[eljay]

So much goodness in this thread! I'm just catching up. Very very well done sir!
I'm still after an M Sport headliner this side of the big pond.

[braziers]

Absolutely love this build, attention to detail is on point.

[LORDD]

Originally Posted by xlr88r

...and also Barty, congrats on the new E91! Given the love you've shown the Z4C I can't wait to see what you get up to with the '91.

When is the rear Lci light conversion coming ? To finish off your car 😀

[xlr88r]

Thanks so much for the kind words everyone - you're ace!

Apologies, for the umpteenth time, that I've been exceptionally dosy in posting anything new here. The car's running really well (gotta love an N52!) and it's genuinely pretty much where I want it now. It's quick enough, incredibly reliable, looks good to my ever ageing eyes, and it sounds fab both inside and out - inside especially, following some overdue tweakery today. More on that to follow.

I've not been up to much with it really of late. It had stamp number 19(!!) added to the service book on the 16th September, and its 13th oil service to date. Over its 136,000 miles that's an oil and filter change every 10,460 miles ish; well in advance of normal BMW intervals, but admittedly not as often as some I've seen online. I check the oil myself before a service, in case it's looking hideous for any reason and might warrant some TLC, but it's always been clear with maybe a little bit of a brown tinge when due. Nothing untoward then, and long may that last. At the same kinda time it had its MOT - the UK's relatively strict roadworthiness test - which it passed without fault. Good good.

What have I been up to then?

[xlr88r]

First up, the rear wiper was due a bit of attention.

You might have spotted it wasn't sitting quite right in the pics on the previous page, pointing more to 10 o'clock than 9. I started simply, opening the tailgate glass and moving the arm by hand. It was really stiff but seemed to free up a little. Closed the glass and retried it. Nope, still coming to rest too high.

Next, I took the end cap off, removed the bolt holding the wiper arm, removed that, another bolt, a circlip and a washer, and then picked a load of gunk out of the spindle with a very small pick. Doused it in WD40 and reassembled it. Moved it back and forth by hand. No joy. That's a seized spindle then.

A quick look on eBay saw a pattern part (the horrors!) arrive a couple of days later, for a whole £11.11. Could I separate the spindle from the outer handle? Could I heck as like! They'd fused fast. While trying to break up their far-too-close relationship, I ended up shearing the spindle plate in half, where it bolts onto the glass. With the spindle plate sheared and bonded to the handle on the outside, they both rotated in tandem at their respective sides of the glass. If you imagine trying to undo a jar, that's what I was trying to do. No joy, despite the best efforts of my massive un-Trumpian hands and colossal strength.

Right. Time for some forceful screwing... matron. Massive G-clamps! They'll do the job...



...or so I thought.

One Joe Mangled handle later, it was back to eBay for a replacement: another pricey pattern part for £8.57. Freepost and a 5 year guarantee - can't argue with that whatsoever. NOW I can get angry with it! But carefully angry. Loads of tape and a dinky junior hacksaw to the rescue!



Phew!

After what seemed like about 4 hours of sawing, they finally divorced and went their separate ways. Well, together, into the bin.



The aftermath!



New bits fitted in a jiffy, bit of tweaking to get the arm to sit at 9 o'clock, and we're set.

Excellent.

Well worth the effort and minimal outlay, that's for sure.



P.S. I'm aware Kill All Wipers, wiper deletes, switch blanks and so on exist, but trust me, I'm far too old for anything like that! To me, it's a feature and should work as intended. And so it does.

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by eljay

So much goodness in this thread! I'm just catching up. Very very well done sir!
I'm still after an M Sport headliner this side of the big pond.

Cheers! Good luck with the search for a headliner - I've read a few times they're pretty hard to come by over there. Fingers crossed you find one

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by braziers

Absolutely love this build, attention to detail is on point.

Cheers! Ah mate, I'm so jealous of your garage - talk about a perfect 2 car setup. Must. Save. Up!

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by LORDD

When is the rear Lci light conversion coming ? To finish off your car 😀

Hehe, don't tempt me!

Weirdly for an old E91, everything now works in the failgate: wash/wipe, heated window, window release button, radio reception and Comfort Access sensors are good, the struts are new ish, and there's zero rust. They can be prone to getting a bit rotten around the number plate lights but, touch wood, it's still bang on.

Oh, and I love the Darklines - they took a while to find!





That said... Le Mans did carry over into LCI...

Dammit!

[xlr88r]

Really must remember that not everyone is as excited as I am when it comes to wiper maintenance or rewrapping minor interior trim pieces, so here's an actual pic of the car. This was taken on the way to the Ultimate BMW meet, from a couple of pages back. Needless to say this pic has been very, very, heavily edited.

Looks fit though. I would.

[M-technik-3]

Looking Great as always.