84 633csi 5 spd

[Ralph in Socal]

Very nice Derrick. Agreed about the ride height. Not sure where the center cap stickers are available but I have seen them.

I do have your parts on hand but just trying to get them all together. Holiday weekend is Junk Yard sales so sometime next week. I also want to test the headlight switch so that I don't send you a faulty unit.

Ralph

[songzunhuang]

Very nice Derrick. Agreed about the ride height. Not sure where the center cap stickers are available but I have seen them.

I do have your parts on hand but just trying to get them all together. Holiday weekend is Junk Yard sales so sometime next week. I also want to test the headlight switch so that I don't send you a faulty unit.

Ralph

Odd question: Is the headlight switch somehow connected to the speedometer?
Every once in a while my speedometer stops working and if I tap on the headlight switch, it'll come back on again. How is this connected?

Derrick - I think that those wheels look great. Like you, I was surprised by how dramatically the handling of the car changed after my new shocks, springs and tires. Much more fun to drive now.

I've ordered new tie rods as the rubber boot on mine are weeping grease. After that, I'll get a proper alignment done and then I think the handling will be at its pinnacle. It'll be a great day when all this happens.

[Ralph in Socal]

Odd question: Is the headlight switch somehow connected to the speedometer?
Every once in a while my speedometer stops working and if I tap on the headlight switch, it'll come back on again. How is this connected?

You may have a loose ground, bad light connection or bad fuse connection. Get some De-Oxit grease and lube up your fuses. Inspect each one when you pull it out. I have an e28 where the speedo would jump when I would go over railroad tracks or some other jarring road condition. Took a while to figure it out but a tail light had a bad connection that caused the fuse to run hot. The fuse had obvious burn marks when I finally found the problem due to a tail light warning at the check panel. The light was good but the bulb carrier had a bad connection and caused the fuse to overheat. The fuse in turn caused the speedo to jump whenever it was jarred. I could also hit the top of the dash like you said and simulate the problem. I have taken contact cleaner and sprayed the entire fuse box with it to clean up the connections underneath.

Pretty much standard with these cars to have to clean up all you ground connections as well to make sure everything works properly.

You should also spray the contact cleaner on your headlight switch.

Both De-Oxit and contact cleaner are readily available at your local big box hardware store.

Ralph

[captain awesome]

Ralph, you happen to have any euro front bumper brackets?

[Ralph in Socal]

Quite possibly yes. I'll let you know but a reminder (or two) may be necessary.

Ralph

[captain awesome]

Quite possibly yes. I'll let you know but a reminder (or two) may be necessary.

Ralph

I'm not in a rush but figured you might have some laying around. Good luck on the yard hunting.

[captain awesome]

So I spent a whole week waiting for my framer to show up. Rescheduled once and then nothing. No contact or anything, just leaves me hanging dry with all my material waiting for the rain to pour down. I've tarped everything and tried to get anyone to come out ASAP to get started. Everyone has been behind due to the rain, and won't be able to get going for a couple weeks. I'm already two weeks behind, so that's just not an option.

So this weekend I hired some laborers and started framing up some walls and setting trusses. We fumbled our way through it for the most part, but at least it's done and ready to start sheathing. Progress is nice even if it's a bit behind.

[captain awesome]

This garage is moving slowly. I managed to get the wall sheathing done and one ladder frame for the gable end overhang done. Should hopefully have it dried in by the end of the day Saturday.

[Viktor D.]

Lookin' good!

Keep up the good work and keep the pictures coming!

[captain awesome]

Finally got the gable ladder frames finished, sub-fascia nailed, roof sheathed, gable ends sheathed, and everything tar papered. I'm officially dried in. Just in time too, we got some heavy rain last night, and it's dry inside so something must have been done correctly.





Only pic I got before finishing up tar paper happens to have my child's arm pits in it. That's pretty neat.

[captain awesome]

So it's been slow going as of late. Busy summer, and hot. Really hot. I've been plugging along getting the sheet metal on the roof, entry door installed, large window installed, and all of the fascia/rake boards up. I'll finish the sheet metal caps for the fascia/rake boards this week, and hopefully be starting siding over the weekend. I need to get the garage door installed, soon as well.



I also kinda bought a project to tinker with when I get the maintenance stuff caught up on my 633.

An 81 320i with an auto.

$250 with what is probably a bad rod bearing. Future turbo m10 or 42. For sure needs a 5 speed. Coilovers possibly and poly stuff all around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RvptNqU8yg

[hornhospital]

A baby shark! Excellent!

IMHO that clacking is too sharp to be a rod bearing. Pull the rocker cover and I'll think you'll find it's a valve train problem.

[captain awesome]

A baby shark! Excellent!

IMHO that clacking is too sharp to be a rod bearing. Pull the rocker cover and I'll think you'll find it's a valve train problem.

I was thinking the same thing, but it's got a couple different noises or at least that's what it sounds like to me. One from the bottom end, but also one up top. Once the garage is finished I'll dig into it sooner and hopefully get good news that it's something simple. Trying not to get my hopes up though.

[captain awesome]

Here's a video I took at idle

https://youtu.be/01SbmClqQlc

[captain awesome]

So I've been plugging away on the garage and I'm super close to being finished.

Last weekend we dug up most of my yard and buried electrical for the 100a subpanel. We ended up having to go 3 foot deep due to crossing paths with gas, water, and sewer which meant a lot of hand digging by myself with huge rocks right in my path.









All buried and back filled.



A couple weeks back I finished up all the rake boards and officially fastened down the ridge cap. After all the dirt work was finished I pulled all the wiring circuits. For lighting I'm hooking up 5 of these 4 ft. LED strips that are super bright - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-E ... /206028970 and then 3 flush mounted ceiling fans. The fans will have to wait, but at least the wiring is pulled and boxes are ready. Also I'm running one 240 outlet for an air compressor between the entry and garage door. Then another 240 near my welding station for the future upgraded welder. Currently I run a Lincoln 110 Weldpak flux core with added on gas hookup for MIG.

I need to schedule my disconnect soon to wire up the new main 200a panel and garage door install.

This weekend we got ALL the siding put up and the soffit for the gable ends. Right after I got the nailer boards set for the side soffit runs it began to pour down rain so we had to stop. I still lack trim and paint, but it's close to being finished on the outside. I'm sending back the big shed I've used for the last however many months on Wednesday so I've got to get the electrical finished and final inspection done. The insulation, osb for the walls, and finishing touches will just have to wait until after so I can take my time.

[captain awesome]

I've been slowly plugging along with the interior. All the wall insulation has been stapled and the osb ceiling/walls are up. Just need to spend a little time final wiring boxes, subpanel, and getting ready to set up an appointment to cut power to wire up the new main panel. Pretty nervous about the main panel as it's a narrow window to get it done and make sure my family has power by the time they get home.

I haven't taken any pictures of the finished walls, but it's not much to look at anyway. My garage door should get installed tomorrow if everything goes to plan.

[sansouci]

Marvelous progress. Let me suggest "Big Ass Fans" (for real!)
Where I am, the trenching and running of utilities would occur just after the slab is put down. Don't think it makes much of a difference.

[captain awesome]

Marvelous progress. Let me suggest "Big Ass Fans" (for real!)
Where I am, the trenching and running of utilities would occur just after the slab is put down. Don't think it makes much of a difference.

I can't afford those, but have looked into them a bit. The cheap flush mounted 52" fans push decent air and still leave some money in my wallet. Next year I will get an split unit if my budget allows.

I have to admit, I've been winging it most of the way. Knowing what I know now I would have done it in that order as well.

[captain awesome]

I'm tired of my sloppy shifter, and I'm tired of the thumping from what I assume to be the guibo or driveshaft bearing.

So I ordered all of this:

[captain awesome]

Didn't get anything done last weekend due to a motorcycle trip for some much needed R&R, but this week I at least managed to get some of the trim finished on the garage doors.





I also finished up all the trim work for the upper and lower molding from some ripped down OSB I had left over on the interior walls.





And some of my free cabinets a buddy gave me mounted over the bench.



This weekend I'll hopefully finish the exterior minus paint and hopefully get started wiring up the subpanel, outlets, and fixtures. I've been putting it off for too long, I think mainly because I'm afraid as soon as I have power out there, I'll just put the finish work off. I can't stand the idea of it not being finished enough to just get some work done and not worry about the little details I decided to hold off on.

[captain awesome]

Like usual plans fall apart and I had to adapt. No trim or soffit has been attached, but I did manage to wire up light fixtures and my ground fault exterior/interior outlets. The other outlets should go quickly and then I move on to the panels.

Unfortunately I had to park the e24 last Friday due to way too much driveshaft thumping noise. Parts came in yesterday, so it could wait until after the garage was finished to install them.

NOPE. On my drive home yesterday afternoon my other daily driver's back brake pads started grinding. There weren't any pads in stock close by so I decided to just fix the e24 and get it over with.

Then I damaged the new driveshaft bearing.....

Like I would with most bearings, I use the old one to press the new one on. Like an idiot I didn't see the reverse side of what I was hammering home with destroyed the seal on the bearing surface and since I'd rather not pull it all apart again in a few months I'm now waiting on a new bearing. The good news is that I have got all the shifter stuff buttoned up and tight minus a tower mount. I forgot to order two, so that is in the mail with my new bearing. The bad news is that the fancy poly trans bushings I bought last year are the wrong fitment so I ordered the proper pair this morning and hopefully they are in time so I can do it all at once. I'm really excited to see how much it changes shifting, because it's awful at the moment. For example, I drove a Mazda pickup with 300k plus miles the other day that feels like a brandy new car compared to mine. It's pathetic.

[hornhospital]

An E24 shifter with worn shifter bushings truly feels like a stick in a bucket of oatmeal. You'll be amazed at the difference.

[captain awesome]

I sure hope so. It's a pain in the ass getting to half of these parts and I really have no plans of doing it again anytime soon.

[tschultz]

Also consider a shift lever upgrade!

I tried the Z3 1.9 but it sat too low for my liking. Instead I used the E39 M5, but I had to bent it in a vise slightly to get the correct angle on the lower end.

[captain awesome]

I've been contemplating a shifter swap as well, just wasn't sure where to start. At this point I'll probably just stick with stock and see how I like it in a "fresh" state.