Utter stupidity

Here is a monument to my own stupidity.

I purchased a new hinge about 2 weeks ago, knowing the lower hinge pin was broken. So, I got the part, removed the pin, and put in a nice neat plastic bag for when I was ready to fix the passenger door. And put in on the windshield so it would be easy to find.

Well, a couple of days ago I decided to drive the car, came home from lunch to pick it up. And without looking drive off. Now, I've removed the passenger door, a surprisingly simple job....and no hinge pin...moron...now I've gotta order another one before I can put the door back on. Sometimes my own stupidity is just annoying....

Suspension

I was on the phone with a friend of mine this weekend, and while talking to him I realized that I didn't really have a good reason to spend the extra $250-$300 to get Koni shocks vs Bilstein Touring. Plus, if I do decide to get Koni eventually, then I will really be able to judge the difference between the two. So, I went ahead and ordered a set of H&R OE Sport Springs and Bilstein TC shocks. This is the same setup I had on my old 318is and it works well. Not as jittery as Bilstein Sports, and because the OE springs only drop the car about .5-.75", the TC shocks still work with them. This is the last of the major suspension parts needed to tear into that. So once these arrive I'll be able to take care of the biggest fix this car needs.

Cost: $470

Running total: $3435

A mistake, and redemption

Did the valve cover gasket, and did the motor mounts and transmission mounts. As expected, they were badly worn, but what I didn't expect was that both of the lower mount bolts on the motor mounts were missing, so the engine was basically only held in by gravity. This explains why the motor mounts felt so badly. But, after the valve cover gasket and the mounts, I started the car up and it ran very poorly. Couldn't even get down the street without it dying on me. It was late, and I was tired so I just parked it and decided I'd check it out later.
Well, I got the latest shipment of parts from BMW, and figured I'd take a poke at it. Turned out that the intake boot had gone from being a little torn to almost completely split in two. Most likely from rocking the motor when putting the motor mounts in to make sure the engine was centered. Fortunately I'd ordered one in the BMA shipment, so I slapped it on, turned the car over and it tan like a top, even the cold idle runs pretty well. There are a few other hoses that I'll need to take care of , but the engine is running really well now. No odd noises (from the engine), no valve noise, just runs great (well, almost great, still needs a little tuning)

Valve cover gasket

Didn't feel great Thursday and Friday, so I didn't get anything done on the car. Felt better this afternoon, so I decided to crack into it this evening. This car is ridiculously easy to work on. The valve cover gasket is maybe a 30 minute job, took me about an hour because I was really meticulous. Now that the valve cover was off, I got a chance to look at the timing chain and cams. They look to be in great shape. No serious sludge, could use a flush, but I think just some regular oil changes will take care of that. Here are some pics of the engine.

Clean bill of health...relatively

I was worried about the valve noise, so I took the car down to the local BMW shop. They went over it and replaced the tensioner. Between that and the oil change the noise is gone. Could have done the tensioner myself, but given the noise I didn't realize it was such a simple fix. However, while I had it down there I had them go over the car and do a compression test. Came out about 150 across the board with none out of tolerance. Of course they identified all the little items I knew needed replacing, but nothing new and the engine seems to be healthy and ready for another 50k+.

Also had them do the plugs as they were non-stock. Total was $415 out the door. Not cheap, but good for peace of mind.

Now it's time to get down to work, next on the list is the valve cover gasket, and motor mounts, and brake system flush, then I get to go to town on the suspension.

Running total: $2965