MyFemurHurts
Well-Known Member
I've been super busy recently, so I haven't had much time to wrench on the E9. I'm going to the Festorics at Laguna Seca and the Pebble Beach Concours in a few weeks, and I'll be back on the Bonneville Salt Flats this week for speed week, so I had to get the E9 ready this weekend if I wanted to drive it down to Monterey later this month.
I've had an issue with overcooling on the freeway, and running warm around town. I didn't have the records on when the cooling system had been gone through, so I bought a new thermostat, the 9 blade fan upgrade from BavAuto, and I was thankful that upgrade came with a new fan clutch.
I had all the parts sitting around, but I wasn't able to find a radiator quick enough. I PM'ed sfdon, and it turns out he had a aluminum radiator in stock, and for the asking price he'd install it. That ended up working out great, as the shop that I work at has been tied up, and my mechanic buddy was doing a transmission for his girlfriends car.
When Don pulled the thermostat, it was a 71* thermostat, not an 80*. So, it was making the car run too cold on the freeway, and the dead fan clutch was making it run too hot around town.
I stopped at Double '02 Parts in Hayward, CA, and they had a radiator bracket for me. The Automatics ran another loop for the trans cooler, and since mine has been swapped to a 5spd, I don't need that loop. The new aluminum one doesn't have the loop, so the right bracket was in order.
Don getting in there while I "supervised."
Test fitting with the new 9 blade fan and radiator
Don was nice enough to fab me up one from a 528i. Little simple Green and it cleaned right up.
Lifting the nose when adding coolant makes the bleeding process a lot easier according to Don.
Test run. Everything fits nice, no leaks, no clearance issues. Didn't have the right bolts on hand to get the shroud attached, and he had to pick his daughter up, so no shroud for now. I'll try to get that on one night this week.
One happy Coupe
I promptly got stuck in traffic on the way home, and the temps stayed rock solid in the mid range. No more wandering as I speed up and stopped, which is great. I was cruising for a new head gasket letting the temps wander like they were doing.
All I need is a quick detail and I'm ready to show her off in the BMW parking corral at Laguna Seca for the historic races. Kudos to Don for lending a helping hand, giving me a ton of advice, and for being an all around really nice guy. I had a lot of fun hold wrenches for him today while he went to work on my Coupe. He's a really awesome guy, and we're a lucky community to have him around.
Next on the list is finally installing the Pertronix, getting a new coil, adjusting the valves, and seeing if that makes the last 1,000rpm pull nice and strong. Right now it pulls great from 2k to 5k, but it's just a tad lazy up top.
Don says getting the AC back online shouldn't be too tough, so I might look into that. He did show me the way to get fresh air into the cabin (I don't speak rectangle and triangle to understand how air flows), and it made the drive home a lot nicer than it ever has been.
I've had an issue with overcooling on the freeway, and running warm around town. I didn't have the records on when the cooling system had been gone through, so I bought a new thermostat, the 9 blade fan upgrade from BavAuto, and I was thankful that upgrade came with a new fan clutch.
I had all the parts sitting around, but I wasn't able to find a radiator quick enough. I PM'ed sfdon, and it turns out he had a aluminum radiator in stock, and for the asking price he'd install it. That ended up working out great, as the shop that I work at has been tied up, and my mechanic buddy was doing a transmission for his girlfriends car.
When Don pulled the thermostat, it was a 71* thermostat, not an 80*. So, it was making the car run too cold on the freeway, and the dead fan clutch was making it run too hot around town.
I stopped at Double '02 Parts in Hayward, CA, and they had a radiator bracket for me. The Automatics ran another loop for the trans cooler, and since mine has been swapped to a 5spd, I don't need that loop. The new aluminum one doesn't have the loop, so the right bracket was in order.
Don getting in there while I "supervised."
Test fitting with the new 9 blade fan and radiator
Don was nice enough to fab me up one from a 528i. Little simple Green and it cleaned right up.
Lifting the nose when adding coolant makes the bleeding process a lot easier according to Don.
Test run. Everything fits nice, no leaks, no clearance issues. Didn't have the right bolts on hand to get the shroud attached, and he had to pick his daughter up, so no shroud for now. I'll try to get that on one night this week.
One happy Coupe
I promptly got stuck in traffic on the way home, and the temps stayed rock solid in the mid range. No more wandering as I speed up and stopped, which is great. I was cruising for a new head gasket letting the temps wander like they were doing.
All I need is a quick detail and I'm ready to show her off in the BMW parking corral at Laguna Seca for the historic races. Kudos to Don for lending a helping hand, giving me a ton of advice, and for being an all around really nice guy. I had a lot of fun hold wrenches for him today while he went to work on my Coupe. He's a really awesome guy, and we're a lucky community to have him around.
Next on the list is finally installing the Pertronix, getting a new coil, adjusting the valves, and seeing if that makes the last 1,000rpm pull nice and strong. Right now it pulls great from 2k to 5k, but it's just a tad lazy up top.
Don says getting the AC back online shouldn't be too tough, so I might look into that. He did show me the way to get fresh air into the cabin (I don't speak rectangle and triangle to understand how air flows), and it made the drive home a lot nicer than it ever has been.
