Diaries of a Daily Driver

[GunMetalGrey]

YoungCR said:

congrats on the purchase! Replace the spark plugs and see if that fixes the idle, could just need a basic tune up. The fuel pressure regulator is another cheap preventative maintenance item. 

I planned on pulling coil pack wires from one cyl. at a time to isolate which cylinders are down, then swap coils around and see if that is the issue. Changing plugs will follow next, and it sounds like I will check the fuel pressure while I'm at it! 
Thanks for the heads up!

[GunMetalGrey]

Played with this a little bit on Friday, washed the mud off, and pulled it into the shop to see if I could start isolating the misfire at idle.
After washing it I noticed there are black specks everywhere on the car, they come off somewhat easy, but not with soap and water. 

Started by pulling coil pack plugs off one at a time, and I could never hear a massive change in running. The motor seems to compensate super well for a cylinder down...
After pulling the coil pack wiring I cleaned the maf and checked the intake tract for any holes, and didn't find any. 
The secondary air pump hose doesn't seem to want to clip into the metal valve deal that it connects to, so I will be taking care of that in case that has anything to do with it (likely a leak).

Plugs and a vacuum test are next!

I did cut the rear muffler off, and that was one of my better decisions in life. 
Crap video, but man does it sound alright. Quiet, but not super quiet. 

Yes I know bulbs are burnt out, they are everywhere on this thing.

Until next time!

[GunMetalGrey]

Started it up last night, and it sounded like it was idling quite smoothly, but it still felt a bit shaky inside.
Going to check the motor mounts to see how those look, I suspect at least one of them is collapsed. 

I need to do a bit more work on the diesel and the truck before I start tearing into this thing, but the small parts list is building! 
The biggest thing I want to address is the shitty feeling shifter! 

Until next time!

[GunMetalGrey]

Nothing like buying a car that has locking lugs but doesn't have the socket for them in the car....

[YoungCR]

GunMetalGrey said:

Nothing like buying a car that has locking lugs but doesn't have the socket for them in the car....

Somebody at the dealer will have a master set.

[Jdesign]

GunMetalGrey said:

Nothing like buying a car that has locking lugs but doesn't have the socket for them in the car....

Take a picture of it and show it to us. I have a whole box of keys.

Most of the time I just take a shitty socket and hammer it over the lug. I have had a 97% success rate with doing so.

[patsbimmer1]

We use deep spiral sockets at work to remove these.  They work well as long as you apply gradual torque with a breaker bar and NOT an impact gun.  I think we buy them from Ken Tool.

[GunMetalGrey]

It's an external spline type, I bet I could get them with a 12pt socket but didn't have much time to mess with them the other day.
Friend works at a dealer and should be able to find one that works, but now I need to find new lugs quick! 

I shall update if I come up with nothing, thanks for the assistance!

[SteelBlue]

GunMetalGrey said:

It's an external spline type, I bet I could get them with a 12pt socket but didn't have much time to mess with them the other day.
Friend works at a dealer and should be able to find one that works, but now I need to find new lugs quick! 

I shall update if I come up with nothing, thanks for the assistance! 

Whats the thread pitch? Pretty sure I have a full set from my E46 in my tool box.

[patsbimmer1]

I'm pretty confident that everything smaller than a 7 uses a 12x1.50 so the e46 and e39 should have the same wheel bolts.  Maybe different lengths but same bolt.

[GunMetalGrey]

@MPW3RLee came in clutch with the socket for the lugs, which are indeed identical to what I had on my red e30.

Out with the old

On with the new!

I've always wanted a set of style 32's, but never had a car for them. These were completely unnecessary but it seemed like the right thing to do!

I also grabbed a set of stockers from @DrLeadFoot that I will end up using for snow tires

It was idling rough yesterday, but still doesn't show a CEL. I feel like someone may have pulled the bulb....
I plan to scan it to see what codes are lurking and see if I can't quickly narrow down the issue.

I will say that driving it yesterday was amusing, it pulls stronger than I remember and sounds good to boot!

Now to make it less of a rolling death trap! 

Until next time!

[jc43089]

Watch for the CEL to come on for a couple seconds when starting the car.  It should self test every time you start turn the key to run.  Wheels look good!

[GunMetalGrey]

jc43089 said:

Watch for the CEL to come on for a couple seconds when starting the car.  It should self test every time you start turn the key to run.  Wheels look good!

Haha, perfect! Thank you for the tip. I never really thought about using the self test stuff in that manner before. 
It all makes sense.

[suspenceful]

Looks so much better cleaned up on those style 32's.

[GunMetalGrey]

AHHHHahahahahahahahahaaahhhahha 

@jc43089 was right!
 

It's gonna be fun to see what codes it's throwing 

[Jdesign]

Craig can be a sneaky bastard.

[GunMetalGrey]

Oh she a code throwin' hoe! 
Most notable is the ""Function, inlet-camshaft control, bank 2"
I shall remove the vanos solenoid and give it a cleaning and clean up the contacts, but judging by some quick research this morning it is the result of a small timing discrepancy. 
Plenty of o2 codes and secondary air system codes.

It did say the front right wheel speed sensor is bad, which is cool because that means I don't have to try all 4 corners before replacing them! 

Oddly enough it doesn't have any misfire codes...

Having a bit more of a lead to work on is quite convenient, and I shall begin to amass parts while I wrap up the diesel and then dive head first into this thing!

Until next time!

[Jdesign]

Nice!!! Cheat codes for fixing stuff!

[AsparagusMike]

GunMetalGrey said:

dive head first into this thing

[GunMetalGrey]

I replaced the hood cables (all) this weekend and cleaned the latches so that they actually hold the hood.
Threw the other wheels on now that I bought the lug tool ($5 on Amazon). 
I replaced a handful of bulbs in the tail lights so those work properly now, added some new buttons back onto the HVAC controls (they were missing), just some general stuff!

Next thing is to put fresh oil in it and replace the brakes, then drive it for a bit and re-scan codes to see what stayed!