so i pulled my sideskirts today so i could change them and noticed some rust

i started grinding away and that little bit of rust turned into a lot of rust and then eventually it was a large hole

luckily i am in the process of helping the GF out with some body work so i had a few things here to start

after grinding everything away i used por15 brush on rust converter and covered everythign on both sides (pic)

i used wax paper and a rubber spatula to spread some bondo glass around the fragile area after and it really helped strengthen the area (will get pics tomorrow)

to cover the hole i will use a bondo mesh sheet followed by a few layers of bondo glass and finishing bondo and then im using gravel guard on the whole area and then i will put the new skirt on

http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/...419_160541.jpg

this kinda got me started on wanting to get more body work done, so later i will get a colour matched spray bomb and tackle a few other areas. i wish i was in the position to fix everything properly but for what i have im trying to prevent further rust the best i can

Went ahead and started my first diy on the 135
Prior to getting started i had no clue on the majority of the components
I recognized the alternator, turbos and intake thats it .lol

http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...419_153607.jpg

The dealer wanted 1k to fix the problem w/ the parts only costing 30$. No thanks bmw
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...417_152345.jpg
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...418_162919.jpg

Thank you internet
N54 Oil Filter Housing gasket replacement DIY

3 hours later
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...419_181104.jpg
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...419_181150.jpg

Had to pull the Intake manifold to access one of the bolt holding the oil filter housing. why bmw WHY
Opted to stop and just clean the motor from oil residue

to be continued..

On the plus side I know most of the stuff in the bay now:toot:

that's the best I can do to clean an engine bay.
Phone camera cannot tell, but damn I cried :QQ: when I see how clean it is

http://www.pixentral.com/pics/1IT5AP...bGooLeygt9.jpg

EDIT: now I just see the camber plate is way off in the photo, wtf, better check that out first.

I bet it makes really good left turns though. :troll:

Sold my Del Sol today :tears:

LF: New avatar

Changed the ATF fluid on le wife's CRV.
Tried to change the serpentine belt but failed. Looks like I need a helper for this.

De-mod the rsx
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...0_145728_1.jpg

raising the height back to stock.lol
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...420_154457.jpg

http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...420_171538.jpg

rides WAY better now .haha

3hrs and I washed
Clay barred
Meguiars Ultimate (using rotary polisher)

Bad weather, it started to rain afterward, can't get a good shot with a phone camera, but man it shines.
http://www.pixentral.com/pics/1Ec4n1...cLQObXT5Xr.jpg
http://www.pixentral.com/pics/1MoLGU...OXBkg0XJaA.jpg

Prepping for my 3m wrap
http://i61.tinypic.com/30nghoo.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/25ssnky.jpg

My 43 year old valve cover was in terrible shape after sandblasting (heavily corroded, some parts looked like lava rocks). I was going to get it wrinkle powdercoated but to prep it properly, by brazing, would've just taken too long.

I decided to fill the imperfections with JB Weld, sand, repeat, then apply VHT wrinkle paint. If I fucked it up I could just blast it and be back where I started. Plus, it was only $10.

I think it turned out pretty decent.

Eww dude!



Lol jk. Looks maaaaaad :)

Finally was able to finish the 135 today after catching the flu on monday then a fever after 2 days (what a shitty start on my week haha)

sorry for the blurry pic i guess im still recuperating.lol
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...422_163812.jpg

After doing the the Oil filter housing gasket I went ahead and replaced the oil cooler gasket
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...422_173727.jpg

First fuck up on the car ripped a vacuum hose luckily i had alot of spare parts (im a hoarder that way.lol)
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...422_195015.jpg

This time around putting it back is a breeze :notbad:
First time air bleeding coolant w/ an electrical waterpump
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...423_162800.mp4

SUCCESS!
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...423_163549.jpg

Then i realized the last owner didn't put oil on the air filter so i went ahead and did that
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...424_154035.jpg

started de-chroming the car
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...418_162447.jpg


While waiting for the filter to dry i looked up the spark plug interval and its suppose to be at 47k miles so i said what the hell close enough.

I caught break on this one dealer wanted 25 a pop per spark plugs luckily lordco carry the OEM plugs and i got a sweet discount on it :fuckyea:
And of course it needs a special spark plug socket tool :rukidding:
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...2022.46.00.jpg

Ideally you would wanna do compression test before you buy the car to see if the motor is healthy but it didnt allow me at that time of the sale and i took a gamble!

and the results are....
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...9940565639.jpg

A consistent 170 psi! now i can say it was a good buy .lol
I was very nervous when i was doing the test because of my experience with the nsx. Out of 4 nsx(S) that i saw 3 of them had a bad compression test :heckno:

Usually after doing and finishing the job i hate putting it back together but today was an exception i was still riding high on the good compression result .haha
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...424_204628.jpg

With maintenance out of the way time to mod!!

My 2TB Sport Shifter arrived (complements the paddle shifters that got retrofitted) so I decided to install it myself...

Old 205 Auto Shifter
http://i.imgur.com/OgplDzSl.jpg

Install
http://i.imgur.com/ZRNcFajl.jpg

All done!
http://i.imgur.com/2IGeBCzl.jpg

Leather feels much better than the Plastic of the old one!

That's a great job!!
How many hours did it take you to do that?

I am not looking forward to do my maintenance on my 135

ICEBOY - What motor do you have in that thing? I'm jealous of your abundance of
Cams.

This is my first euro so prior i had no clue on whats what on this car because of that i was very meticulous.
I follow the DIY word for word so it took me close to 3 hours to reach the oil filter housing gasket .lol
Putting it back was easy at that point since you know where they go now.
2nd time around is definitely gonna be faster I actually didn't need to drain the coolant as my tools was able to access the bolts but like i said i had to rely on the DIY for exp.

My advice is get the proper tools to make the job easier

Im actually gonna order this
Welcome to bavauto.com | Media blaster kit - For purchase - Includes media blaster, walnut shell media and Genuine BMW heavy duty aluminum vacuum adapter

Since im learning that this direct injection engines are notorious with carbon buildup
Knowing the motor is pretty healthy i would want to keep it that way..

There might be an extra cam but check out how many valves :fullofwin:



It's an early generation 2TG. Basically a 2T/3T (common in late 70's-early 80's Corolla's) bottom end with a Yamaha designed DOHC head.

To put it in perspective, using EG Civic's as an example, my car came as a base model CX with no options, a D15 and auto (3K 1.2L/2 spd Toyoglide), the next step up in drivetrain would've been a D16 and 5spd (2/3TC and 4spd), and finally a B16 DOHC and 5 spd (which is what mine basically equates to - 2TG DOHC, T-50 spd and 4:10/6.3" diff.).

Actually, wait, my car has 1 option...shoulder belts that are removable. :lol
Safety must've been a big concern for the original owner. :pokerface:

makes me glad i got a ppi done and the oil filter housing gasket was changed the day before i bought my 335i.

where did you get the special spark plug socket? i will need one of those soon.

Haha. You have valve envy. Were even haha. I also have the lap belt, with what looks like a shoulder harness removed. haha

Installed the Innotech exhaust yesterday. I still have to wire up the valvetronic system though (which is a PITA).
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32...emporary_4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/f2QSdBtl.jpg

Finally put in new cv axle for the ef9. The old one was broken in two pieces on the inside. Fun times and another notch on my car diying belt. :)

This is 2nd Euro for me, my first one was a 89 E30 325 and it left me on the highway with a broken thermostat. I should have learnt then.

3 Hours works sounds very good for first attempt. Never hurts to be thorough.

Funny, I have been researching Walnut blasting as well. I read a thread on 1addicts that some guy did a detail diy for walnut blasting, check it out if you haven't. if you decide not to do a DIY, I saw some guys posting on CL offering to do walnut blasting or selling the kit for $200. Then there is a thread on E90 forum that BMW Bellevue does it for 500 and locally its ~700 all in.

Anyways, looking forward to updates to your car, either through DIY or not.

Might as well get an idea what I'll have to do sooner or later.

I got it at Lordco

I came from Jdm(s) that's NA which is pretty reliable in my experience. The jolt of boost in this euro is pretty dang nice so i see why your coming back for 2nds.haha

With that little job i was able to see a glimpse of the other component if they fail or need replacing. The turbos, waterpump, fuel pump, clutch , down pipes etc. They are doable just troublesome since the crossmember/subframe is on the way. Even just to do the oil pan gasket looks like the subframe needs to be drop to get done! Its like BMW plan to do this so you are force to bring it to them or a shop :rukidding:

I saw the DIY thats why i plan to get the machine
See! 700$ is what they want to do mainly 2 things (remove the intake manifold and set the top dead center 6 times to clean the intake valves)
And this is gonna go on every 30-40k
Believe it or not its harder to remove the intake manifold from a honda than the bmw n54 motor.
Just like they wanted 1k to do the oil filter housing gasket job.
No thanks id rather use that money to buy aftermarket parts really.lol

Im actually just waiting for my coilovers to arrive at the border some time this week! I will dive into that job asap
No exp points on that yet but Ive done my brothers MK6 Gti and by the looks of suspension its almost identical so i have a little idea.

Just like you im also just learning along the way :whistle:

Can't you just suck the crushed shells through a vacuum port? :pokerface:

I actually find that my 335i is much easier to work on than my G35.

Exterior/interior lighting, oil change, battery, spark plugs, intake, exhaust, swaybars, coilovers, bumpers, side skirts and everything. I always run into an obstacle when working on my g35 but on the 335i everything is a breeze.

I did the vcg as well and it was easier than expected.

Only thing that was designed idiotically are the headlight ballasts, gotta remove the front bumper to access them.