Tron's Blog

How to tighten e36 m3 inner tie rods

2012-09-17T22:28:00.000-04:00

To tighten the inner tie rods, you need a special thin wrench. The size is 32mm.

This wrench will fit between the tie rod and the end of the steering rack:

http://www.parktool.com/product/headset-wrench-hcw-15

Yeah, fuck it. I'll update.

2011-10-16T23:20:00.002-04:00

My beater Saturn has been down for months. It's miserable. Mostly because I can't work on it, due to my bum knee. I hope to fix that shit quick.

Meanwhile, I have been getting a ton of stuff from my old room at my parents' house. It's great to fill in some missing tickets from my ticket diary. I'll have to remove them all, though, and start at the beginning to get everything in order.

I've been playing Yakuza 4, and I love it. I can't wait to finish it.

replacing the trim

2011-06-06T23:45:00.000-04:00

I followed the DIY's that I posted earlier. They did not prepare me for the bitch that was removing the leftover adhesive. It was fucking terrible. I used a shitload of goo gone, fingernail, and a plastic trim prybar as a scraper tool. Unbelievable.

Shit looks great, though.

Save yourself a fuckton of trouble, and have your wife hold the 1/4 window in place while replacing it. You can remove it by yourself, if you're not retarded. My passenger side went in like a breeze, but the driver's side took me forever. I used the method of removing the screw on the pivot/latch instead of removing the entire latch. The driver's side window kept sagging and not being aligned. Not sure why there was a difference. I used tape to re-align the trim, so I put it back exactly where it went.

I got my parts for the below post...

2011-05-02T23:49:00.002-04:00

No wonder shipping was exorbitant, they came in a gigantic box. They were well packed, though. Away on business this week, have to get to it this weekend(I hope).

How To: BMW E36 coupe rear quarter window trim replacement

2011-05-02T23:48:00.000-04:00

My trim on the rear quarter windows is completely felted. I was looking for a how to, and I kept getting linked to broken links on e36coupe.com. I went through their forums for ages, until I found a broken link from 2007. Luckily, the internet wayback machine grabbed it, so I am re-creating the post in its entirety(I did some *editing)

This was originally posted on mavster.plus.com/window.htm

Do your rear window rubber trims on your coupe look manky like this?

Follow these simple steps to fix the problem and make your car look new!(ish)
It will take about 30 minutes to do both sides and cost you £30.71 from the Stealers. *(Cost me $78, after I got jammed for $19 worth of shipping from Tischer BMW)
You will need the following items to complete this task:
1) A socket set with the following size sockets 8mm, 10mm and 16mm
2) A size 40 torx screw remover
3) Some cleaner to remove the sticky residue stuff *(I recommend goo gone)
4) The following part numbers from the stealers..
51.36.8.119.961
51.36.8.119.962
51.36.8.119.963
51.36.8.119.964

Here are the parts for the drivers side of the car

Gently prise(*pry) rear light from the quarterlight trim.Then
carefully remove whole of trim, Its held by clips and should pull off.
Then undo the two nuts highlighted in red (8mm)

Unscrew the 16mm bolt holding the seatbelt anchor on. Then pull off
the window trim surround. Next pull the plastic trim from the B pillar off. The plastic height adjuster pulls off, too.

Next remove the 2 torx screws and the seatbelt assembly will slide out

Recessed in behind you will find 2 10mm nuts. Carefully remove these, being careful not to
drop them inside the car. Also be careful the window doesn't drop out and smash!

Now peel back the bottom trim and clean of any adhesive residue, I used Intensive bug and tar remover.

Now remove the insert strip that runs around the top of the window and clean out the recess.

Carefully replace insert strip, and align bottom running strip in place and stick down.
Replace interior trim surround and then refit window in reverse of removal.

Fuck osama bin laden!

2011-05-02T00:09:00.001-04:00

Another big delay, but the addition of a new feature.

2011-04-07T23:58:00.000-04:00

So I am going to review stoner metal, aka sludge metal. Here's my first one. I have not fully committed on a ratings system, yet. Perhaps x stoned hippies out of 5? I think this would be a reverse scale, where the least amount of stoned hippies would be the best. Who wants stoned hippies around?

My first album is the self-titled album by "Witch". It starts out marvelously, with the track Seer. this is an eight minute track, which sets the stage for the remainder of the album. The guitars are great, with good solos in each of the songs. Who says solos are only for thrash metal? Sure, they're not the ear splitting Dragonforce-esque solos, but musically just as appealing.

The album continues along, then hits a slow dirge in "Rip Van Winkle" (fittingly). This track sludges along, until the last 45 seconds, where it builds its pace until the end.

There's two tracks left, and I have to admit they fall off a bit. They are not bad tracks, just not as good.

Listening to this music makes me want to swill booze, and that is a good thing.

2 stoned hippies out of 5.

Skunk Porsche

2011-02-20T19:30:00.001-05:00

I'm on the lookout. Shitty, 911, manual. I think it'll be fun.

Amazon Wishlist

2010-10-18T21:39:00.002-04:00

so close to being finished...

2010-08-24T06:45:00.000-04:00

All that is left, is to finishg spraying the kidney grills. Yesterday I did the lidatek mounting, and fender liner replacement. Pretty easy, save for running the wire for the lidatek. I had to do some creative zip tying.

I can't wait to drive it. Definitely later today.

oh, and I think there is a power steering leak. fuck!

Removing the airbag to a E36 m3?

2010-08-11T22:59:00.000-04:00

It's a T-30 tamper proof torx bit. I've heard these called safety torx before, but either way, they are the ones with the hollow tip.

The bolts on the airbag are a total PITA to remove, too. They're captive, they don't fully remove even if they are loose.

Enjoy.

I have not updated this shit in forever!

2010-07-31T23:29:00.000-04:00

Did I lose the urge? Who knows. Sorry about that.

My most recent happening is working on the M3. I started work on removing the blower motor, for replacement. I am following the DIY on Doug's Domain. I got through to removing the blower motor itself.

TIP: You have to remove the left side of the airbox, BEFORE removing the wiper motor assembly.

I can't wait to clean this whole area up. It's so disgusting. The whole engine bay is SICK. On the good side, my heater core seems to be in good shape.

Almost since I've had the car, whenever I engage the recirculation, or heater, a door slaps closed HARD. I'm hoping I can fix this while replacing the blower motor.

I'm also happy to be almost done R&R'ing the car. I really just need some help with the headliner, and shit will be done. Then I am going to drive like a jackass EVERYWHERE.

Tron out.

Fck!

2010-05-22T15:43:00.000-04:00

The amp I've been keeping around for four years is rick. It's an old a/d/s 6.25 power plate, which is a six channel 25w/ea amp. It would have been perfect. Unfortunately, it is missing pieces that keep the screws down to hold the wires in in two places. Totally felted. I just pulled trigger on a new amp from crutchfield. I got it for $80, which is $20 off it's already discounted price, because it's being discontinued. Total score. Glad I waited!

Amazon kicks dick

2010-05-19T21:25:00.001-04:00

This arrived today. It was on backorder, so when they shipped it, they shipped it fedex overnight for free! Here we go...

Damn.

2010-05-18T07:09:00.000-04:00

I'm getting to the point of outlaying serious cash for the m3 resto. I need about $450 to do the interior right, which includes miscellaneous bits, a used factory alarm, and new shift boots from redlinegoods.com.

Today, I'm going to buy some super 77 spray adhesive, and see what I can do with my previously sagging headliner. If I can get it back to tip top, I'll put that one back in and sell the old one. Should be able to get some good money out of that. I also plan on going to rat shack to look for a new switch for my lidatek, that I can hide more easily.

Hobo Wine Review: Four Loko

2010-05-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

This is the second review from Saturday. Enjoy!

Packaging: As you can see, it looks like a queer hillbilly exploded onto this can. I'm not sure who they are trying to market to - the redneck that would wear watermelon colored camo, or the mexican that would be interested in a mixed message name "four loko".

Tasting Notes: This is a watermelon jolly rancher, liquefied, and infused with 12% booze. Not too shabby

Rating: The coveted (and first) five stabbed hobos out of five.

Shortly after this picture, the booze was spilled all over the carpet. Fact: You can get it out with a towel and quick actions, supplemented by girly screams of outrage.

Hobo Wine Review: Joose Raspberry Lemonade

2010-05-15T22:24:00.001-04:00

Here's the first of two reviews of drinks that were imbibed last night. You should have seen this post before I edited it for spelling. Not a pretty sight.

First up, we have a flavor of "Joose"

Packaging: The can is bright yellow, with a lot of crazy designs all over it. We thought this was regular lemonade, because the "raspberry" is in a hard to see, small font. The drink itself is a bright pink color.

Tasting Notes: Tastes good, until you swallow it. That's not a very positive comment, is it? It's got a bitter aftertaste. Mad bitt-ar. You can easily taste the 12% alcohol in it. It also has energy drink garbage in it.

Rating: Four stabbed hobos out of five. It's not bad, especially if you've already had a few beers.

SUCCESS!!!!!

2010-05-15T20:02:00.000-04:00

Finally, in my quest to install my Lidatek LE-30 laser jammer (don't even bother googling, the company went out of bidness awhile ago. I've had this shit since 2004!!!), I have made a breakthrough. I was able to route the cable from the laser sensor from the engine bay to the cabin.

All it took was six years, a metal coathanger from walmart, some googling, and a ton of sweat.

You can pop the top off of the fuse box (four t-10 torx screws), which allows access to the rats nest of cables going through to the cabin. I was able to run the coat hanger back and forth by itself to make some "room". Also, in the cabin(listen up: this is key), there's a zip tie right at the firewall. I was having trouble with the cable not making it through this part, so I cut the zip tie. It doesn't seem to do anything but bundle the cables together. I might replace it afterwards, but I haven't decided yet.

I'll post pics soon. Either way, I am totally stoked. Now I have to find an underdash power source....

Priced out most of the interior parts for the M3.

2010-05-14T07:04:00.000-04:00

Fuck!

It's going to be like $475, without shipping. Hopefully I can find some free shipping deals. Most of this cost is $150 for the factory alarm/keyless entry. I think that's a worthwhile upgrade. Gotta start earning that OT.

Update to garage stereo

2010-05-13T23:03:00.000-04:00

Apparently, the speakers are too close to the ceiling. Right above the speakers is our entryway, which is a shitty hardwood. The music echoes throughout the house, when I don't even have it turned up that loud. My wife said that she could hear the commercials so clearly, it was like someone was in our house.

Talk about fail. I'm not trying to piss off the neighbors, but damn. I might try moving the speakers from the shelf to the top of my workbench. Update to come.

more leatherique...

2010-05-13T23:01:00.000-04:00

I used the pristine clean on the door panels, armrest, and steering wheel tonight. The steering wheel is going to take some work. That thing was foul. I think I needed to wash my microfiber cloths, but it could be that it was just loaded with dirt and grease. Everything else came out pretty good.

The headrests still aren't getting any better, despite having a coat of the rejuvenator oil on it for about a week. We'll go for week two!

Leatherique update

2010-05-11T07:11:00.000-04:00

So last night, I leatherique'd the front seats, rear seat backs, headrests(still), rear side bolsters(still), and the e-brake boot.

Wow.

This morning I took the trash out, and there were actual dry spots on my front seats. I was shocked. I knew the driver's seat was bad, but damn. I don't have time for another coat this morning, so I'll hit it hard tonight.

I also had a great email conversation with someone who works at leatherique. I was a bit distraught over the fact that my headrests had showed little improvement. He completely destroyed my "throw them in a trash bag and leave them in the sun for hours" method, saying it was akin to frying a turkey. He also said it can take weeks to bring them back from cardboard status.

oops.

He actually recommended that I put them in the garage, or in the car in the sun. The garage makes sense, since it is mostly the warmest place in the house (save the attic). So that's what's happening right now. More coats to come.

Got myself a permanent garage stereo

2010-05-09T18:49:00.001-04:00

I repurposed a closet shelving unit that we didn't end up using. It's been sitting in the garage for months, taking up space. Finally, I decided to do something about it.

I'd been using this old htib down here for awhile, but it was taking up valuable bench space. Here's the result. Not bad for twenty minutes' work.

Review: Gunvault BB3000 Security Cable

2010-05-08T12:12:00.000-04:00

We can all hope for a little bit more security. Make no mistake, this is a pretty thin cable, but it will stop someone from running off with your gunvault.

I installed this on our Gunvault GVB1000, which is near our bedside. I looped the cable around the bedframe, so I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon.

The trick to installing this is definitely using the proper tools. You have to knock out a pre-perforated hole in the side of the gunvault. I at first tried just a plain screwdriver, but a screwdriver/hammer combo is what worked. Make sure to remove the little leftover donut, instead of just bending it out of the way, otherwise you'll never get the nut onto the end of the cable.

The cable installs in the gunvault using a lock washer, nut, and safety clip that snaps through the threads on the end of the cable. Even after hand tightening, the lock washer did it's job - I could not unscrew it again.

All in all, it's a good product for the money. I wish it was around the $10 price point, but $13 with free shipping from amazon prime is close enough. I couldn't get it under $15 with shipping anywhere else. I recommend it, especially if you have nosy kids around.

-Tron

Hobo Wine Review: Johny Bootlegger

2010-05-08T00:49:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the first review of Hobo Wine Reviews, by me.

Today's little bit of Jeebus is Johny Bootlegger's "Sing Sing Sour Grape". Crec picked this up at a local 7-11 for us to try out.

Packaging: The bottle is a small glass flask, only holding 6.8oz of nectar. The label is clearly trying to capitalize on their gimmick, which the prohibition era "Johny Bootlegger" (Yes, one "n". Ridiculous.)

Tasting Notes: The first thing you notice is the beverage's bright purple color. Opening the bottle, you get a whiff of a foul smelling concoction. Crec was instantly put off, but I have smelt horrible dranks, that turned out to taste great. This was one of those drinks. It basically tastes like a liquid grape jolly rancher, with booze in it. The mouthfeel is non-offensive.

Rating: I'm giving this one three stabbed hobo's out of five. It lost points for the small bottle, and the one "n" spelling of johnny.