M3AN 4016 Report post Posted May 29, 2015 (edited) Cheers dude, it's a labour of love and hate! Keepin' an eye on your progress too... Edited May 29, 2015 by M3AN Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted June 1, 2015 (edited) Fixed my digital climate control head unit today which was a little annoying because I actually had it professionally fixed about 8 years ago and secondly I hate soldering electronics, I'm fine with larger electrical stuff but find electronic components very fiddly. But it had to be done and this time I'm using a 1.0 instead of 0.47 capacitor for more headroom. And to be honest I think I did a pretty fine job... All tested and working fine! I followed this DIY so thanks to Richard for keeping it up: http://www.macadamizer.com/bmwfix.html Edited May 18, 2018 by M3AN 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Wow, so I finally put my original VANOS unit back in. It's been a while since I rebuilt the solenoids and I've been using Mark's (SweetM3) spare unit in the meantime. Suffice to say I was very, very lucky to have that option and am very grateful. Nevertheless I totally forgot about it until the other day and still had my rebuilt unit sitting in a bag in the garage! Needed to get Mark's back to his shelf. So I swapped them over yesterday and today and checked my valve clearances at the same time (most between max and out of spec). Happy to report that it all went smoothly! Everything fired up first time and the VANOS passed the DIS test with flying colours! This is (hopefully) my final VANOS journey now that not only have I done the seals and rattle kit, I've also cleaned and re-soldered the solenoids having dug them out of the gunk that a PO installed many years ago. Touch wood! 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Hmmm what made you use a 1uf cap instead of 0.47uf? I would have stuck with the original capacitance Dave, you've increased it 100% by going to 1uf - it might have some performance side effects for that particular part of the circuit. Caps usually have a tolerance of +/- 10 to 20% so by lifting it to that extent is not something I'd recommend. That said it's only one cap, so probably hasn't had that big of an affect overall. At least it's working however! Voltage is okay to lift when it comes to caps however. I've replaced over 500 capacitors in my V8 Soarer in recent months. Detail is everything! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted July 22, 2015 Hmmm what made you use a 1uf cap instead of 0.47uf? I would have stuck with the original capacitance Dave, you've increased it 100% by going to 1uf - it might have some performance side effects for that particular part of the circuit. Caps usually have a tolerance of +/- 10 to 20% so by lifting it to that extent is not something I'd recommend. That said it's only one cap, so probably hasn't had that big of an affect overall. At least it's working however! Voltage is okay to lift when it comes to caps however. I've replaced over 500 capacitors in my V8 Soarer in recent months. Detail is everything! It's all good mate, 1uf is a tried and tested solution. And since my "oem spec" 0.47 blew out I wasn't going to try that again! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1162 Report post Posted October 2, 2015 Just read through this whole thread. I like your philosophy of if its worth doing its worth overdoing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted October 3, 2015 Just read through this whole thread. I like your philosophy of if its worth doing its worth overdoing. Cheers. Hopefully I haven't overdone too much, don't want to over capitalise. The ethos of this project is to keep it feeling and looking reasonably stock but in good resale condition (even though I'm not planning to sell). 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1162 Report post Posted October 3, 2015 There is no such thing as overdoing too much 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rubix 434 Report post Posted October 4, 2015 So nice to see this today, beautiful car. Great to meet you Dave. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted October 5, 2015 Cheers Dion, great to meet you too! 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wrs 120 Report post Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Are those the replacement capacitors you used near the bottom left corner off the mat? They look like tantalum caps... If they are tant's they are far less reliable than newer technology, eg Solid Aluminium or Polymer Caps. Tant's don't like higher temperature or ripple where the newer alternatives work well in either or both of these conditions. Edited October 7, 2015 by wrs Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted October 12, 2015 Are those the replacement capacitors you used near the bottom left corner off the mat? They look like tantalum caps... If they are tant's they are far less reliable than newer technology, eg Solid Aluminium or Polymer Caps. Tant's don't like higher temperature or ripple where the newer alternatives work well in either or both of these conditions. Hi and yes, they're tantalum caps to the best of my knowledge. I just used what the DIY says to use because I have very little idea about electronics and wasn't going to second guess somebody that had already had success. So far so good... with any luck it will hold for years to come. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wrs 120 Report post Posted October 12, 2015 Yeah, tants usually last quite a long time but have a much higher failure rate than other types of cap - especially that particular style of tant. Today there is much newer technology caps that would work well in place of a tant and once changed you'd never have to worry about it again. As you say though - you'll probably get years out of the replacement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 (edited) Long time no post... I've not had a lot of time to love the car recently... But since I've got a new job now and a regular income the projects can start again... I'll be getting my 17" wheels refurbished soon so I can fit some track tyres - I'm not sure if I can get that sorted before Christmas but it'll be as soon as Jan if not. In the meantime I've just taken delivery of 6 metres of "M Rain" fabric and some Alcantara for my interior overhaul project... I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do but it will cost thousands - fabric was >$1000, I'll need a set of Recaros and then the upholstery costs will be sky-high I'm sure - eek! But this is very, very high quality fabric. Edited May 18, 2018 by M3AN 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted November 29, 2015 Long time no post... I've not had a lot of time to love the car recently... But since I've got a new job now and a regular income the projects can start again... I'll be getting my 17" wheels refurbished soon so I can fit some track tyres - I'm not sure if I can get that sorted before Christmas but it'll be as soon as Jan if not. In the meantime I've just taken delivery of 6 metres of "M Rain" fabric and some Alcantara for my interior overhaul project... I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do but it will cost thousands - fabric was >$1000, I'll need a set of Recaros and then the upholstery costs will be sky-high I'm sure - eek! But this is very, very high quality fabric. Love that material!! You could try re trim it yourself if you have LOTs of time I just gave re trimming a spare steering wheel a go for test purposes over the weekend. Not totally perfect but found some ways to improve it. Of course one has to learn by doing first. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xcel 7 Report post Posted December 24, 2015 Hey Dave I've just been reading through your project and I'm wondering how your E46 steering rack is doing in the E36? I'd really like a quicker lock myself but I'm also considering something like the SLR road race kit but I'm not sure if it requires a cert. Apparently there is an exception where major steering geometry changes are allowed if your car is primarily used for LVVTA recognized motor sporting events. I'm wondering if that refers more so to excessive camber/castor which I'd rather not change too much to preserve my tyres.Also I have a similar headunit to yours, the Clarion DXZ835MP and I love how you can get the display to match the dash LED's. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted December 27, 2015 Hi Evan. Steering rack is ace, would never look back and couldn't have it any other way now. Normal e36 M3 steering feels woefully loose in comparison. Nothing negative to say about it. Colour matching head unit is also a must! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 14, 2016 (edited) Looks like I'll be cleaning seats this week/end... 2 x Recaro SR3's with fold forward leavers on the backrests. Edited May 18, 2018 by M3AN 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3_Power 636 Report post Posted February 15, 2016 SR3s, SR4s have separate belt holes and a taller headrest. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 15, 2016 Yes, you're correct, I looked up the wrong reference pics! Auction didn't reference the type, that was my error. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 15, 2016 Also just found out the seller has new bolsters for them also which he's going to drop off, sweet! And, dreading the worst I pulled out the genuine Alcantara I have and it's an exact colour match. This will allow me to replace any of the less than perfect panels. Looks like the entire seats will need to be unstitched and re-sewn to put new bolsters in anyway unless I find otherwise when I disassemble them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3_Power 636 Report post Posted February 15, 2016 (edited) They can be disassembled. i have disassembled tons of these in the past to fix bolsters, it does not require unstitching. The whole thing can be taken apart. There's even a way to fix the seat back wobble that's common on these from usage. Edited February 15, 2016 by M3_Power 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 15, 2016 Sweet, that's good to hear Tom. I'll tackle disassembly and cleaning hopefully before the next weekend is out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MLM 57 Report post Posted February 15, 2016 (edited) Does this mod require a cert given the seat belt anchor is part of the eom seat and to remount it requires Modification? Or does the recaro have a seat belt anchor on it Edited February 15, 2016 by MLM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted February 15, 2016 Does this mod require a cert given the seat belt anchor is part of the eom seat and to remount it requires Modification? Or does the recaro have a seat belt anchor on it I suspect it will require a cert even though the bases I want are designed to couple the SRx's to the E36, are genuine Recaro and have belt receptacles built in. The question is, will the WoF people even be able to tell they're not stock... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
