I'm overhauling a Weber grill. Marina was threatening to buy some POS grill from a big box store. I replaced a 6 $ part and I even got the push button ignition to work While it is apart I may as well scrape the carbon off. I'm working in the yurt . I want to get the Rat inside before the snow flies. It needs frame work. The bed needs to come off. The tank needs to come out. I plan to. form pieces cut from a 275 gallon fuel oil tank like I did up front where the body mount rotted off.
1/22/17. Grill and snow blower moved to other sheds. I straightened out the yurt, swept the leaves out of the Rat's bed, laid down carpet scraps and pulled it inside . This is the 3rd winter it has languished since I bought it in 11.
What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Had a short shifter kit installed on my 2014 991.1 C2S cab.
I don't officially have a e28 yet.
I am picking a 1987 e28 535is on Saturday in Boston.
It will be a very long 1 1/2 hour flight to Boston from Dulles.
I don't officially have a e28 yet.
I am picking a 1987 e28 535is on Saturday in Boston.
It will be a very long 1 1/2 hour flight to Boston from Dulles.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
I only have one car these days, but when a friend is in need of help, ihr Auto ist mein Auto, in a way. 
Richard has an '06 Honda Accord Combi (wagon) and needed some help changing a headlight bulb, so I volunteered. He tore his ACL a few weeks ago, and is just two weeks out from surgery; working with crutches sucks. I looked online for info on the job since he was unable to figure it out, and got led down some rabbit trails that talked about pulling the fender liner to access the thing... Not on this car, because there's sheet metal between the headlight and the fender liner. His came with the optional projector-style bulbs, so changing them wasn't terribly difficult, just not very straightforward, so it took a little noodling to figure it out. Remove a screw, twist off a cap, and there's the bulb. Which was very different from what he had bought for it. Too bad nothing is open on Sunday in Deutschland.
The Honda Combi is a nice looking car; too bad they chose not to sell them in the US; I think they would've gone over pretty well.
But then I like wagons.
Richard has an '06 Honda Accord Combi (wagon) and needed some help changing a headlight bulb, so I volunteered. He tore his ACL a few weeks ago, and is just two weeks out from surgery; working with crutches sucks. I looked online for info on the job since he was unable to figure it out, and got led down some rabbit trails that talked about pulling the fender liner to access the thing... Not on this car, because there's sheet metal between the headlight and the fender liner. His came with the optional projector-style bulbs, so changing them wasn't terribly difficult, just not very straightforward, so it took a little noodling to figure it out. Remove a screw, twist off a cap, and there's the bulb. Which was very different from what he had bought for it. Too bad nothing is open on Sunday in Deutschland.
The Honda Combi is a nice looking car; too bad they chose not to sell them in the US; I think they would've gone over pretty well.
But then I like wagons.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Looks like an Acura wagon. I'd buy one, if it was low content, manual, $20k. My wife would love it too.davintosh wrote:The Honda Combi is a nice looking car; too bad they chose not to sell them in the US; I think they would've gone over pretty well. But then I like wagons.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Rat had a bed-ectomy yesterday. Today , I drained the about 9 gallons from the tank with a hand operated siphon, I added 5 3" sheet rock screws to the wood on my original 40 yr garden cart. I have the rear wheels up, The tank is 1/2 off, and I quit for the day knowing more about removing the gas tank. I'm mulling over hanging a 4' shop light in the yurt. Gonna be some cutting and pasting done on the left frame rail. Rivets are going to get drilled out. I haven't got an exact count, but a couple dozen looks about right.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Here is my VW Jetta Sportwagen 2.5 5 speed with retro wheels installed...dsmith wrote:Looks like an Acura wagon. I'd buy one, if it was low content, manual, $20k. My wife would love it too.davintosh wrote:The Honda Combi is a nice looking car; too bad they chose not to sell them in the US; I think they would've gone over pretty well. But then I like wagons.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
I am thinking Golf wagon in July, when our Jetta lease is up.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Took apart the center console pieces so I could get at the changer to remove a jammed CD.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Speaking of vehicles that aren't mine, but whose upkeep is still my concern, our Ford Transit van was operable again today. The Transit is a great vehicle overall, very well thought out & executed. Drives nicely, seats nine, and the seating is easy to reconfigure. The only thing I'd change is the engine; the turbo diesel engine in it scoots it around pretty well when it's empty, but with a load of bodies on board, it's a little lethargic. But still, of the three vehicles our dorm has, that's my favorite one to drive, mostly because it maneuvers like a European vehicle should; has a turning radius that's similar to the BMWs I've owned.
But we found an achilles heel with a recent cold snap. When the outside temp is around freezing or higher, they run fine, but a few degrees below freezing and they buck and stall and throw CELs and make life miserable. The first time it happened to me was over Christmas break, when driving my family south into the Alps for a day; the thing started coughing and sputtering about a half-hour into the drive. I ended up pulling over, shut it off, started it back up, and it ran flawlessly the rest of the trip. I told the maintenance department about it, and they took it to the dealer to have it checked out; didn't find a thing wrong, not even a code stored on the computer. They figured it might have had something to do with the cold weather, but by then it wasn't so cold out, so it worked fine.
It got even colder last week, and for most of the week, most of the Transit vans -- the school has about a dozen of them -- were pretty much unusable. The scariest part is when they stall on a downshift while you're driving, mostly because the steering assist suddenly goes away. That happened to me a week ago Friday, downshifting just as I entered a curve; that was more than a little disconcerting. Then a day later it happened to an RA from another dorm; she just learned how to drive a stick last summer, and she's at the wheel with a half-dozen high schoolers along for the ride... she was able to muscle it around the corner without a crash, but didn't do much for the poor kid's confidence. After that incident most of the vans were parked for the better part of a week.
At first the thought was that the fuel station we use didn't anticipate such cold weather, and didn't switch over to a winter blend early enough, so the fuel would gel in the lines. That may be the case, but a local mechanic's theory is that moisture had accumulated in the fuel filters over time, and would freeze in the filters, starving the engine for fuel. The filters are located just behind the left front wheel, far from the engine bay that could potentially keep them thawed out. Seems like a reasonable theory, especially when the vans that he changed the filters on work just fine now.
Most disappointing is Ford's response to this issue; "Not our problem." They are leased vehicles, and the dealer wouldn't do a thing to resolve the problem. I haven't been involved in talks with the dealer, but I can't believe we're the only ones experiencing this issue.
But we found an achilles heel with a recent cold snap. When the outside temp is around freezing or higher, they run fine, but a few degrees below freezing and they buck and stall and throw CELs and make life miserable. The first time it happened to me was over Christmas break, when driving my family south into the Alps for a day; the thing started coughing and sputtering about a half-hour into the drive. I ended up pulling over, shut it off, started it back up, and it ran flawlessly the rest of the trip. I told the maintenance department about it, and they took it to the dealer to have it checked out; didn't find a thing wrong, not even a code stored on the computer. They figured it might have had something to do with the cold weather, but by then it wasn't so cold out, so it worked fine.
It got even colder last week, and for most of the week, most of the Transit vans -- the school has about a dozen of them -- were pretty much unusable. The scariest part is when they stall on a downshift while you're driving, mostly because the steering assist suddenly goes away. That happened to me a week ago Friday, downshifting just as I entered a curve; that was more than a little disconcerting. Then a day later it happened to an RA from another dorm; she just learned how to drive a stick last summer, and she's at the wheel with a half-dozen high schoolers along for the ride... she was able to muscle it around the corner without a crash, but didn't do much for the poor kid's confidence. After that incident most of the vans were parked for the better part of a week.
At first the thought was that the fuel station we use didn't anticipate such cold weather, and didn't switch over to a winter blend early enough, so the fuel would gel in the lines. That may be the case, but a local mechanic's theory is that moisture had accumulated in the fuel filters over time, and would freeze in the filters, starving the engine for fuel. The filters are located just behind the left front wheel, far from the engine bay that could potentially keep them thawed out. Seems like a reasonable theory, especially when the vans that he changed the filters on work just fine now.
Most disappointing is Ford's response to this issue; "Not our problem." They are leased vehicles, and the dealer wouldn't do a thing to resolve the problem. I haven't been involved in talks with the dealer, but I can't believe we're the only ones experiencing this issue.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
I did bodywork on my e24.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Dave - sorry to hear such a crap response from Ford on that issue. It sounds easily replicated and obviously an engine control issue (which should be their problem!).
This post is really only to make the folks in the non-salty parts of the country appreciate their non-saltiness.
The rear brakes on the Tundra have been less than effective lately. The passenger side has been dragging. Not enough to pull the car to the right, but enough that the brake on that side runs a lot hotter than the other side....which doesn't heat up at all. The Driver's side has been stuck open and doing next to nothing. So I got new pads and new guide clips for the pad carriers and figured I'd dig in. Prepare yourself and try not to get tetanus from these pictures.....
This is the driver's side, where the outer face of the rotor hasn't seen much contact from the pad in some time. Notice how salty the rest of the underbody is, and understand that I had gone through the car wash yesterday morning, and DID choose the underbody wash. That salt is AFTER a hose-down.....
The pads and pad carriers had become one with each other, and I had to hammer the pads out, which were so rusted that they broke apart in the process. Yech.
I ground and filed the pad carriers back into their proper shapes, put in new pad guide clips, a TON of high temp brake grease, loaded the new pads, and totally neglected to take pictures of my handiwork. But I again have working rear brakes on the Tundra! Yay!
This post is really only to make the folks in the non-salty parts of the country appreciate their non-saltiness.
The rear brakes on the Tundra have been less than effective lately. The passenger side has been dragging. Not enough to pull the car to the right, but enough that the brake on that side runs a lot hotter than the other side....which doesn't heat up at all. The Driver's side has been stuck open and doing next to nothing. So I got new pads and new guide clips for the pad carriers and figured I'd dig in. Prepare yourself and try not to get tetanus from these pictures.....
This is the driver's side, where the outer face of the rotor hasn't seen much contact from the pad in some time. Notice how salty the rest of the underbody is, and understand that I had gone through the car wash yesterday morning, and DID choose the underbody wash. That salt is AFTER a hose-down.....
The pads and pad carriers had become one with each other, and I had to hammer the pads out, which were so rusted that they broke apart in the process. Yech.
I ground and filed the pad carriers back into their proper shapes, put in new pad guide clips, a TON of high temp brake grease, loaded the new pads, and totally neglected to take pictures of my handiwork. But I again have working rear brakes on the Tundra! Yay!
Last edited by MicahO on Feb 07, 2017 1:58 PM, edited 1 time in total.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
So what is the logical reason that people use to live in that hell?
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Um .... The salt is good for my blood pressure?wkohler wrote:So what is the logical reason that people use to live in that hell?
There's a BIG reason that the majority of my cars do not drive in the winter.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Micah: Your photos aren't showing up. Is it just me?
The cold keeps out the riff-raff. Mostly.wkohler wrote:So what is the logical reason that people use to live in that hell?
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
davintosh wrote:Micah: Your photos aren't showing up. Is it just me?
Nope, me too.
Though I've seen the pics and had my shots.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
I tried moving them to a public album. Does that fix it?davintosh wrote:Micah: Your photos aren't showing up. Is it just me?
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Nope.MicahO wrote:I tried moving them to a public album. Does that fix it?davintosh wrote:Micah: Your photos aren't showing up. Is it just me?
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Weird. I saw the photos just fine the other day. Now I can't.
I drove my E12 M535i yesterday. Has about 95 miles on it now.
I drove my E12 M535i yesterday. Has about 95 miles on it now.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
PS high pressure hose on el-Jeep.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
I installed the OEM backup camera on my Ram. This was one of the worst things I have ever done on a car. How Mopar expects you to strip and solider under the dash with one had is beyond me. I ended up pulling my driver seat and extending the wire. But after many hours of cursing and repinning the radio harness
It worked
It worked
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Modifications to the M2 started this weekend. There is really very little that I plan on doing to the car, but there are some items that require adjustment, and some upgrades that need to be addressed. Well, not a 'need,' but a strong want.
Like many of today's cars with sporting pretensions, and like *all* BMWs today, the M2 has a little amp that pumps in fake engine noise. It's a bit ironic that they insist on doing this to the M2. The factory exhaust on the car is already quite loud and burbly, and there is actually a LOT less sound insulation in the rear end to allow that extra burble (and road noise, etc) in to the cabin. But the fake engine noise is there no matter which mode setting you use (Comfort, Sport, Sport+, Traction/MDM, or DSC off). Worse, in order to get the more twitchy throttle of Sport/+/DSC off, one must put up with a LOT of extra 'engine' noise. A LOT. To my ears it's just too loud and droning.
So yesterday I installed an ASD-delete harness from TechninPnP. $55 shipped, easy install, and no more fake noise. The fake noise may also be coded out, though there are some owners that say that the ASD module puts a bit of noise into the stereo even when coded out. Honestly, my ears likely have too many years of shooting and power tools to hear something that subtle, but I don't feel like having a dealer code something out, and don't plan on putting together my own code-your-car rig.
I had time for a short drive last night, in sport mode - poppy throttle, open exhaust flap, and no fake engine noise. It's outstanding - the way it should be! Damn kids these days!
Trunk lining stripped - notice the complete lack of sound insulation at the wheelwell. HK Amp is in the pocket behind the wheelwell, ASD module is behind that.
Harness, with 8 loopbacks. Apparently those line-in/outs went straight through the ASD mini-amp, which loaded those channels up with extra 'noise.'
I also added a spare and a jack from BimmerZone. The M2 comes with only the can-o-goo and a pump. I'd rather give up the trunk space and have a tire I can bolt-on.
Like many of today's cars with sporting pretensions, and like *all* BMWs today, the M2 has a little amp that pumps in fake engine noise. It's a bit ironic that they insist on doing this to the M2. The factory exhaust on the car is already quite loud and burbly, and there is actually a LOT less sound insulation in the rear end to allow that extra burble (and road noise, etc) in to the cabin. But the fake engine noise is there no matter which mode setting you use (Comfort, Sport, Sport+, Traction/MDM, or DSC off). Worse, in order to get the more twitchy throttle of Sport/+/DSC off, one must put up with a LOT of extra 'engine' noise. A LOT. To my ears it's just too loud and droning.
So yesterday I installed an ASD-delete harness from TechninPnP. $55 shipped, easy install, and no more fake noise. The fake noise may also be coded out, though there are some owners that say that the ASD module puts a bit of noise into the stereo even when coded out. Honestly, my ears likely have too many years of shooting and power tools to hear something that subtle, but I don't feel like having a dealer code something out, and don't plan on putting together my own code-your-car rig.
I had time for a short drive last night, in sport mode - poppy throttle, open exhaust flap, and no fake engine noise. It's outstanding - the way it should be! Damn kids these days!
Trunk lining stripped - notice the complete lack of sound insulation at the wheelwell. HK Amp is in the pocket behind the wheelwell, ASD module is behind that.
Harness, with 8 loopbacks. Apparently those line-in/outs went straight through the ASD mini-amp, which loaded those channels up with extra 'noise.'
I also added a spare and a jack from BimmerZone. The M2 comes with only the can-o-goo and a pump. I'd rather give up the trunk space and have a tire I can bolt-on.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
Not today but over the past few weeks I've been busy on deferred maintenance. The E12 had a seized caliper, so I rebuild all 4 of them, 12 pistons. Jeez what a pain. Then I figured as long as I was in there I ought to adjust the E brake since it seemed like it was only working on one side. Well, I had the one side part right, but it's hard to adjust 2 pieces. Got those from Schneidman. New O2 sensors for the E36 since I killed one of the heaters beating the broken stud out of the exhaust manifold. Looks like those with the Vanos rebuild I did recently will bump the MPG back up to 27-28. 
-
John in VA
- Posts: 5294
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Leesburg, VA
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
2000 E46 328i weekend!
passenger's control arm & bushing, followed by alignment
driver's & passenger's front window regulators
A/C belt
Vanos oil pipe
both post-MAF rubber boots
Then discovered a perished rubber hose, apparently the result of a failed secondary air pump check valve at the passenger's front side of the engine = something to do later.
passenger's control arm & bushing, followed by alignment
driver's & passenger's front window regulators
A/C belt
Vanos oil pipe
both post-MAF rubber boots
Then discovered a perished rubber hose, apparently the result of a failed secondary air pump check valve at the passenger's front side of the engine = something to do later.
Re: What did you do to your other car(s) today?
I installed the last of the foreseeable modifications to the M2 last night, an AWRON digital information display.
The M2 has a set of instruments that is a bit lacking, certainly compared to other M-cars. The displayed temperature gauge does reflect oil temp, not just water temp, but it's still sort of a dummy light. It reaches center at 90C and then stays there no matter what happens. There is no way to access oil pressure, or boost pressure. There are neato HP and Torque gauges that can be displayed, but they are kind of toys.
The AWRON display can display boost, oil and fuel rail pressure, oil, water, intake and exhaust temperatures, HP and Torque outputs, AFR, lateral as well as fore-and-aft g-forces, 0-60 times, quarter-mile times including reaction and 60-foot, and actual GPS speed. It's a neat bit of kit that takes up one of the center vents similar to old-school Alpina boost gauges. It integrates beautifully with the car controls; when cruise control is not engaged, you use the cruise buttons and toggle on the steering wheel to control the display (when cruise is engaged the controls revert to that system).
I also sprung the extra couple-hundy for the integrated exhaust flap controller. This allows one to manage the flap independently of the car’s drive-mode programming. Between that and the previously-installed harness to remove the fake engine noise, the car now sounds like it should sound – all the time, in every drive-mode.
The install was pretty easy and took me about 90 minutes. There is some disassembly of the dash and passenger kick panels. The harness gets daisy-chained into a couple of the connectors for the car’s electrical harness. There is an airbag on the US cars that is not noted in their instructions, and the disconnect of one of the harnesses caused all of the car’s various gongs and chimes to chime and gong for a few seconds. Other than those issues, it was just a matter of disassembling and re-assembling connectors.
This is a picture of the dash last night immediately after the install:
….and one of their images from the web shop:
The M2 has a set of instruments that is a bit lacking, certainly compared to other M-cars. The displayed temperature gauge does reflect oil temp, not just water temp, but it's still sort of a dummy light. It reaches center at 90C and then stays there no matter what happens. There is no way to access oil pressure, or boost pressure. There are neato HP and Torque gauges that can be displayed, but they are kind of toys.
The AWRON display can display boost, oil and fuel rail pressure, oil, water, intake and exhaust temperatures, HP and Torque outputs, AFR, lateral as well as fore-and-aft g-forces, 0-60 times, quarter-mile times including reaction and 60-foot, and actual GPS speed. It's a neat bit of kit that takes up one of the center vents similar to old-school Alpina boost gauges. It integrates beautifully with the car controls; when cruise control is not engaged, you use the cruise buttons and toggle on the steering wheel to control the display (when cruise is engaged the controls revert to that system).
I also sprung the extra couple-hundy for the integrated exhaust flap controller. This allows one to manage the flap independently of the car’s drive-mode programming. Between that and the previously-installed harness to remove the fake engine noise, the car now sounds like it should sound – all the time, in every drive-mode.
The install was pretty easy and took me about 90 minutes. There is some disassembly of the dash and passenger kick panels. The harness gets daisy-chained into a couple of the connectors for the car’s electrical harness. There is an airbag on the US cars that is not noted in their instructions, and the disconnect of one of the harnesses caused all of the car’s various gongs and chimes to chime and gong for a few seconds. Other than those issues, it was just a matter of disassembling and re-assembling connectors.
This is a picture of the dash last night immediately after the install:
….and one of their images from the web shop: