Rattle Be Gone!

My drivers side window had been rattling ever since I bought the car.  I got some advice from an expert, who suggested changing the outer chrome window trim on the door. The rubber that protects the inside of the door from rain had pretty much worn out and no longer rested against the window. According to this theory the window itself, no longer held firmly in place, might be subject to rattling.

Well, something was making the thing rattle. The only times it was quiet was when the window was either fully closed or fully open.

The first problem was to remove the piece. Turned out a plastic snow scraper, wedged underneath the chrome trim, could be whacked with a hammer to lift it off.

And so I removed the trim. Metal clips inside on the door seam held the trim firmly.

But, when examining the new item I bought from BMW, I discovered that it had a felt insert that prevented the chrome from sliding back into the seam.

Using the same snow scraper, this time placed on top of the trim piece, I whacked hard and it slowly dropped into place.

No more rattling window when I close the door or when I'm driving with it half-open, and no more jokes about rattle-trap old cars when cynical passengers acoompany me for a ride.

Grill replaced

Last year I had an unfortuante meeting with an SUV parked in front of me on a dark street.  My car rolled gently into the back of the other vehicle after I engaged the clutch while fumbling to get the key in the ignition, resulting in a dented grill.

I made several attempts to buy another grill online but kept getting oubid on Ebay. I finally found one at a reasonable price through the ever-helpful FAQ forum.

Best of all, it's the 10-slat version, which would have been the type originally installed on my car.

New Motor Mount

A lot of people end up changing the entire front subframe to that of a 2002 when they discover that their old drivers side motor mount looks like this.

As my old mount sagged, it caused the engine to shift and sag with it. BMW doesn't make the old, poorly designed specimen anymore; I don't blame them.


 Fortunately Ireland Engineering did a run of urethane motor mounts. They still had a few of them in stock and so I was able to grab one. 

With the new mount there's a bit more engine noise and vibration when the car runs but the peace of mind is worth it.

A Dashing Panel

Many thanks to Daniel from the FAQer forum for sendng me this splendid under-dash panel! They have been NLA forever. Why and when mine was removed from the car is another great mystery.

Engine Bay Details

Some fresh improvements to the egnine bay. Here is the old, creatively messy look on the driver's side, complete with misplaced voltage regulator.

Now the boxes are correctly placed and the wires cloth-taped to factory specs, or close enough.

Also, a previous owner had left the wiper relay dangling in mid-air while festooned with red electrical tape.

Perhaps he or she couldn't afford long enough wires to seat it properly on its hook opposite the wiper fluid pump, further down the side of the compartment.

Once again, thanks to Midnight Motorsport for making it real.

NOS Door Light Switch

No matter how many times I cleaned the contact points of the old, unpleasantly oversprayed switch, it just didn't work consistently.

Here it is pulled out of the door frame, looking even more nasty.

Luckily there's there's a stand-up, great guy on ebay, whose handle is "pmauto". He sells all kinds of cool little trinkets for NKs. So this is my latest acquisition from him - four bucks and well worth the five-minute install.

New Transmission and New Guibo

It's a good idea to keep an eye on the guibo, because when it looks like this your driving days may be numbered.

Much better to slather some armorall on a new one and switch it out.

Thus making a good complement to a shiny transmission, freshly installed (another four-speed, but with this one has perfect syncros).

With due thanks again to Midnight Motorsport.