Saturday, November 12, 2011
New Roundel
Most of the time I'm a pretty sedate driver and
keep it around 10 over the 65 MPH speed limit on a local highway I frequent
on my commute (qualification added so you guys don't think I'm one of those
a$$holes that speed in residential neighborhoods). Since installing the winter
tires, however, I've found myself occasionally hovering around 80 when conditions
permit simply to avoid a niggling tendency of these tires to shake at my "sweet
spot". I have
only myself to blame, of course, as I installed the set for another season
despite knowing full well that at least one of the wheels is slightly bent
and needs to be repaired.
As a general rule I don't acknowledge the 335 or M3 drivers who want to play games on public roads, but recently my commute happened to sync up several mornings in a row with a cherry E30 M3 and I couldn't help but observe him leveraging his copy of the wonderful S14. One morning, an appreciative nod and a smile as he passed me was all I needed to decide to have a little fun. Race? Of course not. Just some high speed cruising as the Germanic Gods intended. With the M52 breathing deeply near the top of the torque curve, I noticed something out of the corner of my my eye fly over the car. I didn't think much of it at the time as it looked like a small plastic bag and I encounter those fairly often because I share the road with litterbugs.
Of course, the thing about driving a bit faster than usual is that the destination tends to come up quickly, so in no time I had to give my fellow enthusiast the casual two finger salute and take the exit for my office. As I got out of the car and locked the door I began to walk away, only to turn my head and give my baby one last lustful look. And that's when I saw it: the Roundel emblem was missing. I returned to the front of the car for a closer look and found all that remained was the chrome plastic substrate and some of the glue that had once bonded the emblem to it. I quickly connected the dots and chuckled when I realized I'd managed to drive so fast that I blew it off the car. Gven that it had started to look a little rough around the edges in recent months, this seemed a fitting end.
So the next day I went to the dealer and picked up a new Roundel for the annoyingly high sum of $25. Not long ago these things were $10, but like most of their most common parts BMW now feels justified in charging three times that price. Sigh. Fortunately, my pain eased as quickly as I installed the new Roundel in the parking lot and sped off to work. The car just looked naked without it.
Upper Steering Column Parts Arrive
The upper steering column noise I reported last time has grown worse with each passing day. I'm not sure if the colder weather has anything to do with it, but the reality is it's now making far more noise than I'm willing to tolerate until next spring when I have intention of overhauling the entire steering column.
While at the dealer picking up the Roundel this week I therefore decided to
order the parts I figured I'd need to fix the problem including the slip ring
and snap ring. Today, when I went to the dealer to pick up the parts, the parts
guy also presented me with a couple of parts I didn't order -- specifically
the inner and outer collars. I knew those parts were likely to be in fine shape
and not in need of replacement, but at less than $2 a piece I decided to take
them just in case.
I'm not sure when I'll get to pull the wheel and install the parts, but it's on my short list.
11/22 Update: I didn't need the slip ring after all and returned it for a credit. The parts cost has been updated to reflect this.
Gummi Pflege Stift Application
One of the downsides of frameless doors is the fact that the rubber molding that seals the door opening is exposed to UV in areas the window cannot protect it. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that after 14 years of exposure portions of the molding have dried out. While searching for something unrelated on Amazon, I found something I've been looking for ever since BMW stopped carrying it several years ago: Einszett Gummi Pflege. For those that don't know, this stuff has a pretty amazing reputation for restoring rubber seals, and with each one on my E36 going for $300, the $8 seemed like a wise investment.
Today I applied the material to the exposed portion of the rubber seal several times and watched the rubber soak each application in within a few seconds. After three solid applications I noticed the solution took a bit longer to dry so I considered that a good place to stop. The result? The rubber was darker and a bit more pliable, but admittedly not nearly as smooth and flexible as the rubber protected by the door.
When I closed the door I noticed that the window closed the last quarter inch a bit more quietly...no doubt because the rubber was now more "slick". Indeed, the label suggests that Gummi Pflege can help prevent rubber from sticking to the window in freezing conditions, so I think it's safe to say that the stuff works. It won't perfectly restore 14 year old seals, but it does make a difference, and I think it would serve particularly well as a protectant if applied every 6 months to brand new seals. In fact, at this point I wished I'd done that from the start.
If you're thinking of picking up a bottle and you click on this link to purchase the product a (very) small amount of your purchase will go towards my site support fund. Thanks in advance for your support.
Mileage: 213290, Parts: $14, Materials: $8