Sound system upgrade, part….too many
 

This one was a gift from the wife and kids. The kenwood I put in washed out under event the the slightest sunlight coming thru the windshield.

https://i.postimg.cc/Hk7F7Vpz/PXL-20...9-Original.jpg

10+ inch floating touch-screen is huge, and adjustable up/down and tilt. The connections are identical the one it replaced, and this one has HD radio. Not everyone’s cup of tea I’m sure, but I like it a lot. I need to monkey with the install a bit to get it closer to the dash, but it’s a nice upgrade to the useability of the car.

I also need to find a good, unobtrusive place for the microphone. I had it set into the plastic radio surround piece that came with the radio, but the sound wasn’t that great when on the phone. Where is the OE location in the E53, in the overhead panel?

Yes. You can run the mic along the a pillar, and windscreen headliner to route the cable. Warning tho:

I have 10yrs and 1/2 dozen of these Android units across 4 different chassis. The microphones suck so bad that I didn't even consider the Android unit for use as a phone in the F25 install. I also don't use the Android onboard Navigation, so I left out the satellite antenna as well. I much prefer Apple CarPlay or Andorid Auto with Waze maps to anything static.

The work around I have so far is to connect to the F25's bluetooth and carry calls with the factory hardware. It's a bit of a finagle, but these units are TinkerToys.

I suspect the answer is a 12v powered mic, but I am unsure. It *should not* be the specs of the radio since it is 8 core with 16GB RAM/32GB ROM. That's pretty much the max specs on these.

Enjoy it! For some fun, download Tourque and connect to a Bluetooth OBD. You'll get real live information on temps for air intake, water, but not oil (on the N62). Kinda fun to lose yourself setting up for an afternoon.

Had to install new tie rods. Put new tires on last week then tried to have it aligned. The rods were frozen solid and wouldn't move. No toe adjustment without being able to turn the rods. Put new ones in and put the old ones in a vice and tried to turn them with a very long bar. No go. Tried PB Blaster, heat and beating on them. They would not move. They are on the way back to FCP for credit.

Probably too late now but you should put a bit of anti-seize on them when you install. I guess if you are careful you still could do that after the alignment or it will the same next time.

I thought about the anti-sieve AFTER I installed the new ones, Of Course. Wasn't willing to take it all apart again. I don't understand it though because I live in California. I don't drive in the snow and they don't salt the roads here anyway. There is very little rust on the underside of the car,

I was able to loosen wife's with a 24" pipe wrench though it did bend the tie rod (didn't affect the function). I eat able to align after and i did use anti seize.

When I did mine i used a band saw to cut off the old outer tie rod and used the cut off piece aa a thread chasing die to clean the inner rod before installing the new one.

Wife's 24" pipe wrench situation led to only adjusting one side and a steering wheel not straight when done, but good alignment that stopped chewing up tires in weeks.

Valve cover gasket and cover were replaced. Super nice look! The vanity cover covers most of it. :(

Another oil leak stopped!

So the alum valve cover was not warped and quality was otherwise okay?

Yes, the cover sealed good. I'm daily driving it today. I'll be driving it all week. A little cleaner smell was still there this morning. I expect it to burn off quickly in slow traffic. I'll get the part number and update the valve cover post. I'll clean up the OEM cover and inspect it. Looks like the main seal and cap gasket were the main issues of smell leaks.

Quick question for the people who have run into this: the cover for the cup holders is starting to disintegrate, several of the sections are breaking loose. Any idea if this is possible to repair without massive cost? I figured a second hand unit will probably have a similar state, being 24 year old plastic