Non-BMW Stuff on a BMW Forum

[Jdesign]

gilber33 said:

Went to Home Depot for Black Friday and got a new pair of work gloves and a Husky 650 ft lb pneumatic impact. I had the grinder with a flap disc slip and go through a thin pair of work gloves and fillet the top of my finger. I’m always going to  some type of reinforced glove going forward. 
 

Ive been there. Weird how it takes that one time to change your mind on safety LOL.

Progress is looking good!

[gilber33]

Haven’t done much to the bmw. Tonight I painted the seat rails with Por15 to clean them up. 

And then I was putting in the heater core and there is this gap at the bottom of the heater core and heater box. I can only assume there is supposed to be some insulation there? I ordered a behr unit and they only gave me enough to wrap around the sides of it. Am I correct there should be a strip of insulation that covers this gap? If so, what can I do/use since I don’t have any more with the new core that I ordered. I removed and tossed out the old one without thinking of looking at how it should be installed  

[straight6pwr]

looks like the original behr units had some foam there. (picture from internetz) 

looks like the one I isntalled in my e30 in 2017 is exactly like yours, and I left the gap unknowingly. *shrug*  (picture from when I replaced mine). this could explain why my center console storage area right below the HVAC controls seems to get some hot airflow and gets pretty warm LOL 

[gilber33]

lol. I found that picture, too. I didn't know if I was supposed to use some of the provided insulation or if there was some type of "gasket" for it. The Behr unit definitely did not have enough foam to do the heater core and this area. I'll pick some stuff up from the hardware store. Someone sent me this image on R3V: 

[gilber33]

Now that I finished the suspension overhaul on the wagon and things are calming down a bit with the 2.5 week old, I spent some time in the garage. Rear subframe is bolted in now. Parking brake mechanisms installed. Removed the AC evaporator to check for any leaks. Other than being super dirty, I don’t see anything that makes me suspicious of it. Lots of bent fins, but I’ll go through and straighten them back out as much as I can. 

Cut out the rust where the vent lines exit. Marked up where the opening will need to be after it’s patched. Using some plastic tubing to run the lines through the car and then will use seam sealer where it exits the car to keep it in place. 
 

New shock mounts on. The old ones were completely separated. 

[B C]

this car deserves this transformation.  I like seeing these updates.

[gilber33]

B C said:

this car deserves this transformation.  I like seeing these updates.

Thank you!!

I definitely did not think I would be going this deep into it right now, but I'm excited for the direction it's going.

[gilber33]

Does anyone see any issues with the evaporator (other than the fins)? Are these prone to faililng? I am considering just replacing it while its out since now would be the time to do it. On the old Volvo's that I've owned, the evaporators always failed. This one looks much more robust, but still, I would hate to do all this work on the AC system, get it back together and the evaporator has a leak that I can't see. 

I'm also wondering if it being so dirty would impact its effectiveness. There was a ton of debris on it that I had to vacuum off. 

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[straight6pwr]

which RSMs did you get?

[gilber33]

straight6pwr said:

which RSMs did you get?

Meyle HD

[gilber33]

Worked on the car for a bit after everyone went to bed. Although it’s not much, it now means I can put in the new pass through tubing, the vent tubing, the rear seats, the gas tank, etc. So I am really happy to have this done. 
 

Patch started. 

Traced the tubing outline and drilled a bunch of pilot holes then went around it with the dremel. 

And fits nicely. Will put in a rivet with a washer on the tip of it to help keep it in place. 

[YoungCR]

Nice work!

[gilber33]

Heater core is back in with appropriate insulation. 

PS hub all back together. When I pressed in the DS hub I used the trailing arm to “pull” the hub instead of the backside of the bearing and I don’t know if that or just dumb luck but the DS hub had ALL SORTS of slop when it was pressed in. So I’ll have to get a new bearing and do that side over. 
 

The fuel vent lines are back in and the hose in. I need to get one of those covers for the lines. 

I also pinched one of the new brake lines on top of the subframe when I mounted it, so I am going to see if I can get this middle piece. It always seems like one step forward and a couple back. I have to remind myself it’s only December and there’s a long time until it’s nice out again. But there are so many little things that snowball into not being able to move forward. Without the calipers I can’t tighten down the brake lines because I need them for the like orientation. Without the brake lines done I can’t put the gas tank back in. Without the tank in I can’t put the bottom seat in. Without the rear shelf dyed I can’t put the rear seat back in. Etc. 

[B C]

I have come to learn that everything happens for a reason. Even if the reason is that I just suck at something.

Good fixes on those tubes

[gilber33]

B C said:

Even if the reason is that I just suck at something

Lol. That’s how I feel most of the time. 
 

FINALLY got the rear hub back out. My slide hammer only came with the shallow/wide hub attachment which means I can only get one bolt on it. After many attempts and using a big hammer on the slide hammer to help, my slide hammer broke. 

Rented a slide hammer and the right attachment from Oreilly and after putting the propane torch on the hub for about 10 minutes it popped off with only a few blows. New bearing gets here today. 
 

In the meantime, finished dying the rear shelf and sprayed undercoating on the vent pipe. I’m pleased with how it turned out.

And new evaporator compared to the old one:

[jc43089]

That evaporator is so shiny you will have to cut some holes in the dash and HVAC box so you can see it while driving!

[Jdesign]

I didnt know you could buy chrome plated evaporators.

[straight6pwr]

chrome plated? That looks like it was spray painted with nail polish in a 409 bottle by a blind person.

[gilber33]

I was thinking of putting it on a chain and wearing it as a necklace.

[Boris3]

Nice! How about building a plexiglass housing, with led light ropes to show it off? Not as much bling as your neckwear idea but easier on the wardrobe.

It does look sweet though. I kind of feel the same way about the Stromung stainless catback on my 318is. It's the cleanest thing on car and you can't really see in its glory unless you crawl underneath the car. Plus side though is you can hear it.