What did you do to / for your E53 today??

[gatojurko]

Originally Posted by wpoll

Put the finishing touches on my charge lead. Now that winter is biting hard I'm using the Webasto for 15 mins each morning (car not running) which is pretty hard on the battery. It copes with three or four days of this so I trickle-charge it overnight a couple of times a week, just to keep it in good condition.

You have -20?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by gatojurko

You have -20?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Do you mean -20 Deg.C.? Heck no - or at least, not here on the coast. It can get that low a hundred kicks inland from here though.

Around here we get down to 0 Deg.C often and sometimes a bit lower. I like to use the Telestart remote if it's much below 5 Deg.C as its easier on the engine and turbo, starting from slightly warmer than dead cold. 15 minutes of running with the Webasto Thermotop gets the KTEMP up to about 30 Deg.C or so. And the cabin is getting toasty too!

And of course the Webasto runs again automatically when I start the engine and the outside temp is 5.5 Deg.C. or lower, to speed up the warmup.

The battery is probably ok with this use but why risk it?

[wpoll]

After months of putting it off, today I finally replaced my bumper mesh.

I had purchased some alloy mesh and was going to replace the broken mesh with the alloy but a couple of months ago I spotted a set of OEM mesh inserts on eBay (from a seller in Riga, Latvia) for a very good price, so I ordered them.

Today I finally pulled the bumper and replaced them.



I now have a set of the (old) clips and frames from which to figure out a more solid replacement option, should I ever need to replace them again. Time to get busy with a dremel tool and remove the broken mesh from the frames.

The car looks MUCH better with no "missing teeth".

[jopecasa]

Originally Posted by wpoll

The car looks MUCH better with no "missing teeth".

[andrewwynn]

I need to do the same. What knocks the teeth out in the first place? I'm planning to use some expanded metal screen when I fix mine so the teeth stay in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

I need to do the same. What knocks the teeth out in the first place? I'm planning to use some expanded metal screen when I fix mine so the teeth stay in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Usually caused by what the aviation industry would call "FOD" (foreign object damage). In my case, small birds and road debris.

[andrewwynn]

My X came pre tooth holes. I guess a likely candidate is a rock from a truck in front of you. I just never had it happen to me yet my truck has 4/5 missing teeth

I had to invent a way to take a dent out of a Prius bumper from a rabbit. It inverted and I needed to heat the thing up to about 300°F. I put a Dutch oven filled with sand into a large wood boiler fire box and poured the sand into the inside of the bumper cover. It quickly turned into taffy consistency and the inverted dent popped right out. It was rainy when I did this so I held the bumper cover in the rain once shaped to cool it off.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wpoll]

And since I was in the garage....

I worked on an item that has bugged me for a while - a very slight clunk/clonk in the steering column. While I know this is likely to be the double-joint in the lower shaft, surely it's worth eliminating all other options first.

I had already re- torqued the double joint clamp bolts - no joy. Today I checked the upper clamp joint nut and bolt (#10 & #11 below) and found them rather loose. This is the clamp nut and bolt immediately below the steering angle sensor on the steering shaft.



Tightened them up and on the first drive the clunk/clonk seemed to be gone. Time will tell....

[andrewwynn]

Follow up if success in the end. I can't stand clicks and rattles


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[crystalworks]

I reinstalled my "AC Schnitzer" spoiler (taiwanese repro) using Betalink K1. The tape install failed after 4 months. The Betalink has cured and is holding the spoiler rock steady. Seems like it is a part of the rear hatch top in terms of stability. As an added bonus the tape gap caused by the thickness of the tape is gone.

Hopefully this is a permanent install as opposed to the 3M tape.