E92 M3 'refresher' thread

[Ratslaaf]

I've been reading up a little on the rough idle at startup. It turns out this is by design; its a cold start cycle that's used to warm up the cats real quick. I now get Jerez's joke about the cold starts, hehe. I'm led to believe that de-chatting the car and installing cross pipes will actually make the start of the engine sound like a 'bark'. This sounds exactly what I want :rollsmile:

Anyway, I spent some time checking software versions and updating where required. It turns out I'm already running the latest version of the ECU software that was released in 2012. It doesn't sound like there's likely to be any further software updates for this car. At least the amp had an update



Yes, I know the interior needs to still be detailed...

 

[Jerez]

I'll be following closely..good work- that glassy look on your cars looks great.
I'm going to google " black fire " now

 

[Fordkoppie]

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=911030

If I ever have an S65 again or an S85, I would run it on 0W40 Mobil 1 oil

 

[Ratslaaf]

I did start a thread on oil consumption and there's so many differing views on the actual oil, with guys using the same oil but experiencing different amounts of consumption.

This car is definitely not a runabout but the kinda thing you really need to constantly monitor and manage. Lucky it's meant to stay in the garage, I'd hate to use something like this as a daily - I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I had to worry about if I'd make it to work or not :roflol:

 

[444YYY]

Nicely executed detail! I expected you to just go for a stage 1 detail, but looks like you went all the way to stage 14!!!!

What software/hardware system are you running to look into the ECU etc?

 

[Ratslaaf]

Thanks man. I'm still not done with the exterior detailing but it'll do for now while I wait for the really good stuff to come in.

Currently, I'm running ISTA/P for programming and ISTA/D for Diagnostics. Hardware I'm using is an ICOM A2 with the MOST to USB interface needed for updating software on the car. This is the BMW recommended way to flash your car with dealer software.

As far as versions go, I picked that up off the I-Level updates in order to see what ECU's are affected by changes.

 

[444YYY]

Thanks man. I'm still not done with the exterior detailing but it'll do for now while I wait for the really good stuff to come in.

Currently, I'm running ISTA/P for programming and ISTA/D for Diagnostics. Hardware I'm using is an ICOM A2 with the MOST to USB interface needed for updating software on the car. This is the BMW recommended way to flash your car with dealer software.

As far as versions go, I picked that up off the I-Level updates in order to see what ECU's are affected by changes.

Thanks! Have fun - beautiful car!!!

 

[Ratslaaf]

OK gents,

After spending a few nights not sleeping, agonising over the engine blowing up in my face because of possible bearing issues, I've had a long chat with a1exander this morning. You, sir, are a scholar and a gentleman!

Anyway, as I said before my intention is to hopefully hold onto this car for some time. In order to get rid of the feeling that I'm driving a ticking time bomb we've discussed some measures in order to get a feel for the status of the bearings prior to taking them out the car.

Firstly, I'm going to be taking a sample of the existing oil for reference purposes. Based on advice from a1exander, I'm going to be flushing the motor with ATF, drive for around 500km and then only do an oil change. I'll then be sending samples of the oil for analysis every 2000km or so in order to get a feeling of wear on the bearings. This should give us a better idea of the state of the car without spending stupid money right now.

I've got a truck full of spare parts in bound in order to get the mechanics of the car into a known state. Tranny, Diff and Motor oils. Oil filter, air cleaner and a new set of plugs (that was actually cheaper than I thought it would be!). I'm also itching to have a look at the existing plugs in order to understand the condition of the motor above the pistons.

I say all this as if the motor is in a poor state, which it is not actually. It still feels good and very strong. But I'd prefer to spend money on the car now while it's still going as this kinda expense pales in comparison with what a rebuild or new motor would cost.

The plans for this weekend is to strip out the belly of the car as I want to have a look at the condition of the drivetrain. I've got a slight knock on the car when I release the clutch and floor the gas. I'm thinking it might be a worn transmission mount or giubo. I'm also planning on cleaning the whole bottom cavity of the car and tick that off the long list of things that needs to be done in order to get the car perfect.

Oh yes, I also received the new ///M badge for the back of the car :rollsmile:

Stay tuned folks, this is going to be a wild ride!

 

[Ratslaaf]

And to top it all off I received other news today. It turns out the CIA report I had was for one of the other cars I looked at. Not MY car. I must've mixed these up for some reason. Grrrrrrr

Where I only had records of the other car up to 80k km and mid 2013, I had a concern that there's about one and a half years and 17k km unaccounted for.

It turns out, wait for it, that I now have full history on the car. Woohoo!!!

Basically, the car was at BMW for its last service in Dec 2013 at 97582km. I bought the car on 97830km, so basically the car was not being used for a year. I know the dealership had the car for 4 months. This does wonders for the cars possible resale value as I'm planning on documenting further services right here.

Looking at the report, there's really nothing untoward in its past life. It does show that the Belt tensioner was replaced on its last service and that the Microfilter, brake fluid and oil was replaced 87k km and the Exhaust back box was replaced on 72k km.

So the type of oil put into the car is no longer an unknown, which was a serious concern for me and that no Indy shop had their hands on the car either.

I'm starting to feel a little better with things, although I don't want to jinx it :rollsmile:

 

[Teezy_F30]

car looks epic after the detail man! .. all the best with the build ahead .. u definitely are doing ur homework on every detail ..
one day .. i'd also love to take this journey .. looking forward to the progress and fun times ahead! :clapper:

 

[Ratslaaf]

Stuff are slowly but surely filtering into the Garage That Has No Name.



And I just couldn't resist doing the most important bit:
Before,


After,


I also received the Magic Erasers so can start on the interior as well. Thanks Phoenix!!!

 

[Gizmo]

Looking forward to tomorrow, my first E92 on the lift...:fencelook:

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btw what is that silver module?

---

SAPS hat?

 

[RAArmstrong]

:dropjaw:

 

[DieselFan]

Looking forward to tomorrow, my first E92 on the lift...:fencelook:

---

btw what is that silver module?

---

SAPS hat?

---

---

Silver module is a ULF for bluetooth.

If it's a retrofit it will need the fibre optics to be rewired and coding will be required.

Atleast that is what it looks like to me.

 

[GPGrobler]

OK gents,

After spending a few nights not sleeping, agonising over the engine blowing up in my face because of possible bearing issues, I've had a long chat with a1exander this morning. You, sir, are a scholar and a gentleman!

Anyway, as I said before my intention is to hopefully hold onto this car for some time. In order to get rid of the feeling that I'm driving a ticking time bomb we've discussed some measures in order to get a feel for the status of the bearings prior to taking them out the car.

Firstly, I'm going to be taking a sample of the existing oil for reference purposes. Based on advice from a1exander, I'm going to be flushing the motor with ATF, drive for around 500km and then only do an oil change. I'll then be sending samples of the oil for analysis every 2000km or so in order to get a feeling of wear on the bearings. This should give us a better idea of the state of the car without spending stupid money right now.

I've got a truck full of spare parts in bound in order to get the mechanics of the car into a known state. Tranny, Diff and Motor oils. Oil filter, air cleaner and a new set of plugs (that was actually cheaper than I thought it would be!). I'm also itching to have a look at the existing plugs in order to understand the condition of the motor above the pistons.

I say all this as if the motor is in a poor state, which it is not actually. It still feels good and very strong. But I'd prefer to spend money on the car now while it's still going as this kinda expense pales in comparison with what a rebuild or new motor would cost.

The plans for this weekend is to strip out the belly of the car as I want to have a look at the condition of the drivetrain. I've got a slight knock on the car when I release the clutch and floor the gas. I'm thinking it might be a worn transmission mount or giubo. I'm also planning on cleaning the whole bottom cavity of the car and tick that off the long list of things that needs to be done in order to get the car perfect.

Oh yes, I also received the new ///M badge for the back of the car :rollsmile:

Stay tuned folks, this is going to be a wild ride!

Well my friend, you are proof that good things do happen to good people, I am so glad for your sake that everything is turning out so well :clapper:

 

[Gizmo]

:dropjaw:

LOL, I gotta move with the times or get left behind...:fencelook:

 

[Ratslaaf]

Looking forward to tomorrow, my first E92 on the lift...:fencelook:

---

btw what is that silver module?

---

SAPS hat?

---

---

Hehe, yeah I'm itching to see what the underside looks like.

Silver module is a MULF in order to get BT and USB retrofitted to the car

Shhhh on the hat

 

[Gizmo]

I will take lots of pics so I/we can study them.:coolShake:

 

[RAArmstrong]

:dropjaw:

LOL, I gotta move with the times or get left behind...:fencelook:

So when are you starting with Satans fuel then?

 

[AshG108]

FFS!!

DUDE, that doesnt even look like the car I saw on the pics initially!

DAMN!!! i need to get this done on my Accountant silver car to bring back its life!

Well done dude, the ///M badge makes a huge difference and the car is sexy as hell!