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Nice write up, and pictures !! Be interesting to see most of these cars that are left out there and in good shape land in enthusiasts hands over the next few years. They’re at the bottom
of the depreciation curve etc. I’ve only had mine a short while but I’ve enjoyed it thus far. Lots of things to stay on top of both E61’s and N54 related mines still stock, but walnut blast, plugs and coils have been done. I’d like to re-do the VC gasket and add a better PCV before I mod it.
I love the blue/saddle combo on these things, great find. Mine is silver and I find it pretty meh :/ I really like the e90 wheels on there too, that's a nice look.
No, honestly never felt the desire to add the JB4 stuff. I just tune with MHD on the old cell phone and get in and go. The extra options, etc, with JB4 just aren't necessary for me. Thanks for the Wagner info!
Originally Posted by Smith_Jason
Nice write up, and pictures !! Be interesting to see most of these cars that are left out there and in good shape land in enthusiasts hands over the next few years. They’re at the bottom
of the depreciation curve etc. I’ve only had mine a short while but I’ve enjoyed it thus far. Lots of things to stay on top of both E61’s and N54 related mines still stock, but walnut blast, plugs and coils have been done. I’d like to re-do the VC gasket and add a better PCV before I mod it.
Yeah, I have a slow oil leak somewhere, likely at the rear of the engine (oil pan maybe, or rear main seal) since my driveway is steep and I get some drops on the pavement if I park nose up. If I park nose down I get nothing dripping. From what I've read and worked on, these things run pretty well for years with just plugs, coils, injectors, and walnut blasting as general maintenance. At some point I'll do the 3.5mm vacuum lines but mine are still pliable, tight, and in good shape thanks to Grandma's driving. MHD is so simple and useful for the increased power. 45min and you're looking at a big difference. I ran my 335i on Stage 2+ even with stock cats on it, since I was only hitting high boost occasionally (daily driver in SF bay traffic anyway), and it won't damage the cats. I might upgrade the wagon to Stage 2 at some point too, but would like to install an intercooler simultaneously.
Originally Posted by ThatNewGuy
I love the blue/saddle combo on these things, great find. Mine is silver and I find it pretty meh :/ I really like the e90 wheels on there too, that's a nice look.
Yeah, I fell hard for the color combo, love it too. The angles on the wagon really accentuate with a 10 or more multi spoke wheel. I liked the angles on the Style 285 wheels and they were damn cheap to boot, plus the examples of 3-series wagons on this site sold me on it. BMW wheel style 285 | BmwStyleWheels.com
The last couple days I decided to add a 1-1/4" trailer hitch so I could haul 2 bikes to Boise, where I'm moving to soon.
Etrailer had the best price and shipping time so I went with their Curt hitch based off others' reviews.
Model # C11194 as seen here: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Curt/C11194.html
Fitment was perfect, and I was able to install it without taking off the rear bumper fascia. The driver side inner mounting bolts were a pain, but made easier by disconnecting the exhaust from the 2 rear-most hangers.
Also bought this bike rack, as it fits the 1-1/4" hitch and will fit those 2 bikes I'm hauling:
Excellent quality, and I have some good velcro straps to ensure things stay on there. No swing-away on it for hatch access but I don't really need it anyway. Cost, shipping time, and convenience were driving factors here.
I also finally had a chance to get back under the car and put the undertray back on the car. Had just a slight oil leak that tray should now stop from getting all over the driveway.
At some point soon I hope to fix an issue with the OBDII connector near the driver foot well. I have a smashed or broken pin in the connector that makes it difficult to communicate with the DME for tuning and monitoring purposes. Discovered it during my most recent xHP Stage 1 transmission tune that took forever due to errors, plus another time after that when I washed the engine bay, got a misfire, and couldn't read codes with the MHD app. Tried 2 different BimmerGeeks cables, a known-good phone, and finally discovered that damn pin in the connector was bent and loose. Once I get that fixed I'll throw an MHD Stage 2+ tune on it and a larger intercooler, likely VRSF.
Recently had to do some research on why my passenger side mirror was always in a different position when I'd get in the car to go somewhere.
This was true whether I had the armrest controller set to the driver's side mirror (for auto-tilt of the passenger side when backing the car up) or not. Typically I don't use the auto-tilt function just because it always seemed to tilt down too far anyway.
I watched a youtube video that described removing the glass (I used a plastic trim removal tool), then the control unit torx-bolted to the mirror assembly, then cleaning the contacts that the connector slides onto.
I used some 2k grit paper I had around and cleaned all contacts in all directions. Youtube video said to use dielectric grease on the pins, but I didn't have any, so simply slapped it all back together.
Didn't see any noticeable corrosion beforehand, but once I put the assembly back together I haven't had a problem since.