total which I think is a little aggressive. He gave me some BS about the tech not being able to adjust the TRE. Well all 4 tie rod ends are brand new and coated in anti-seize as of 2 weeks ago, so that's pretty doubtful. Also I met the tech who was working on it and he said nobody gave him any sheet from me with specs on it. Questions for alignment guys @patsbimmer1 Instead of -.5 camber on both sides it's at .2 on the left and -.3 on the right. I get that because it should track nicely on crowned roads, but before it was -1.2 on both sides and tracked straight so do I really want the cross camber like that? Biggest question Do I really want .3 degrees total toe in in the front? I'd rather my tires last than treat my minivan like it's a BMW so I feel like the Toyota range of .07 to some crazy high number is designed for safety at all costs of tire life. The last tires had 6/32 on most of the tread width and the inside 1/4 was completely shot. I don't know what the toe was before but it felt the same as it does now. I don't know what it was because I replaced all 4 tie rod ends right before taking it in for the first alignment. The rear started with about -1.2 camber so I installed .75 degree shims on both sides to get it down to -.4ish which I was happy with. The toe was .22 on the left and -.08 on the right. for a total toe in of .14 which I understood as being toe in. I installed a .125 degree shim on the left with the thick side to the front to get it close to 0 total toe and improve the thrust angle. The number went the wrong way so maybe I messed up and installed the shim backwards. Do I understand correctly that a positive number is in and a negative number is out?

I haven't put my snow tires on yet. So it is hiding in the garage. Been busy working on house projects before baby 4 comes likely this week. Gotta keep the nesting wife happy. I do almost have a garage heater hooked up. I will post pictures when it's done. It's a sweet contraption.

Nice work!

Maybe measure the length of the sleeves on the original bushings and trim these to match?

Good thing the timing belt was changed on that 335i... I'm sure that was an expensive service job....

My high mile e36 has done this a couple times. After a failed start from a weak battery the cylinders can get washed down with fuel and if you check with a compression tester you will panic seeing numbers as low as 20 PSI. I would usually pull the plugs and crank to dry the cylinders out and then drop a little oil in each cylinder before putting the plugs back in. I need to replace my battery before it gets too cold so I have faster cranking and then it starts right away. My battery is a 10 year old Optima Red Top.

Yes the same one is used on an e36. You may have the same crumbly results.

I probably should put mine on. The Indy500's were a bit sketch in the tiny bit of snow yesterday.

Who unlocks hubs? Shoulda bought a car...

Should be able to use any laptop with some free hard drive space. I downloaded an image from some guys thread named Roxy or something like that. Then I just opened the image. He probably fixed it by now but there used to be an issue with the license expire date but I had downloaded it right after the license expired. I could also export my image and send it to you because it works perfect. I use the Oracle virtualbox program because it's free. The seller I bought my DICE from didn't have any active listings but it looked just like this one. It came with a sticker over the Volvo logo. Honestly they are probably made at night at the same factory as real Volvo units. What I mean is the cable quality and everything is very good. Mine looks just like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Volvo-Vida-Dice-2014D-OBD2-OBDII-Diagnostic-Tool-Scanner-Fault-Code-Reader/193000760162?epid=14030737443&hash=item2cefbde362:g:C30AAOSwMdddMRXf

Using a virtual machine makes it so you can run it on any computer you want as long as it has a USB port which most do. If you aren't familiar you are running another "virtual" computer from your desktop after starting your "host" machine operating system like you always do. It isn't like the old BMW software that needs a clunker computer with a serial port. The virtual desktop is the "old clunker computer" eliminating the need for another piece of hardware.

Nice find. And cool wheels, what style are those?

I have a Vida/Dice setup. It isn't as bad as it sounds. I just ran it in an Oracle virtual machine on my Surface Pro (Windows 8). The functionality is amazing. Test fire a fuel injector, see inputs/outputs of every module, it's all there. It's pretty cool.

I have a USA made Williams 1/4" ratchet. I love it.

That might really be worse than the move towards FWD...