E46 Things

[B C]

Nearly 2,000 miles on the car this driving season. 

CEL illuminated last night. I had my Bluetooth dongle in the center console so I popped it in:  P0420 (meow) 

Cat efficiency below threshold.

I checked the Carfax report and the BMW recall for the DME reprogram has already been done back in 2009. It allows more leniency in the rear O2 sensor readings before registering a CEL.  Reset the CEL and did a few full throttle runs to get things nice and rich but it hasn't returned in 3 drives adding up to about 30 miles. Checked codes with INPA and nothing is stored. I'll consider it a fluke for now, at very worst there are plenty of folks upgrading their headers and selling stock cats cheap.

It has been starting just fine, im considering the start on 2nd attempt also a fluke.

[wasnt m3]

Sounds like time for headers and a tune.

[Jdesign]

B C said:

CEL illuminated last night. I had my Bluetooth dongle in the center console so I popped it in:  P0420 (meow) 

[B C]

[B C]

Today:

Added Redline Water Wetter to the cooling system. The mechanical fan has been upgraded to a Spal puller but it uses the controller for the aux fan. Its called the “2 for 1” fan mod. Remove mechanical fan, remove condenser aux fan, install Spal puller that runs off the ECU.

I had a very rigorous stop and go commute with the AC on in high heat and humidity and the temperature crept up a bit. We will see how the Water Wetter helps if at all.

I started repairing some rust/bare metal from some rubbing on the wheel arches presumably from some stancebro wheels and tires installed a couple of owners ago.

it goes most of the way around the arch but this is the most barren spot.

I scraped back some of the undercoating and found some more corrosion that had seeped through the edge.

Ground down a bit

POR 15

I will give it a light top coat of undercoating once it dries a bit longer.

I also started installing the strut tower reinforcement plates.

These plates sit loose on top of the strut mounts/camber plates and disperse the load to avoid having cracks form at the strut mounting holes, or mushrooming of the mounting points.  They are a BMW part that is offered for cars driven in areas with rough roads like Africa, Wisconsin, and the Moon

Temporarily installed to check clearance of camber adjustment screws

There was some light surface rust up inside the strut tower which was also repaired.

While the wheels were removed, they were cleaned thoroughly on the inside and the tires were rotated.

[B C]

Clutch delay valve removed, clutch bled.

Check out the tiny orifice the CDV uses to ruin the 1-2 shift

[patsbimmer1]

How does it feel?

[B C]

patsbimmer1 said:

How does it feel?

I’ll report back tomorrow and let you know if the CDV is a troll or im just an utter failure at manual transmissioning.

I spent this evening finishing up the POR15 on the other side of the car, checked the bleed on the clutch before putting the under-panel back on. Now Im letting things dry. Car is still up in the air ,but just sitting in the garage, the pedal effort feels a tad lighter. It makes sense that it would.

I have been researching how to code/unlock the M-Track mode for a little less DSC intrusion, mostly so I dont feel like I am roasting the rear brakes. I dont know that I will ever feel comfortable messing around with coding, especially with it all being in German, but the M-Track mode is on the wish list if there was ever anyone competent locally that could hook that up.

[B C]

Everything is back together and I took it out for a test drive.

SO MUCH BETTER!

If you have a clutch delay valve on your E36+ Newer BMW and it has not been removed yet, you need to remove it!

For  those who have never experienced a CDV or dont know how it feels to have one, basically it delays the engagement of the clutch and makes timing the clutch release and throttle more challenging than it needs to be. It is very hard, if not impossible to get a clean 1-2 shift that doesn’t involve excessively slipping the clutch or giving passengers a jolt.

It can now be driven smoothly without trying very hard

[B C]

New windshield.

Had 1 rock chip that showed potential to expand rapidly and picked up another rock chip last week that i don't remember hearing. Now I have a clean slate to pick up more rock chips with

[Boris3]

For future reference who did the replacement?

[B C]

autoglassfitters.com

[Jdesign]

Price?

[B C]

Jdesign said:

Price?

I have glass coverage on my insurance so glass repairs/replacements are no cost/no deductible. The insurance was billed $430

[B C]

I dropped my car wash mitt. 
This is not unlike the scene from I Am Legend where the German Shepherd is bit and infected by the zombies and Will Smith has to part with it. 

R.I.P. Mitt Romney

[Jdesign]

RIP ROM 

[B C]

Clear->Amber because you always want what you dont have, and it will match the front amber turn signals better. Thanks to @wasnt m3 for the idea

[B C]

working on the interior trim as well:

[YoungCR]

Vinyl wrap? Looks good!

[patsbimmer1]

Nice job!