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      05-04-2011, 11:10 PM   #28
frozenfire
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Drives: E92 335i SG
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yakev724 View Post
The needles end in 'hollow tubes' which slide (very snugly) onto metal pins which are the shafts of the motors. When installing back, you'll need to line them up perfectly, then push down, sometimes it takes a few tries to get them perfectly lined up. Also, you don't want to push too far/hard as if they're down further than they're supposed to be, there'll be friction between them and the backing faces and they'll catch on and skip as opposed to move freely like they're supposed to.

Taking them off the first time is the hard part, try to do it with something soft to avoid any damage. After that, you'll see exactly what I'm on about when you go to install them.

alright cool, I will try it when i have more time in a few weeks and post some results.

ALSO: The reason the needles dont look "smooth/clean" is because you didnt do the sharpie technique right (yeah theres a technique behind it)

What you want to do is:
1. Only go 1 way (inside to outside) then wait a few minutes so it dries completly.
2. Do it again, and repeat until the needle is evenly coated. Probably 3 coats.

If you dont let it dry and use multiple directions you will get a blotchy uneven coat with some spots darker than others, and small crevaces that didnt get any (a lot of them are also only noticed when the light is on and everything probably already hooked up). patience is key
Takes some practice but it looks real good in the end.

Again I learned this at the newcelica forums back in high school (process looks to be about 95% the same). I had to use an alcohol solution to remove the sharpie till I finally got it right, but on these "needles" it appears that may NOT work as the reflective strip may fade away if it is exposed. However dont qoute me just yet, I havent tried it yet. I will as soon as I get a chance though
Back then some guys were also using reflective paint to get some fun colors going on. For those of you intersted in learning more about this, search at newcelica forums (my buddy tells me e46 m3 boards too), I think these mods are way more popular there.
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