TravisTheHuman said:
sevenracer said:
You have to make an appointment with them and bring the vehicle to one of their locations - and have to tow it because it won't be legal to operate on public roads at that point.
Even for anything that didn't damage anything functional to begin with? That would be a dealbreaker for me - I'm living the apt. life now and I dont have another car.
That was my understanding. Once the vehicle is declared a total loss it is not legal to drive on public roads until it receives a rebuilt title. Plus, I don't think you'd have insurance on it once the claim is settled. MAy not be super likely to get caught - unless you drive it to meet with a Highway patrol officer 
.
The officer that got back to me was very helpful, so might be worth contacting them.
Honestly, if this is your only car, I think it would be a huge pain to deal with, certainly without renting a car for a while. Not sure how much work it would be to move your RV stuff over to a new one, but might be the best option assuming you have access to it.
sevenracer said:
Honestly, if this is your only car, I think it would be a huge pain to deal with, certainly without renting a car for a while. Not sure how much work it would be to move your RV stuff over to a new one, but might be the best option assuming you have access to it.
It only takes a few mins, its all bolt-in.
Sounds like I'll be finding a new car. About to talk to insurance, hopefully I can at least use this (or a rental?) in the meantime while I look for another.
Small update:
Got a replacement van.
Good:
1 year newer
20k less miles
power mirrors
Better infotainment (built in Carplay)
Mixed:
No rear windows at all. Undecided on this. Could be good, could be bad. For now its not really an issue either way.
Has a 75mph speed limiter.
Bad:
Transmission does weird things. Feels like just supper sluggish shifts or TC engagement and only when hot and usually only at high speeds, but I'm not an auto trans expert. Have an appt at dealer to have it looked at this week. Hoping its a flush, code update (there are a few TSBs) and maybe some valve body work, and not a new transmission. Despite the 8F35s wide usage, it seems to break a LOT and there doesn't seem to be a good fix from the aftermarket when you do a rebuild.
Current to do list looks like this:
Deal with transmission
Sell off shelves/ladder rack/etc. equipment. This one is loaded with stuff and I should be able to recoup about $1k from it if I take my time.
Learn more about sound deadening / thermal insulation in cargo van applications
Cut & build rear platform stuff. Undecided if I am going to keep my previous design or switch to a drawer slide out solution instead.
This is super slow going and very frustrating, but at least its during the coldest/E36 M3tiest time of year when I wouldn't really be camping or biking much.
TravisTheHuman said:
Bad:
Transmission does weird things. Feels like just supper sluggish shifts or TC engagement and only when hot and usually only at high speeds, but I'm not an auto trans expert. Have an appt at dealer to have it looked at this week. Hoping its a flush, code update (there are a few TSBs) and maybe some valve body work, and not a new transmission. Despite the 8F35s wide usage, it seems to break a LOT and there doesn't seem to be a good fix from the aftermarket when you do a rebuild.
Large Update:
The transmission was borked. The quote to replace it was $ALOT from Ford, and $$ALOT$$ from AAMCO. I ended up calling the dealer I purchased it from and asking if they could help me out. They offered to split cost, through a commercial shop they use, which could do it for less. Cool.
I dropped the van off there Feb 3rd. It was going to take 1-2 weeks.
Well, in the meantime I did some research of the 8F35 Transmission. Cliffs notes: Its the perfect intersection of prone to failure, expensive to replace, and nobody has figured out the actual problem/offered a fix for it. So replacing it, you are just biding time until it may or may not happen again. I have some ideas to prolong life, possibly significantly, but in general this made me uncomfortable.
The repair took a lot longer than expected. I was calling the dealer several times a week and asking, and getting crickets, or "he's working on it" or "waiting on parts" or whatever. Eventually, this, combined with the above transmission issues, combined with my desire to quit relying on Enterprise and Lyft pushed me to say "screw it, I'm just going to pick up another car and deal with the van later"
Anyway, I looked into Mazda3s and wasn't having a ton of luck. I test drove a few, and they are great cars. Not exactly what I wanted, but plenty fun. But local dealers seemed to have cars with damage or that had lived up north, or both. I decided to bide my time with a deposit on a clean southern car from Carvana. Well, while that was in the detailing phase, a Mazda5 manual popped up right down the street...
So yeah, now I own this thing:
128k miles, 6spd manual
Measurements confirm it will work for van life ish stuff, but maybe is less ideal than the Ford. But a lot more ideal in the "expensive transmission doesn't eat E36 M3 all the time" department. It should be almost a dead-center hybrid of a Mazda 3 and a Transit Connect, hopefully in all the good ways.
Its definitely not perfect, but it drives well enough. If I were to describe the current state, its that mainly it just needs a "refresh". Its had a "minor" font end incident. Im guessing just bumper cover, but possibly not even that. I don't know really and don't care that much. Other than that its spent its whole life in NC so rust should be minimal.
To do list:
1) Windshield sprayer not working. I dont hear it run, so possibly bad pump, possibly just a fuse. Havent checked yet.
2) No bluetooth, and thats really a must-have these days. I'll be placing an order for a radio tomorrow hopefully, just need to decide if I am willing to give up a volume knob/dedicated pause button. A backup camera will likely be part of this package, although visibility seems insanely good compared to the previous van with no rear windows :)
3) Brake feel a bit spongy maybe fluid + bleed, maybe pads. Maybe replace the upper motor mount? Possibly shifter bushings. Swaybar end links also. General refresh items on a car of this age/mileage. Debating seeing what local-ish GRMers will lend me their garage/a hand in exchange for food/beer/help on their project.
4) Remove the roof rack. These a genuine Mazda racks, and I have no key. Some internetting tells me the N keys are all THULE keys, so I can order one online for a few bucks. Win.
5) Rear doors dont slide super easily. Someone mentioned lubricating door/lock stuff in the Mazda5 thread, so I'll put that on the list.
Mod list:
1) I would love an intake or exhaust that just slightly increases the volume of the engine so I can hear it when shifting. I know a lot of Mazda 3 parts fit these, so I'll check around and see if I can find something inexpensive.
2) Would love to do new struts/lowering springs and wheels/tires
3) Tint. This could fall here or under the category below, but I'd like some decent strength tint on the rear windows of this thing
Camper van stuff
1) Good thing is the floor concept on the Transit connect should basically work here if I make a couple tweaks. I just need to trace the new plan-view shape.
2) The crates/sleeping platform may require tweaks. This has less room vertically than the Transit Connect, so I might need to figure out a way to compress that stuff into a drawer or something. In the second row area the floor is deeper, so possibly some deep stowage under the platform there and pull out drawers in back. I want to keep it simple and just get it done.
3) Luckily insulation/sound deadening is less of a factor here. Its quieter than a cargo van, but still a van. Not sure if I need to do anything.
4) Window covers. I need to trace/create some, and there are a lot of windows.
Congrats! I like where you ended up with this one, I hope to own one someday. I hope it treats you really well.
This is rad. Considering how sweetly our humble little 2.3 runs through an automatic, a 2.5 in front of a stick must be just about entertaining.
2.5 + 3pedal = unicorn find for sure. Found down the block = fate/kismet
TravisTheHuman said:
4) Window covers. I need to trace/create some, and there are a lot of windows.
That D-pillar spoke to me.
congrats on the purchase! these are insanely rare, so congrats on snagging one so close to home!
DancesWithCurves said:
That D-pillar spoke to me.
You know, those things have a 5x4-1/2 stud pattern. A nice set of Keystone Klassics or polished Ansen Sprints, some Radial T/As with the white letters out, a little earth-tone shag carpeting...
Hmm. Now I'm wondering how it would look with some SN95 Bullit wheels.
If I do wheels/drop I'm thinking more like Mazda6 wheels (17x7.5 vs 16x6.5OE Mazda5 wheels), or something OEM-ish. I don't really need the I AM RACECAR look, although my views on that are subject to change.
Yeah I like the idea of Mazda 6 17s. I like the other mazda 5 wheels too, they may have come on the second gen 3.
Small Update:
-Got a new keyfob battery. Locking/unlocking seems to be more consistent for most doors, but pass side will sometimes resist locking. Possibly a bad actuator?
-Figured out that the pass side window does go down if you hit the pass window switch. Drivers window switch will sometimes do it. Signs are pointing to faulty multi-window switch in the drivers door.
-Cleaned and lubricated the door latches. Some of them were pretty funky. They still felt like they were moving freely. Side note, as far as I can recall, this is the first time I have ever had to lubricate a door latch. I figured this was a 50 year old, 500k mile car thing.
-Cleaned out the track the sliding doors ride in. It wasn't terrible, but it had some funk in it.
-Replaced the cabin air filter. That was difficult. Easy to get to, but really hard to install as its two piece and you need to hold one up in place while you slide the other in place while laying upside down in the passenger footwell. I'm not a big guy, but I can't fit in a way where I can use both my arms in there. I think what I pulled out was the original.
-Removed the Mazda OE roof rack (anyone want this before I list on FB Marketplace?)
-Figured out that the 12v power outlet wasn't actually bad, the USB charger I was using had died. (Anker, so it was surprising)
New (small) things to address:
1) Removing roof rack leaves a hole in the roof moulding. Mazda sells these parts separately for ~$100/side apparently. They don't just have plugs for the threaded hole (wtf).
2) When I lubed the door latches/cleaned sliding door track, I also cleaned all the weather stripping. The upper most weather stripping/drip rail thing at the top of the sliding door is held in with plastic rivets. I found one broken. It has to be a $0.001 item if I can find it.
This weekend I spent what felt like way too long installing a new head unit in the currently-unnamed-van. This is what I spent most of Sunday staring at:
It was a frustrating experience for a number of reasons:
- (Saturday) Initially I was doing it in a friends garage. Once I started to get the dash apart, I realized I had brought most of the tools I need, but forgot the head unit itself.
- After going back to get it, I got everything out and prepped, then realized I didn't have a soldering iron or connectors. So I decided it was a future Travis problem.
- (Sunday), I tried to make the connections and realized my soldering iron tip was shot. As in it doesnt accept solder at all, it just balls up and rolls off it, which makes proper heat transfer to wires a total bitch. I ended up going to Ace Hardware and grabbing a new iron, because they didn't carry tips for the one I have.
- During the connection process the wiring was unclear - there were two possible connections that would the instructions give but Crutchfield.
- When physically installing the head unit in the car, using a Metra kit, a lot of manual effort went into adjusting the position of the radio so it wasn't A) sunk way back behind the bezel or B) pushing it too far forward. I removed/reinstalled it probably 10 times to get it right.
I finally got everything installed and buttoned up, with a few remaining issues to address:
While I was in there, I did take apart and fix the rear vents:
I also spent way too long cleaning off foam VHB tape from an stick on suction cup phone mount:
Thanks for sharing, that sounds like pretty much every job I do. Takes way longer and involves multiple challenges than didn't expect. I've even had that exact scenario with my soldering iron.
Lets see, some minor updates...
Mazda:
The radio experience has been... bad. I'm returning it this week to Crutchfield and going with a Sony unit instead (see other thread on GRM with many recommendations for Sony XAV-x000). To summarize my issues...
The GPS* was absolutely bananas. Got a replacement, it still seems slow, but better. *GPS reciever. Not navigation. GPS coordinates that get sent to phone so your battery doesn't drain when using carplay wirelessly. The radio will not let you do carplay at all if you don't have the GPS plugged in.
The steering wheel control integration sucks. I used this wiring interface. Its janky. To make the volume go up, you have to press once to "wake" the connection, then press once for each increment. You can't just hold it. The difference in volume between local radio and phone might be from vol level 10 to 30. Combine this with the fact that the volume buttons are tiny/impossible to manipulate while driving and its just not the experience I want.
I cant see E36 M3 if the sun hits it.
The wireless carplay is flaky. Id say its 95% good, but sometimes it just doesnt connect. Once Ive had it disconnect mid-drive. I've had OEM systems do this before also, so I'm not sure its just this head unit.
Unrelated to the above, I borrowed a coworkers ultra low end 3d scanner and scanned the interior and started building some interfaces:
Template test fit at approximate bed platform waterline:
Sub-bed platform test. This is where the bike mount(s) will reside, as well as spare tire tools, jumper cables, etc. Its about 4" below bed platform height (even with the lip of the rear hatch opening). I still need to think through how to make the spare tire section easily accessible. I think I may end up with the center section of this being removeable.
E36 M3ty white van 2.0 update:
It has a refurb transmission. Registration expired while I was traveling last month. Battery was dead. And not just like low. Dead. 3.6volts.
So yesterday I spent 2 hours putting in a new battery. It took multiple trips to advance to get the right battery. And getting this thing in/out is a nightmare. Its a large battery, and it resides directly under the windshield cowl.
Anyway, now its getting inspected, then I get to list it for sale, see what carmax will offer me etc. If anyone has any ideas how best to sell a cargo van, I'm all ears.
