I'am a stripping maniac

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:24 am

ali-bumble wrote:You have the patience of a saint.
Well done on persevering with some of these issues

Thanks, problem solving is almost fun

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:33 am

Still in the Stripping mood, removed the front wheel arch liners to inspect the inner wings and front sills, etc.

Luckily all was in fine fettle with no evidence of rust/rot. A good clean and some dinitrol waxing later ...

jolls · Post by **jolls** » Sun Aug 20, 2017 4:14 pm

She looks lovely. The paintwork looks original on the pictures you have posted.

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:42 pm

jolls wrote:She looks lovely. The paintwork looks original on the pictures you have posted.

Thanks for the kind words but unfortunately no, n/s rear quarter (as shown) has been painted at some point in the car's life - still perseverance on paint correction works wonders in getting rid of the dreaded orange peel affect and give a very nice mirror finish.

Kev

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Mon Aug 21, 2017 12:19 am

Finally, got round to sorting out the sunroof inner panel.
The panel suffered from the usual issues being difficult to slide without trying to pop out of the rails, bla, bla, bla - making it a lottery when ever the sunroof was used.

Found that the o/s guide rails were either missing or broken, the n/s guide rails were not much better so bought a replacement kit from ebay.

Upon installation of the new guides I found that the inner panel was very stiff to operate even after cleaning all the mechanisms and applying dry graphite lubricant. Was not happy with the results.

In the end found that I needed to fettle the new guides (o/s only) by filing down the plastic ridges until they slide nicely in the rails.
I guess this is the price for using ebay rather than purchasing from BMW, still - Â£12 for the kit.

The end result is now a perfectly operating inner panel that slides nicely and only moves in a forward/backward motion - now very happy.

Needed some dremel work.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and already getting the proverbial fork ready.

Metrics · Post by **Metrics** » Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:16 am

Top work Kev, very satisfying when you solve a problem like that with your own wit and efforts.

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Tue Aug 22, 2017 1:39 pm

Metrics wrote:Top work Kev, very satisfying when you solve a problem like that with your own wit and efforts.

Ta Asim, was meaning to ask - did you get anywhere with James at Redish?

Kev

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Tue Aug 22, 2017 2:15 pm

OK, stuff not working since putting car back together ...

Airbag Light

As expected I had quite a few error codes relating to the Airbag system as everything was unplugged, etc.
After using the reset tool I am now down to 2 error codes that will not go away. These seem to be the seatbelt tensioners.
Now, I neglected to check these on the replacement seats so will have to take the seats out again and replace with the mechanisms from the original seats and see if this resolves the issue - may just be a wiring issue that needs to be sorted, I guess I will find out.

Secondary Air Pump

Not really affected by anything I did regarding the interior swap but just decided to start making a racket upon cold start (as they do), so will test the system (on cold start) along with the EGR value to make sure air is sufficiently pumping and exhaust gases are gassing. Will give the EGR a good clean with brake cleaner (noticed it has an ALPINA stamp on it).

On Idle
Again, not really affected by anything I did - Upon a cold start, I do get slight uneven revs for the 1st couple of seconds before it settles down so may also have a minute vacuum leak somewhere?
Also, whilst in drive and come to a halt, the revs sometimes dip a little low (600rpm) and stay there, other times it settles at 750rpm.

Apart from that, everything else seems tickety boo.

Let a friend borrow it yesterday (family wagon not available and need use of a touring) and he fell in love with the car - he could not get over how fantastic a 15 year old motor can be - was very impressed with the switch-tronic and said the car seemed quieter than his E90 if a little bit more wollowy (is that how you spell it) in the bends.

Kev

Metrics · Post by **Metrics** » Tue Aug 22, 2017 8:53 pm

rattusM3 wrote:
Metrics wrote:Top work Kev, very satisfying when you solve a problem like that with your own wit and efforts.
Ta Asim, was meaning to ask - did you get anywhere with James at Redish?

Kev

Hi Kev

James has been a gent, but my B10 has been a saga of epic proportions. Suffice to say I've not had it since March. All I'll say is I've had some "challenges" with BMW, the warranty and one thing after another on a 17 year old Alpina. I'm hoping for it to be back with me soon, and then one day I'll meet James with it. I'll update my B10 thread when I have the car back!

Cheers for asking though.

Asim

simon13 · Post by **simon13** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 1:03 am

seat occupancy sensors can fail on e46's , these can relate to air bag light coming on?

The idle? My B3S has always done that its the air pump from cold start that does it i think

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 1:34 pm

simon13 wrote:seat occupancy sensors can fail on e46's , these can relate to air bag light coming on?

The idle? My B3S has always done that its the air pump from cold start that does it i think

Does the engine also feel a little bit lumpy for a few seconds as well?

simon13 · Post by **simon13** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 8:21 pm

a bit but the B3S doesn't have as smooth an idle as the 3.3 engine anyhow

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:02 pm

simon13 wrote:a bit but the B3S doesn't have as smooth an idle as the 3.3 engine anyhow

Fair enough Simon, I am probably being a bit anal about all this anyway.

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 6:53 pm

rattusM3 wrote:OK, stuff not working since putting car back together ...

Airbag Light

As expected I had quite a few error codes relating to the Airbag system as everything was unplugged, etc.
After using the reset tool I am now down to 2 error codes that will not go away. These seem to be the seatbelt tensioners.
Now, I neglected to check these on the replacement seats so will have to take the seats out again and replace with the mechanisms from the original seats and see if this resolves the issue - may just be a wiring issue that needs to be sorted, I guess I will find out.

Kev

Little update, have now swapped over the seat belt tensioner mechanism and wiring with the ones from the old seats and now I have NO airbag lgihts - yippee.

I know that the car the replacement interior came from had its airbags activated when it had its prang so maybe if the tensioners were also activated then they have to be replaced afterwards?

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:38 pm

rattusM3 wrote:Off subject for a sec and reason for delay on finishing the interior.
Have been helping out friend with his E30 M3 S14 rebuild now that the head is back from Germany nicely ported ... some pics

Spot the obvious difference between a standard s14 (215) head and the ported head.

Valve Seats modified to improve volume - notice the small valve seat contact.
Valve guides also modified and Valves are now E34 M5 spec.

Pistons are from a 320is which we originally sourced for our track car (now sold) which will increase compression.

This will be a beast when finished.

Kev

Just so you know, this baby ended up making 267bhp and 200 ft/lb of torque.