This light went better. I was much more patient doing the tint film and I did it in direct sunlight on 90 deg day. Very few bubbles.

That still doesn’t blend, but I’m into it.

On a sunny day my black rust oleum painters tape right taillight housing really blends with the brg
Got tired of looking a blue painters tape and mismatched tail lights. Used grinder to cleanup surface rust, put 2 layers of rust oleum, one layer of painters tape, then one more layer black rust oleum over the tape. Have done this before- is pretty damn waterproof. This way I can go through the car wash, not have it be a total eyesore. I don’t plan on welding/ grinding on the tails for a while. Want to finish all my mechanical projects before school starts in a few weeks.

- have new crank damper pulley
- have new crank seal
- waiting to receive front upper Hydraulic motor mount
-have oil cooler to block seal
- will do oil cooler o rings
- reused rubber ring from previous Oil filter as mine didn’t come with one. Suspect oil leak from here- hard to tell as oil cooler is right there too. Replace filter ring is on the list.

anybody have experience with those filter housing o rings? Do they leak if reused once?

 

Also have a leak coming from my Pcv to supercharger gray tube at the SC inlet. I mangled the hose pretty bad and thought I could reuse it. Ordered from pelican along with idler and some other bits.

i hope it’s just the tube and that I don’t break the clip (again). Not sure if there is an o ring in there or if that could be compromises sed too. Either way, it’s going back in with rtv around the tube. Stupid place to have a leak. I have an oil catch can- can I just plug the hole in the SC and install my can?

 

I decided to go to the 15" on my R53, in part because of your feedback on the improvement. I went with Sparco FF-1 wheels which are 11 pounds, and the 17" wheel tire combo I pulled off was 45 pounds, and the 15" combo is 30 pounds! wow, what a difference in ride quality and driveablity over bad roads. and it feels great, I went with 195/60 R15 and they feel great, not a lot of sidewall roll, but much more practical overall.

 

I think it's a great change too. I think I might go 190/ 60/15 if I had it to do again. The bigger tires are certainly comfortable by comparison to 205/45/17 summer tires, but think they add a touch more roll in hard cornering. Still very happy with my size and may be happier still about it in winter and Fall driving. Also nice to push the limit of what size clears stock suspension. Your car looks nice! I like those wheels. Thinking about selling my S lites.


Anyway, here are my tasks I want to get to before 8/15 or so. I have the parts for everything sitting on the bench.

-oil cooler o rings and block to cooler gasket (also pull oil housing cap and replace o ring that I didnt do at oil change)
-front tie rods (then maybe take it for an alignment.
-crank pulley
-one front sway bar link (already replaced one that broke while doing suspension)
-New pcv to supercharger gray vacuum hose (will seal with rtv)
-Front engine mount
-New tensioner and idler (will transfer over the powerflax damper bushings from the shock)

-Have an amazon special oil catch can I will put on. Probably buy some better tubing for it


-Also, purchased cravenspeed 15% pulley, amazon r53 pulley puller, colder plugs (bkr7e, I think- not iridium- just copper plugs one step colder from th 6e I have in there now), 60535 gates belt.
Excited to see how this older engine performs with the 15%! I already have the cat back exhaust (could do a header?). I could do a CAI also, but don't want to pay 2-300 to do it. Might go DIY. Other good ideas for getting more air to the SC?

 

Update: Got 15% pulley, new belt, plugs, tensioner, idler, crank pulley installed. New topside engine mount, PCV supercharger hose replaced, Still have new tie rods and sway bar links, as well as lower engine mount (now filled with polyurethane) to be installed soon.

Have had a few issues, some of which were my own fault, some of which have just come up:

-Axle seal on passenger side with pretty significant leak. I think I may have caused this when doing motor mount. Supported just the engine and passenger side, but left front driver wheel on the ground so axle popped its clip. Hoping the axle and trans are ok and just a new seal with sort it.
-Seems like power steering has a minor leak, although not losing any fluid level, just wet on underside on driver side. Not sure where to go on that yet.
-I marred the crank threads with the crank pulley tool and chased the threads to put on the new pulley. At first I didnt have the new pulley fully seated. I can also see that my new bolt is a little non- concentric. So, there is a little bit of wonkiness with new pulley. Before I pulled the bolt again and figured out that pulley wasnt fully seated, the movement from the pulley was worse and the belt walked off a rib while testing. Messed with it some more and got another belt (which I swear was a little longer than the one that walked off). Everything has been fine for about 300 miles of test driving, so I think things are ok.

I still plan to pull the pulley i put on and replace with the PRW pulley and new crank bolt I got. In any case- things are coming along. I compression tested the motor after getting an amazon gauge and it looks like about 135-140 across all cylinders. What do you think about that?

 

Imo smaller rims with fatter tires looks best on minis.
I like how your rims and tires look...
I actually have a never used oem crank bolt if you want it and crank seal,pm me ur address and ille just send it to you becuase seems you could use it and i just did my pulley 2 months ago and used a bolt I bought at hardware store cuz shipping was taking forever on the oem bolt.
heat the pulley too if you can anytime befor you try to remove it, when heated it expands and pulls off alot easier just dont go crazy heating.
and YOU CANNOT use the Amazon or ebay supplied tubing with the catch cans , it ALWAYS compresses flat under vacuum.

 

interesting! I thought a lot about using a random bolt for the crank too, but now I have 2 brand new ones, and the seal behind the pulley was done first time pulley came off. I do appreciate the offer!

I also love the smaller wheels. I need to find a home for the old wheel set and tires- I don’t think they are going back on.

i already bought some other stuff to replace the amazon hose. I have mocked up the oil can placement and still not sure on the best spot for it.

 

So, I have done a couple pretty stupid things on this car already, but I think I’m into the next one.

when doing engine mount and jacking up the car, I think I may have popped the axle circlip from the driver side. I had the passenger wheel off, jack stand under. I then supported the engine and then brought engine up high enough to remove the mount. I undid th power steering fan, thinking that would get stretched. I loosened the driver trans mount. However, I left the driver front wheel and tire on the ground and I believe this strained the axle and seal.

motor mount went in- all my other parts went on, and the only issue I noticed with the driver side axle was the seal going into the trans.

i took it to a local transmission shop that o work with and they said the diff had excessive play and that the fluid in the Trans was metallized and contaminated with bits of the tip of the axle (which apparently wa grinding away some splines from the axle?) they wanted to replace the whole trans.

i said no thank you, asked them to put the new seal and a new axle in, change the gear oil and return in to me.

i also put some liqui molí friction modifier into the trans when I did the oil change, and it looks like graphite- so I think the trans shop may have thought the worst.

So, has anyone ever heard of a popped axle circlip grenadine the trans? Do you think that some metal shavings from the circlip or splines will destroy the trans in really short order?

weird thing is that I have had no humming, grinding, strange operation or irregularity from the trans or axle at all. I took it in because the axle/ diff seal was leaking and I wanted to wrap that detail up before going back to work in a week.

thoughts?

 

I just want to comment on the smaller wheels and fatter tyres, I also think this is a smart move. It will lower the amount of unsprung weight and will also add comfort due to the higher sidewalls. I switched from 17" with 205/40/17 to 16" with 205/55/16 and it's a major difference.

I opted for the R87 Double spoke wheels due to the low weight (its a 5.5j wheel lol), and they also fit over R53 JCW calipers (294mm discs). I want the Rota Grid ET20 setup, but that needs some preparation and savings



R87 Double spoke weighing in at 15.3kg


Quite the difference with 18kg

 

i like all those wheels but I think the smaller wheel size has every advantage except holding the tightest line possible on every turn. I’m happy to trade a little of that for some comfort. I suppose there is also the issue of not fitting r56 brake upgrade. Can you do that mod on 16in wheels?

anyway, nice setup!

 

Will hear back from shop later today and will update if I still have a leak and condition of trans.


bathroom update: getting there

 

I believe (but please correct if wrong) that the R56 MCS brakes are quite similar to the R53 JCW brakes. The disc size should be similar, but the caliper setup is a bit different (no banjo bolt, but screw type brake lines etc)

Nice work on the bathroom & thanks for the compliments, I am very happy with my little pocket rocket haha

 

Update: last I posted I had a trans leak at the axle seal. Shop said the clip on the axle stub had eaten itself and they wanted to replace the whole transmission! They said there was metal in the trans oil. I assured them that I had added liqui moly additive and that it looked a lot like metallized shavings....I don't think they really understood what I was describing. So, against their wishes I had them put in a new axle, new seal that was leaking, fresh trans oil, and put it back together. It has been 2k miles since then (few months since I posted) and no issues to speak of with the trans.

Next issue was the crank pulley- the cheapo one had a bad wobble. I installed the PRW pulley and what a difference. Smooth, linear acceleration and better idle compared to the other. No regrets- as many have said, spend money on a good crank pulley the first time you do it (don't be like me.

I installed an alta airbox and K and N filter. No real noticeable impact on performance, but it's louder, which I don't really view as a huge plus. It is a little harder to hear the charger wind up now.

Got a brass bleeder screw off amazon! Nice touch to the engine bay that only cost $5, but looks nice!

Installed my mini mania steel skid plate. I think the car is almost fully winterized now!

I plan to send my ECU in to WMW to get the quiktune put on- I am hoping it ties together the 15% pulley, airbox, exhaust, etc. and smooths out the car a little. I still feel a sort of hesitation in the rev range.

I may get a DT bypass valve, but debating on whether I should just take my own apart and try to modify the spring/ resistance a little.

Would be interested in hearing from anyone who has a quicktune from WMW!

 

You're not surprised are you? And I'm sure they quoted you a "fair, reasonable price" around $2K more than the value of the car. (Am I close?)
And I'll be they didn't offer actually to show you said metal in the oil did they?
Should be first order of business on every R50/53. You got lucky. Many of us got to find out why the hard way.
It also works nice, and one less bit of cheap, recycled German plastic garbage in your engine bay.
Welcome to your 30s and beyond!
Well done and nice car!

 

haha, yeah I’m getting older (but also smarter?).

i am enjoying the heck out of this car but have definitely passed the point where I will ever get my money back out. You guys should check out the rich rebuilds YouTube series on his electric r53 conversion. I think if mine blows up at some point, I may try exactly what he is doing! He has three or four videos on the conversion- here is the 1st.

 

I saw that YouTube video as I was ordering a new supercharger for my R53. Seems tempting, but I don’t have the knowledge, workspace, or tools to take on a project like that right now. I’m definitely watching his progress with excitement.

 

I find the electric conversion of gas vehicles to be really interesting. I lack any experience with such things, but I am betting if I start learning now, the supporting resources and aftermarket will be pretty strong when my car would blow up a couple years from now!

i think the point he makes in the videos is that this type of conversion is not imposible or unattainable, particularly if you are the type who likes to work on their own gas cars.

A lot of what he does is not overly technical, the fabrication looks minimal. If you don’t have a workspace or tools, that’s another issue, but it is definitely an inspiring idea.

 

Added the little red S! Have had the WMW quicktune for about a week. It really smooths things out. Way recommended against getting a DT bypass valve and I can see why- seems unnecessary now that the tune has been in. Not sure I can really notice any more torque or hp gain, but it is smoother all the way through the rev range, and maybe even a little smoother at idle. The little idle stumble that happens and then corrects itself after sitting idling for a couple minutes is still present but bette

Gas mileage was at about 22mpg (almost no highway miles) and has improved to closer to 25. Haven’t really calculated down to the 10th of a mile because who cares, but for anyone searching for info on the WMW quicktune, it will help a little with mpg and it will smooth everything right out and tie you mods together or if they are similar to mine (CAI/ cat back/ 15%/ colder plugs). Hope that helps someone! I don’t plan any more in depth mods- if I ever get bored I may got 17% pulley.

Have developed a pretty bad power steering leak- ordered hoses and worm clamps. Front left tone ring is thrashed- abs light is on ordered front wheel bearing. Rear right wheel bearing is howling in corners, ordered that too. One of the front strut mounts started to rip- I skipped those when I did the shocks. It is also on order. Does anyone have a source for the rear wheel hub bolts? They are like $30 ea everywhere I looked! Still have tie rods, control arm bushings, oil catch can to finis

 

For the hub bolts, take them out and measure them. Then go to McMaster-Carr and order them. You don't need a BMW provided bolt at crazy prices. You just need a bolt.

 

With 180K on the supercharger.....I wouldn't mess with it. Unless it's been replaced before, the bearings are already past their life expectancy.....you would be wasting your time and money pulling it off to change the oil on it. Just wait until it starts making noise ,and then pull it off and either replace it or have it rebuilt. If it's lasted 180K miles....it's probably got plenty of oil in it still.

 

haha, it's a little late for that. I changed the SC oil in July I think! I am almost positive the SC is not original or has already been rebuilt. It had plenty of oil in it but it was a little dark. I am glad I did the oil (along with some of the gaskets). Gave me peace of mind and I know I could do it again if I had to replace it. But, I understand your reasoning- if I were paying someone else to do it, I probably would leave it alone.

Having said that, I will probably pay a local mechanic to do a couple items this winter (power steering hoses/ wheel bearing) as I don't want to lay on the cold driveway, and drop the steel skid on my chest to replace.

 

Got my parts in! 1 front and 1 rear wheel bearing, tie rods, power steering rack powerflex bushing, front control arm bushings, strut mount, power steering lines. I am on thanksgiving break, so will probably do a couple items. Whatever I can't finish this week I am gonna take to my local garage and have them finish up. I still need to woolwax/ fluid film the car, but it started snowing yesterday! Oh well, I will get it washed and rustproof as much as I can.

Also ordered a shift boot delete kit from black flag usa. First one got to me broken and I contacted them via instagram- they had a new one shipped out right away! Pretty great, responsive service for a company that doesnt even have a phone number.

I have a buddy in WA who inherited a lathe and some woodworking talent. He is gonna make me a custom weighted wood shifter. I have a couple of bowls and trinkets he has made and I am really excited to see what he comes up with. I have no doubt it will exceed my own expectations (I am currently really pumped with my TRD toyota shift ball from my truck! So, you can see I have a low bar).

Here is what I sent him as an example of what I was hoping for. I told him I want a little less bevel, a good amount of weight, and I want it to be about 20% bigger than the average cue ball style shift ball (which I have now). He is gonna choose the wood and the insert to attach it.

Still not sure on a logo, but I might have him use one of the well worn wheel caps that came on the car.


Like these, but weathered. Would be recessed into the top and then clear epoxied over.





Like this one too


Pretty exciting! I will update with pics when I get some from him.

 

Almost forgot! I made a rear seat delete for my dig to ride on and to haul stuff. I love it. It isn't perfect, but it looks great. 3/4 ply and automarine black carpet se me back $40.


TRD shift **** I mentioned. I like it a lot, but I think the wood one would really look nice.

Spray painted wheels holding up ok.

Steel skid on. Surprisingly hard to get a good picture of

This is her good side.

Got a piano hinge for the deck lid. Plenty of storage, but I was hoping to really seal the edges so I could do sound deadener under and contain a lot of the exhaust noise. No such luck- currently this is as far as I can open the lid. Would like to recut and make it narrower so I can fully open.

Its pretty secure. Is bolted down using original bolt anchor for rear seats in center of rear body of the car. Note my power steering stash since my hoses are leaking bad and I am trying to replace this week.

 

Love the rims they really suit the car

 

Thanks! I am a big fan- these and the R112 are my favorite mini wheels. I am also a big fan of the Sparco Terra wheels as well.