What did you do to/for your 1er today?

[bmwboyee]

chasing a coolant leak. Mickey mouse flange to begin.

[N55135i]

What brake pads are better than stock for the 135i? (have to be available in Germany)

[tracer bullet]

Better in what way? Initial grab, fade resistance? You kind of get one or the other. Your avatar is on a track but is it basically a daily driver to get to work? How often do you track it? This thread gets lots of off topic of course but this is something that's kinda been covered 101 times elsewhere.

[WrathOTM]

Working on rebuilding rear calipers (fronts soon but these first). Gonna sand them down on all the visible surfaces to make them nice and smooth. Afterwards I'll paint them, but should I use an epoxy primer or self etch for my first coat?

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by WrathOTM

epoxy primer or self etch

Typically the epoxy is considered better, but I'd bet both would work fine.

If anything I suggest staying within a brand and using what they suggest, if they have a suggestion. I've found over time that the varying solvents in some paints can actually make primers wrinkle. A combo kit, if it exists, might be the best. Or use whatever VHT primer is available if you are using a VHT paint for example. It shouldn't really matter but I've seen strange things.

[parameter416]

Installed black lines taillights. Subtle change, but it makes a huge difference. I realized only recently that these are an OEM BMW part, from the European-spec LCI E82, so the quality is excellent and it was literally plug-and-play on my LCI North American model. On a pre-LCI 1 series I think they may need to be coded - not sure as I didn't need to research that issue.

[tracer bullet]

Yeah I like the looks as well. Wish the Euro headlights (no orange reflectors) were cheaper.

I'm a dork and tinted my blacklines, LOL. I had a body shop under a mile from me, that I trusted, and we talked about it a bit. The idea was to mix a little black with a lot of clear, hang the lights side by side in their booth, and lightly spray one just until you could tell it was darker than the non-sprayed light. Then of course spray the other the same amount. It's not at all "dark", it's noticeable but subtle. They also sprayed the 3rd light to match. I think it cost me $100 total.

[K9Leader]

Originally Posted by moebiuz

So I have been having this ABS/DSC issue for about 3 weeks. Car brakes fine and If I driver under 20 Km/h the lights will turn off, as soon as i get over that speed, lights come back.

I'm in my hometown and there are few "mechanics" who have scanners that can read BMW codes. Someone (had to pay the double of what normally I pay) scanned it and gave me these codes

5DF4
5DF7
D373
5DC2

The last one says it is the rear right speed sensor. I bought it, replaced it and the lights are still on... So I have to scan again but it's a pain to find this guy without knowing he is gonna charge me again... F that. So I got tired of that and I bought a cable to use INPA.

Hope next week i can scan it and live read the speed and direction of EVERY wheel. Hope it is not the module or wheel bearing

Any suggestions? Thanks!

Was the "bad" sensor worn on the tip? That would be an indication that it was contacting the reluctor ring on the axle. The rings corrode and get out of round and give inconsistent reading to the sensor. A quick fix that sometimes works (for a while) is to shim the sensor out with a washer. Long-term fix is to replace the rings, either by pulling the axle and prying/cutting the old ring off and putting on a new one or by just replacing the axle. My 128 had all the warning lights plus traction control was wacky (could not drive it unless TC was switched off) when I bought it at 136 miles. Shimming the sensor out worked for a few months but then I did go ahead and replaced the axles. All good now.

Once you are able to clear the codes, if it comes back up you will know whether it was just the sensor or is something more. GL.


Old axle with reluctor ring:


Ring cut and pulled back:

[zx10guy]

Installed a Mishimoto oil catch can and a VRSF charge pipe. The Mishimoto install was pretty straight forward. Only issues were trying to get the stock plastic flex pipe off of the PCV heater. Ended up just cutting off the flex pipe with a Dremel and cut off wheel. Other challenge which is probably unique to those with 135is' and 135i's with the PPK2. There is a fuse block that is mounted next to the radiator core support in the same area the oil catch can is to be mounted. The bracket for the oil catch can is pushing against the fuse block and there's no way for me to move the fuse block. I'll probably slide in a rubber shim to prevent the bracket from wearing into the plastic housing of the fuse block.

The VRSF install was also more or less straight forward. Was a challenge as obviously there's no flex/movement with the aluminum charge pipe. Trying to man handle the silicone rubber elbow into place was pretty challenging. I also had to move a relay and bracket that's mounted to the power steering reservoir bracket that's also part of the PPK2 for more clearance.

All in all glad it's done and shout out to Top Gear Solutions for great pricing and fast shipping.

ETA: Poked around my Thinktool Pros scan tool to clear the DTCs and found the service minder section to reset them. A pleasant surprise is that my scan tool can apparently do some coding too.

[WrathOTM]

[QUOTE=K9Leader;30085129][SIZE="3"]
Was the "bad" sensor worn on the tip? That would be an indication that it was contacting the reluctor ring on the axle. The rings corrode and get out of round and give inconsistent reading to the sensor. A quick fix that sometimes works (for a while) is to shim the sensor out with a washer. Long-term fix is to replace the rings, either by pulling the axle and prying/cutting the old ring off and putting on a new one or by just replacing the axle. My 128 had all the warning lights plus traction control was wacky (could not drive it unless TC was switched off) when I bought it at 136 miles. Shimming the sensor out worked for a few months but then I did go ahead and replaced the axles. All good now.

Hmm. I just realized something. My pre-LCI 335i axles don't have that ring around them. And RealOEM doesn't show those in the part diagram for the axle. Do I need those? I assume I would need those for my retrofit.

[Donkeyshins]

Drivers' side done:









(I am reusing the rear pads & rotors as there's plenty of life left in them)

[bnace10]

Originally Posted by Donkeyshins

Drivers' side done:

(I am reusing the rear pads & rotors as there's plenty of life left in them)

How was the M3 control arm install? I have them sitting in my trunk, just haven't gotten around to them, was busy tearing down an old 302.

It seems pretty straightforward.

[Donkeyshins]

Originally Posted by bnace10

How was the M3 control arm install? I have them sitting in my trunk, just haven't gotten around to them, was busy tearing down an old 302.

It seems pretty straightforward.

• Use lots and lots of Kroil or something similar on the ball-joint side of the control arms. On the drivers' side, I assumed that I wouldn't have any problems because there was no corrosion. However, the wishbone T40 stripped due to the nut being seized to the stud, so I had to hacksaw off the nut and drive out the remainder of the wishbone stud with a dead-blow hammer. Needless to say, I soaked the threads on the drivers' side radius arm and on both the radius arm and wishbone on the passenger side, so the others came off relatively easy.
• Clean out the wishbone Torx socket (ball joint stud) with a dental pick or something similar, because a lot of crud can build up there and make it difficult to get the T40 bit all the way in.
• You're going to need a piece of reasonably dense wood (I used a 12" piece of 3x1/2" walnut) to tap the wishbone to seat in the chassis mounting point since the M3 spherical bearing is slightly wider than the stock wishbone bearing. On the passenger side, I ended up using a small hand sledge to slightly peen out the chassis mounting point on either side to help start the wishbone spherical bearing. It made it a lot quicker (plus torquing up the mounting bolt pulled everything tight).
• Don't forget to jack up the suspension to ride-height before torquing up the chassis bolt for the radius arm, otherwise you will never get your alignment right. I used a floor jack to push up on the steering knuckle until the car started to lift slightly off of the Quickjack supports.

[Donkeyshins]

Passenger side done:









The red is a reflection from my rolling stool, and the reason the rotor looks so gnarly is that when I did the rear pads & rotors around 3 years ago, I let my son help. He put the outer pad on backwards, so the rivets gouged the rotor (I figured it out pretty damn quickly while bedding the rotors, but not quickly enough to prevent the gouges). Rotor works fine once the pad was flipped; it just looks nasty.

Tomorrow I'll bleed the brakes and code in the performance brakes, then take it to get the front-end re-aligned.

[moebiuz]

Originally Posted by K9Leader

Was the "bad" sensor worn on the tip? That would be an indication that it was contacting the reluctor ring on the axle. The rings corrode and get out of round and give inconsistent reading to the sensor. A quick fix that sometimes works (for a while) is to shim the sensor out with a washer. Long-term fix is to replace the rings, either by pulling the axle and prying/cutting the old ring off and putting on a new one or by just replacing the axle. My 128 had all the warning lights plus traction control was wacky (could not drive it unless TC was switched off) when I bought it at 136 miles. Shimming the sensor out worked for a few months but then I did go ahead and replaced the axles. All good now.

Once you are able to clear the codes, if it comes back up you will know whether it was just the sensor or is something more. GL.


Old axle with reluctor ring:


Ring cut and pulled back:

Yes, the sensor shows no sign of damage by the ring. I have read that it could be the ring too but I haven't inspected it. Hopefully this week the cable arribes to check everything with INPA, if lights still on after reset, then I'll check the ring, i just hope it is not the wheel bearing or ABS module... Ill keep it updated

So today I cleaned the carpets of the car, notice how someone in the past let the carpet sitting over the lid of the bass... Idk but I feel the music sound better now

Also got front new OEM velour floor mats

[Ric in RVA]

Originally Posted by Donkeyshins

• You're going to need a piece of reasonably dense wood (I used a 12" piece of 3x1/2" walnut) to tap the wishbone to seat in the chassis mounting point since the M3 spherical bearing is slightly wider than the stock wishbone bearing. On the passenger side, I ended up using a small hand sledge to slightly peen out the chassis mounting point on either side to help start the wishbone spherical bearing. It made it a lot quicker (plus torquing up the mounting bolt pulled everything tight).

No sledge hammering needed....

I just eased the aluminum subframe 45 degrees with a file where the bearing slides in.

Just knock the corner off on each side of the square pocket where the bearing slides in and contacts. It will slip right in then.

The other thing I have seen done is slip a crescent wrench over the subframe and give it a little tweak out. No hammering needed. The aluminum is surprisingly soft!!

[Donkeyshins]

Originally Posted by Ric in RVA

No sledge hammering needed....

I just eased the aluminum subframe 45 degrees with a file where the bearing slides in.

Just knock the corner off on each side of the square pocket where the bearing slides in and contacts. It will slip right in then.

The other thing I have seen done is slip a crescent wrench over the subframe and give it a little tweak out. No hammering needed. The aluminum is surprisingly soft!!

The peening out served the same function as knocking the corner off. Yours seems a bit more elegant, though.

Also, in the 'of course' department, the rear brake sensor broke when removing the passenger-side rear caliper. So another order from FCP Euro was required. <sigh>

[lemansblau135is]

Last weekend Was 90 degrees in SacTown, CA. So on goes the window screens. Sorry, Jon.

[mizzourahslim]

Ceramic coated new calipers.

[Donkeyshins]

I think I was able to get the Reinforced Brakes coded in properly via NCSExpert, although I definitely still need to have the alignment sorted. However, braking is quite good and definitely looks the part:





(not bothering with glamor shots of the rears since other than the shiny zinc plating, the 328 rear calipers look pretty much the same as the 128 calipers)

[Nashville]

Lowered it. Got an alignment

[mkeiser]

Originally Posted by Donkeyshins

I think I was able to get the Reinforced Brakes coded in properly via NCSExpert, although I definitely still need to have the alignment sorted. However, braking is quite good and definitely looks the part:

What's the reinforced brake coding do? Just a feature reserved for big brake kits?

Did you also look into disabling brake fade compensation? I think there might have been a few other braking relating coding features that I was looking at...