The official WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO YOUR BMW thread.

[dastuz]

When are we tossing in the new Diff?

[i_love_cars]

Installing Saturday afternoon

I also ordered forged diverter valves and charge pipe today

[6670charger]

Just blacked out the license plate recess, and installed a set of aftermarket taillight lenses in red/smoke.

[I love my E39]

I plastidipped my neon yesterday. Not a bmw update but still car related lol

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[i_love_cars]

Installed the LSD in the 1er today. Wow what a difference. Not much else to say. Probably the best mod I could have done given the power the car is currently making. 

Out with the old

In with the new

[YoungCR]

Relatively simple swap?

[i_love_cars]

yeah the driveshaft nut was a PITA - i had a 52mm wrench but I think it's 50mm nut, so I had to wedge a stubby flathead screwdriver in to keep from rounding the nut. With a big enough pipe wrapped around the wrench it came off eventually. Other than that it was a pretty straightforward install. 

Some of the DIYs online involve dropping the entire driveshaft out, removing the exhaust - that's crazy. I just dropped one exhaust hanger on the back, then the front-most hanger on the axleback was welded on to a small plate that was attached to one of the mounting bolts for the differential, so I just undid that (cuz i had to anyway) and was able to slide that part of the exhaust off to the side and balance it (as seen in the photos). Just bent the heatshielld back a bit and had easy access to drop everything. 

First time doing it on this car and getting factory torqued bolts undone taking my time I finished in about 5 hours. Now I think it could be done in half that time. Probably 1.5 hours if you have air tools ( i don't   )

[i_love_cars]

Evo 3 short shifter installed last night. 

I cursed a lot. I stabbed metal plates in the shifter housing so hard with a screwdriver that sparks flew. 

I eventually got everything installed with my wife helping me. 

I now know why everyone says for the 135i it's a PITA to install an STS. The instructions call for removing the driveshaft carrier and midpipes which certainly would have made it easier but also would have taken way longer. It's rather unnecessary.

[I love my E39]

Contemplated taking the car to the shop since its been in the driveway since june... but I didnt and replaced rear drum on the riced out neon instead

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[Earl]

Where is your leak coming from? There has to be a gasket that didnt seal properly or something that was damaged during the refresh?

[I love my E39]

Well ill be vagye, its somewhere in the front and not upper or lower hose. And not headgasket. And not overheating just leaking out once reaches optimal temp

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[Earl]

You should be able to pinpoint the leak while it is running and then go from there. I am sure it is just a gasket that didn't seat well or something small.

[I love my E39]

Hope so but i ran it for almost 30 mins and could not see the leak anywhere..

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[YoungCR]

I love my E39 said:

Hope so but i ran it for almost 30 mins and could not see the leak anywhere.. Sent from my LG-LS970 using Tapatalk

Idle for 30 or drive for 30?

[I love my E39]

Idle for 30. With revs. And thats enough for the coolant to come leaking out under car.like steady drip/stream.

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[RamRod E28]

Thermostat housing?

[mkoepp]

I had a leak on my 95 E36 M50 that I chased down to one of the water pump bolts. Removed and applied gasket sealer (or something like it) re-install and never had another problem. I have a telescoping inspection mirror that I bought to see things that I normally cannot and found it that way. It's a cheap buy at Harbor Freight. I hate chasing leaks, rattles and other things. It does feel good when you do find it though.

[HipMF]

Wired up the city lights.

Thanks to Matt at the Appleton e30 meetup for pointing these out to me. I had never heard of them, or known that my car had them.

[YoungCR]

Do the Euro and US spec E21s use the same harness and just have the feature disabled with sealed beams?

[HipMF]

I think they are at least a litte different. The low end cars with the singles are probably different from the duals as well. I don't think the euro cars have side-markers either.

I took the parking light wire from the directions to power he city lights. I must have euro directionals as well because the only take a single filament bulb, but there are 3 wires at the connector.

My grill and lights are an aftermarket setup made by Hella, which I think was intended as an upgrade for cars with singles, so nothing quiete plugs in the way it's supposed to.