[MrSweet1991]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone else has been doing stuff to their car while being on lockdown.. I keep looking out and just itching to do something!

Since owning the car I've done:

Suspension
Wheel knuckle replacement
Brakes and discs
EGR clean
Intake manifold clean
Intake manifold gaskets and swirl delete
Glow plug module (mind you need to attempt that again)
Valve Cover Gasket replacement and cleaned injectors
Replaced brake vacuum pump seals
Both EGR and main thermostats
Alternator
Battery
Removed Intercooler and cleaned
Crankcase breather

Since the lockdown I managed to install the Vortex breather as I had to remove the loo roll one a few months back as it was getting blocked after a few weeks.

So now, I'm wanting to do something else. I'm thinking of replacing the sump gasket as it's saturated but I'm also wondering if I can inspect the rod and crank bearings while it's off but I'm assuming that will require at least new bolts..

Anyone else doing some random jobs they've been putting off? Looking for some ideas

[P14kle]

Changed 4x front ball joint rubber boots today as the old ones had perished..

Had the sun on my back, and actually enjoyed the job as ive had 2x young kids as my shadow for the last week or so..

Both cars are clean inside and out too. Im actually enjoying my time at home tbh!.

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by P14kle

Changed 4x front ball joint rubber boots today as the old ones had perished..

Had the sun on my back, and actually enjoyed the job as ive had 2x young kids as my shadow for the last week or so..

Both cars are clean inside and out too. Im actually enjoying my time at home tbh!.

Ahh yeah the rubber boots, I remember when I purchased a front Meyle HD kit for mine and it had these weird bloody circlips for the rubber boots which required a tool to crimp I think, I had to use some cable ties for time being

I try to take my kids out when I do the car but approximately 60 seconds into my briefing I find they just start to chase each other round the car lol

[N57]

As you know, sorting the front bumper out and front pad change.

Replaced the engine oil, bought some ages ago when amazon were selling 4 litres for £22.

I've washed the car about 4 time since lockdown lol and bought some of that Meguires scratch x stuff from eBay. They remove (or hide) swirl marks but don't really remove scuffs/ scratches etc.

Modified a toolbox to fit the storage compartment under the boot floor (I'm that bored). Minor things...

Weather has been cracking the past few days!

[nomiS330d]

I’ve done my rear control arms, except the n/s control because I can’t get the eccentric bolt out. I need to get it on a lift so I can swing a larger hammer at it but my friendly tyre guy is shut so it’ll have to wait. I’ve also done the lower outer ball joints but just waiting for a tool to come do do the outer bushes. The rear already feels a lot more stable under acceleration so happy with that. Next job is the front end when I’ve got the spare pennies.
I do keep looking out the window at my front fog lights which are foggy. I could bring them in and try getting them clear but I can’t find anywhere selling wet n dry open. Anybody tried the toothpaste method?

[MEN54]

I did Bavsound Stage1 speakers upgrade for my HI-FI sound system.
so far sounds good, speakers need some break in period as well

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by reeceu8

As you know, sorting the front bumper out and front pad change.

Replaced the engine oil, bought some ages ago when amazon were selling 4 litres for £22.

I've washed the car about 4 time since lockdown lol and bought some of that Meguires scratch x stuff from eBay. They remove (or hide) swirl marks but don't really remove scuffs/ scratches etc.

Modified a toolbox to fit the storage compartment under the boot floor (I'm that bored). Minor things...

Weather has been cracking the past few days!

Ahh yes the front bumper, I have high hopes for that aslong as those mounting points are okay. My front bumper is in a sorry state as well, banc when I was working for the NHS I think one of the contractors scuffed the corner of the bumper and it had that light blue colour the Ford Fiestas have.. I was gutted! Cleaned it and then used a black sapphire paint pen, compared to white it's 100% better, but its damn hideous when you look close

Ahh that's another thing I was meant to do now you've mentioned it, I wanted to carpet clean the floor and boot with my carpet cleaner, with the kids in the car I'm sure there's plenty of crap trodden into the carpets lol.

That's a cool idea with the tool box as well, when I got my car it literally just had a jack and a few things chucked into the hole, now I've used that space for my amplifier so it's hidden out the way

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by MEN54

I did Bavsound Stage1 speakers upgrade for my HI-FI sound system.
so far sounds good, speakers need some break in period as well

Nice! I need to upgrade mine to be honest, I installed an XTRONS PE9890BIPL touch screen into the car which also resolves the issue of the heavily modified EQ which the stock base system head unit comes with, saved me coding it. Then I got a monoblock 600w RMS alpine amp which fits under the boot fake floor section and I created my own ski hatch pass through in the rear seats and I have an Alpine 15" Type R firing straight into the cabin, I need to figure out how to stop the fuel door from vibrating though its so annoying! Oh and of course my base system speakers are crap, and there's no tweeters at all so I think at a minimum a nice set of tweeters will get putt in.

Did your bavsound stage 1 come with all replacement speakers (mids, tweeters, underseats)?

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by nomiS330d

I’ve done my rear control arms, except the n/s control because I can’t get the eccentric bolt out. I need to get it on a lift so I can swing a larger hammer at it but my friendly tyre guy is shut so it’ll have to wait. I’ve also done the lower outer ball joints but just waiting for a tool to come do do the outer bushes. The rear already feels a lot more stable under acceleration so happy with that. Next job is the front end when I’ve got the spare pennies.
I do keep looking out the window at my front fog lights which are foggy. I could bring them in and try getting them clear but I can’t find anywhere selling wet n dry open. Anybody tried the toothpaste method?

Oh wow, hopefully yours does come out because the eccentric bolt on my toe arm was as good as welded to the inner sleeve, its a design floor from BMW by using two different metals that corrode together. In the end I had to angle grind it off, it felt so nice to see the toe arm fall off, I must have spent like a day or more twisting and hitting that eccentric bolt lol

[sfarisminhas]

Let's see:-

Took off the front door cards to fix the vapour barriers because water ingress under the carpets.

Spent over 9-10 hours drying the carpets by removing the seats, lifting the carpet and using a combination of a heater and the wife's hairdryer!

Installed a new Pioneer 5 channel amplifier and re-adjusted all the cabling, then re-tuned the audio.

Cleaned the inside of the car thoroughly and washed and waxed the outside.

Resolved the airbag and occupancy warning light by purchasing a d-can cable, getting to grips with INPA and removing the error codes.

Not sure what I'll do next? I've seen some cloth sport seats out of a late 2012 E90 that I'm tempted to purchase and install.

[Tambohamilton]

So far I've:
Replaced glow plug controller
Replaced VAC lines
Cleaned intake manifold
Replaced 2x vacuum solenoids
Refitted the rear ARB
Bled all brakes
Tried bleeding the clutch, ended up having to rebuild the MC to get it to bleed...still isn't right
M3 steering rack
PS reservoir
M3 wishbones
M3 radius rod inner bushings
Track rods & ends
XD strut top mounts
Fixed non-locking tailgate
Updated DDE
Front wheel alignment
Front ARB bushings and end links
Faff with seals and things to try and stop water from getting into the driver's foot well, somewhere near the pedal box
Reposition the driver's wiper slightly so it wipes closer to the A pillar

...I think that's it so far. New rear tyres on Saturday. Feeling pretty dumb that I'm not managing to do anything of any significance to actually help anyone with all the covid stuff happening...all while getting paid a wage just to stay at home. :/

[MEN54]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

Nice! I need to upgrade mine to be honest, I installed an XTRONS PE9890BIPL touch screen into the car which also resolves the issue of the heavily modified EQ which the stock base system head unit comes with, saved me coding it. Then I got a monoblock 600w RMS alpine amp which fits under the boot fake floor section and I created my own ski hatch pass through in the rear seats and I have an Alpine 15" Type R firing straight into the cabin, I need to figure out how to stop the fuel door from vibrating though its so annoying! Oh and of course my base system speakers are crap, and there's no tweeters at all so I think at a minimum a nice set of tweeters will get putt in.

Did your bavsound stage 1 come with all replacement speakers (mids, tweeters, underseats)?

great,

bavsound stage1 speakers comes with speakers and tweeters, no subs, you have to pay seperate for speakers, subs and amplifier.

and depend on your sound system, for example, top hifi has rear doors speakers but mine dont because i have rehular hi fi and you have base hifi

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

So far I've:
Replaced glow plug controller
Replaced VAC lines
Cleaned intake manifold
Replaced 2x vacuum solenoids
Refitted the rear ARB
Bled all brakes
Tried bleeding the clutch, ended up having to rebuild the MC to get it to bleed...still isn't right
M3 steering rack
PS reservoir
M3 wishbones
M3 radius rod inner bushings
Track rods & ends
XD strut top mounts
Fixed non-locking tailgate
Updated DDE
Front wheel alignment
Front ARB bushings and end links
Faff with seals and things to try and stop water from getting into the driver's foot well, somewhere near the pedal box
Reposition the driver's wiper slightly so it wipes closer to the A pillar

...I think that's it so far. New rear tyres on Saturday. Feeling pretty dumb that I'm not managing to do anything of any significance to actually help anyone with all the covid stuff happening...all while getting paid a wage just to stay at home. :/

That's a nice list of jobs

A few questions, what did you use to bleed the brakes? I was looking to buy a kit off Amazon but there where so many reviews about the kits not sealing properly and then completely forgot about doing the brakes.

What software did you use to update the DDE and why did you update it? Did you also use a voltage stabiliser?

[Kevdicko84]

Put some wind deflectors on. Not really a big job but killed 10 mins

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by Kevdicko84

Put some wind deflectors on. Not really a big job but killed 10 mins

Looks nice mate I've never had wind deflectors before, do they actually make a big difference to the sound?

[Kevdicko84]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

Looks nice mate I've never had wind deflectors before, do they actually make a big difference to the sound?

Thanks mate👍. To be honest I haven't really noticed. So that could be a yeah haha. It stops most of the wind coming in while driving haha.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

That's a nice list of jobs

A few questions, what did you use to bleed the brakes? I was looking to buy a kit off Amazon but there where so many reviews about the kits not sealing properly and then completely forgot about doing the brakes.

What software did you use to update the DDE and why did you update it? Did you also use a voltage stabiliser?

I used a Vizibleed One Man Brake Bleeder. You can get them for like £3.50 on eBay without a catch bottle. I think I got mine for £5ish from halfrauds with the little catch bottle. It's not fancy, but seems to work a treat. Had to pressure bleed the clutch, mind - used a 150ml syringe.

Used WinKFP and NCSexpert for the flash and default code. I actually was lazy, and just did it with a 4A smart charger hooked up - I knew they wouldn't take long. I've made myself a power supply from 2x server PSUs. It works a treat, holds 13.5v dead stable. It can't go any higher than that though - it's already over voltage from its rated 12v. You can find DIYs around the place quite readily. RC car folk used them for LiPO chargers, I believe.

I updated the DDE because I'm a total sucker for 'updates', I can't help myself! Just on the off chance it would run better with the new software.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by Kevdicko84

Thanks mate👍. To be honest I haven't really noticed. So that could be a yeah haha. It stops most of the wind coming in while driving haha.

Also means you can have the windows open a crack while it's raining, and not get wet

[nick46]

Originally Posted by Kevdicko84

Thanks mate👍. To be honest I haven't really noticed. So that could be a yeah haha. It stops most of the wind coming in while driving haha.

I've never really got the whole wind deflector thing. If I ever have a window open it's because I want the wind to come in. 99% of the time I just use the climate control and have the windows shut.

[Kevdicko84]

Originally Posted by nick46

I've never really got the whole wind deflector thing. If I ever have a window open it's because I want the wind to come in. 99% of the time I just use the climate control and have the windows shut.

I have 3 kids and the farts are bad🤣😂🤣.

[nomiS330d]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

That's a nice list of jobs

A few questions, what did you use to bleed the brakes? I was looking to buy a kit off Amazon but there where so many reviews about the kits not sealing properly and then completely forgot about doing the brakes.

What software did you use to update the DDE and why did you update it? Did you also use a voltage stabiliser?

I used this last year and it worked a treat for me.
Sealey VS820 Brake & Clutch Bleeding System https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000ROAR..._4LEKEbRNF5M5B

[nomiS330d]

Originally Posted by nick46

I've never really got the whole wind deflector thing. If I ever have a window open it's because I want the wind to come in. 99% of the time I just use the climate control and have the windows shut.

Same here. My son loves his but I just don’t get them.