I still had catalyst monitor not ready yet that was preventing me from getting a smog check so I can get it converted from PNO to a normal registration. I had a little time at lunch today so I headed out to a near by canyon where I could drive at about 55mph for 20 minutes or so. When I got back home and checked all monitors were ready, so I'll go get the registration taken care of next week.
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Before I left for a trip out of town I was able to get smog check done and the car passed without any issues.
Thinking about the shorter term remaining tasks I still have left, below is what I can think of so far.- Steering rack replacement along with new lines to replace the typical seeping from the reservoir.
- Headliner and a/b/c pillars retrim
- Rear side window rubber gaskets replaced
- Front bumper cover replacement
- Front/rear shocks/struts replacement
- Rear subframe reinforcement
- Front seats refinished
- Replacement of center armrest or remove it with a center console that doesn't have it.
- Lots more cleaning...
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Got work on the steering done. I was already hearing some noise from the power steering when turning right on tighter corners, so I was guessing there was more wrong then just weeping lines. Sure enough when I removed the boots the left side was full of fluid and the right side had a little as well. So I pulled the original steering rack and the reservoir and lines attached to it. One boot was also tearing, so am replacing them as well.
The used rack I'm using for now still had tied rods attached that were bent and had to be removed. I attached the rack to my bench with 2 large c clamps. For whatever reason the tie rods are 34mm. Can't recall anything else I've needed that for. I had to heat up the ends with a torch for quite a while before they would finally let go and come loose. The old one in the car was no where near as tight and came out without issues.
Overall swapping them out was pretty easy and just the underbody covers and air box had to come out to gain access. I measured the tie rod adjustments on each end and put them back where they were, but will definitely need to do an alignment. It was already off before.
Another item off the list and the slightly faster steering will be an improvement.
On my way back into town earlier in the week I stopped and picked up new fabric for the headliner. BM134 from Vetrans Company in LA. Unfortunately they now longer have the fabric for the pillars, so not sure what I'll do for them yet. Since I'm not great at holding still I'm guessing the headliner will be coming out soon.
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Being about a million degrees this weekend and lots of other things going on all I did was get the front toe lined up properly.
I've borrowed different alignment tools in the past or used levels, jack stands and strings. Lately though I've used Gryaline. Their first gen. I got it when they were first doing an initial preorder and it was pretty cheap so figured I'd give it a try. Overall it has been pretty easy to use and handy to check alignment settings much faster then other methods I've used and seems pretty accurate.
This was before:
And then after:
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That is pretty cool. Which Gyraline are you using? the G1 or the G2?Originally posted by attbimmer View PostBeing about a million degrees this weekend and lots of other things going on all I did was get the front toe lined up properly.
I've borrowed different alignment tools in the past or used levels, jack stands and strings. Lately though I've used Gryaline. Their first gen. I got it when they were first doing an initial preorder and it was pretty cheap so figured I'd give it a try. Overall it has been pretty easy to use and handy to check alignment settings much faster then other methods I've used and seems pretty accurate.
This was before:
And then after:
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I'm using the G1. They were just coming out with it when I ordered. The G2 is supposed to be better since it has its own sensor, but since I already had the G1 I didn't get it.Originally posted by 0-60motorsports View PostComment
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Excellent! yeah that seems the way to go. Im going to probably pick one up this year.Originally posted by attbimmer View PostComment
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I'm still thinking about exactly how I want to tackle the pillars, so decide to address the deteriorated rear side window rubber. I used this kit to replace the rubber. https://slavikms.com/products/e46-m3...epair-material
It provides just a generic rubber seal which could likely be purchased for less than $90, but it also includes detailed instructions and I'm sure it took some time to trial different options before finding some that worked well. Overall the price seems quite fair.
The removal of the trim was pretty easy. It is held in with screws rather than any clips that can break, which is nice. There are a couple screws that are tight to get to on the rear window. The old rubber seal just pulls off and leaves behind some double sided foam tape in parts. For me on one side almost all of it came off with the seal and on the other most of it stayed on the trim. It only took a few minutes to clean off what was left with a plastic razor blade.
Like with most things like this, the first one took about twice as long as the second. I also used some light compound on the trim to restore the satin finish it originally had. Mine was looking pretty matte at this point.
Overall I'm happy with how it turned out. No more crusty torn apart rubber on each corner.
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