e36 328 ownership experience

[Lee36328]

A happy circumstance as an outcome of this project - I met KC's at his shop for the first time yesterday. and found out he is a fellow brother in more ways than one. Nice to meet you brother!

KC's did excellent work on my car, washing it to a level of detail that exceeded even my own extremely fussy expectations. He is also a fellow survivor of the hard school of life, rescued and reborn by grace as I recently had been. Amen brother!

He praised the work done on the car, saying the paint had hardly any defect, which after I checked out KC's passion and postings on the detailing section of this forum, I realized those words came from an expert. I'm not an expert by any means, but I do know for sure where I'll be sending my car for washing and detailing from now on... :top:

 

[Lee36328]

Can you remember the person you met yesterday? The face? Vaguely, yes. But every inch of the smile, every mole, every wrinkle, every feature? Neither can I.

With the new face gleaming at me now, I struggle to recall what it used to look like. Until I dug out some photos taken before the work. Glad I took some photos; helps me to appreciate better.

I thought they had put in new grills for me; I had to ask to be sure. Nope, not new, the same, just resurfaced and painted glossy black. Check it out.

The human memory is a fickle thing. When we have something new, the old is replaced and rapidly forgotten. I only appreciate fully when I place the old and the new side by side like this.

 

[casper909]

Love the new glossy black grills!

 

[kc's]

A happy circumstance as an outcome of this project - I met KC's at his shop for the first time yesterday. and found out he is a fellow brother in more ways than one. Nice to meet you brother!

KC's did excellent work on my car, washing it to a level of detail that exceeded even my own extremely fussy expectations. He is also a fellow survivor of the hard school of life, rescued and reborn by grace as I recently had been. Amen brother!

He praised the work done on the car, saying the paint had hardly any defect, which after I checked out KC's passion and postings on the detailing section of this forum, I realized those words came from an expert. I'm not an expert by any means, but I do know for sure where I'll be sending my car for washing and detailing from now on... :top:

thanks bro lee for your kind words
you have one of the most contagious passion too
your zeal and zest influence others like wild spread fire in forest

keep your awesome UDM up

 

[Lee36328]

Finally, after quite an epic journey, she is home.

The neon street lamp makes the colour glow, with a touch of yellow-green.

Under the night lighti, the surface looks creamy, in a latte sort of way, not sure how to describe it. The Nikon D40 can't quite fully capture it, but this is the best I can do.

 

[casper909]

Hey bro how much did you pay for your projector headlights? Looks good at night? Take a shot of it with its angel eyes on when ya can

 

[Lee36328]

Sure, no pbm. For some reason, the camera is constantly in my car recently. Hmm... wonder why that is...

Here's how it looks at night, off and on.

The lights are called Repo. Not expensive at all. Ask your regular supplier for it. I got it just on a lark because I liked how it looked, not expecting it to last too long. But somehow, it held up quite well.

 

[casper909]

Looks great bro, get some HID fog lights to go with it and will look superb.

 

[Lee36328]

Woke up one morning and found out it had rained the night before.

Naturally, first thing I did was to check how the car was doing and I saw this on the roof.

Put my finger there to show the relative size of the beading.

Since I didn't want to start using my micro fiber cloth yet, because I'd have to wash the cloth after that, thought I'd try a hands-free and cloth-free method of drying the car.

So, I took it for a brisk run down the highway, and it came back bone dry. The beads just rolled off the car as it moved.

 

[Lee36328]

Oh, and by the way, after that run, the accelerator became noticeably more responsive. Seems what they say is true, the car learns the driving behaviour of the owner and adapts. After so long out of action, the car 'forgot' how I drive, but a run soon sorted it out.

Am happy to discover the kick-down works even better than before, and some previous vibration and harshness at speed are now gone. Probably because of the rebuilt/rebalanced long shaft.

 

[Lee36328]

Can't wait for the long weekend to be over so that I can send the car to KC's to wash and touch up.

Wow, can't believe I just said that. Is that normal?

 

[Tom328]

Can't wait for the long weekend to be over so that I can send the car to KC's to wash and touch up.

Wow, can't believe I just said that. Is that normal?

Hahaha... I'm sure we've all spent long sleepless nights because of our cars. Your signature needs to be updated!!! :top:

 

[Lee36328]

Yes, Tom328, indeed.

Been a long long while since I had sleepless nights over my ride.

Did some research, happened upon the vanos seal replacement procedure. Wow! What did I miss? Sounds like it's exactly what I need.

Thanks to many of the gurus on this forum for their advice and input.

Ah, finally, KC's is open for business! Car getting slightly dirty, beyond what I can stand.... What a difference. Last time, even rust I can tahan, now even some speck of dust I cannot tolerate. He he he.

 

[Lee36328]

Finally, KC's is open.

Time for a quick wash, a wax touch up, and some quick shots.

KC's boys do good work, as the pics show.

Car gleaming again after getting dirty for 4 days, my anxiety is finally soothed and I can get down to work on other matters...

 

[kc's]

Finally, KC's is open.

Time for a quick wash, a wax touch up, and some quick shots.

KC's boys do good work, as the pics show.

Car gleaming again after getting dirty for 4 days, my anxiety is finally soothed and I can get down to work on other matters...

Wow
Awesomely yrs again

 

[Lee36328]

Aw, thanks for the compliment, KC's.

How time flies.

It's been 16 years since the car was produced.

It was 8 years old when I bought it from the previous owner.

It's been 8 years since I started this thread when I just got the car.

Time flies. Can't believe the car is 16 years old already.

What's more amazing, I am still gazing at it longingly after 16 years. Even now as I type it from a Starbucks, I glance at the car from time to time. And feel my blood pressure lowering at the soothing sight.

Ha ha, even the car registration card has run out of space - had to get a kad sambungan recently. So thought I'd drop by the police station to clear any summons that might be blocking my roadtax. Got a shock. How many speeding tickets? Wow. I really pushed it. OK, ok, no budget, I told the police officer, just pay the ones actually blocking my road tax. The perils of plenty of torque and horsepower - breaking the speed limit is hard to avoid.

Impressive how well-engineered these things are - such a level of performance, yet very little goes wrong if it is well maintained and well run. Apart from wear and tear replacements, no major dramas because all the drama issues were resolved long ago. And the technology is not so complex or we have worked out most of it by now, such that with a little ingenuity from enthusiast, we can rebuild pretty much all of it instead of spending on expensive complex parts.

God willing, and with the help and encouragement of our fellow enthusiasts, I will keep the car ticking for as long as I can keep maintaining and rebuilding it. Lets see.

 

[Lee36328]

Looks done, now onto power...

Yes, I know I am late to the party.

Could hardly wait to put this in.

The Vanos seal repair kit from Beisan Systems.

Compare it with the seal that came out.

The old seals were so brittle, the inner ring literally broke apart in my hands.

Once it was replaced with the Beisan rings, the idle stays rock-solid at this rpm.

Torque was stable and optimised at all range of rpm, especially low rpms.

Check out the voltage readings; again, rock solid at 12.5 volt at minimum. Before, it sometimes dipped down to 11.0 volt, especially when engine was cold.

The instruction said to drive up to 320 km before the full effects are felt. But actually, I felt the improvement immediately.

Car pulls effortlessly.

Even gear change is improved, because more torque is produced compared to before.

I am seriously looking forward to any further improvement as I clock up the recommended 320 km. Stay tuned...

 

[Lee36328]

Seems a wash at KC's after the work done on the car is starting to be a custom.

My apologies for the gratuitous shots - still can't help myself.

 

[Lee36328]

Thanks for all the nice feedback guys.

Just took the car out to the nearby highway for a run, and I can definitely confirm the Beisan Vanos Seals Repair kit works for my car.

Took the car to a decent clip where normally, both the car and the wife would be equally loud. The engine would be shrieking to produce the horsepower and the exhaust bellowing to expel the output, while the wife would be shrieking for me to slow down.

But this time around, after installing the repair kit, the engine hardly murmured, the exhaust hummed a low bass note smoothly, and the missus was hardly disturbed. The acceleration was liquid-smooth, the gear changes hardly felt, and the cabin remained at a cocoon of calm and comfort.

It's like discovering another pair of previously dormant cylinders in the engine. I dare say, I do not remember the car feeling this torquey ever.

Another sign of improvement, when idling, the exhaust used to smell of petrol. ie. containing unburnt fuel. Now the smell is gone.

Also noted the fuel consumption meter now stays at below 10 l/100km much of the time, yet with more torque produced. So overall, I expect fuel consumption to improve.

The testing and discovery continues...

 

[Lee36328]

Some random pics from, you guessed it, KC's place again. Never been washing my car so frequently. I think I have a new fetish, can't help myself.