... and we have a problem...

Yeah, so I probably drove the car around for about 20 miles yesterday, took a nice long drive at lunch, took some photos, etc.
I was under the car not 24 hours before that, and thought I checked everything...
I'm pulling away from a left turn off the road where I work on, not even going 30 mph yet, and all of sudden a loud whirring noise, and loss of drive occurs. No forward motion, but the whirring winds up when I press the gas pedal.
Yup, the halfshaft bolts came off. They loosened themselves in NO TIME.
HMMMMMMM. This would be funny... BUT! It's happened before.
I had done some work on Green Hell like this back in '09, and ended up taking the diff out and then putting a newer LSD one in. Drove it around for a couple thousand miles, down from MD to NC for 4th of July, and I'm leaving NC for the weekend when the same thing happens.

When am I going to learn that I need Loctite on those bolts!!


(Yesterday, as it turns out...)

I called up Orlando, we made a quick trip to his house, then Autozone for ANOTHER 8mm hex head socket (I believe I have 3 or 4 of them now...), fixed it up, and I was on my way. Thanks Orlando!

5er at work

I thrashed last night so that I could drive the 5er in to work today. Got it done, but just barely. I started with the exhaust. Besides doing a 3 man job alone, it was a pleasure with new hardware. It made everything go together so well. Then I went around and made sure all the suspension components and stuff underneath were properly torqued. Good thing I checked!! I did those trips around the block with some stuff that probably shouldn't have been loose... oops.

Still some issues I need to address on the car, but I'm going to continue to shake her down and see if stuff breaks...

... or if I REALLY fixed it, this time.

Back in business...

So, the 535is had the wonky idle like I was talking about. With the help of several members of MYe28.com, I was able to get her running right. I took her for a 5 mile drive last night around the neighborhood, and she runs GREAT! I think I'm finally ready to pop an exhaust on her, do one last sweep on the underside to make sure everything's torqued down/connected correctly, and start driving her daily. YESSSSS!!
(keep tuning in, I'll be updating the photo as I get her put together)

THANK YOU to everyone at MYe28.com, I've learned so much!

That means I can start working on other projects.
In the next couple weeks, I'll try to get the Mini going, and do all the necessary work on the 325ix. The ix will be easy, since it already runs; it's just nut and bolt mechanical stuff that needs to be refreshed.

Another fun-filled weekend...

When we got the L6 started in January, there were three leaks that I could find. A fuel leak from one of the injectors, a coolant leak from the overflow tank attachment on the radiator, and an intake leak from a loose hose clamp.

Friday afternoon, I had about an hour or so to spend with Orlando, so we went to the garage and pulled the leaky injectors and the leaky radiator.
He was able to re-install the radiator, but after we discussed it a bit, he decided to try the professionally rebuilt Design III injectors like I had.
Those should be coming in this week, and then we'll try to run her again.

As far as the 535is, I had a friend come down from DC to help out, and Orlando came over on Saturday. They both brought red cars, so it was quite a striking sight, 4 RED BMWs behind my garage. After we bled the brakes and made sure the wheels were torqued on correctly, I took her for a drive around the block a couple times. No exhaust. It was LOUD, obviously. I only went around the block because my seat wasn't bolted in, and I had no seatbelt... (or any other interior, lights, grills, bumpers, front valence, etc.) I jammed on the gas a couple times, and she responded the way she should have, so that was a decent sign...
I still have a wonky idle, but I'm going to put the car together, get an exhaust on her, and see how she does then. The ICV is not buzzing the way it should when power is applied... hmmmm. I got the new carpet in there last night, and put the driver's seat in. It's actually going to look pretty nice in there, I think. The car has been apart for so long that I have to search for all the parts, because of course, they aren't all together...

The new mantra: a ROLLING project, a ROLLING project, a ROLLING project!

VICTORY!

I went ahead and changed out the injectors tonight. I changed out the injectors that I had rebuilt incorrectly (4 hole injectors with a 1 hole pintle cap). I was totally ignorant. I mean, it didn't quite LOOK right, but I didn't know the difference. I put in some professionally rebuilt Design III injectors, put the engine back together, said a prayer, and started her up. She cranked a little bit to fill up the fuel rail again, then PURRED. A loud purr, to be sure, but she ran FINE. We'll see if it's the same tomorrow.
I am so glad. Another victory for...

THE WOLF