Been away for a long time, I'm back

So I won't pretend to make excuses, I just plain let this blog grow cold. Call it a lack of motivation, not really thinking it is helping people, or just plain laziness. Anyway, I am back and here are the incoherent ramblings of a "car guy" for today, read at your own risk, this entry will be all over the place!

First of all, on the car front, I have been a busy man. I have replaced 2 evaporators these past few months. One on an 04 BMW X3 and one on a 1999 Jeep Cherokee. Both required removal of the dash, what a nightmare! Why don't car manufacturers put those darn things somewhere a little easier to access? I only charged the BMW owner $500 and the Jeep owner $250. Dealer quotes on both were an excess of $2500 and indy shops were over $1500. I really need to up my prices! I also did an A/C compressor on a VW Cabrio, again the indy quote was $1500. I did it for $200. It only took me an hour and a half! Why do these shops charge so much freaking money!?

I want to remind all of you car owners out there (BMW or ANY car brand) to do regular maintenance items on your car early and often! If you are waiting till the quicky lube place tells you that you need a new air filter, you waited too long. If you wait until your ABS module fails to change your brake fluid, you have waited too long. If you wait until your transmission starts to slip, you waited too long to change the fluid. Get me? You can never fully eliminate the risks of your car breaking down on you, but with simple jobs you can easily do at home in a few hours you can give yourself the best chance of having a long lasting and trouble free car.

Just last weekend I spent $15 on brake fluid and had my daughter push the pedal for me and exchanged my brake fluid in about 45 minutes. It was already pretty clear, but I was due for it. Granted, I didn't feel a difference in the way my car stops, but since my BMW has a pretty sophisticated (and really expensive) braking/traction control system, I now know neither of those systems aren't likely to fail anytime soon because I didn't take the time to do a little work. Given the average ABS failure costs a minimum of $2000, I think it was well worth it! My wife's Jeep is next, her brake fluid looks like used motor oil! Shame on ME! But I have kept the oil and trans fluids changed, as well as doing a 130k mile "tune up" that included fuel filters, plugs, water pump, thermostat, radiator, hoses, belts, etc. She drives my kids after all, the car has to remain safe. And by doing those kind of things PRO-actively, I save myself the hassle of towing costs, logistical problems, and even safety concerns if she breaks down in a bad part of town or late at night. Piece of mind is nice, and you too can have it. When is the last time you checked YOUR wife's car over for things it needs? Is her serpentine belt new or does it look like an old shoe lace? What do those brake pads look like? When is the last time you visually looked at the radiator hoses? Get my point?

Ok, so here is a checklist I use (and you should too):

1. Tires. Do they hold air? Are they round? Do they have tread? Cracks?

2. Belts and Hoses. Nothing stops a car faster than loosing a serpentine belt or blown radiator hose. These parts are cheap, when in doubt, replace them! And don't forget tensioner and idler pulleys, if they break, they will snap even a brand new belt!

3. Fluids. Everyone changes their oil. But when is the last time you changed your transmission fluid, brake fluid, differential fluid, engine coolant and power steering fluid? Exactly, now go change it!

4. Filters. You car has an air filter for the engine, even YOU know that. But when is the last time you changed the fuel filter? Cabin Filter? Transmission filter? Been awhile?

5. Tune up items. Spark plugs, coil packs, coil boots, plug wires, 02 sensors, cap and rotors, PCV valves, EGR Valves and fuel injectors. They all need to be kept healthy or bigger problems can develop.

I know, it can seem overwhelming. Break it down into small steps an do a few each weekend. Before you know it, you will have a car that is happy and will serve you well. And make sure you check your owners manual for vehicle specific things that I may have forgotten.

Ok, that is today's installment. I plan to go do some more work and then enjoy Bama rolling over Penn State tomorrow! ROLL TIDE!!!

I'm coming live to a computer near you

So, through the magic of my new HTC Hero and UStream, I am going to begin a new "show" that will feature things like Q & A, Fireside Chat, and so forth with you all out there. I figure at least some of you might care enough to know how a father of 4 with limited income keeps his Bimmer in top notch shape using "redneck ingenuity" and a dose of common sense. I will also offer repair advice, try and help diagnose problems, and even throw in some live DIY's of upcoming repairs.

But, I need to hear from you all and see what you want to discuss or not discuss. Either PM me on Bimmerfest.com (smolck) or comment on this blog and I will try and do this as best I can. I can't wait. Archive videos will also be placed here.

Can't wait to use some new technology to help the masses!

Lot's of work in the past months, here's the update

Like any would be blogger, I started this blog with the best of intentions. However, as work got crazy and life became more hectic, this blog has suffered. I apologize to my readers (all 22 of you) and hope you can begin to count on more regular blogs. In the coming months I plan to add videos and more to help you keep you BMW in top notch shape. Since my last entry, here is a highlight of what I have done to my E46.

Well, it started in late November, the car lost reverse in the old slush box. A group of incredible guys and gals from Bimmerfest.com made some donations and $1000 later, I had the parts I needed for the manual trans swap!

I sourced a used trans/clutch/flywheel/slave cylinder/shifter for $640 shipped from ebay. It came out of a car with only 17k miles on it! I then bought a driveshaft, crossmember, and clutch pedal assembly from my local go to salvage, Vines Automotive, and was ready to begin. It took me a full weekend (Friday thru Sunday night) but was a great success! Best part was, it really awakened my little 2.5L motor and made it fun to drive. That and the fact I still have the 3.46 rear differential. A little revvy on the interstate (3900rpm at 80mph) but a bulldog down low.

Then, after just getting used to my new trans, disaster struck. I began to hear a creak in the rear of my car and an inspection revealed a massive failure of the drivers side subframe. Off to the dealer for the first and only time in her life. Some 45 days later, I got the car back with an entirely new floor section from rear trailing arm mount to the spare tire well. It did however solidify my rear end and added some stability back to the car. My guess is the new 5 speed put undue stress on that mount that was probably already cracked and killed it the rest of the way.

I drove her for a month after that only to find my rear wheel bearings had failed. It HOWLED like crazy everytime I drove her. This was one DIY I am most proud of because of the sheer forces involved to remove the old bearings. Many "experts" told me it couldn't be done without the special tool, they were WRONG. I did it with nothing more than a rented slide hammer and a 3lb sledge (my new favorite tool). Sure, it took some doing, but more than worth it to save the kind of money I saved. My local indy(s) each qouted me $1000 for the whole job including new hubs. I did it for $283 with new hubs. That is the kind of money you can save with some simple tools, a little brain power, and determination. NEVER give up! And as I always say...."what one man can do another can do".

Each of these projects has been covered in detail on www.bimmerfest.com, the links to each are below if you'd like to catch up. Otherwise, stay tuned for my next installment coming later today showing how to restore worn window trims. I am happy to be back, stay tuned for tons of money saving, fun projects that will keep your high or low mileage BMW running strong for years to come!

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412128&highlight=speed+swap

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=426114&highlight=toasted+subframe

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=447598&highlight=rear+wheel+bearing

Swapping your Differential: Serious Performance

A few weeks ago I had the good fortune to help a fellow Bimmerhead add some pep to his car. This time it was in the form of a 3.38 differential swap and Hotchkis sway bars. I have covered the sway bars in subsequent blogs and on the forums so I will focus on the differential swap.

Right off the bat I can say that this was not a hard DIY. Yea, I know, you are thinking "yea, right". But it was truly an easy process. All you need to do is take your time and be mindful of what you are doing and you will be fine. I found a couple DIY's on the forums and read them over and over. I looked at the diagrams on realoem.com and even crawled under my car for a look around. When I was confident I had done all the pre-DIY research I could do, I waited for the day to come. My friend arrived (came to Bham from Atlanta) with his new differential he sourced from an automatic car that was identical to his car (2001 330i). I found out later it wasn't exactly like his car, but more on that later.

I began by removing his rear sway bar, I did this because I was swapping them anyways. I guess you don't have to do this, but it is only a few extra bolts and with it out of the way, I had all the room I needed to work. Next, I unbolted the lower subframe brace (two bolts) and the heat shield. I also took off the two exhaust hangers so the muffler could hang down. Then it was just a matter of removing the driveshaft bolts and the half shaft bolts (you will need an external torx head for this size E12). Once I had all that done I just removed the 3 bolts that held the actual diff to the subframe and it falls out with a little "persuasion". I am not going into great detail because others already have. The best DIY is found here. It gives you more specifics. We had to remove the outer flanges because they are different. In my case I used a few prybars and a hammer to get them out. They come out easier than you'd think and then the new one's press right back on to the new diff housing.

Here are the little "tips" I picked up along the way:
1. Have a friend help you. Without one, it is next to impossible to lift the new differential into place. It is heavy and akward and I crushed my finger trying to be "he-man".
2. Make sure to do your research so you don't end up with a different input flange (where the driveshaft connects to the differential) because they are different on the 330 than the 323/325.
3. Change the fluid of the new/used diff BEFORE putting it in the car. It was so easy to just tip the replacement unit on it's side to drain it and then just pour in the new fluid. No need to use a pump this way and was so easy. Failure to do this could cause you headache. A recent post I saw where a guy did the swap and he assumed the new unit had fluid in it....and it didn't. Can you say boom?
4. Replace the differential bushing while you are in there. Think ahead......we didn't. Also, if you are going to do a new set of control arms, now would be the ideal time since the differential is out of your way.

Impressions of the swap are simply WOW! What a hoss. It really transformed 1st and 2nd gear (5 speed car) into a tire shredding fun zone. The 3.38 was a good choice IMO over the 3.46 because it is still liveable on the interstate. 70MPH = just over 3000rpm's. If you have a 6 speed (and shouldn't we all) you can certainly do a 3.46 with no problem at all. All in all I think the swap was well worth it. It only took me about 4 hours total (including rear sway bar) and that was my first time doing it and I was under the car while on jack stands. This is NOT a hard job and I would say if you can do brakes or VANOS, you can do this. So if you want a peppy ride, a diff swap is the next best thing to forced induction! Hopefully one day, I can document that process on my own car!

I love Labor Day, Rear Trailing Arm Bushings Replaced

First I want to apologize for the slacking off on my part regarding this blog. I had hoped to add a new post weekly. With a tough economy, I find myself spending more time working than typing.

This past weekend (Labor Day) I decided to replace my rear trailing arm bushings. Why you ask? Because they had 190k miles on them! I could tell the rear of my car was getting really unstable under hard cornering (or "commuting"). It was especially noticeable when doing rapid directional changes and when hitting on and off ramps hard. Best way to describe it is a drifting feeling, like the back end is lagging behind. Since I have quite a lot of suspension upgrades to my car, it bothered me and I just felt it was time to tighten things back up.

I was honestly a little nervous about the project at first, after all I was replacing the main connection point for the rear wheels. But after looking at it and reading the DIY's, it really isn't bad at all. In researcing the project I noticed a lot of the DIY's on the net say you MUST have this special removal tool for the bushing. Well, the little tool is $90! I didn't have $90, so I said my usual "I'll figure it out" and went to work. There are many, many DIY's on the procedure so I will spare you the details. But I will say this, if you have an air chisel, a hammer, and a sharp screwdriver, the old bushings come out just fine without the tool. I highly recommend the use of powerflex solid bushings for replacement of the OEM bushings. Unlike the front control arm bushings by powerflex, these do not increase driving harshness at all. They do however make a HUGE difference in handling, I picked up 7-9mph in the hard corners I usually drive. Also, the powerflex (or any urethane bushing) eliminates the worry about "preloading". Preloading is caused by the rubber bushing binding up when re-installing it and is a complicated process to keep it from doing so. With the urethane one's you bolt on and go. If you want to see pics of the process, here is the link to the post I made on bimmerfest.com http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=396118&highlight=rtab.

So to recap, here are the things you need to know to do this job:

1. Buy powerflex or UUC urethane bushings. I recommend powerflex and you can get them from Bimmerworld here. Bimmerworld is great and ships fast.
2. While the RTAB bushing removal tool is great, there are a variety of ways to remove the bushings without it. If you are creative, mechanically inclined, and don't mind a little sweat, it is not needed.
3. Mark the location of the upper bracket with a pen or scribe it with a screwdriver. This will ensure you get the plate back into position correctly.
4. You may need to drop your sway bar (I did) if you have aftermarket ones for clearance

Other than that, it was an easy DIY that netted great results. I mean you REALLY feel this "mod" and how it tightens up your car. Best $79 you'll spend. I guarantee it!

Helping others and paying it forward, you never know

It's 6pm on a Saturday, I have made a 3 hour trip to Atlanta to pick up some wheels for my BMW. I get everything and head off to return home to Birmingham. All of a sudden the oil light comes on, the battery light comes on, my power steering dies, and I instantly realize my main accessory belt has snapped. I pull over and inspect the damage. Sure enough, my water pump had failed, the bearing blew out shredding my belt and leaving me stranded 3 hours from home. What a helpless feeling!

Ever been in that position? Maybe not automotively speaking, but what about your life in general. What about others lives around you? I got to thinking today, that amidst all the chaos in this world people all around us are hurting and in desperate situations. Have you ever helped someone in a way that it cost you something? Money, sweat, time, pain, tears, maybe all of these? If you haven't, perhaps you haven't ever truly helped someone. Because real help costs something, if it doesn't, then it means very little. My ultimate example, Jesus, knew this well. He even said "what is greater, to say thy sins be forgiven thee or rise up and walk". Lip service is easy, a prayer for someone is easy, saying you'll keep someone in your thoughts is easy, but moving a friend into a new house, taking a homeless man to lunch (yes, into the restaurant), sitting in a hospital room for hours to hold the hand of a dying person, these are the things that define true help. I read a story once that I want to share with you. It is about a man in just such a situation.

"A nurse escorted a tired, anxious young man to the bed side of an elderly man. "Your son is here," she whispered to the patient. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened. He was heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack and he dimly saw the young man standing outside the oxygen tent.
He reached out his hand and the young man tightly wrapped his fingers around it, squeezing a message of encouragement. The nurse brought a chair next to the bedside. All through the night the young man sat holding the old mans hand, and offering gentle words of hope. The dying man said nothing as he held tightly to his son.
As dawn approached, the patient died. The young man placed on the bed the lifeless hand he had been holding, and then he went to notify the nurse.
While the nurse did what was necessary, the young man waited. When she had finished her task, the nurse began to say words of sympathy to the young man.
But he interrupted her. "Who was that man?" He asked.
The startled nurse replied, "I thought he was your father."
"No, he was not my father," he answered. "I never saw him before in my life."
"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?" asked the nurse.
He replied, "I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, I knew how much he needed me..." (source for this article is found here)

Can you imagine doing that? I can't. But I am not even talking about going to that extreme. Even stopping to change a tire for someone on the side of the road, carrying groceries to an old lady's car, or taking parts off of your car so a guy can just get home.

See the second half of the story I started at the beginning of this blog is that the guy who I bought the wheels from came to where I was, towed me to his house (thank goodness for tow hooks) with his BMW, let me use his tools, drove me to the parts store, and even gave me his waterpump pulley because I broke mine. Great story, but it doesn't end there, it gets even more incredible. That all happened in September of last year. Last month I get a PM from a guy on Bimmerfest that a person from Chatanooga, TN with an E46 is stuck in Birmingham and needs a good shop. I emailed them and offered to help. Turns out it was actually the forum members daughter who was in town for a wedding. She had the EXACT same failure as I had had in Georgia. The parts stores were closed and she needed to get home. I took my waterpump and pulley off of my car and gave them to her to get home! Talk about paying it forward! You can't tell me that God didn't engineer that set of circumstances!

So why am I telling you all this? So that you can be impressed with me? No. So you will think I am great? No. I don't want you to think about me at all! I am telling you this so you will think about those around you that need YOU! When you give, you get. And I am not talking about money. There is so much more you'll get than money it isn't even funny (hey, that rhymed). I charge you to pay it forward. Do more than you have to, do it often, and do it TODAY! You may never know when you will need someone yourself!

Sway Bars: The biggest bang for your buck!

As we continue our look at the suspension components on the BMW, perhaps none are as hotly debated as sway bars. They give you the absolutely largest gain in performance for the least amount of money. A good set of sway bars can literally transform your car from a well handling car into a corner carving beast that makes your wife not want to ride with you (ask me how I know).

So you bought your BMW because it is billed as "The Ultimate Driving Machine". From the factory, BMW had several options on sway bars depending on your model. Sizes for them ranged between 18.5-24mm front diameter bars and 15-21mm rear bars depending on body style and year. Generally the 330's had the largest bars and as a general rule the thicker the bar, the more stable the car during aggressive driving. But it isn't as simple as "bigger bars are better".

What is important to remember is that the front and rear bars work in tandem, and small changes to either can have a drastic difference in the way your car handles. For instance, the Dinan performance sway bars for the E46 are much smaller diameter in comparison to my UUC Swaybarbarians and are set to add a little extra oversteer to the dramatic understeer your BMW has from the factory. It isn't a great deal of difference over factory sport sway bars and I can only figure this is because Dinan is a factory BMW performance division and they want it to be "aggressive" but still keep you from killing yourself. And since this topic is so broad and the range of changes and options is so great I will move on and discuss my personal findings and experience.

I got a used set of UUC swaybarbarians for the E46. It was an INSTANT and DRAMATIC change (intially I set the bars to their stiffest setting front and rear). All of a sudden my car felt like it was going to go where I pointed it and NO body roll whatsoever. It almost felt too "twitchy" and I admit, at first, I was a little scared of it. The tail end noticeably swept around much better. If my venerable little 323 motor had enough oomph, the car could be steered with the gas pedal. After a few weeks of driving it like this I became accustomed to the way it felt and began to push my car harder and harder. I then started playing with the different settings and I began to learn by FEEL how and what the car does. This is probably one of the more exciting things I have leared in my time as a "Bimmerhead" and I am loving it.

Here are a few pointers for those thinking about sway bars:

• Get adjustable sway bars. Non adjustable sways would be boring and if you are paying upwards of $400, why not get something that allows you to make adjustments to fine tune the car to YOUR style?
  
• Buy heavy duty adjustable front sway end links. You will kill your stock one's in short order if you don't and it makes a world of difference in feel and allows for even more fine tuning of your car.
• Beef up your rear sway bar mount tabs. The BMW stock tabs on the rear are very weak and thin. Running a super fat, stiff bar like the UUC's, it is possible you could tear them. Turnermotorsport.com has a set of weld in reinforcements that cost $20 and you can probably get them welded in by a muffler shop for under $50. It is worth it. Keeping them from breaking is so much easier than fixing them when they are broken.
  
• Stiffer isn't always better. You'll see what I mean when you get them!
  
• Finally, GET SOME NEW SWAY BARS! It is the best mod I have ever done.
  

So that's it. To be honest I am getting a little bored with the suspension blog. And this entry was increasingly difficult because there are so many things to discuss and I can't possibly cover them all. I am not sure what the next entry will be, but feel free to drop me a line and suggest topics.