cameras ready prepare to flash

[cspec]

Could you tell us more about the spacer for the steering wheel angle? I'd like to fix mine too.

[s14brent]

Could you tell us more about the spacer for the steering wheel angle? I'd like to fix mine too.

I'm guessing you mean what i used on my e36 m3? Only issue was i had to use a momo to nardi adapter on top, so it was a bit thick, but it worked out well.

Jwest description:

"Offsets the steering wheel 12mm upward and 16mm rearward"

http://www.jwesteng.com/shop/home/15-steering-eccentric-adapter.html

If you're talking about the actual spacer...that i put between the column/dash bar (a long time ago that i eventually removed after installing the recaros) that was just square tubing drilled out to fit with longer grade 8 hardware. I did not like mine as the square tubing i used was too soft and was deformed from over tightening so definitely don't go cheap if you go that route

[cspec]

I'm guessing you mean what i used on my e36 m3? Only issue was i had to use a momo to nardi adapter on top, so it was a bit thick, but it worked out well.

Jwest description:

"Offsets the steering wheel 12mm upward and 16mm rearward"

http://www.jwesteng.com/shop/home/15...c-adapter.html

Sorry should have been more specific, you mentioned that you lowered the steering wheel angle in the first post with "I also lowered the steering wheel angle by using some square tubing as a spacer."

[s14brent]

Sorry should have been more specific, you mentioned that you lowered the steering wheel angle in the first post with "I also lowered the steering wheel angle by using some square tubing as a spacer."

I added some info to my response up above....also the square tubing spacer will only work on non-airbag models as airbag models have a horseshoe design

[s14brent]

------------E39 update
After replacing the 50a fuse on for the SAP, I went to do the drive cycle on the car.



Installed 18mm spark plug/o2 foulers



The foulers had to be drilled out to 12mm (31/64) to fit the o2 element.
I sent out my abs module to BBA-Reman for a rebuild. They were highly recommended on here, so I didn’t shop around, it cost about $175+shipping.



Time for drive cycle test # 4? Fml….

------------E30 update
I started to try to trace why my AC compressor won't get power. I started with the switch, and turns out the switch wasn't powering k1/pin85.






I replaced the switch, turns out pelican parts sent me a dead switch. damn. Meanwhile I picked up a switch from a friend who went "full race car" and had his laying in a box!
The compressor plug is still not getting power, checked power at the aux fan, then checked the resistor, voltage is something like 12v/8v - one of the ends is supposed to be a lower voltage than the other, so this looks like it's operating normal. UPDATE: Turns out the pressure switch wiring was wrong, still got to figure out if I’ve got the wrong wire to the compressor, still no voltage there….
During all this testing I jumped the fan switch and found out my 14" fan sounds like it's dragging garbage bags on the high setting......I am planning to change to a higher cfm 16" SPAL (not slim, but mid for slightly higher cfm) while I'm in the process of removing the front end again, I decided to redo the oil cooler and ps cooler mounts while I'm in there.





I also plugged all the previous holes I made for mounting and grinded it down. I will leave this bare for now, I have a feeling I will revisit this when I move the oil cooler and make room for an intercooler. Most likely make it out of aluminum next time.


I picked up rallyroad’s e30 steering column gauge pod. I decided I wanted water temp up higher, and I’ll install the other pod when there’s a need for a boost gauge.



Filled the empty spot down below with a volt gauge. I didn’t really like the digital one (my own mistake) I accidently glued it in where a mounting bolt should go, so I got rid of that.



Also started version 3 (maybe?) of the exhaust. Wish I could use the chop saw right now, the weather is super nice out….hopefully more progress soon!!

[s14brent]

finally finished the exhaust up this week...it's ugly - but fitment is spot on now. before it ran a bit too close to the axle flange for my liking.



it still looks close, but theres enough clearance not to worry like before. also note axles will give a ton more clearance once off of jackstands and on the vehicles own weight.



I ran it, it sounds great, but I threw two codes. one was an evap code since it's not hooked up, and the other is a speed sensor code. My plug was broken when i got the car, I've always meant to change it, even pulled a plug off an e36 that fit it.



i cut the original connectors off because the wires were super dull. basically stripped back until the copper was like new and then soldered on the new plug. Unfortunately after all that i broke one of the squeeze tabs installing it...but the whole plug is in tact which is nice.



as for the evap code, what are most of you guys doing? I don't have a charcoal canister, i believe mine was failing/falling apart anyways. Am I supposed to use an e36 or e30 "fuel tank breather/vacuum control valve"

e36: which usually routes from charcoal canister to throttle body



e30: which i'm not sure where it goes from the charcoal canister... but it'd definitely be easier to fit due to hose size



The thing is, I have a spare e36 valve, I think my e30 one is long gone and there's no way I'm spending $140+ on that, i'd rather wait til i find a part-out or grab one from a junkyard car. I guess my question is, can I get away with using an e36 one?

------------------------

I finally got my spal fan in. (30101517). I screwed up thinking the old 14" ebay fan mounting tabs would fit. So now I'm waiting on 4 mounting brackets.



I also ordered the spal "fan shroud" gasket...not sure if i will be running it, it makes the "medium profile" fan thicker than I wanted (not sure if it will clear the brace/oil cooler/ps cooler setup).

[jeenyus]

Awesome work. Interested in how you make the fan shroud once it's in. I'm currently trying to decide how I'd like to make mine. I was probably going to just cut a circle out of a sheet of aluminum and mount it, but i didn't know if i could do it that way effectively.

[s14brent]

Awesome work. Interested in how you make the fan shroud once it's in. I'm currently trying to decide how I'd like to make mine. I was probably going to just cut a circle out of a sheet of aluminum and mount it, but i didn't know if i could do it that way effectively.

oh no, spal makes a rubber seal that they call a "shroud"....i want to eventually make some sheetmetal ducting basically a modified copy of the factory plastic stuff by the aux fan.
I'm afraid I don't think I'll be able to fit a shroud on the back of my radiator.....there's just no room....maybe if i didn't have the ac compressor there but because I do, there is little to no clearance on that side of the radiator.

I got 3/4 brackets for the spal fan in earlier today and couldn't help cutting them up to fit.



and I checked the clearance with the 1/4" rubber spal shroud. The 14" fan previously mounted was a bit too close to the condenser. so overall this was worth revisiting. I just have to make sure the fan is wired up the correct way (another day).



I found a friend who has the e30 evap valve in a box, I'll try to get that sometime this week or next and get back to trying to figure out why my ac compressor isn't getting power.

[s14brent]

welp....the bmw's will never get done now!! I picked up an 02' sv650 (only 5k miles!) to cruise around with friends. It's got an ohlins rear shock and a did 520 chain conversion with vortex front and rear sprockets and some woodcraft rear sets. Previous owner was pretty darn meticulous, all I really need are some bar-end mirrors (i guess nv law requires you to have two) and a fender eliminator kit (because the stock trim is bloody hideous) and a lot of ride time.

[s14brent]

I spent some time figuring out the wiring at the evap temp regulator on wedophones site. The ac switch was getting power and turning on the aux fan, but was not getting 12v at the pressure switch or compressor, and this is the only thing between all of that.





What was weird though was that the pins on the relay were all backwards from the actual wiring colors labeled in the schematics. So when I ended up jumping pins 2 & 3 it ended up being 4&5 by wire color alone, and low and behold i had power to the compressor!! I won't have a replacement until next week when a friend gets back into town. This is another part from bmw which is now over $150 new, which is crazy!!

also, my 4th spal fan bracket finally showed up, mounted the aux fan resistor



sweet! i might be able to finally move forward from this whole ac business.

[jeenyus]

great update as always. that bike looks mean af. i'd honestly be scared to ride a bike with that much power.

Quick question on making a shroud, since i value your wisdom, would a sheet with a circle cut in the middle of it for the fan be an effective shroud for the radiator fan? I only ask cause a lot of shrouds i see look like an air duct, but the OEM shroud is just a piece of plastic with a circle cut out for the fan... so i'm confused if it would still be effective to make on that way.

[s14brent]

great update as always. that bike looks mean af. i'd honestly be scared to ride a bike with that much power.

Quick question on making a shroud, since i value your wisdom, would a sheet with a circle cut in the middle of it for the fan be an effective shroud for the radiator fan? I only ask cause a lot of shrouds i see look like an air duct, but the OEM shroud is just a piece of plastic with a circle cut out for the fan... so i'm confused if it would still be effective to make on that way.

I've been riding a friends 550 around (he has a gs750 as well) and I was actually looking for an older cb or xs 500/550/650, but the condition of the bikes i found made me look for something newer, less mileage and more reliable (basically not another immediate project). So much for not spending a lot of money on it though, i bought a lower seat which wasn't necessarily cheap. I didn't expect gear to be another $1k! but damn this thing is fun!!

As for the shroud, you're going to want the shroud to extend out (a couple mm at minimum) and not block the air flow but rather collect/trap the air and allow the puller to be most efficient. I'm really hoping i can get by the way it is now!

[s14brent]

I finally sourced the e30 vacuum control valve and evap temp switch from two different locals. The vac control valve is kind of hooked up ugly as hell right now, but I want to see if this fixes my issues first before making it cut to fit cleanly.

I just installed the parts tonight and my battery is dead now so I stuck it on a charger.

Oh.. my KAmotor fender flares got delivered today! I haven't unwrapped it from the packaging yet.
-------------------------------------------------
e39 wagon content.

I have been super burnt out on this project "daily" with all the smog bs. Today I finally decided to install the front JOM coilovers I got from a user on bimmerforums since the H&R springs didn't lower the car at all. JOM is one of the only companies that sells a front coilover kit for the e39's with SLS (factory air) rear suspension. I have yet had the chance to drive it around but I'm hoping it isn't complete shit. The guy I got them from used them for very short period of time but his car was involved in an accident and spent the winter outdoors and developed some surface rust, so first thing I did was disassemble them and clean them up. Transferred over the new top hats I installed on the H&R setup.



set it at about a finger gap from the top of the tire to fender which should be good enough for a daily.



kind of fell in love with the car again after this!

edit: 6/02!!

I found some graphite interior trim on craigslist on a part-out! Got it super cheap, few broken tabs, nothing that affects it terribly. people usually ask 2-300 for complete sets. I'm glad i didn't have to pay that!



so much better!! i have to get rid of the wood grain trim that covers the radio, not a huge bummer it was not available in the parts car. With the aftermarket head unit in there, it's inop anyways.


----------------------------------------------------------

and I'm going to post about the sv650 because I don't have anywhere else to share about it LOL

I had to do something about the rear fender on the bike. It was absolutely horrible to look at. So i got a fender eliminator kit for it. There's not very many options that retain stock tail light and turn signals. I didn't want to go for that LED strip sport bike look - because...well...it's not.



the horn was dying/dead by the time I changed it. Just some off the counter low-tone horn from oreilly's.



took it out for a ride up to redrock...this thing is so much fun!!!



I needed mirrors pretty bad. I ordered some bar end mirrors from moto-elite. (they come with bar end sliders or whatever)



ended up joining svriders forum. found a yoshimura RS-3 slip on (discontinued) for dirt cheap. couple of dings in the can, no big deal. I got rid of the rear foot pegs and got a rear exhaust bracket from svracing, and ordered a 2" vibrant exhaust clamp since the pipe didn't come with hardware. I also used a spacer that came with my UUC swaybar kit (which i didn't use since i have the sway bar spacer kit on there already)



I'll post pics when i get the Sargent seats on there. Waiting for an extra rear seat to come in so I can get it recovered. You can see the seat in the redrock photo. It' looks a lot less like a boat seat, and I can put my foot on the ground since it's lower.

[willworkfore30s]

Sweet man! I bought a couple 1999 SV's in parts last year. I've got one together and been riding it a bit this spring. It really is a fun bike. Tremendous upgrade from my old 1984 KZ550 LTD. Its amazing to me how cheap these bikes are for how much fun they are and how easy to work on they are.

[s14brent]

Sweet man! I bought a couple 1999 SV's in parts last year. I've got one together and been riding it a bit this spring. It really is a fun bike. Tremendous upgrade from my old 1984 KZ550 LTD. Its amazing to me how cheap these bikes are for how much fun they are and how easy to work on they are.

I actually was looking at a kz550 ltd before i picked this up, I also checked out a xs850 but I wanted to stick to something with a chain. I was actually looking for a cb550/xs550, but there was only a kz nearby, and it was in pretty good shape, but luckily I decided to check this SV out. I really didn't want another 28+ yr old project.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I did more things to the sv.

I got a pair of rear blinkers off ebay to run up front. The fronts stick out soo much!



I ran the front turn signal wiring into the rear assy and soldered to bulb socket. looks much better now.



I also picked up as stock rear seat off ebay so no more blue boat seats!!



I also changed the frame sliders. the previous owner (i think) used one from a different bike and didn't fit properly




changed the headlight bulb to a LED from ADVmonster. I've heard good things about this bulb! Can't wait to see the output difference. I decided to try LED because it's hard to hide a HID ballast on a bike with no fairings.



One from inside the housing.



i'm pretty happy with the progress so far! I bought a new mofset rectifier/voltage regulator (from a cbr1000rr - pictured left).



I've been having some weird charging issues with a brand new battery. Apparently this is the #1 culprit on the bike which leaves riders stranded. (no thanks) Read a lot of cons about replacing the stock unit but rather replace it with an upgraded mofset unit (which also runs cooler temps) and hard wiring it directly to the battery. I ordered some metri-pack sealed connectors (easternbeaver) to make it a sealed plug and play regulator if in case removal is necessary. I ended up borrowing an open barrel terminal crimper from a friend (hozan p707) to finish up the job. I liked it so much I ended up ordering one for my toolbox. All the local hardware stores didn't have a crimper I could do this job with - unreal.



sealed connectors all wired in. each terminal was crimped and soldered. I'm glad a lot of this info is available online. I would have felt dumb replacing with another stock unit. I'll be checking voltage etc. it's reading 14.45v running with high beams, and hazards on. previously it would jump down considerably with each accessory on, fully charged battery would go down to 10.1v with the same things on.

I also fixed what i thought was a throttle cable issue, turns out the PO ziptied the choke cable for some reason so when I would turn right the rpm's would raise. totally safe right? I threw on some tank risers while I was putting it all back together.



Short people problems: I threw on a pair of Soupy's lowering links. It really sucks being short! It really helps me ride around easier. I wish I took before/after photos. I guess you can tell the rear end is lower, the tail section is no longer at a 30 degree angle but closer to 15 degree and the gap is definitely gone.


----------------------------------------

e39: sent the dme out again a few weeks ago, had some things fine-tuned I guess you could say....and well I plugged it in, and it's finally ready to smog!!



and FINALLY!!


----------------------------------------

e30: *sorry guys' not much to update*

Battery is recharged. took almost 2 days on my chargers. WTH. I replaced the evap temp regulator and it's still not throwing power to the compressor. I'm super confused now and will have to just start from square one. It really doesn't help that I keep picking up where I left off every other week. beyond frustrated as its 104 already during the day here in las vegas, and I refuse to drive this without the ac working properly - especially since the car is all torn apart at the moment making everything accessible. So close yet so far. Hence why I've been enjoying the bike more and more.

--------------------------------------
e36 m3: has been for sale. Every since I took the fortune-auto's and fiskes off for the e30, it' hasn't been as "fun" to drive. I put on the fk konisport coilovers that came with the car and some cheap 18's. Anyways, those coils had the oem m3 strut mounts that were pretty blown (probably giving even more camber) and I actually decided to replace them with some bilstein 325i one's which actually allowed me to take out 12mm spacers up front. (yay more spacers for the e30 lol). I hope this thing sells soon! I'm surprised none of my neighbors have complained yet to the HOA this year!