Non-BMW Stuff on a BMW Forum
-
Reinstalling the struts and everything and j realized the threads on the outer ball joint for the DS control arm are cross threaded. The control arm assemblies are relatively cheap, but I can’t find a great how-to for removing the lollipop without the assumption that you’re going to be replacing the bushing. Any pointers?
i was able to pull those will a 3 jaw puller. i had to drill a hole in the center of the control arm 'post' to keep the puller from walking off of it, and i had to band clamp the arms of the 3 jaw to keep them from walking off the lollipop, since it is offcenter. i think i may have setup the 3 jaw with different length arms to help with the offcentering, as well. one of the two was very stuck and i was afraid i was going to tear it, so i had to hammer a pick between the control arm 'post' and the bushing to break the seal (which damaged it) so your results may vary.
alternatively, if you know a shop with the correct tools, you could order just that outer ball joint and have them press it in and leave the CAB alone.
Dan
-
alternatively, if you know a shop with the correct tools, you could order just that outer ball joint and have them press it in and leave the CAB alone.
From what I can find, these are just pressed it, right? There’s nothing special about them. A shop with a basic press should be able to do it.
-
-
From what I can find, these are just pressed it, right? There’s nothing special about them. A shop with a basic press should be able to do it.
yes!
Dan
-
yes!
Thank you for the info! I have it with me today to see what a shop would want for it and to make sure they can do it.
-
Both ball joint threads ended up being trash so it has new outer ball joints. Most other stuff done isn’t really noticeable - brake line to the rear is in, control arms back in, interior back together for the most part.
Both front abs sensor harnesses were pretty cracked up and falling apart so I fixed those.
And then I started playing with the sander tonight to get the hang of it. Not really sure what I was expecting from it, but using it was very comfortable and I’m excited to move on to the next phase of the project.
-
That’s the plan. Really no going back now that I’ve messed up the fender and door. I’m going to go around first and sand down the small dents so I can add a little filler to smooth them out. But up next I will be removing trim from the car, mirrors, taping off some edges, and masking off the engine bay to keep the dust out of it.
The new compressor setup did a pretty good job keeping up. I won't be able to sand non-stop, but it seemed that it would keep up while taking normal breaks - i.e. readjusting, changing sandpaper, moving to a new spot.
I'm doing this late at night, so I'm not sure how loud it is outside my garage. With it being fully insulated, I assume the sound is carrying to intensely to the neighbors' house with the outside ambient sound. At the same time, this is payback for my neighbor's stupid diesel super-duty the he parks in his backyard right next to our house that he needs to let idle for 17 hours before he drives it anywhere.
-
Extra bonus points if you put a rubber grommet in each of the ABS wire brackets to secure the wire and prevent rubbing through the heatshrink.
-
Extra bonus points if you put a rubber grommet in each of the ABS wire brackets to secure the wire and prevent rubbing through the heatshrink.
Yup. That will be done whenever I order a grommet kit.
-
Nice welder, I think I have the same one. Hobart Handler 140?
I believe it is, yes. This one is my Dad's he's letting me borrow for a while. I have an old-school one he gave me a while ago, but unfortunately I messed it up somehow when I was switching the polarity on it without paying attention and did not ground it out. When I have a chance, I plan on picking up the Eastwood 135.
-
Went for a drive with Tom tonight and praise sweet baby jesus did I get lucky. Hit a deer. And the worse of the damage was only this. A trim clip broke on the side trim and a small dent on the rear wheel arch which should easily pop out.
It's hard to believe this happened so long ago already. But part of the body work process has been cleaning this up and I am very happy with the results so far. I've also removed the front bumper skin and gooped up the backside of that with some plastic weld stuff things where it had cracked from the deer.
There was also a decent dent on the rear fender where the deer hit.
-
Got a terribly unpleasant surprise when sanding the hood. It had a small rust bubble on it that I didn't think much of when I picked it up because the rest of the hood was in very good shape. Started sanding it at the front corner and noticed some filler. Worked my way up and kept finding more and more of it.
The extent of the filler.
Surprise dent in the front corner.
This is where the rust bubble was.
See how the hood has degraded here.
Unfortunately my hood is in worse shape. Lots of large dents and a couple "creases" that I wouldn't be able to fix. Plus the corner of my hood is very messed up from the deer. Didn't have any other choice at this point but to fill it back in and smooth it out. In the end it will be fine for now. I think I will eventually try to find a new hood that is rust free.
And the car is mostly blocked. I just have to do the bumpers and the roof. I have a gallon of Eastwood's Contour Polyester Primer which has a high build quality. Their website refers to it as liquid body filler. But it's good for spraying on bare metal, filler, existing finishes, etc. And the base coat can go directly on to this primer. It was important for me to do this in as few of steps as possible.
-
Use self etching primer for any bare metal. Then sand and shoot the primer you have over it.
I've already had a lengthy conversation with Eastwood about their primers and they said their Contour is a DTM primer and wouldn't require anything else.
-
Step one done (almost- need a little more). I learned a lot of do’s and don’ts. What I can do differently as far as setup goes, preparation, etc. But for my first time I’m pleased. The plastic around the walls was critical. This stuff gets everywhere and it smells. But the plastic protected things from both the particles and the smells.
Using the HVLP gun was very pleasant. Cleaning it was also much easier than I anticipated it being. My compressor setup did amazing. I think it only kicked in three or four times while painting. This gun uses very little air - which is why I chose it.
-
The neighbors see you with a painters suit, respirator; and hanging plastic sheeting and probably think its some elaborate self-quarantine
This is a huge undertaking, im sure just like everything else that you will see any small mistakes you make much more than others will. Cant wait to check it out!
-
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login