Jake's Epic BMW 135i Build Thread! (5+ Years of Ownership)
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The car looked great at Dubs in the Valley man! Wish I had a chance to meet you!
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Have you machine cut/polished a car before at all? That's one skill I never got around to learning at the dealer that I wanted to.
Never. I've applied wax by hand with a small foam pad, but that's it. I bought a 7" variable speed polisher from Harbor Freight for this, but it was too much for me. It was hard to use and I didn't like it. That's when I opted for the high-speed electric drill, it was the perfect speed and very easy to use compared to the large polisher.
The car looked great at Dubs in the Valley man! Wish I had a chance to meet you!
Thanks! Same here. Your car looks very similar to my old E36... except mine was a coupe.
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I am pretty sure yours ended up in the Janesville area. I was doing an event at Blackhawk Tech in Janesville and I swear it was your old car up on an alignment rack a few months back.
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I am pretty sure yours ended up in the Janesville area. I was doing an event at Blackhawk Tech in Janesville and I swear it was your old car up on an alignment rack a few months back.
I'm pretty sure it did too. The kid that bought it said he drove up from the Milwaukee area.
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It's been a while since I've updated this thread. A few things have changed...
I wasn't planning on driving this car through the winter months, but the unexpected always seems to happen. My winter beater threw a rod within 1 week of driving it. At the time, we were getting pretty heavy snow so I had no other choice but to drive the 1-series through winter.
The rear tires were bald and I knew they wouldn't get through snow, so I bought a new set of winter wheels and tires from TireRack.
- 17×8″ Gunmetal MSW Type 85 wheels
- 225/45/17 General Altimax Arctic tires
- OEM TPMS sensors
You can see my blog post about them here. It includes more some more details, review, and a few more pictures.
BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr
BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr
BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr
BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr
BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr
BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr
The car was due for some maintenance so I spent a weekend tidying things up.
- Returned to factory pump gas flash for winter season
- Replaced broken hood latch and stretched hood cable
- Oil change with Motul 8100 5W-30 and MANN oil filter kit
- Replaced faulty front brake pad sensor
- Installed missing jack pad (front, passenger side)
- Replaced broken dome light bulb holder
After getting the car back on the road, it's performed flawlessly. The wheels are great and it purrs like a kitten.
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Going though this thread and i was like, hey thats my garage! Lol glad to see its going well jake, currently defucking a 135 in my garage now lol
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Going though this thread and i was like, hey thats my garage! Lol glad to see its going well jake, currently defucking a 135 in my garage now lol
Yup! Glad to have your help.
That's too bad about Ben's 135i. Glad you're sorting it out.
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Just wait till im done, it will be mint and lci like
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damn, i wish i woulda known sooner that your beater died. I have a buddy here in Waukesha that does primo work and he just put a new long-block and transmission into a 1994 Civic hatch with a stick, only 124k miles on the car, and he's flipping it for like 2000 bucks. I was tempted to buy it myself but my beater is still functional.
2011 E92 M3 6MT ZCP - ESS 625 supercharged
2007 Z4MR
2003 E39 M5
2002 E46 M3
2021 X5 40i -
Again, it's been a little while since I've updated this thread.
After 4 weeks, my LCI Blackline taillights were delivered straight from Germany!
See more details and comparison shots on my blog post about them.
New Blackline (left) vs. OEM taillight (right) - OFF
New Blackline (left) vs. OEM taillight (right) - ON
I bought a front splitter from fmxomar (see this thread). I've always felt like the front end needed something more aggressive, and this splitter was perfect. Paired with APR support rods, I think it looks great and it's also functional.
I got a pair of side splitters as well, but those will go on in a few weeks.
You can read about the full install (with more details/pictures) in my blog post.
Also, I converted all of the interior lights to LEDs. Front dome light, map lights, rear dome light, trunk, and glovebox.
You can read the details on my blog post about them.
After all of this, I performed the $2 DIY blow off valve mod for cool noises. With my exhaust, I can't hear much of a difference.
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(See bottom of previous page for most recent updates/pictures!)
Continuing on from that post... I also sold my BBS LM replica wheels! Stay tuned for something more 'track-worthy' in the upcoming months.
I have a Rieger rear diffuser and those side splitters waiting to be installed once the weather gets a little nicer.
My 335is/550i clutch and MFactory SMFW will be installed next week, along with a fresh transmission fluid flush. The car should be able to hold the power it's putting down this summer!
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approved.
2011 E92 M3 6MT ZCP - ESS 625 supercharged
2007 Z4MR
2003 E39 M5
2002 E46 M3
2021 X5 40i -
approved.
Thanks!
What years did the LCI lights start? Looks great.
Started in 2012 for the E82.
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Looks good! This is similar to something I am working on for my car right now.
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Update: As I posted above, I sold my BBS LM replica (ESM) wheels. I ended up getting a deal on a set of APEX AERO-7 wheels locally, so I bought them this weekend. I test-fitted them right away and decided I really didn't like them, whatsoever. See below:
I took them off right away and listed them for sale. The wheels sold right away, but I still have like-new Nitto INVO tires and TPMS sensors for sale.
I found a set of wheels across the country on Craigslist and convinced the seller to ship them. So, I sent him money last night and hope to have them by this weekend or early next week!
Anyone think I made a mistake by selling the LM reps or APEX AERO-7s?
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I think it's always a mistake to put black wheels on black cars, and I have no issues with remakes/cast wheels/reps as long as they don't have fake bolt heads... But that's just me.
Some people get way too caught up in "wheel elitism" in the car scene today. I've had absurdly rare 3-piece wheels, and I've had cast "knock-offs" (still do) and I'll happily rock the cast wheels any day. I love rare wheels and will certainly buy more, but bending/cracking lips can happen regardless of what ultra-hip or rare name is on the face. Id rather pay to replace the readily available cast wheel for cheap, then cry like a schoolgirl because I ruined a face on a unobtainium set of rare wheels.
Short Version: Do what you want because it's how you like it... And screw anybody who says otherwise.
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I think it's always a mistake to put black wheels on black cars, and I have no issues with remakes/cast wheels/reps as long as they don't have fake bolt heads... But that's just me.
Some people get way too caught up in "wheel elitism" in the car scene today. I've had absurdly rare 3-piece wheels, and I've had cast "knock-offs" (still do) and I'll happily rock the cast wheels any day. I love rare wheels and will certainly buy more, but bending/cracking lips can happen regardless of what ultra-hip or rare name is on the face. Id rather pay to replace the readily available cast wheel for cheap, then cry like a schoolgirl because I ruined a face on a unobtainium set of rare wheels.
Short Version: Do what you want because it's how you like it... And screw anybody who says otherwise.
I agree, I really didn't like the set of AERO-7s above.
I've never owned a set of "legit" wheels, simply because I can't justify spending that much on wheels alone. As much as I'd love to, I drive the car a lot and it gets driven hard. I really liked the look of the BBS LM reps, but they didn't allow me to fit very much tire because of the offsets. The car puts down a lot of power and I need as much tire as I can get.
The set of wheels I just bought are the most expensive wheels I've ever bought and they should allow me to fit some wide tires. Stay tuned
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It's been a while since I've updated this thread, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working on my 1-series! I'll make a few posts to divide up the stuff I've been doing.
As you know, I got rid of the BBS LM replica wheels. I wanted to be able to fit more tire, so I found some APEX ARC8s. They're pretty hard to come by because they've been sold out for over a year, but I nabbed a set on Craigslist from across the country!
At the same time, I got an APEX 75mm stud conversion kit. Finally no messing around with lug bolts. I hate those things. Read my installation guide http://my1series.com/2015/03/23/how-to-install-apex-stud-conversion-kit/'>here.
Anthracite APEX ARC8 wheels
Front: 18x8.5" +45 with 235/40/18
Rear: 18x9.5" +62 with 265/35/18
I added a 5mm spacer in back and will probably try squeezing a 10mm back there instead pretty soon.
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A few weeks later, I started to hear a squeaking noise under the hood. Here is what I found:
Serpentine belt started shredding, so I started replacing stuff. Ordered a new belt and tensioner, along with oil filter housing gaskets (#1 & #2) because mine were leaking.
Oil filter gaskets going in... what a mess.
I put everything back together and assumed all was good. Wrong. About 50 miles later, the belt started shredding again. This time it started wrapping around the alternator pulley and burnt up the backside of the brand new tensioner pulleys.
Something was clearly causing the problem. Unsure where to start, I looked at the alternator because the belt wrapped around that specific pulley. The alternator pulley has a sprag clutch inside that allows it to spin one way, but not the other. This video shows how to test yours. After watching the video, I went out and tested mine. I carefully lodged a screwdriver into the fan to lock it from spinning:
Once the alternator was locked, I tried spinning the pulley by hand in either direction. It was seized and would not move. So, I assumed that was the problem. This time I ordered another new belt, tensioner, as well as an upper idler pulley, a lower idler pulley, an alternator pulley, and an alternator pulley removal tool.
All of the parts arrived and we installed everything for a second time. The new alternator pulley spun smoothly in one direction as it was supposed to. I thought everything went great and drove the car around for 2 days until the belt shredded AGAIN! This time the belt started tearing and worked itself off of the pulleys. I was shocked.
I went online and starting reading up on the repeating issue. I saw a lot of discussion about the power steering (PS) pump pulley coming into contact with the subframe. The pulley would hit the subframe and shred the belt or break the pulley. This was caused by worn motor mounts, allowing the motor to flex and sag when accelerating.
However, this issue only affected N54 cars produced up until 04/2008. Apparently BMW addressed the issue at that point. My car was built in 08/2008 so I didn’t think it was my issue, but I took a look anyways. While underneath the car, I noticed that this was NOT my issue. My PS pulley was NOT coming in contact with the subframe. But upon further inspection, this is what I noticed:
1 of my PS pump bolts was missing and the other 2 were loose! This is not on the pulley, but on the pump itself. After doing a little more research, a few others reported the same thing. Maybe it’s because the bolts are attached to the oil pan, become coated in oil, and eventually work themselves loose… I’m not sure.
Either way, I removed the 2 loose bolts and found another bolt that fit perfectly in the missing slot. I added a drop of thread-locker to each bolt and reinserted them. I couldn’t find the torque specs, but I torqued them down to 40 ft/lbs.
This time around the tensioner and all pulleys were still in good shape, so I just bought another belt (for the 3rd time). I installed the belt and everything has been running smooth for over 5,000 miles now.
Important Notes:
- Check all pulleys the first time around! Make sure there is no play or movement in any of them. They should all spin freely.
- If your N54 was produced before 04/2008, check to see if your PS pulley is coming in contact with your subframe. I’ve read that you can install 335is motor mounts (passenger side, driver side) to fix the problem. You can also notch the subframe.
- If your belt has started to shred, pull over immediately! If the belt works its way around the crankshaft pulley, it can break through the front main seal and even work its way into the timing belt. Best case scenario: the main seal needs to be replaced (oil leak). Even worse, the main seal continues to leak and you run the motor dry. Much worse, the belt causes the motor to jump timing and self-implode. No one wants that, so be sure to check behind the crankshaft pulley for belt fragments. If the belt wrapped around the backside of the pulley, remove it and carefully inspect the front main seal.
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