Been MIA lately, but still thinking of the M
September 25th, 2009 PierreWith my first child coming, the M is on hiatus. I have a lot of parts that need installation. Maybe I’ll do a little this weekend. At least to not flat spot the tires.
aka the wallet diet
new projects in the works
July 25th, 2009 PierreI’m currently in the middle of the following projects:
- custom exhaust
- a/f ratio metering by a NGK afx system
- single fuel pump conversion (in-tank only)
- updated interior
- oil vapor pipe capped with K/N filter
- recently added a sparco strut brace
Posts and pictures forthcoming…
exhaustive constipation?
June 14th, 2009 PierreLooooong time since last post. Work’s been keeping me busy; and now with a pregnant wife…worse. This just means the time with the M is even better!
This morning I took out the M on a run with other s14′ers. The engine felt a little flat, like it has for a few weeks now. Nothing really new, now its more pronounced. There used to be a nice kick in the higher rpm. I’m thinking the exhaust is clogged. As a laymans test I placed a piece of cardboard over the exhaust pipes, and saw something odd. The driver side pipe was coming out faster and warmer than the other. It was also spitting out a sooty mist. Clogged! I’m not shocked as its the original system and was sitting for many years. Rust and/or little creatures set their sites on my pipes. Shucks, now its time for a new exhaust!
memorable day
April 18th, 2009 PierreWe found out today that my wife Diana is definately carrying our baby. The heartbeat was very pronounced. I’m happy, humbled, and ready for a new era in my life. It makes the M shrink…just a little.
my new aluminum radiator
April 16th, 2009 PierreSo, my temperature was still rising slowly while driving. Only turning on the heater made it go down. Even though I had cleaned out the radiator, and worked ok for a few days, the temps rose. Everything had been changed, except the rad, until now. My wife bought me this Mishimoto radiator for by birthday last week. It cost about $230 shipped. Not bad considering the OEM piece is about that price. The fit was almost perfect. The lower support mounts with the rubber stops needed a little grinding, no biggie. But here she is! Now to see if it still gets warm…
UPDATE:
I’ve had this radiator on for a couple of weeks now. It’s great! No more overheating issues. The temp is pegged between 1/4 and 1/2, even in L.A. traffic. This piece is recommended!
Note:
Since this radiator is wider than the original, there is a minor hitch in installation. The stock lower supports need to be grinded a bit where they are tacked to the body. Just shave the areas down as flush as possible. Not doing so will definately gouge the soft aluminum. Shown below:
Valve adjustment spreadsheet
April 5th, 2009 PierreCheck this out. I created a spreadsheet that will calculate the numbers for you and give you the BMW part number of the shim needed. Please try it out and give feedback.
update II…for one
March 23rd, 2009 PierreSecond issue besides running rich is the coolant temperature. The engine temps like the creep past the halfway point after normal driving. Sometimes reaching the 3/4 mark. I’ve changed almost all of the cooling, except for the radiator and heater core. On a good note, the past weekend I took apart the AC condenser in front of the radiator and guess what? There was a wad of debris; almost like a nest. Maybe there was a critter living there for a while. I didn’t get to drive the car, so I don’t know if this was the problem. I’m thinking it may be an inefficecient radiator or a tiny leak somewhere. I’ll keep you updated.
update…a very needed update
March 23rd, 2009 PierreAs you can see I haven’t been posting much. Ever since the M hit the road a couple of weeks ago, my mind has been on an endless “get ‘er done” mode. First, she drives good. Not great, just good. The suspension is tight and the steering is slopfree. The tires are great too. The tacho is possessed. No noises from the tranny, clutch, or driveline; which is good because it was all out! What needs real attention now is the engine. It starts fine, but idles high after warming up. On the road it just doesn’t have that punch in the higher revs.
Last Saturday I took her to get a smog check-surprise, surprise it won’t pass. Not even close. Good thing I asked for a pre-test! Back to the drawing board. The tech said the engine is running excessively rich-at least not excessively lean! So, what’ll make the engine run rich? Easy list first:
- Fuel pressure regulator — Changed.
- Faulty injectors—rebuilt
- Oxygen Sensor—new (amendment to this below)
- Vacuum leak—checked out ok
- Air flow meter— slide mechanism checked for resistance linearity, ok. Air temp sensor not checked.
- Water temperature sensor (blue plug)—new
- Wires? —new
- Weak coil—tested ok
- Damaged ECU—not tested
- Bad plugs—sooty and fouled plugs cleaned; new ones ready
Yesterday I removed the oxygen sensor to find a nice layer of sooty buildup indicative of rich combusion. I cleaned it with brake cleaner and gave it a good wire brush scrub. Put it back in and seemed like it started smoother. I didn’t get the chance the drive the car, but maybe that was it? If not, I have a feeling, or by deduction above, the culprit is the afm or the ecu. I’ll report back.
The M3′s First day out!
March 7th, 2009 PierreThe M is finally out on the street and relatively comfortable. I definately need to change the cats and muffler. They sound like tin cans. The exhaust gaskets need to go too.
I was planning on meeting Mariano and the crew at the Rose Bowl, but I was late for the drive. Mariano was nice enough to stay after for a quick chat. Here are some pics I took tonight, nothing fancy (and kinda blurry):
the horizon, feeling better and no urgency
March 1st, 2009 PierreThe previous post demonstrates how I was feeling yesterday. But with work, and a good nights sleep today I feel much better about the tasks at hand needed. First, Friday’s test drive slowed me down a bit. I’ve been very anxious to get the M on the road, so the last few months I’ve been working on it every weekend. It’s catching up to me. I’m tired. My arms are buzzing with soreness.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I will NOT get the car perfect before I get it permanently on the road. It’s not happening. It needs more attention, things will need replacement and/or upgrading. Phase I is done. I can slow down and get a plan going for Phase II.
I just want to get it running safely and reliable for weekend driving with fellow M3 enthusiasts. Really, thats all I want for now.