2002 Steel Grey 6spd coupe Daily/Restoration project

[antknee]

yeah i hope ppl know those TPS's that are questionably cheap compared to the OEM BMW one....are in fact the same OEM part, just scratched off BMW logo. Have always used those too.

[Tbonem3]

Haven't been on here forever but been following you on IG and love the restoration.

Thanks man! I'm just populating this thread from the IG stories tbh.

yeah i hope ppl know those TPS's that are questionably cheap compared to the OEM BMW one....are in fact the same OEM part, just scratched off BMW logo. Have always used those too.

Yes, I try to buy all parts like this - the hella oil level sensor, the CPSs, bosch maf, coils, Lemforder control arms, etc...

[Tbonem3]

I upgraded the suspension on my 2004 car, so the hand-me-downs get to be put on the 2002 steel grey now!

To summarize, the suspension is a set of Bilstein B6 HD dampers where I've cut the internal bumps stops down a bit. Then I paired them with mounts that provide more travel and less droop. TMS street camber plates refurbished with new (poly) bushings and axis bearings only like 1,500 miles ago. Rears are Ground control "tall" RSMs (poly) plus GC spec shorty bump stops. I converted the dampers into coilovers with Ground control collars (2.5") and have paired them with 7" 325lb extra travel front Eibachs and 6.5" 550lb rear GC spec Eibachs (also extra travel - barrel). Front endlinks are stock, replaced in last 1500 miIes as well. I also got new F/R sway bar bushings, new rear endlinks, new lower spring pads, and I'm migrating over my rear strut bar. Front strut bar from my 2004 car is already on steelgrey, if you remember. I'm also doing new OE RTABs, but doing OE FCABs at a later time (dropping reinforcement plate).

I'm not reusing any of the stock (124k) parts, so I was able to just pull it all out. Didn't even use spring compressors.




Really enjoyed this setup, especially with a bigger swaybar (Hotchkis), but I'm just reusing the stock bar here. This car is heavier as well, so I may find 325lb to be quite a bit softer, with more body roll, than I'm used to with the setup on the 2004 car. It's a DD though, so that's fine. Lubed new bushings.



Like I mentioned, I'll do FCABs later, so that's it for the front; super easy pre-assembled install. Time for rear, where there's lots more to do. here's the parts pile:



Did fresh RTABs in the rear. I really love my SDW spherical ones in 2004 car, but want all rubber in this car. I love the feel of a fresh E46 M3. Mods are fun to do and might make the car "better" in certain ways, but everything comes at a price.





Original suspension, never touched. Still worked reasonably well. Super dirty.



Did the rear sway bar links/bushings. What a PITA



Good time to update the rear diff bolts! They're no longer fully threaded, so more stout where they support the diff cover bushings.





Took the strut bar out of 2004 car and just painted it black to match the front (it was yellow before). Here, you see it paired with the GC tall RSMS.



Shooting for about 13.5" / 13". Spacers are currently 12mm/10mm, but will go up to 15mm front.




Still need to do some fine tuning, but this was a big step in getting the car to a place where I'm happy with it.

[0-60motorsports]

Looks great! How’s the ride? Might have to transition form GC coils to your setup or PSS10


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[Tbonem3]

Thanks! I love it. I do not like Konis. The drawback is that the billys aren't adjustable (rebound), and I think they're at their limit even with these spring rates. If we believe they're made for stock or aftermarket lowering springs where rates are like 143-200lbs front, then I'm basically double that at 325lb. The rears being 550lb act more like 300lbs or so at the wheel. I wouldn't go much stiffer. I wish I could slow rebound down just a hair. A bigger front bar would help, but that's ok. Adding both the front and rear strut brace adds a perceptible amount of rigidity. FCABs are def needed. Fresh rubber RTABS are blissful, but spherical is better, even with a "plush" trade off.

[loudspeaker69]

Curious,

Why don’t you like Konis ?

[Tbonem3]

They're not that good. They're twin tube standard replacement that get lauded because you get rebound adjustability (which you don't really even need unless you're doing a GC conversion with stiffer springs). But if you're trying to get more performance, you should just get a monotube.

Twin tube has a longer stroke, they're more comfortable, better at lower speeds over rougher streets, Good DD choice - like I said, standard replacement. In a twin tube, oil and gas mix together which leads to frothing/aeration and loss in performance. They are comfy though, at stock like spring rates like eibach/dinan.

Billy monotube (or other monotubes) are more stout, shorter stroke, but firmer. If you can correct for a loss of travel through stack height, they're a good choice. If you can be at stock height, they're a great choice as stock replacement if you want more performance than B4s or sachs or konis.

TCK custom valved are the only twin tubes (koni) I'd consider. Otherwise it's Ohlins, MCS or bilstein (incl Fat cat custom billys) for me.

[jet_dogg]

I still don't understand what you're getting with fcm (terrible name btw) for 6 grand. He said he doesn't actually revalve, so what is it that he's doing? From what I gather he is selling you benefits and his expertise, not the actual product, an old school marketing technique. He charges a consultation fee I read somewhere?

Sounds a lot like the water treatment industry. Companies will sell you a system for your house that removes chlorine, will make your clothes cleaner, your dishes sparkling, give you a spa like shower experience etc for 4k but they don't explicitly mention it's just a carbon media tank and an ion exchange salt based softening system you can get for less than half that. They're selling you on the benefits, not the actual cost of product with an honest markup.

[Tbonem3]

I've been hearing great things. I do believe he does revalve, and adds a blow off valve (or 2, one for compression, 1 for rebound?). He guts the internals afaik. He likes to start with a bilstein monotube and I can only agree with that.

That said, $5-6k is a lot of money, and there are other great monotube solutions out there.

[Tbonem3]

Cooling

I had noticed a little bit of coolant was dripping at the expansion line in the upper hose elbow. I also believed that all of the parts were original, and at 123k, it's time to refresh it. I didn't go full ham like I did on the 2004 car, however. Decided to wait on the rad as it looked good and the car's temps have been well under control even through the summer. Decided to simply replace the waterpump, thermostat, o-rings/gaskets and the fluid, of course. I reused the sensor and hoses themselves as the O-rings are the issue. O-rings courtesy of Gary aka Wolfn8tor here on the forums.



Oops. Went to see if the exp line would come out and it just broke. Looked like shit, so not surprising. Also explains the slow leak, if it's not the o-ring.



Fan clutch and shroud are already out of the way from the vanos solenoid replacement, so I was albe to start with just undoing the belts. OP confirmed for me that he had belts and idler pulley done recently, and it seemed so. The belts looked perfect and nothing in the system was making any squealing or chirping. The theme of this "build" is, "if it ain't broke..."



I use a flathead screwdriver in between the bolt heads to hold the WP pulley while loosening the 10mm heads.



Right above the vanos accumulator, is where the coolant drain plug resides. You can see my 3/8" extension sitting on it.



Have a big tub ready, it's messy! I start here, then pull the lower rad hose. Doesn't matter which way you do it.



Luckily, my friend Good had a spare exp line I could use so no downtime!



Got the thermostat and housing off. Next, the water pump. Water pump didn't have much play, but it was pissing coolant out the front.



Original parts looking crusty! Sand, dirt, flat o-rings. Surprised the cooling was as good as it was on this car.




Cleaned some components up for re-use with new, lubed o-rings.



New OE waterpump, Tstat & gasket




All back together, belt back on. Greased the end of the WP shaft to avoid rust.



I start by pouring in half a bottle of OE coolant, squeezing the hoses to suck more in so I can then add distilled water. I stop after adding a gal of distilled, start the car, open the heater, and then start adding more water till the level pops up. Go for a little drive, get the car hot, then come back and shut if off.

The system is self bleeding, so come back the next morning or day and check the level and maybe you have to add a little more coolant/water, but shouldn't have to add much. It's always been pretty bang on for me.

[jet_dogg]

You ever consider doing a flush?

I seen chrisfix on his ranger and looked intriguing.

[jet_dogg]

Btw I was going to mention this earlier, for those who want to clean their rads an air comb is worth a look.

Typically used for larger equipment but I bet would be beneficial if you have compressed air in the garage.

[Tbonem3]

What do you mean by flush? Usually flush means replace fluid.

[jet_dogg]

Flushing in the sense of running a dedicated cleaner and a couple of times to remove any buildup in the coolant pathways.

Like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s--5ft5YiHg

[Tbonem3]

Ah, nah I'm not a fan of that type of stuff. I'd sooner just buy a new rad.