Good day all!!!
Here is the update I've been wanting to post for some time... I finally have a few hours to deal with photobucket loading pictures and such... So, lets get started...
I had a clunk in the right front after I got the drive shaft installed... I dug in and found the outer CV joint boot was completely split all the way around... Grease covered everything... I had a little play in the lower control arm as well... I decided to get the whole assembly from the pull-it-yard... Both control arms, spindle, hub, and axle shaft... I am not sure why, but I unbolted the sway bar end link... I didn't need to touch the sway bar end link to get the parts I wanted, but since I had it half way out, I took it home with me... Good thing I did too!! It ended up being the clunking noise... The original was about ready to let go on me...
All the parts I grabbed that day!! OEM running boards and fender parts to go with it... Water pump with fan and clutch (interesting story on that in a few), two in-dash CD players, right front assy I needed, rear bumper hitch cover, headlight mounting for my 540i, water cooled alternator, air intake (mine was broken), and various other smaller items...
Not a lot of clearance here... I pulled the strut assy forward a little to get the axle out easier...
And the two, side by side... The one pulled from the yard had the 4.4L, but smaller brakes... The hub had two locating pins that I needed to cut off and grind smooth... I couldn't hammer them in or pull them out...
Okay, here is the story on the water pump... I pulled it knowing mine was toast... And for 7 bucks, it was worth the effort to have a spare... And I pulled the fan and clutch with it... It isn't as hard as some would think... Well, I got my brand new pump the next day, so I didn't use the aftermarket one I pulled from the yard... HOWEVER, my original pulley was cracked and I didn't want it tearing up my new belt... Or worse, exploding and taking a lot more out with it... So, I had a good one on the pull-it-yard pump I got... I tried to get the clutch off the pump for about 30 minutes... I know it has left-handed threads... So, I'm guessing the mechanic that installed the pump figured it needed to be tightened beyond removal... I had to cut the fan to get the clutch opened up to cut the shaft so I could get the pulley... I later took my 1/2 drive IR impact gun to get the nub off the pump... It took a constant trigger pull of the impact about 45 seconds to free the nub... Insane!!!
Here is the plastic tube replacement I did... I was installing the top radiator hose and pulled the air bleed hose to the tank when it just snapped on me... It broke a couple more time just pulling it from the mounting points on the tank... Very brittle!!! So, I pulled the clamps and broken parts from the existing hoses and installed this NON-FUEL INJECTED fuel line... Able to hold 50PSI, so I figured it would be good... We'll see!! There was just enough space to route in between the tank and the holder...
And now for the kidneys... Here are some of the originals and one I tried with shiny black and finally what I settled for... I need to take some better pictures when it isn't so gloomy outside... Maybe tomorrow morning...
Original with chrome being removed... Not difficult, just time consuming...
Cleaned of chrome... Gray not that appealing...
Bad picture of shinny black... Didn't take well and I didn't like it at all...
OEM and then with the new look!!! Need better pictures!! My apologies!!
Well, that is all I have for now... I want to pull the front bumper next to find out how much damage was done in the right front corner... I'll try to get to that in the next couple days!!
I did find out yesterday that I can roll up the windows from my house with the remote... PO must have programmed it because I don't think any US models were allowed to do that option... Additionally, my son just got a 330i that also has that feature active... It is indeed quite useful!!!
Cheers for now!!!