Project: Useless E46

Originally Posted by Alanz0

Keep us updated on how those rokkors hold up! Love the stance

Thanks I will! The old set I had on my passat was great had them for about a year before I got in the accident, then I sold them to a buddy and he's been running them for over a year now, and he is still loving them

Love the thread so far. Not many people in the stance community do things as proper and thoroughly as you do, so it's good to see.

By the way, you do an awesome job of detailing your work. The DIY section of this forum is going to love you.

Are the rears on the Rokkors stiffer than the rears they used for the RL's? My gf is looking to lower her e46 and was looking at Rokkors. I keep trying to convince her to bag it but she wants to save money for her own bags and shoes lol.

Keep up the good work man, your car is comin along nicely. Atleast you know your next mod is new wheels

omg your mutherfvcking wagon was sexy.
cant wait to see how the e46 comes out. what are your wheel plans?

Originally Posted by HardPark'd TT

Are the rears on the Rokkors stiffer than the rears they used for the RL's?

the site says so, but they come in a rather generic box with all inner packaging unmarked so who knows.

I was worried about being able to bolt on factory wheels if I got a flat or what not, so in VW FK fashion I left out the helper springs in front and they seem to clear without spacer. Cant wait to see it with 18s.

Originally Posted by Bart Taylor

the site says so, but they come in a rather generic box with all inner packaging unmarked so who knows.

I was worried about being able to bolt on factory wheels if I got a flat or what not, so in VW FK fashion I left out the helper springs in front and they seem to clear without spacer. Cant wait to see it with 18s.

they do clear fine, its close but they clear! and yes, the Rokkors are stiffer than racelands, both in spring rates and dampening.

Thermostat DIY


I know there are many thermostat DIY's out there. I havent really looked through them, but I figure more info and pics cant hurt. Also I like to show my way of going about repairing these vehicle whenever I do a DIY. The way that is the most efficent while having the best quality of workmanship.

Just like other trades, being a technician is a skill that is aquired over a long period of time. Anyone can turn a ratchet but there are so many mistakes made by people when working on cars for stupid reasons. Here's a few tips of my own for those people of all experience levels that I have come to find important. I'm not the worlds greatest tech or anything, but I do this everyday of my life and you never stop learning. So hopefully I can help you guys learn new things about the cars and hobby we all love.

Tips:

ORGANIZATION: Keep your work enviornment clean organized. Keep the hardware together, the parts together and your tools together, if you are taking a componnent off of a car, prepare a place to set the part so it does not get damaged or contaminated.

CLEAN: If your engine is covered in oil and dirt, then get some degreaser and spray it down with a hose, go for a quick drive to help it dry up then start work, I garuntee it will make working on your engine much easier, quicker, and efficient.

RESEARCH: Learn what the hell you're working on before you actually get working on it! Get an understanding of the functions of a component before you work with it. Just a general understanding will help you feel more confident and may be the difference between making a costly mistake and not.



Alright..... so back to that DIY!


Step One: Lift the front of the vehicle




Step Two: Remove the front underbody panel. Just a few phillips 180 degree turn screws.




Step Three: Remove air duct for air box. It is held down by 3 plastic rivets. Pry them up gently with a tack puller. This is a very handle tool for working on these cars and I highly recommend getting one if you like getting your hands dirty. $6.99 at Sears.








Step Four: Disconnect the "Smelly Cow Sensor" and Fan Connecter which are located on the passanger side/top of the fan shroud. Unwind the wires from the various hooks that hold them all tidy and out of the way. Then move them out to the passanger side of the car so they are out of your way.

NOTE: The "Smelly Cow Sensor" is the sensor that detects impurities in the air, such as a dairy farm or big diesel truck. When your climate control is set to Auto Recirculation it will automatically shut the vents from outside so that these smells do not make it into the cabin.










Step Five: Remove the Engine Fan/Shroud. One plastic rivet on the driver side of the shroud and one T25 torx screw on the other.

NOTE: The process for changing a thermostat is slightly different on an automatic transmission vehicle rather than a manual. Automatic transmission vehicles have a engine driven fan that mounts to the water pump. A 32mm wrench is needed to remove this, It is REVERSE threaded. The fan most be threaded off of the waterpump first, then the fan shroud and fan can be removed together.

Since my car is a manual transmission it has an electric fan. This makes it much quicker to remove.









My buddy Greg who is an Infiniti Tech came over to hang out... So I put him to work.




Step Six: Now we can really access the Thermostat. Cut the zip tie holding the wire haness to the upper radiator hose and disconnect the electrical connector on the thermostat housing.













.....to Be continued shortly

Thermostat Continued!


Step Seven: Place a drain pan under your car to catch all the coolant that will pour out. Remove The two coolant line connections from the thermostat housing. Lift up the metal clip that locks the connection on to the housing. Then use a screw driver and gently pry the hose off while wigglying the the connection with your free hand. These guys can be stuck on pretty good so just be cautious of the brittle plastic while you're working it off.

NOTE: I recommend pushing the clips back down on each connector after they are pulled off of the thermostat housing. That way they dont accidentally shoot off into the abyss of your engine bay.

Installation: I throw some WD-40 or Silicone Spray, on the inside of the connectors. That way you can just push it on to the new thermostat housing nice and easily. with a satisfying "Click".

Step 8: Loosen Bracket for engine lift point that is mounted at the top of the thermostat.

Remove the 13mm bolt and 11mm nut to loosen the bracket, you wont be able to remove the bracket unless you take the upper vanos banjo bolt.. which is not necessary.










Step 9: Remove the 3 10mm bolts holding the thermostat on.

http://s974.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=DSC04419.jpg

Great work, great thread, thanks for posting.

mirin your work!

This is full of so much win. PLEASE keep posting!

nice car!
want to see pictures with nice summer wheels xD

DIY king

Originally Posted by HardPark'd TT

Good man. This will turn out nice.



They do. Get your stance on bro.

I don't believe they do....

http://www.mirowheels.com/STP1.html

OP I wish I could see your work but your pics aren't working. Is it just me?

Not working for me anymore either.

Bandwidth exceeded. OP is now much too popular for a standard PhotoBucket account.

Lol yup! I went pro on photobucket so pics are back guys So I got some news....

ORDERED SOME WHEELS AND TIRES

I am no longer getting Style 37 Reps. Change of plans, I'm getting a set of Forged Beyern Bavaria's 18x10 e20 all around I needed something wider. I havent seen anyone run them yet so it should be a interesting set up. I got some Achillies ATR Sport 215/35/18. $72 bucks a tire, $350 shipped to my door




I really want to run 18x10 and 18x11 but I'm going to have to wait till I get some 3 piece wheels. Looking at somethings from the vintage series.

They should be here around mid next week, THen I'm going to get my tires mounted and do a test fit! Then I will do some fender rolling!

Updates to come!!!!

Sent from my PC36100 using Bimmer trully nice work bro I would like to work on my car like that too but don't have the time or the tools I have some rokkors that I order too with endlinks and I have not install them. Lol

now I got myself curious. How come you are working in your own garage and not on a lift?