Jon's e36 Thread - BBS content

[JW]

Re: Jon's e36 Thread - BBS content

Well some of you may remember me posting a thread about a "thump" in the rear end of my car. This was a big reason why I did all the subframe bushings, etc....and while everything is apart why not throw in a LSD right? However after completing everything the "thump" was still there. After being soo fustrated with the car and contemplating taking the rims off and burning the damn thing, I gave it a couple days and took apart the rear end AGAIN (5th time in 2 months).

I had suspected that my rear shocks may be blown. I remember testing them and they seemed to be in excellent shape when I installed them but decided to take the rear shocks out and see if anything was wrong. I took the lining out of the trunk and pressed down on the car to see anything weird. While doing this, the rear shock mounts were moving....ALOT. I was baffled that they could be blown this bad, I couldn't believe my eyes. The seller of the suspension told me he replaced the rear mounts about 2000kms ago, and I maybe have 200kms on the suspension since I installed it. They also looked almost new!!

So I took out the rear shocks, and took the mounts off. They litterally fell apart in my hands (will post pics later), upon further inspection, the design of these mounts is terrible!!! Not sure what kind they are but wow....I'm at a loss for words. So I ended up putting my old OEM mounts back in (they seem to be OEM heavy duty mounts, so I got that going for me.....) and everything is good now. The "thump" noise is gone and the rear end feels very solid and nice. Although I inspected everything while trying to find the "thump" noise, I even took the rear shocks out and visually inspected the mounts, they seemed just fine, however I failed to take them off the shocks and physically inspect them. They had no visible cracks and looked new!! It wasn't' until I put some pressure on them, then they fell apart.

So moral of the story "check all the basics very very carefully, it will save you lots of money , time, and headaches"

[flipstah]

Re: Jon's e36 Thread - BBS content

Very stock indeed... ROFL.

Nice ride!

[JW]

Re: Jon's e36 Thread - BBS content

Very stock indeed... ROFL.

Nice ride!

lol I tried to keep it stock. That lasted about 3 weeks

[JW]

Re: Jon's e36 Thread - BBS content

Well this sums up my experience with the e36 so far

[JW]

Re: Jon's e36 Thread - BBS content

For some reason my pictures on the first page are not working, so here's a pic to show you what were dealing with here lol


Well I haven't updated this thread in a while, a bit of work has been done "here and there" but nothing really worth mentioning. Mainly just cleaning things up a bit.
I finally got around to installing the cooling system I've had sitting in my closet. Replaced everything, but forgot to buy an A/C belt, no big deal I guess considering I barely use A/C and the belt showed very little signs of "wear and tear". Anyway...onto the pics

I always mean to take more pictures when I do this stuff, but half the time I get soo immersed in the work and wanting to finish it I usually forget and by the time I want to take more pics everything is back together lol

Parts pending installation


The start


Found something new today, turns out instead of hitting the waterpump with a rubber mallet to get it out, there are 2 places on each side of the waterpump where you can thread in an M6 bolt and it will push against the housing and very gently push the waterpump out. Frikken blew my mind. If you haven't already guessed they are the two bolts hanging out of the waterpump.


Here is a good angle where you can see the screws gently pushing the waterpump out.


And another


New vs. Old as you can see I opted for the super heavy duty high flow waterpump. The car actually feels like it drives smoother now, it's weird.
And if you're wondering, yes I did put the rubber gasket on the new waterpump



I can't believe how flimsy and weak the old waterpump looks when compared to my new heavyduty highflow waterpump.


I was very pleased to see no grime, or buildup of any kind when I looked inside. Everything looking clean as a whistle!



Looks like new inside!


New aluminium thermostat housing and waterpump installed


New vs. Old


Old vs. New


Old vs. New



I also installed new spark plugs, filters, oilchange, etc...a while ago so the car is running really well. Now the next order of business is to replace a control arm bushing, flush out the brake fluid, trans fluid, and power steering fluid and install my NRG race wheel and UUC shorshifter. I might also be getting symptoms of a failing steering rack, going to have a few things looked at first to see if they solve any issues. Sometimes the steering feels a bit sticky, and at low speeds the steering wheel doesnt return to center after a corner, happens once in a while but it's enough to drive me crazy. So if it's the steering rack that needs to be replaced, this will be the perfect excuse to bite the bullet on a Z3 steering rack upgrade :drool: