I thought they still sell the Super Blue but they changed the name and only sell it as a racing brake fluid with no DOT certification.
I find it silly that they are worried about blue brake fluid because people might mix it up with washer fluid, but blue coolant is fine. As is orange washer fluid.
ATE still ironically makes Superblue, but it's just regular colored... :(
I just love alternating the colors. It's such an easy way to make sure all 4 brakes are flushed fully, especially in extreme duty.
They've always made the amber version for exactly this reason. It just never had a cool name.
So minor updates! The good-
- Car is inspected and legal
- Brakes are significantly improved and I am happy about that
- This car is incredibly composed in the snow for a RWD V8. Traction control is unobtrusive but functional, even slides and skids are predictable, and I really haven't had any complaints, aside from wondering how mch better even this thing would be with an lsd in it. Parking lot donuts have been had, and smiles and giggles were received.
Now onto questions for the hive-
- It just started happening in the last week, but sometimes the key/ignition locks up... is the best way to put it. Key goes in perfectly fine, but won't rotate to start the engine, like it's the wrong key or something. So far, the solution is 1-2mins of trying it until it finally releases and fires up. I'm not sure if it's a worn key or ignition issue, but I'm slightly fearful of being stranded and unable to start the car...? Any ideas? I stupidly have kept forgetting to switch keys to the spare and see if it still happens, which I will do tonight though.
- Trans fluid replacement- It's just a touch notchy when cold, and I figured I would go through all of the fluids anyway, but I just wanted to make sure that FCP Euro isn't smoking crack recommending D4 ATF for the manual trans fluid...? Anyone want to double confirm this for me before I pull the trigger?
Still very much loving the car, as much as my wife doesn't (simply because I can't stop working on it and tinkering/doing little things to make it better in the garage), haha.
I have Redline D4 ATF in my 128i now. I preferred the MTL that I'd always used previously, and I will be going back to it when the opportunity presents itself (i.e., when it's warm enough that I won't freeze to death under the car).
I use Royal Purple Syncromax in my E39 M5, same 420G gear box, and don't have any complaints. It is a little hard to shift when the car is dead cold, but it comes up to temp reasonably quickly. I'm happy with the shift quality otherwise, but I don't have enough comparitive experience to make a strong recommendation.
So, more updates!
- Did my first oil and filter change today, totally unremarkable and without incident.
- I'd been experiencing some notchy shifting when cold since I owned the car, so I decided to do a fluid change on the trans. Everything drained well enough and the power bleeder worked awesome to get fluid in. Fluid coming out looked really nice, but I noticed an instant improvement in cold shifting after the fluid was replaced. I settled on Royal Purple Synchromax per Mtechnically's recommendation, and it seems to be the ticket!
- I also handmade an under tray/passenger lower fender well out of some old tote bins that I had laying around. I wasn't happy with the air pump being exposed to the winter elements, so I figured instead of spending a few hundred, why not try my hand at making one myself. Time will tell how it holds up.
I did want to post up a pic though- I had plans of removing the clutch delay valve while I was in the area, but I can't seem to find it...?
the hard line going into the slave loops around, and goes to a threaded bracket and into a soft line up and over the trans. I don't see the valve, or at least anything resembling the one I have seen in pics... any thoughts from the e39 hive?
All in all, another successful wrenching day! List is getting shorter for sure!
Oops, just kidding. It's the part that's actually bolted into the slave. I see it now.
oh well, haha.
golfduke said:Oops, just kidding. It's the part that's actually bolted into the slave. I see it now.
oh well, haha.
Yep.
In reply to golfduke :
Glad to hear that the Syncromax did the trick. I've been happy with it, but since I've never put anything else in I didn't want to come over as too much of an evangelist.
Sounds like you are making good progress. I've had trouble getting out to do even smaller projects as of late. Always good to keep the momentum going.
Well, damnit... Starbucks is full of awful humans apparently :(
The engineer in me says that because of the space between the SEVERAL trim dents, that I was parked pretty far away from whatever vehicle did this... not sure what I did to ruin someone's day, but point taken.
would PDR at least sort of fix this, or is this a full job? Paint isn't even scratched, which somehow baffles me.
this is why I can't have nice things :(
Oh, that's heartbreaking.
PDR is definitely worth a shot. Creases are the most difficult thing, but I have seen worse come out incredibly well.
Even if its a 90% fix, I'm okay with that. It was never a 5' car, but it was at least a 10'... This is just... sad every time i get in it. I swear I don't park like a jerk, I'm always polite on the roads because I believe in karma. I honestly don't get it. Did someone in a tall car/truck not see my low car and just yarded a door open, potentially 3x? Seems unlikely, right?
I could see it. Someone in a Mom SUV with kids that just yeets the door open with no regard to their surroundings.
Sucks man! Hope it gets fixed soon.
So I'm horrible with updates apparently, but here is a small one-
I've put 6000 mostly winter miles on the car, and have enjoyed almost every minute of it. It definitely has some teenaged BMW quirks, but they're all of the minor and easy inconvenience type-
- the door latches would freeze open, so I couldn't actually shut the doors in extreme cold (white lithium grease solved this issue).
- the radio has an intermittent short that causes it to cut out occasionally (just listen to aux or cds- doesn't affect those systems).
I've done the following to it since last update-
- radiator replacement since I bought it with a cracked plastic overflow tube
- new headlight adjusters to fix the horrible case of lazy eye that it had
- new S-04 pole positions on m-parallels and a fresh alignment made a WORLD of difference... two days before it snowed. Wonk wonk.
- roof rack with summer/winter accessories.
-various fluids as needed
Other than that, I've definitely continued to fall in love with it. It's been rock solid reliable. It has excellent snow manners for a pig of a rwd car. might I even say it's really fun and well composed as long as you aren't stupid about things.
It is definitely a different car than my expectations set, not in a good or a bad way. It isn't particularly 'sporty' in the sense of my m3. But the power and smoothness and way that it very effortlessly pushes you back into the seat on hard pulls is very addicting. I think Keith Tanner describes the 540 as a perfect high speed family cruiser, and he nailed it. I can fit my family of 4, a full haul of groceries and a stroller in it, head to the beach, and have fun getting to and from in total comfort. I love that aspect more than I actually thought I would...
Also fun fact- the trunk holds 14 cases of beer. The back seat holds 20 more. It makes a pretty fun beer delivery vehicle, I might say!!! Haha
now, some pics-
Car looks great. I love these things.
I know it's a little late on those tires but if they were Bridgestone G019s I wouldn't worry about the previous cupping, it was a design flaw with many sizes for that tire. It was explained to me as something in the tread was designed to reduce road noise but it actually amplified it and made for some crazy wear patterns.
If the suspension and steering are good, I wouldn't think twice about it unless it shows up on a different type of tire.
Had a set on an accord that were the worst I had seen, replaced them with a different tire, didn't even bother to align it or check it, never had a problem again
Opti said:Car looks great. I love these things.
I know it's a little late on those tires but if they were Bridgestone G019s I wouldn't worry about the previous cupping, it was a design flaw with many sizes for that tire. It was explained to me as something in the tread was designed to reduce road noise but it actually amplified it and made for some crazy wear patterns.
If the suspension and steering are good, I wouldn't think twice about it unless it shows up on a different type of tire.
Had a set on an accord that were the worst I had seen, replaced them with a different tire, didn't even bother to align it or check it, never had a problem again
Thanks for the info, but it was definitely a severe alignment issue front and rear. Rears were about 3 degrees off camber, and the front castor was off the charts. I wore through a set of almost new snows in 1 season, hence why I just bit the bullet and had it professionally done. Not to mention the pretty harsh vibrations, road noise, etc... All suspension parts look brand new and have zero play, so I'm relatively confident it was just a combo of settling and suspension arm replacement and lack of followup alignment- it was that bad...
Looking really great, nice bike too. Is that a Pivot? Chris King Hubs?
Are your headlights HID? I just started to do an upgrade on mine. New ballasts and igniters from Morimoto and I also have to install new adjusters, a pain in the arse project. I think I will try and do it with out baking the lights. Are yours auto leveling?
OjaiM5 said:Looking really great, nice bike too. Is that a Pivot? Chris King Hubs?
Are your headlights HID? I just started to do an upgrade on mine. New ballasts and igniters from Morimoto and I also have to install new adjusters, a pain in the arse project. I think I will try and do it with out baking the lights. Are yours auto leveling?
It's a Devinci Troy with Hope Pro 4's... and is absolutely worth more than the car, haha.
The car came with HID's and Morimoto ballasts. They work OK. Not auto leveling, and yes the adjusters were a full day project, which sucked. Just lots and lots of time running from kitchen to garage!
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