Project Io Update...

Io has been my daily driver for about 6 months now. I really do enjoy driving it!

My only real regret regarding all of that engine work that I did is that I didn't take the time to "rebuild" both VANOS units. I bought the seal kit, and have had all the tools for quite some time, but what I ran out of was patience. Those seal kits are ridiculous to get installed, and I have a hard time believing that the half mutilated seal that you finally coax into the unit is much better than the one you took out. I managed to do one of them, but ended up ruining one seal, and had to use my 2nd one just to get the first unit back together. I bailed...and now I have the slight VANOS rattle on cold start. It only lasts about a second (or less), but it's a bit annoying.

I took advantage of Avin's Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale and ordered the Avant 4. I haven't installed it yet, but I must say that the packaging and quality of the components are top-shelf. I'm not easy to impress with car stuff, as I've been making my living in the industry for 30+ years (am I that old...?) now, but when the box showed up yesterday, I was taken aback by its attention to detail. It was a very pleasant surprise because, let's face it, this stuff is all made in China, and I wasn't expecting all that much. I'll keep you posted once I get it installed.

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2002 E53 X5 4.6is, Titanium Silver Metallic, Black leather/wood grain interior
2004 Dodge Durango, 5.7 Hemi, pretty much stock (except for Scat rods and SRT8 camshaft)
2008 Ford F-350, King Ranch, 6.4 PSD, CCSB