B7 general discussion/chat thread.

[Charlie Farley]

That's the thing with B7 front suspension on higher milages 80K onwards , once you find one part is worn it will be very likely all the joints and bushes will need replacement so buying a full kit and doing the lot in one go is allways the best plan, saves doubling up etc .
Thats why I opted for a full kit and wasnt really that expensive.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Found myself being drawn into the dark side today, E46 M3 .

Never been into the brand but looks rather nice from my desktop PC.

 

[northpole]

If you like that one you'll love the m2 also... the bodywork is perfect... on the end of my street is the bmw dealer I see the cars every day in the flesh the m2 by far has the best proportions and beefieness to it.

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[ttelracs]

One of my friends has one of the last one made, 2005/6 I think but it's had 'faasannnds' spent on it to bring it up to CS/L standard but without the carbon fibre roof and bonnet.
It has the carbon fibre inlet manifold, 19 inch CSL wheels, Bilstein PSS coilover suspension, tubular manifold, upgraded exhaust and some other trick bits. I fitted braided brake lines and adjusted the suspension for him.
When pulling away there isn't much torque and so needs some revs plus it has a lightened flywheel and SMF , unlike ours with turbos etc and even up to about 2500/3k revs it feels nothing special but after that it pulls, 4-5,500 it really gets going and then between there and 7500 OMG plus the howl from the induction. I'm getting quite giddy reminiscing... but as a daily it would do my head in but for a sense of occasion, not much will come close outside of Porsche, Ferrari exotica.

 

[ttelracs]

And for me the 1M is the for me, nice and compact.
I think even the M2 is too big, I'm sure is larger than the E39 M5 another one I'm smitten with.

 

[ttelracs]

A quick question, but any gains to be had by opening up the fog light to allow more air to flow over the intercoolers? I ask as I have a stone chip which has put a small hole just above the fog light itself. I will be draining the oil out and giving them both a clean, inside and out over the summer along with the joining pipe and MAP sensor.

 

[Charlie Farley]

A quick question, but any gains to be had by opening up the fog light to allow more air to flow over the intercoolers? I ask as I have a stone chip which has put a small hole just above the fog light itself. I will be draining the oil out and giving them both a clean, inside and out over the summer along with the joining pipe and MAP sensor.

not really, but worth thinking about an uprated FMIC such as Airtech.

 

[swisstony]

Found myself being drawn into the dark side today, E46 M3 .

Never been into the brand but looks rather nice from my desktop PC.

My brother in law picked this one up not too long ago....lovely example

 

[swisstony]

not really, but worth thinking about an uprated FMIC such as Airtech.

What rob said, an uprated FMIC is a nice upgrade, a bit like mine.

 

[northpole]

And for me the 1M is the for me, nice and compact.
I think even the M2 is too big, I'm sure is larger than the E39 M5 another one I'm smitten with.

m1 and m2 are build on the same platform, so same wheelbase and width incl. engines
m1 = hatchback, m2 = coupe
but: i hate the 1 series the hatchback (even the newest model) is hideous the hatchback is just not proportioned right. I see them everyday and hate them everyday a little more.
the m2 coupe newest model is just right from every angle, just the engine isn't right it should have the same engine as the m3 and the m5. but that would mean it would be a direct competitor for both of those 2 models so they put in a smaller less powerful engine.

as i said on the end of my street is the bmw dealer. and i am on about the last models not the older ones as those just don't do it for me... i did however in the early 2000's own an e36 coupe it was a 320i body with the full running gear and engine from the e36 m3 i literally owned it for 3 months as i got offered a silly amount for it. ( it left a factory m3 behind for dead, the guy pestered me for 2 months and bought it of me) i never bought a bmw again instead i went back to buy another 205mi16vt and a golf mk2 gti 16vg60 both where faster than the m3. and where more sleeper. as they just looked like standard factory gti's.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Just been doing parts ordering and price comparisons.
The Camshaft adjuster (febi/bilstein) is £278.72 and that is the cheapest its been on autodoc for a while,

but from parts in motion its only £148.29

just shows you need to shop around , and that from a uk supplier so no 2 weeks or more waiting time.

 

[ttelracs]

m1 and m2 are build on the same platform, so same wheelbase and width incl. engines
m1 = hatchback, m2 = coupe
but: i hate the 1 series the hatchback (even the newest model) is hideous the hatchback is just not proportioned right. I see them everyday and hate them everyday a little more.
the m2 coupe newest model is just right from every angle, just the engine isn't right it should have the same engine as the m3 and the m5. but that would mean it would be a direct competitor for both of those 2 models so they put in a smaller less powerful engine.

as i said on the end of my street is the bmw dealer. and i am on about the last models not the older ones as those just don't do it for me... i did however in the early 2000's own an e36 coupe it was a 320i body with the full running gear and engine from the e36 m3 i literally owned it for 3 months as i got offered a silly amount for it. ( it left a factory m3 behind for dead, the guy pestered me for 2 months and bought it of me) i never bought a bmw again instead i went back to buy another 205mi16vt and a golf mk2 gti 16vg60 both where faster than the m3. and where more sleeper. as they just looked like standard factory gti's.

Oh @northpole you've been to motor heaven and I have to agree with you on the M1 & M2, but I meant the 1M, that freaky little one which was more of a semi skimmed M model, than the full fat.

 

[northpole]

Yeah i owned some seriously rare engined cars... but they all were money pits, it's the reason why I'm now capable of fixing engines, do bodywork and can weld... I hated the money i had to pay someone to do it, and in most cases they didn't do a good job anyway, unless i was hanging over their shoulder watching every move....i wasn't always in a position to do so... Long story short, I started to educate myself on the specific cars I had at the time, learn how to DIY and safe money big time.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Well I'm a well chuffed today, managed to get a whole shed load of parts for the old bus for a cracking price from parts in motion.

I compared the same parts on Autodoc which totaled £420.20 , went onto parts in motion and the exact same parts came to £256.77 and they also gave me a £25 off discount as a subscriber so the total bill inc next day fedex was £231.77 , now thats a deal or what.

I when priced up the same parts on the other online parts and none were even close, safe to say parts in motion are now my main source of parts.
certainly are some cracking deals around if you look for them.

happy days .

 

[Charlie Farley]

Also had a bit of time to sand down /prep another lemans alloy, two down two to go, then the painting starts.

 

[northpole]

Parts in motion aren't the only ones that have cracking deals... I usually do a parts search find the parts in motion cheapest part and brand than do a deep search using the power of Google... I have saved over 700 pounds on parts, service items, and fluids since I started to sort out the car... this doesn't include the money I saved on buying new tires online. Now if I would count the money saved by DIY (£60 ex.vat) I probably would've scrapped the car.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Tires, now that's another thing on my to-do list, despite an extensive web search I've yet to commit to any, ideally looking at Eagle F1 asymmetric 5 , but very little price difference, and most workout over £620

 

[northpole]

Camskills are the cheapest but remember prices for fitting and balancing have gone up (literally doubled) that is without the extra price per tpms valve (they aren't free)

Black circles are 20 pound a tire more expensive but do come with fitting.

 

[Charlie Farley]

TPMS not fitted so one bit less.

 

[Charlie Farley]

A couple of tire firms local to me charge for fitting tires even if the tyres have been purchased online to include free fitting any tire center, just another way of holding the customer to Ransome with extra charges.

 

[Charlie Farley]

And still charge for carcass disposal even if they are bare rims, rip-off .

 

[northpole]

That's some BS.... but it makes camskill your go to... not sure if they got the Eagle's you are after though, but if they don't they probably will have the newer Eagle's. I just checked they only got the super sports at 141.60 each (235/35/19) not asymmetrical

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[Charlie Farley]

yep, they try all the tricks some tire centres, doesn't work with me anymore.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Another day and another rim all sanded etc.
1 more to do tomorrow and a bit of fine filing/sanding to one that has some curb rash then its onto some Etch primer.

I do like a bit of wheel refurbing on a wet day, a very satisfying process

 

[Charlie Farley]

A company near me are doing F1's for what seems a fair price inc fitting etc, but not sure about the new Aysemetric 6 being any good.
still going to be the wrong side of £600 .

 

[Charlie Farley]

FedEx man dropped of some bits this morning so nearly have all the bits I need to do the cam timing etc, oil pump mod, wheel bearings and tie rods, and front arb bushes.
Just need the 3 rubber o-rings for the solenoid side of the cam adjuster and some gasket sealant for the sump cover.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Whilst on the subject of the cam adjuster, I have a plan.
Now the cam adjuster removal is just one of those things that most of us DIY mechanics dread, it will either come out without issues or it won't and just cause a whole world of grief to rectify what should be an easy task to start with.

With that in mind, i was thinking about how best to tackle it and have come up with a plan.

As we all know that bolt can be really tight and just a stubborn thing to shift, even with the correct tool it's not a certainty that things will go as planned.
So, I had a rummage in the shed and found some heavy-duty round nylon rod ,a quick check and it fits perfectly into the cam adjust bolt recess.

I will cut it to size, drill out one end to permit the spline to fit through, and drill-out and profile the other end so the remaining part of the socket fits in snugly. so it will end up being a sleeve for a better description, with enough spline to fit into the bolt but that's it and the nylon sleeve will butt up to the bolt head.

That way there is no sideways movement in the spline tool, it will be central in the bolt head.
My logic is that by removing any sideway movement with the tool, and there is a lot normally, it will have far less chance to twist when force is applied to loosen the bolt, so less chance of stripping the head if the spline gets out a center or moves sideways.

keeping the splined bit in and central is more of a problem on the longitudinally mounted engine than the transverse fittment as you just don't have the space, it's worth a go.

But also buying a decent-quality spline bit makes a massive difference.

I have two, a very good one which is the correct part and is a perfect fit in the bolt head, but the lesser quality spline bit is a loose fit and when viewed carefully it is easy to see how this one would slip and strip the head.

So thats my plan, may just go tits up anyway but sometimes just a few tweaks to something can make all the difference.

Cheapo spline tool on the left, a more quality spline tool on the right near the nylon rod.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Found the o-rings, only a 25-minute drive away so thats on tommorows hit list.

 

[Gmac]

Just about ready to go! Good stuff.

 

[swisstony]

Another day and another rim all sanded etc.
1 more to do tomorrow and a bit of fine filing/sanding to one that has some curb rash then its onto some Etch primer.

I do like a bit of wheel refurbing on a wet day, a very satisfying process
View attachment 273843

Bit extreme using a hedge cutter for the sanding

 

[Charlie Farley]

Yes but I do like to push the boundaries sometimes....lol

 

[Charlie Farley]

Its a new technique I've developed called " extreme sanding"

 

[swisstony]

Its a new technique I've developed called " extreme sanding"

I like it.... put the word 'extreme' in front of anything and it makes it sound better. This morning I did ' extreme dishwasher loading "

 

[Charlie Farley]

now that is extreme, loading in the morning, what are you like chap.

 

[northpole]

lol you 2 are like those 2 elderly guys on the balcony in the Muppet Show! That said once i removed the old leaking cam cover gasket i found that the head is nice and clean,,, but the cam cover had loads of debris (read caked on crap) on it... i had to take it down to the jet-washer t my local carwash and give it a good high pressure wash... needles to say it's now as clean as the head. I'll use another engine flush when it's service time again to get rid of the bits i can't see . But all in all for once it was quite easy and how it should be straight forward. remove the old gasket, clean the mating parts surfaces push the cam cover gasket in it's place and than put it back tightening it down in the right sequence and torque. put every thing back and tada no more oil leaks!

 

[swisstony]

lol you 2 are like those 2 elderly guys on the balcony in the Muppet Show!

@Charlie Farley did you see what he called us !! How very rude... saying that I am the good looking one on the left

 

[Charlie Farley]

I was thinking more Gonzo...

 

[ttelracs]

not really, but worth thinking about an uprated FMIC such as Airtech.

I thought that would be the case, but it these straitened times this will be the first car in a long time that I will not be spending money on unless I have to. So I'll have to settle for draining the oil out of both intercoolers, the link pipe, cleaning them out as best as possible and ensuring the openings are not full of leaves, hibernating animals or roadkill. Maybe just replace the intercooler hoses as I'm sure they'll be swelling a bit under pressure. That is until I browse eBay or similar and see a bargain...

 

[Charlie Farley]

There are uprated ones that come up for sale used occasionally that just replace the OE ones on each side, just a bit bigger , not massive but if you added the total increase it is worthwhile.
they just retro fit with existing fittings.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Needed some instant gasket for the sump cover, so popped into my local car motor factor that I purchased the Apec drive shafts from, the guy handed me the sealant and then £270 in cash, that's your refund from Apec he said with a smile, have the sealant on the house, I was a bit gobsmacked for a moment or two then thanked him .

A good day indeedy.