2011 328i Longroof - The Saga Continues
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I need to not get too far ahead of myself and actually finish the e30 manual swap, but I feel like it’s a good prep for one on this. I was shocked at how well laid out everything was once the belly pan came off, I think mechanically the swap shouldn’t be bad at all. The DME coding looks like a challenge, but I’ll figure it out.
Believe it or not, the coding changes shouldn't be that bad. Bimmergeeks protool can change the vehicle order and then appropriately code every subsequent module to match.
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M3 control arms are installed! This car has been a joy to work on so far with how clean it is underneath. I really should fluid film it this year to keep it that way…
Found that the drivers side was leaking fluid from the bushing (that’s an odd sentence, brought to you by none other than German engineers), and both driver and passenger side had some cracking/were soft. Ball joints still seemed tight.
The first side took a little over an hour by the time I figured out where all the screws were on the fender liner and that the wheel had to be pointing straight ahead for the bushing side to install nicely. The second side took maybe 40 minutes tops. An easy job overall, and WELL worth the effort.
Almost completely solved the shudder under braking (what’s left is barely noticeable and is likely actually from the brakes themselves, or maybe another bad bushing), quieted down the ride, smoothed out the ride, and made the thing handle like a go-kart. Seriously, a car like this has no right to feel as planted and flat as this does. Night and day in the corners, highly recommend doing it if your bushings are getting old. I’d guess it’s a combo of the stiffer m3 bushings and just not having roached ones, but hey, either way I’m not complaining.
PS flush up next, along with that diff oil change and the headlight restoration. Beyond that, I found the drivers side strut is leaking so those are definitely due for replacement, along with the front upper control arms. I’d like to do rear subframe inserts before digging into rear bushings, there’s so many damned arms and linkages back there.
I’m also planning on subtracting the e28 from the fleet as soon as it’s running, and adding this…
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Weirdly on similar paths between this car and mine.
I am planning on doing the control arms up front as well as I am getting some creaking when I am turning at low speeds. I also would like to do fluid film this year as well, have to figure out which one to go with. Ive heard good things about Liqui Moly's but don't know how readily available it is over here.
I also just bought a Specialized Rockhopper. Is this the Marlin or a different model? Guessing it's different looking at the frame and the drop seat. I was back and forth between the Marlin and the Rockhopper.
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Weirdly on similar paths between this car and mine.
I am planning on doing the control arms up front as well as I am getting some creaking when I am turning at low speeds. I also would like to do fluid film this year as well, have to figure out which one to go with. Ive heard good things about Liqui Moly's but don't know how readily available it is over here.
I also just bought a Specialized Rockhopper. Is this the Marlin or a different model? Guessing it's different looking at the frame and the drop seat. I was back and forth between the Marlin and the Rockhopper.
I had a friend do the NH oil undercoating and really like it, but it requires a spray gun (which isn’t the end of the world but does complicate things). I haven’t done a ton of research yet but I trust liqui moly’s stuff, we’ll see what I find when I enter that internet rabbit hole.
Creaking, interesting. If it’s not control arm bushings, maybe top mounts?
That one is a Trek Roscoe (the 8 in particular), I figured I’d spring a little and get a step up. I’ve never bought a new bike and really want something I don’t need to tinker with and will do what I need out of the box, and the Roscoe seems to fit the bill and be a good bike to grow into as I MTB more. I’m picking up a road bike tonight as well, going to replace my old hybrid with two more dedicated bikes.
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I had a friend do the NH oil undercoating and really like it, but it requires a spray gun (which isn’t the end of the world but does complicate things). I haven’t done a ton of research yet but I trust liqui moly’s stuff, we’ll see what I find when I enter that internet rabbit hole.
Creaking, interesting. If it’s not control arm bushings, maybe top mounts?
That one is a Trek Roscoe (the 8 in particular), I figured I’d spring a little and get a step up. I’ve never bought a new bike and really want something I don’t need to tinker with and will do what I need out of the box, and the Roscoe seems to fit the bill and be a good bike to grow into as I MTB more. I’m picking up a road bike tonight as well, going to replace my old hybrid with two more dedicated bikes.
Top mounts were done with the rest of the suspension. I’m going to get the 4 piece kit that FCP sell. Did you have ramps you were able to set the car on while you did the final torquing of the bushings? That’s honestly the biggest challenge is being able to get the car under load while still being able to torque them.
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Top mounts were done with the rest of the suspension. I’m going to get the 4 piece kit that FCP sell. Did you have ramps you were able to set the car on while you did the final torquing of the bushings? That’s honestly the biggest challenge is being able to get the car under load while still being able to torque them.
I have ramps, but my torque wrench would’ve been wayyyyy too long for doing it under the car. I ended up jacking up via the brake rotor hat with a lock of wood between it and the jack (not ideal, but it worked). I figured if it’s off slightly and they wear out prematurely, I have the lifetime replacement
️.
Let me know how the upper control arms go, I didn’t do those just for the sake of time and really should get those finished too.
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Refinished the headlights this weekend!
Went with a box kit instead of the 2k clear this time, I decided to see how long it lasts and make a decision from there. Initial impressions are that it turned out great though!
Before:
After:
I will note, I wet sanded from 1200 up to 3500 grit on the passenger side light instead of starting at 2400 on the drivers side, and it turned out way better. Highly recommend getting some extra paper in coarser grits if you use a kit like this, it really makes it turn out much nicer.
Reslly cleaned up the front end look, I love the way this car looks when it’s clean.
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Power steering fluid flush completed. I initially tried to flush by disconnecting the return line and directing into a catch bottle, capping the reservoir nipple, and filling as I turn the wheel back and forth, but stopped when I couldn’t get the hose off of the reservoir. It was stuck on there pretty good and I didn’t feel like cracking the reservoir wrestling with it.
I’ll try that method again when I buy a replacement reservoir; until then, I just drained and refilled the reservoir 6ish times with a quick drive around and some lock to lock turns in between each. It took the fluid from “used motor oil” to “slightly dirty green pentosin” so I’ll call it a win. Not going to let perfect get in the way of improvement. I have a spare liter still so I’ll probably burn that at the next oil change with a few more drain and fills.
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Did a sorta-kinda triathlon this weekend near La Farge - paddled in lieu of the swim. Did about how I expected, 5/8 in my class and 71/138 overall. Considering I haven’t competed in anything similar ever, I feel pretty happy with it and definitely identified some spots for improvement.
In addition, I did some backroad bombing and snagged some photos of the car while I was there. It played the role of camping rig beautifully, and had zero hiccups. The adaptive headlights are seriously incredible for driving after dark in the country, I wish all my cars had them.
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I remember thinking "Headlights that move? No way that works." Then I started driving cars with them and it's so fucking useful.
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I remember thinking "Headlights that move? No way that works." Then I started driving cars with them and it's so fucking useful.
I thought it’d be a gimmick. I then was able to see deer on the insides of corners and no longer felt it was a gimmick.
What I really can’t wait for is when the U.S. finally gets the adaptive laser headlights that the rest of the world has had for awhile; they’ll dim out the sections pointing at other drivers and at signs so you don’t blind them/get blinded but maintain intensity everywhere else.
NHTSA finally got around to pushing them through I believe, so they should start popping up in the next few years. Can’t wait!
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I thought it’d be a gimmick. I then was able to see deer on the insides of corners and no longer felt it was a gimmick.
What I really can’t wait for is when the U.S. finally gets the adaptive laser headlights that the rest of the world has had for awhile; they’ll dim out the sections pointing at other drivers and at signs so you don’t blind them/get blinded but maintain intensity everywhere else.
NHTSA finally got around to pushing them through I believe, so they should start popping up in the next few years. Can’t wait!
I don't know if you've experienced these in person, but it is truly amazing.
I was in an Audi Q8 with some guys in Switzerland and I couldn't believe how well it cut the light out around street signs and cars.It was the best random thing to slip into the COVID legislation.
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I don't know if you've experienced these in person, but it is truly amazing.
I was in an Audi Q8 with some guys in Switzerland and I couldn't believe how well it cut the light out around street signs and cars.It was the best random thing to slip into the COVID legislation.
I haven’t, but I’ve always thought it was neat tech. Now I’m even more excited for it!
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I’ve just been putting up with the dreaded musty smell from the HVAC vents in this car since the summertime and it hasn’t been getting any better, so I finally decided to do something about it. I’m pretty sure the issue came about when I turned on the recirc mode for a week or two when it was really hot to try to get slightly cooler temps out of it; I’ve now read that recirc mode should be used sparingly and you should walkways turn off the ac and run the fan for a few minutes before shutdown to air it all out.
After some product research, I decided the Nextzett Klima Cleaner would be my best bet:
I went with the method of removing the blower motor and spraying directly onto the evaporator; my first attempt I missed with the hose and didn’t get it all the way there. The second try, I got the hose sufficiently far over and hit the evaporator square; it foamed up nicely and drained thru the evap drain hoses along the trans tunnel.
I waited 20ish minutes, put the blower back in (so much easier than the e30), and ran the fan on high for 10ish minutes to dry it all out. I’ll report back in a week or two on the results!
I also discovered a 12V power plug on the panel under/behind the glovebox door that I never knew I had, so that’s a win! I might need to enlist @Bassboy3313 to make me another of those printed inductive charger pads and run the power to it from this plug.
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Curious on how this works out. Ive always used an ozone bomb for a car that was really bad.
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Curious on how this works out. Ive always used an ozone bomb for a car that was really bad.
Smell is still there. I’m going to try it again I think (maybe spraying some down the hvac air intake as well) to see if that helps. It’s definitely better, it’s almost gone once the hvac has run for a few seconds, but it definitely still there.
The blower motor had the same smell as the air I’ve been getting out of it, so I’m wondering if the smell and gunk is in the ducting too. I haven’t replaced the cabin air filters either, so might do that. They’re almost external though so it’d be a bit odd if that was the culprit.
What product did you use, if you don’t mind me asking?
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I have an ozone machine if you want to borrow it. My brother used it to get cigarette smoke smell out of his XJ and it worked amazingly, haven't had a whiff of it since. You could put it in the car with the air running.
I did replace the cabin air filter sometime in 2022 with an oem one but worth a check anyway.
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I have an ozone machine if you want to borrow it. My brother used it to get cigarette smoke smell out of his XJ and it worked amazingly, haven't had a whiff of it since. You could put it in the car with the air running.
I did replace the cabin air filter sometime in 2022 with an oem one but worth a check anyway.
Yeah, the cabin filter was something of a last resort if nothing else fixes it. I’ll definitely take you up on that, I’ve heard great things about those!
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