Chadillac2000's 2008 135i Road Warrior Daily Driver Build Thread

[chadillac2000]

Originally Posted by MN.BIMMER

Another awesome update! Guys like you make me envious I don't have a garage to wrench around in, but maybe that's better for my wallet.. Will you end up flipping the 335i for some spare coin?

Already did. Sold it a few days ago for about $3,000 profit.

[chadillac2000]

Over the past month or so, I’d spent a lot of time with the E90 I’d been prepping for sale. After selling the car this past Friday and sending it down the road with its new owner, I decided to dedicate some time on Sunday towards the E82 since the weather was so choice. While the car gets washed regularly, it needed a good clay barring--as well as a fresh coat of wax. The pitted headlight lenses also had been begging for some attention, so they would get refinished as well.



To avoid scratching the paint, I took the time to tape everything off prior to getting to work with the 3M Headlight Lens Restoration kit I’d picked up.



After multiple passes with the coarser pads, I started achieving the “slurry” build up on the lens covers that the instructions called for.



Many hours later, the paint surface was perfectly smooth and the headlights looked far better than before. Not perfect, but a major improvement.

[ianc]

Wow, not one but two water pumps! I just don't know what to say...

What's next for the 335? On the block now?

I would have been interested to see how long that gen 2 water pump went, and if it outlasts the gen1 that dies at ~70K....

Nice work!

ianc

[chadillac2000]

Originally Posted by ianc

Wow, not one but two water pumps! I just don't know what to say...

What's next for the 335? On the block now?

I would have been interested to see how long that gen 2 water pump went, and if it outlasts the gen1 that dies at ~70K....

Nice work!

ianc

Definitely not the most fun job on the planet, but now my 135i has a new lifetime warrantied water pump, so one less N54 headache to worry about for the time being. On the topic of how long water pump lasts (or any frequently failing N54 part for that matter), I would be interested to see stats on mileage vs age. My second water pump had more mileage and had shown zero signs of any type of malfunction. I feel one of the reasons my car is so reliable is how often it's used.

335i has already been sold. Left the day before I made the post with all the pictures.

[chadillac2000]

It took over 40,000 miles of use, but my switch to a single turbo finally caused some issues. As the temperatures started to warm up a few months ago, I noticed my air conditioning was not working properly. The blower fan was working, and the compressor was activating, but only ambient temperature was flowing. The car was now 11 years old and had almost 150K on the clock, so I was hoping it just needed a recharge--although I knew it shouldn't have leaked out in the first place. I removed all the cowling to take a closer look, and quickly discovered my issue.

There is a high pressure A/C line that runs from the passenger side front of the car, underneath the single turbo, along the passenger side strut tower, all the way across the firewall, and ends near the driver's side strut tower where the high pressure Schrader valve is located. In two separate areas, rubbing had caused pinholes in the aluminum line, allowing all my freon to escape.

Neither of these problematic areas were caused by the ACF single turbo kit itself, but rather the DOCRace heat shield I added, and my placement of the fuel feed to the port injection manifold. It turns out I'd underestimated how much the engine moves on the mounts, and over time, the lines got punctured from rubbing. Both could have, and should have been avoided, especially after looking over my past pictures. The heat shield was the most obvious place rubbing was going to be an issue. The hard edge of the shield dented in, and eventually pushed through the line causing a hole.



I didn't notice it at the time of installation, but the port injection rail comes with two different inputs--one to run the y-line and one that's to be capped off. I used the wrong one, on the end of the rail, which made clearance between the fitting and the A/C line almost non existent. I've since switched the feed to the area in between the runners, which allows the A/C line to sit without any threat of being contacted by anything.





Once I had figured out where the problem was, next came the task of tracking down the part. I had thought of trying to have the line repaired, or using JB Weld to hope for a miracle, but there was little to no chance of my repair holding up to the high pressure. That meant I'd probably need to track down a new OEM line. Eventually I tracked down the part I needed from Tischer (getBMWparts.com), but it came from Germany so it took almost 3 weeks to get here.

Getting the old line off and new line in without removing any major components was going to be the real challenge of this repair. I ended up cutting the old, damaged line at a convenient location to get it out easier. Old line on the left, new OEM line on the right.



I took extra precaution and used some DEI sleeve for added protection.





It took probably an hour for me to carefully snake the new line underneath the compressor housing, past the wastegate, and into the area where it bolts into the condenser. This time around, I made sure to secure this line away from any possible things it could come in contact with.

While the A/C line was being shipped, I tried to educate myself on exactly how an automotive A/C system works and how to properly recharge it. That meant I'd need a vacuum pump, a set of manifold gauges, and some R-134a refrigerant. I picked up the vacuum pump and manifold gauges on Amazon, and the refrigerant at a local auto parts store. After setting all the new equipment up, I attached the high and pressure gauges to the lines, which are located near the driver's side strut tower. It's impossible to mix them up because they are different sizes and only attach to the correct line.





Because the lines had been open for so long, and really any time you want to properly recharge an A/C system, you'll want to pull a vacuum for an extended period of time. In this case, I pulled a vacuum for 45 minutes just to make sure all the moisture and refrigerant had been expelled from the system.





After 45 minutes, I closed off the lines, disconnected the vacuum pump, and waited another 30 minutes to make sure that the gauges remained at 30 inHg vacuum and there were no leaks. Following that waiting period, and after verifying the system was still under vacuum, it was time to put in the new refrigerant. The 135i takes 1.3 pounds of refrigerant, give or take .02 pounds. After converting this to around 20 ounces, I used my digital scale to find out the actual weight of the freon inside so I could be as precise as possible. I definitely didn't want to overfill the system.



The only thing left to do was start the car, crank up the A/C, attach the R-134a can, pierce the top, and let the car suck in the proper amount of refrigerant. 15 minutes later my car once again had ice cold A/C, which was a blessing given the mid 90 degree temperatures I'd been seeing in the Carolinas. Once that was charged, I installed a new shorty single turbo filter from BMS for some fresh air--the original had gotten filthy over the last forty thousand miles.



My tires are on their last leg, so I will be getting some new rubber mounted soon. Once those are installed, I really want to follow up on my promise of getting back to a DynoJet with the single setup. I also picked up this fancy boost leak tester for my top mount that I'll be putting to use beforehand. I don't think I have any leaks, but I still want to make sure prior to putting down new power numbers.

[JimVonBaden]

Nice work on the AC!

[ianc]

This thread never ceases to amaze me; always something new. I love how you honestly admit your mistakes on the few occasions when you make them; some would never do that...

Anyway, I took one look at the new AC line and about wet my pants. That must have been a frickin' BEAR to install...

Hats off to another job well done!

ianc

[chadillac2000]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

Nice work on the AC!

Originally Posted by ianc

This thread never ceases to amaze me; always something new. I love how you honestly admit your mistakes on the few occasions when you make them; some would never do that...

Anyway, I took one look at the new AC line and about wet my pants. That must have been a frickin' BEAR to install...

Hats off to another job well done!

ianc

Thank you sirs! You are absolutely correct about snaking that line in without damaging it. Took some patience and finesse for sure. But looking back, glad I was able to at least learn a few things about A/C, especially the proper vacuum and recharge method. Appreciate you following along as always ianc!

[chadillac2000]

Since my last update where I resolved my AC line issues, everything has held up well so far and continues to blow ice cold air--an absolute necessity for the temperatures and humidity we’ve been having in the Carolinas. I’ve continued to daily drive the car long distances, putting it through its paces as it crossed 147,000 miles a few days back. Almost every afternoon recently, we’ve had thunderstorms, so the exterior of the 1er has been dirty for weeks. And after taking my wife and dog on a hike this past weekend, the interior was filthy and in need of some attention as well. No real news to update, but I did give the car a thorough detail, performed an oil change, installed the Achilles ATR Sport 2 tires, and installed a new set of BMS cowl filters. Everything seems to be holding together great as I approach 150K here soon--she certainly doesn’t look to have that much mileage underneath her.

[ianc]

Car is definitely looking a lot younger than 147K. Great shots!

ianc

[Matticus91]

chadillac2000 amazing work! She's looking great. Mine is soon to hit 100k. Which, for a 2013 car I bought 2 years ago with 40k on it, means a lot of wheel time for me!

[Rmtt]

Very beautiful car and tastefully done! Props for doing everything yourself.

[chadillac2000]

I've really been enjoying the sounds of everything with the BMS cowl covers installed and the large OEM assembly removed, as well as the extra cooling. The metal intake manifold used to be too hot to touch during normal operation, but now I can comfortably rest my hand right on the top.

I have been a bit worried about summer thunderstorms and the lack of protection from water getting through the filters and into the blower motor and interior of the car. So I tried to test out a set of Hydra Performance cowl covers on top. These should allow me to run the BMS filters and eliminate the threat of water entering the cabin.

[tjswarbrick]

Interesting idea on the covers. Water ingress hasn't been a problem for me, but heat coming in has. I wonder if they'd help with that. May need to look into a set.

Search is failing me. Source?

[chadillac2000]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

Interesting idea on the covers. Water ingress hasn't been a problem for me, but heat coming in has. I wonder if they'd help with that. May need to look into a set.

Search is failing me. Source?

Hydra Performance, but you have to message them or email to order. $99 shipped from Europe I believe. Took about a week to get here. Saw a few guys over on Spool Street running them and decided to give them a try.

[mfindigital]

Amazing how big of a visual improvement those side skirts are over the stock ones. Next mod for sure.

[tjswarbrick]

Originally Posted by chadillac2000

Hydra Performance, but you have to message them or email to order. $99 shipped from Europe I believe. Took about a week to get here. Saw a few guys over on Spool Street running them and decided to give them a try.

Awesome. Thanks.
I saw that, too, but didn't see how to contact 'em. But I've been on my mobile and sometimes details slip by.

[chadillac2000]

My 1er hit a big milestone this week as the odometer passed 150,000 miles with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. It was also time to switch spark plugs after running the NGK 5992 for around 15,000 miles. Since those were on national backorder, I decided to try the NGK 97506 2-step colder plugs that I probably should have been running anyways. The old plugs that came out still looked great and hadn’t given me any misfires while they were installed.



I gapped the new plugs to 0.020 using the BMS gap tool and installed then with ease using the BMS spark plug socket. Once the coils were back in and everything was buttoned up, I fired the car up to ensure smooth idle. Sure enough, buttery smooth at the 950RPM idle mark I have set through MHD.

Also got back my latest Blackstone analysis and it looks like the N54 power plant is still looking great:

[mKilgore]

Do you use a magnetic drain plug for your oil pan? I ask because I have used one since I have had my 135i for 2 years now. But I just started using Blackstone to keep track of engine wear and recently had the thought that if I continue using the magnetic drain plug, that could skew the oil analysis from Blackstone by capturing particles instead of leaving them for analysis.

Do you have any thoughts on this? I will likely change back to a OEM drain plug from here on out so that the analysis by Blackstone is as accurate as possible.

[chadillac2000]

Originally Posted by mKilgore

Do you use a magnetic drain plug for your oil pan? I ask because I have used one since I have had my 135i for 2 years now. But I just started using Blackstone to keep track of engine wear and recently had the thought that if I continue using the magnetic drain plug, that could skew the oil analysis from Blackstone by capturing particles instead of leaving them for analysis.

Do you have any thoughts on this? I will likely change back to a OEM drain plug from here on out so that the analysis by Blackstone is as accurate as possible.

Yes, I use a Dimple Plug, but I always pay attention to it after removing and have never noticed any residue at all. I can't imagine that the small plug would pull ALL the particles out of 7+ quarts of oil in circulation. I usually let 1/2 of the oil drain out before collecting a sample and do it while the car is still warm, so I'll continue to use mine more than likely.

[mKilgore]

That seems reasonable. I'm going to be leaving mine in until the next oil change, so that will be two analyses with a magnetic drain plug. I may switch to the OEM plug and do two more analyses and see if there is any difference in the numbers.

Thanks for your input.

[chadillac2000]

Car is officially up for sale if anyone is interested:

https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show...6#post25488726