Bimmer Evolution, blee edition

[Theo]

That is so weird. I just watched that last night. I actually hate Doug's reviews though.

I've had both. I prefer the E39 obviously or I would still have my E46.

[blee]

Haven't been around the forum much over the past few weeks. Been busy...in fact, I just came off of 26 days straight at work.

Anyway, she's aliiiiive! I'll post relevant photos later, but I finally put oil back in the car, filled the power steering reservoir, tightened the lugs, and got the engine to turn over. It required a jump from the Silverado, since the car had sat so long. I'm still compiling everything that I did, but it amounts to:

-Rod bearing replacement
-Steering rack high-pressure line replacement
-Steering guibo replacement
-Tie rod (inner and outer) replacement
-Transmission mount replacement
-VANOS high pressure oil line replacement
-VANOS refresh, including full Beisan anti-rattle and solenoid work (check out the whole procedure at http://www.beisansystems.com/procedu..._procedure.htm)
-Valve clearance check (everything was in spec actually)
-What else? I can't remember. Seriously.

The first time I tried to start the car, I got nothing because of the battery. Few minutes later, the car turned over but I got a terrible whine from the power steering system, since it was nearly empty and sucked in the entirety of the reservoir that I filled before I started it. Of course, I had to turn off the car to refill the reservoir, and I couldn't start it again without a second jump. With all of that out of the way, however, the engine purrs like it's new. Guess I didn't make any (significant) mistakes.

So while I want to start driving it, like, yesterday, a couple of little things I need to address.

-First, the alignment. It's way off, so I guess my guesstimation of the tie rod lengths didn't quite work out. The car tracks to the left with the steering wheel centered, and it has to be cocked to the right in order to go straight. I'm tempted to buy the equipment and tackle this myself, considering the almost literal impossibility of taking time out of the work week for things like this. Is this a doable activity at home?
-Next, the damn battery. I couldn't drive it enough today to really charge the battery, so it'll be on a tender tonight. I suppose, if I've killed it, I'll need to buy a new one.

[bren]

Originally Posted by blee

Haven't been around the forum much over the past few weeks. Been busy...in fact, I just came off of 26 days straight at work.

Anyway, she's aliiiiive! I'll post relevant photos later, but I finally put oil back in the car, filled the power steering reservoir, tightened the lugs, and got the engine to turn over. It required a jump from the Silverado, since the car had sat so long. I'm still compiling everything that I did, but it amounts to:

-Rod bearing replacement
-Steering rack high-pressure line replacement
-Steering guibo replacement
-Tie rod (inner and outer) replacement
-Transmission mount replacement
-VANOS high pressure oil line replacement
-VANOS refresh, including full Beisan anti-rattle and solenoid work (check out the whole procedure at http://www.beisansystems.com/procedu..._procedure.htm)
-Valve clearance check (everything was in spec actually)
-What else? I can't remember. Seriously.

The first time I tried to start the car, I got nothing because of the battery. Few minutes later, the car turned over but I got a terrible whine from the power steering system, since it was nearly empty and sucked in the entirety of the reservoir that I filled before I started it. Of course, I had to turn off the car to refill the reservoir, and I couldn't start it again without a second jump. With all of that out of the way, however, the engine purrs like it's new. Guess I didn't make any (significant) mistakes.

So while I want to start driving it, like, yesterday, a couple of little things I need to address.

-First, the alignment. It's way off, so I guess my guesstimation of the tie rod lengths didn't quite work out. The car tracks to the left with the steering wheel centered, and it has to be cocked to the right in order to go straight. I'm tempted to buy the equipment and tackle this myself, considering the almost literal impossibility of taking time out of the work week for things like this. Is this a doable activity at home?
-Next, the damn battery. I couldn't drive it enough today to really charge the battery, so it'll be on a tender tonight. I suppose, if I've killed it, I'll need to buy a new one.

Tears engine apart on the floor of his garage, and then asks if measuring between the front tires is too hard to take on at home.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by bren

Tears engine apart on the floor of his garage, and then asks if measuring between the front tires is too hard to take on at home.

So it wasn't just me that thought that?

OTOH, I know my limits, so...

[rumatt]

[blee]

Originally Posted by bren

Tears engine apart on the floor of his garage, and then asks if measuring between the front tires is too hard to take on at home.

OMG I hate you guys.

To be precise, however, I have torn an engine apart on the floor of my garage twice.

I guess the better question would be, just what do I need to do some alignment work at home? Like, are we talking yardsticks and yarn, or is there a brand (eg Longacre) that's favored by the carmudgeons out there?

[Terry Kennedy]

Originally Posted by blee

I guess the better question would be, just what do I need to do some alignment work at home? Like, are we talking yardsticks and yarn, or is there a brand (eg Longacre) that's favored by the carmudgeons out there?

I have a Longacre 78295 digital caster/camber gauge and a Longacre 79500 toe plate set (discontinued, replaced with 79501 which has magnets). These are essentially new in factory boxes. New list is a little over $350 for the set. Make me an offer...

[bren]

Originally Posted by blee

OMG I hate you guys.

To be precise, however, I have torn an engine apart on the floor of my garage twice.

I guess the better question would be, just what do I need to do some alignment work at home? Like, are we talking yardsticks and yarn, or is there a brand (eg Longacre) that's favored by the carmudgeons out there?

The front end isn't hard to do at home with some tape measures and straight edges. The toe-plates and something slippery under the tires is easy button.

If you want to do the rear it gets more involved since you need to square everything up.

Honestly, if you don't have a lot of time (or inclination to tinker), and this is a one time set-it and forget-it alignment, I'd just pay someone.

[blee]

I got the front toe figured out today. Many thanks to Terry for selling me his Longacre equipment. The camber appears to be fine as is, although the QuickSet mounting thingy for the gauge is not a good solution for the OEM 19" wheels. I can't get all three of the mounting studs to sit in the same space (such as between spokes) on the wheel, and therefore can't really guarantee that I'm measuring the camber accurately. That said, by my measurements it looks to be fine. I wonder if Longacre offers something that would let me mount the gauge using the little holes between the lug bolts...

Anyway, it was super easy to measure the toe, and fairly simple to adjust the tie rods. My car is on the stock suspension so I had just enough space to slide my arm/shoulder under the front end to reach the tie rods. The trick was in figuring out just how much to adjust them, not only to get the steering wheel straight again, but also to set an appropriate amount of toe. It took a few evolutions of wrenching and driving around the block before I was happy.

EDIT: Oh, I found it. http://www.longacreracing.com/produc...82;+LW+Adapter

Apparently this version of the adapter is designed for larger wheels and the studs have a lip for securing to the outside edge.

[Terry Kennedy]

Originally Posted by blee

I got the front toe figured out today. Many thanks to Terry for selling me his Longacre equipment.

The camber appears to be fine as is, although the QuickSet mounting thingy for the gauge is not a good solution for the OEM 19" wheels.

Yup. The specs on it say up to 19". My wagon has 17's all around and the Atom was 15F/16R.

At least Longacre sells it separately - you don't need to re-purchase the digital gauge part. You may be able to find a used one on eBay, etc.

I wonder if Longacre offers something that would let me mount the gauge using the little holes between the lug bolts...

I think BMW has a patent on that - it is what the dealer alignment computer uses.