P_Roloff

133,400
Changed the oil in the rear differential. I used full synthetic liqui moly 75w-90 and a couple transfer pumps to get it done. 


Old oil was in quite good shape, I don’t recall seeing records of it being changed but it looks like it was. Still, the new stuff is way lighter in color and it’s good peace of mind. I only got about 3/4 of a quart out so I’ll maybe do it again in 10-20,000 miles once it’s all mixed in. 
 
I also noticed some coolant under the car the other day, so while it was on the lift I pulled the belly pan and took a peek.

It seems like there’s two leaks:
- One appeared to be a loose hose clamp on the water pump; I tightened it and will re-check in a few weeks.

- The other seems to be either a leak at the seam of the radiator on the drivers side, or the o-ring on the upper rad hose. It kinda looks like it’s spraying, but I wonder if it’s wind blowing it off of the radiator as it leaks and spreading it all over the underside. I’m going to swap the o-ring this week sometime and see if that fixes it, and if it doesn’t I’ll get a new rad. I’m considering a full aluminum replacement to bulletproof it, but we’ll see. This one should be under warranty still but if it failed this fast I’m not sure if I want to put the same thing back in. 

Broke in with a 12” blade on my M12 hackzall cutting through the passenger latch arm. Luckily Gibson’s had a good set of latches, catches and cables I scored for $20. Everything is in working order now 👍
 

133,400
Changed the oil in the rear differential. I used full synthetic liqui moly 75w-90 and a couple transfer pumps to get it done. 


Old oil was in quite good shape, I don’t recall seeing records of it being changed but it looks like it was. Still, the new stuff is way lighter in color and it’s good peace of mind. I only got about 3/4 of a quart out so I’ll maybe do it again in 10-20,000 miles once it’s all mixed in. 
 
I also noticed some coolant under the car the other day, so while it was on the lift I pulled the belly pan and took a peek.

It seems like there’s two leaks:
- One appeared to be a loose hose clamp on the water pump; I tightened it and will re-check in a few weeks.

- The other seems to be either a leak at the seam of the radiator on the drivers side, or the o-ring on the upper rad hose. It kinda looks like it’s spraying, but I wonder if it’s wind blowing it off of the radiator as it leaks and spreading it all over the underside. I’m going to swap the o-ring this week sometime and see if that fixes it, and if it doesn’t I’ll get a new rad. I’m considering a full aluminum replacement to bulletproof it, but we’ll see. This one should be under warranty still but if it failed this fast I’m not sure if I want to put the same thing back in. 

Broken link^

Just found this tonight:

Looks like BMW finally put out a recall for the VANOS bolts issue. 
 
I wonder if it’s anything more/different compared to the service this car already had? From what I remember the bolts were replaced with steel ones? Sounds like the same. 
 
Also a good reminder to get the car in for the PCV heater recall as well. 

Not much has been going on other than spending a lot of time detailing and it looks like I’m getting good at it.  I used Adam’s “9” year ceramic coat, I doubt it will last even half as long around here. The result is amazing, I would easily pay for this service. So easy to maintain and so hard to get dirty, looking forward to washing this tomorrow. 

I've used an Ozium Single-Shot Fogger and another brand that I cant find online. Having access to a ozone machine is 100X better idea though!

Yeah, the cabin filter was something of a last resort if nothing else fixes it. I’ll definitely take you up on that, I’ve heard great things about those!

Yeah, the cabin filter was something of a last resort if nothing else fixes it. I’ll definitely take you up on that, I’ve heard great things about those!

I’ve just been putting up with the dreaded musty smell from the HVAC vents in this car since the summertime and it hasn’t been getting any better, so I finally decided to do something about it. I’m pretty sure the issue came about when I turned on the recirc mode for a week or two when it was really hot to try to get slightly cooler temps out of it; I’ve now read that recirc mode should be used sparingly and you should walkways turn off the ac and run the fan for a few minutes before shutdown to air it all out.
After some product research, I decided the Nextzett Klima Cleaner would be my best bet:

I went with the method of removing the blower motor and spraying directly onto the evaporator; my first attempt I missed with the hose and didn’t get it all the way there. The second try, I got the hose sufficiently far over and hit the evaporator square; it foamed up nicely and drained thru the evap drain hoses along the trans tunnel. 
 
I waited 20ish minutes, put the blower back in (so much easier than the e30), and ran the fan on high for 10ish minutes to dry it all out. I’ll report back in a week or two on the results!
I also discovered a 12V power plug on the panel under/behind the glovebox door that I never knew I had, so that’s a win! I might need to enlist @Bassboy3313 to make me another of those printed inductive charger pads and run the power to it from this plug. 

I’ve just been putting up with the dreaded musty smell from the HVAC vents in this car since the summertime and it hasn’t been getting any better, so I finally decided to do something about it. I’m pretty sure the issue came about when I turned on the recirc mode for a week or two when it was really hot to try to get slightly cooler temps out of it; I’ve now read that recirc mode should be used sparingly and you should walkways turn off the ac and run the fan for a few minutes before shutdown to air it all out.
After some product research, I decided the Nextzett Klima Cleaner would be my best bet:

I went with the method of removing the blower motor and spraying directly onto the evaporator; my first attempt I missed with the hose and didn’t get it all the way there. The second try, I got the hose sufficiently far over and hit the evaporator square; it foamed up nicely and drained thru the evap drain hoses along the trans tunnel. 
 
I waited 20ish minutes, put the blower back in (so much easier than the e30), and ran the fan on high for 10ish minutes to dry it all out. I’ll report back in a week or two on the results!
I also discovered a 12V power plug on the panel under/behind the glovebox door that I never knew I had, so that’s a win! I might need to enlist @Bassboy3313 to make me another of those printed inductive charger pads and run the power to it from this plug. 

I’ve just been putting up with the dreaded musty smell from the HVAC vents in this car since the summertime and it hasn’t been getting any better, so I finally decided to do something about it. I’m pretty sure the issue came about when I turned on the recirc mode for a week or two when it was really hot to try to get slightly cooler temps out of it; I’ve now read that recirc mode should be used sparingly and you should walkways turn off the ac and run the fan for a few minutes before shutdown to air it all out.
After some product research, I decided the Nextzett Klima Cleaner would be my best bet:

I went with the method of removing the blower motor and spraying directly onto the evaporator; my first attempt I missed with the hose and didn’t get it all the way there. The second try, I got the hose sufficiently far over and hit the evaporator square; it foamed up nicely and drained thru the evap drain hoses along the trans tunnel. 
 
I waited 20ish minutes, put the blower back in (so much easier than the e30), and ran the fan on high for 10ish minutes to dry it all out. I’ll report back in a week or two on the results!
I also discovered a 12V power plug on the panel under/behind the glovebox door that I never knew I had, so that’s a win! I might need to enlist @Bassboy3313 to make me another of those printed inductive charger pads and run the power to it from this plug. 

I don't know if you've experienced these in person, but it is truly amazing.
I was in an Audi Q8 with some guys in Switzerland and I couldn't believe how well it cut the light out around street signs and cars.

It was the best random thing to slip into the COVID legislation.

Did a sorta-kinda triathlon this weekend near La Farge - paddled in lieu of the swim. Did about how I expected, 5/8 in my class and 71/138 overall. Considering I haven’t competed in anything similar ever, I feel pretty happy with it and definitely identified some spots for improvement. 
 
In addition, I did some backroad bombing and snagged some photos of the car while I was there. It played the role of camping rig beautifully, and had zero hiccups. The adaptive headlights are seriously incredible for driving after dark in the country, I wish all my cars had them.
 

I remember thinking "Headlights that move?  No way that works."  Then I started driving cars with them and it's so fucking useful.

Did a sorta-kinda triathlon this weekend near La Farge - paddled in lieu of the swim. Did about how I expected, 5/8 in my class and 71/138 overall. Considering I haven’t competed in anything similar ever, I feel pretty happy with it and definitely identified some spots for improvement. 
 
In addition, I did some backroad bombing and snagged some photos of the car while I was there. It played the role of camping rig beautifully, and had zero hiccups. The adaptive headlights are seriously incredible for driving after dark in the country, I wish all my cars had them.
 

First outing was a success. Everything worked like I hoped it would. A couple small things to do before the next trip, but all very minor. Girls had an absolute blast. 

Pulled an all nighter last weekend but I got the car back on the road for the trip to Milwaukee. It was very nice to surprise Ben as he hadn't seen his car in 6 years. Deja vu for me driving a BMW to the Saint Kate hotel too to pick him up as I used to get customers there frequently working at the dealership.
The battery negative clamp had been cracked on this car for a while and I finally broke it taking the old dead battery out. Replaced with just a standard slightly longer cable as I never liked how tight the stock ones are. The chassis ground is the footwell side of the back seat. Also tired of traditional batteries failing even with trickle charging so I upgraded to Costco Item Number 1355853 Group Size H8 (49) Interstate AGM Battery. It won't show up in their system as a match though. 

I set myself back a little bit trying to start the car as I flooded the engine, which is super easy to do on M60's. There's a few posts on other forums form the same guy stating that he can get one started by just pulling the plugs on one bank and adding a little oil to seal the rings. I gave that a shot as it had been 7ish years probably since the last time I had done it. After not having success with that though I ended up pulling the plugs on both sides and airing it out for a couple hours while I recharged the battery and worked on the passenger door and fender. 
Door and fender swap was pretty straight forward but I did it in a hurry just to get it done. The side skirt doesn't fit right as the pinch rail must've been pulled out a little bit at the fender mounts when it was hit. I forgot to replace the door hinge sleeves too so both will come back off but I'm super happy with how these used parts matched up. Door stay reinforcement plates are a must, super simple install. I still have to replaced the drivers door as well as that one is actually ripped out. 


Very happy with how the car ran and drove though. Pulling the intake I destroyed the throttle cable bushings but glad I finally bought a pair of Billet Throttle Cable Bushings as it improved the drivability a lot getting rid of the throttle delay from the slack. 

Getting some big things off the checklist felt great and glad to be driving on of the cars again. Got a few items left on the punch list but this car will be pretty well sorted before winter storage and ready to rock next spring. 

Sheesh, long overdue for an update here. 
 
I’ve been lagging on getting this done; the spring ended up being completely full (like, every single weekend from January to May) with water ski team maintenance stuff, and the season went until May to now. The team hasn’t had an official member dedicated to fleet main fence in a long time so the backlog was enormous. Like, waterlogged and rusting boat trailer bearings that haven’t been repacked in a decade, rotting trailer floor, and broken bilge pumps and blowers, enormous. 
 
I’m finally getting a chance to get back into cars though thankfully, and have made some good progress! It feels amazing to be finally getting somewhere.
Fuel tank is back in and the tank-adjacent stuff is plumbed in. I’m holding off on installing the fuel hardlines until the engine comes out and goes back in so I don’t accidentally damage them. My brake hardlines seem to fit nicely though, which is exciting!
 
And tonight, for the first time in something like 20 months, the car’s subframe and chassis were reunited. Big stuff! My only concern so far is that the fuel tank neck is contacting the subframe because of the subframe riser bushings; it doesn’t seem to be severe though, so I’m probably going to leave it. Don’t have much of a choice I guess.



Engine oil has been drained, PS hoses disconnected, a/c lines are unhooked, and all fuel/intake/other things have been disconnected in the bay other than the starter ground strap, oil cooler lines, coolant hoses, and the DME. The plan is to button up the rear end ASAP and get it back on four wheels so that I can reposition it, then yank the engine and get cracking on the swap stuff/timing belt. Also planning to get the HIKfab skidplate welded on by @rampelsauce while the engine is out, should make it a snap to weld and repaint. 
 
Hoping to make a lot of progress this fall. I’d love to get it done, but I’ve made promises like that before (look at how long it’s been sitting). It WILL get done before next summer; the ski team is doing an 80’s themed show and it’d be sacrilege to not have the quintessential 80’s car not running for it. 

Sheesh, long overdue for an update here. 
 
I’ve been lagging on getting this done; the spring ended up being completely full (like, every single weekend from January to May) with water ski team maintenance stuff, and the season went until May to now. The team hasn’t had an official member dedicated to fleet main fence in a long time so the backlog was enormous. Like, waterlogged and rusting boat trailer bearings that haven’t been repacked in a decade, rotting trailer floor, and broken bilge pumps and blowers, enormous. 
 
I’m finally getting a chance to get back into cars though thankfully, and have made some good progress! It feels amazing to be finally getting somewhere.
Fuel tank is back in and the tank-adjacent stuff is plumbed in. I’m holding off on installing the fuel hardlines until the engine comes out and goes back in so I don’t accidentally damage them. My brake hardlines seem to fit nicely though, which is exciting!
 
And tonight, for the first time in something like 20 months, the car’s subframe and chassis were reunited. Big stuff! My only concern so far is that the fuel tank neck is contacting the subframe because of the subframe riser bushings; it doesn’t seem to be severe though, so I’m probably going to leave it. Don’t have much of a choice I guess.



Engine oil has been drained, PS hoses disconnected, a/c lines are unhooked, and all fuel/intake/other things have been disconnected in the bay other than the starter ground strap, oil cooler lines, coolant hoses, and the DME. The plan is to button up the rear end ASAP and get it back on four wheels so that I can reposition it, then yank the engine and get cracking on the swap stuff/timing belt. Also planning to get the HIKfab skidplate welded on by @rampelsauce while the engine is out, should make it a snap to weld and repaint. 
 
Hoping to make a lot of progress this fall. I’d love to get it done, but I’ve made promises like that before (look at how long it’s been sitting). It WILL get done before next summer; the ski team is doing an 80’s themed show and it’d be sacrilege to not have the quintessential 80’s car not running for it. 

Sheesh, long overdue for an update here. 
 
I’ve been lagging on getting this done; the spring ended up being completely full (like, every single weekend from January to May) with water ski team maintenance stuff, and the season went until May to now. The team hasn’t had an official member dedicated to fleet main fence in a long time so the backlog was enormous. Like, waterlogged and rusting boat trailer bearings that haven’t been repacked in a decade, rotting trailer floor, and broken bilge pumps and blowers, enormous. 
 
I’m finally getting a chance to get back into cars though thankfully, and have made some good progress! It feels amazing to be finally getting somewhere.
Fuel tank is back in and the tank-adjacent stuff is plumbed in. I’m holding off on installing the fuel hardlines until the engine comes out and goes back in so I don’t accidentally damage them. My brake hardlines seem to fit nicely though, which is exciting!
 
And tonight, for the first time in something like 20 months, the car’s subframe and chassis were reunited. Big stuff! My only concern so far is that the fuel tank neck is contacting the subframe because of the subframe riser bushings; it doesn’t seem to be severe though, so I’m probably going to leave it. Don’t have much of a choice I guess.



Engine oil has been drained, PS hoses disconnected, a/c lines are unhooked, and all fuel/intake/other things have been disconnected in the bay other than the starter ground strap, oil cooler lines, coolant hoses, and the DME. The plan is to button up the rear end ASAP and get it back on four wheels so that I can reposition it, then yank the engine and get cracking on the swap stuff/timing belt. Also planning to get the HIKfab skidplate welded on by @rampelsauce while the engine is out, should make it a snap to weld and repaint. 
 
Hoping to make a lot of progress this fall. I’d love to get it done, but I’ve made promises like that before (look at how long it’s been sitting). It WILL get done before next summer; the ski team is doing an 80’s themed show and it’d be sacrilege to not have the quintessential 80’s car not running for it. 

Sheesh, long overdue for an update here. 
 
I’ve been lagging on getting this done; the spring ended up being completely full (like, every single weekend from January to May) with water ski team maintenance stuff, and the season went until May to now. The team hasn’t had an official member dedicated to fleet main fence in a long time so the backlog was enormous. Like, waterlogged and rusting boat trailer bearings that haven’t been repacked in a decade, rotting trailer floor, and broken bilge pumps and blowers, enormous. 
 
I’m finally getting a chance to get back into cars though thankfully, and have made some good progress! It feels amazing to be finally getting somewhere.
Fuel tank is back in and the tank-adjacent stuff is plumbed in. I’m holding off on installing the fuel hardlines until the engine comes out and goes back in so I don’t accidentally damage them. My brake hardlines seem to fit nicely though, which is exciting!
 
And tonight, for the first time in something like 20 months, the car’s subframe and chassis were reunited. Big stuff! My only concern so far is that the fuel tank neck is contacting the subframe because of the subframe riser bushings; it doesn’t seem to be severe though, so I’m probably going to leave it. Don’t have much of a choice I guess.



Engine oil has been drained, PS hoses disconnected, a/c lines are unhooked, and all fuel/intake/other things have been disconnected in the bay other than the starter ground strap, oil cooler lines, coolant hoses, and the DME. The plan is to button up the rear end ASAP and get it back on four wheels so that I can reposition it, then yank the engine and get cracking on the swap stuff/timing belt. Also planning to get the HIKfab skidplate welded on by @rampelsauce while the engine is out, should make it a snap to weld and repaint. 
 
Hoping to make a lot of progress this fall. I’d love to get it done, but I’ve made promises like that before (look at how long it’s been sitting). It WILL get done before next summer; the ski team is doing an 80’s themed show and it’d be sacrilege to not have the quintessential 80’s car not running for it. 

Not BMW related but fun car stuff so figured I'd share. I took the Bronco for a day trip to Tigerton OHV park on Labor day and spent the day exploring the trails there.


=

 
Didn't take pics of any of the harder stuff but we got into some proper rock crawling in a few places where the skid plates and lockers came in handy. The only bummer of the day was that my wheels picked up a few scrape marks from some hidden rocks in a very avoidable (lol) mud hole... I'm considering switching them out to some steelies from a black diamond model so I don't need to worry about it as much next time. 10/10 though, would do it again.

Huge photo dump. By the time I sold the e30 I was pretty well over it. The old car problems were enough for me and it was taking time and money away from other things. Ultimately, our family may be looking a little bit different in the next year or so and I wanted something that I could fully enjoy with my girls. I went camping with my girls for a weekend with my brother and his new camper and they absolutely loved it.
So, I bought this complete and utter turd of a camper and have spent the last two months or so rebuilding in. It's ironic that one project leaves and another takes its spot, but this one is going to make so many memories and my girls are beyond excited to use it. My focus and priorities have shifted to them. A "racecar" will still find a new home with me someday as long as it's red per their requirements. 














Still got to put my 3D printing to use with this exterior box. 


The inside is 98% done. 




That's it for now! Hope everyone here is doing well and I've always been grateful for the wealth of knowledge here and all of your help during my ownership with the e30. 

Had a productive weekend despite the heat. Water Pump and Valley Pan done, new knock, crank and cam position sensors, billet throttle cable bushings, Intake w/ new PCV installed. I was going to do both the valve cover gaskets even though they didn't really need to be done but doing the right side turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. I think 4 of the studs backed out and 2 of them stripped going back in. The fun part is the studs are threaded into the CAM BEARING CAPS 🤔🙄 Not happy about that and haven't had this issue before on other M60's. I cleaned up the threads with a tap & die and hand tightened things as tight as I felt comfortable, the spec is only 10Nm and thankfully the lower back corner held tight. The center stud is barely hanging on though, Hopefully no leaks otherwise it'll be quite the job to properly fix that. Gonna leave the other side until it absolutely needs it. 

Engine bay is all back together besides the fan and intake. Just need to replace the battery and battery negative cable before startup. If all goes well and running issues solved it'll be onto swapping out the front doors and fender.