Matty's Garage Projects (Aus)

[Geoff289]

Haha do we call this skills or expensive hobbies?
Bikes are ikea flatpacks with special tools, don't worry i'm not going as far as building my own battery
I probably haven't covered bikes on this thread since my latest trail bike build a few years ago of the 27.5" Lappierre Zesty
Since early 00s i figured out my father wouldn't take me to ride dirtbikes every weekend so i rode mountainbikes almost daily in my teens to mid 20s.
I was relatively lucky i grew up near Jells Park which has connecting bike paths to the eastern surburbs.

Jells Park, eh? Know it well. My daughter used to manage the cafe there. I've lived in the City of Monash (previously Waverley) since I bought my first house near Syndal station in 1977. Then Glen Waverley near the police academy, then Wheelers Hill, then Waverley (AFL) Park and now Mount Waverley. We are pretty well served for bike paths around the whole area. I can go out my back gate and get to my temporary gig in Oakleigh nearly all the way on the Scotchmans Creek path.

 

[octane_matty]

Jell Park, eh? Know it well. My daughter used to manage the cafe there. I've lived in the City of Monash (previously Waverley) since I bought my first house near Syndal station in 1977. Then Glen Waverley near the police academy, then Wheelers Hill, then Waverley (AFL) Park and now Mount Waverley. We are pretty well served for bike paths around the whole area. I can go out my back gate and get to my temporary gig in Oakleigh nearly all the way on the Scotchmans Creek path.

Ahhh yes, i'm a fan of the cafe scones and jam



It's only been a few days but some progress on the E36
I've been trying to align the windows for a while and finally got them mostly working.
Drivers side is still 50/50 but i think the regulator is worn causing the window to stop too high.

Feels good seeing door trim on again!


While i was playing with the doors i noticed the drivers mirror motor not working
Common fault with m3 mirrors the wires are very brittle copper and both wires were broken.


And finally the E36 made it's first official maiden voyage out of the garage

And onto the alignment rack


Rough alignment specs i asked for
front camber - almost 3 degrees
front toe - zero
rear toe - a scratch above zero
rear camber - 1-2ish

Ended up with too much rear toe while the trailing arm brackets were maxed out. So i've ordered a set with extra adjustment.

Drive home was relatively ok
Rear left wheel noise - maybe brake pads rubbing or fuel pump was cavitating on low fuel
Pedal went into limp mode - diagnostic reset fixed this temporarily (banks datamonster guage was a real savior here!)
Power steering whines a little - (possible bad pump or needs more fluid/bleeding)
Car is somewhat sluggish at low or high rpm no doubt it needs a tune.
Handling though was decent....corners like it's on rails


To hopefully fix the pedal:
This is a weird one but i read about this in a bimmerforums post years ago that the resting voltage of a BMW pedal is borderline too low for the GM ECU. To cure this glue a piece of CD case plastic to the stop and it solves the issue.

Warning if you try this at home....the secure torx ***** on the pedal housing, break the centers off with a flat head, T9'ish torx them out and expect to replace the screws with something better.

Will do a throttle calibration after this and fingers crossed

Next trip is much further to VRoads to hopefully get issued a new engine number.

 

[octane_matty]

Trip to VRoads with the E36 went relatively well but mission was a bust
Turns out the Engineer needs to request the new engine no. so we'll see about that in 2 weeks.

Still chasing a rear left wheel noise, can't work out if it's the bearing or disc rubbing the pads. I have a feeling i'll end up changing the wheel bearing next week just to eliminate that.

Amazing being on the freeway and it pulls hard in 5th I'm very rusty driving a manual and 2nd/3rd gear are aggresive to say the least

After returning home it also didn't like being restarted when hot....ran on 4 cylinders when i put it back in the garage. Hoping that's something simple

 

[octane_matty]

Well it's going to be a busy few weeks lads!
Pre-trip to the engineer i thought i'd look into the wheel noise in the E36

Had a feeling it could be the dust shield, adjusted this clearance but still sounds horrible. Might be time to swap that bearing out.


E36 made the trip to the engineer with minimal issues
Seeing it in the wild is amazing


So Engineer has been through the second inspection and the list is extensive but i think sorta reasonable.
I haven't received the official list but heres what i can remember

• Clutch bleed line hanging, needs securing away from exhaust
• Spark plug wire too close to steering shaft
• Rear lower adjustable control arms - Require FEA analysis since they're aftermarket
• Rear upper control arms - Require FEA since i cut/welded them for clearance. Getting another stock set and beating them with a hammer might be better
• Power steering return line needs securing
• Engine Accessory belt needs re-routing....not enough belt wrap around the Crank pulley
• Passenger engine mount needs additional gusset
• Front brake mounts need FEA analysis (Aftermarket)
• RL Control arm bolt too short
• Power Steering pulley bolt too short, needs washers
• Front ABS sensor wire might be damaged
• Check engine light needs to work
• Front brake wear sensor wire needs securing
• Heater hoses over engine need securing
• EVAP solenoid needs securing
• Seat bases - Might need better bolts/washers/FEA analysis - Sounded like they might get back to me on that
• Secure top of radiator shroud
• Secure wiring for E85 sensor
• Coilovers need something to prevent additional lowering.

Overall many of the securing things i was expecting but not so much the FEA as this will add considerable cost i bet to the final price

Turns out i only need a basic emissions test given the age of the car so turns out they can also do a mafless tune for me after the final inspection.
The LS didn't want to idle after stopping hot again, they reckon it's the BMW pedal and want to swap to a Holden pedal but i'm stubborn and reckon it's timing/knock/MAF related The BMW pedal fits so nicely and heel toe on a floor mounted pedal is something i don't want to give up on

Next visit is June 12th, so i better get cracking


Since we're sorta 'done' with the project car countdown and i'm not actively buying selling tools we'll start a new tradition of what am i listening to; this week goes to Sleep Token's new album Even In Arcadia.

 

[hewey]

Thorough but fair is what you want your engineer to be! Can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

 

[Geoff289]

The outcome from the engineer doesn't seem too bad, could certainly have been worse.

 

[octane_matty]

Spoke too soon gents

Official list came through and a few additional things made it

• Rear diff leak - Might be overfilled or whipping oil up out the breather. Rear cover needs new gasket goo
• Current wheel alignment paperwork and wheel balance. - this one is odd but whatever, i had an alignment done but it was old school 80s gear shop with no printer.
• Exhaust is fouling on rear diff cradle - this is sorta just 'how it is' based on fitting two 2.5" pipes maybe i'll get the hammer out
• Flex fuel sensor mount is loose - I dunno it's 3d printed and held up just fine I don't want it hard mounted in a crash

Saved the worst until last:

• Supply all testing data for front seat adaptors or refit original seats and rails if data
  cannot be obtained.

I doubt Recaro will reply to me or even have ADR testing data for these adapters, local Recaro dealer already told me to kick rocks.
Unfortunate given the mounts are made of 80% BMW OEM parts.
If theres a way i'll find it

 

[octane_matty]

Alright it's been a long weekend and lots of nights working but we're getting there.

New window in the airbox to see the VIN plate


Fresh new belt went from a 2065 to 2045 to wrap around the crank pulley better


Fresh bearing in the Rear left, fingers crossed this fixes the noise


Dropped the diff out to look at the leak
Yep the speed sensor ring is flicking oil out the breather


Drilled out the previous brass fitting, put on a 90 degree fitting to run a diff breather
This was before i slathered everything in Permatex like a 3yr old painting


Routed the diff breather up into the wheel well next to the fuel evap





Fresh longer power steering bolt and washers



This is the diff mount area that was too close to the exhaust


Welded a crush tube inside the square section, turned down the head on a torx bolt. Ugly but functional


Exhaust has had a light tap with a hammer but it looks good enough hopefully.


New radiator securing mounts


Secured clutch bleed line


Secured power steering hose


Evap canister moved into the RL wheel well, the new belt routing interferred with the previous mount. I'll probably get in trouble for cable ties here


And finally a working check engine light

Check engine light was an absolute goose chase! the cars original cluster doesn't have this check engine light cut out in the dash
I can only assume CEL lights are presented on the onboard computer which i no longer have.
Good news is that i have a different cluster because i had some problems with the temp guage on the original cluster.
This 93 cluster has a check engine light but of course my car isn't wired for it.
For those playing at home the White instrument cluster connector X16, pin 16 is wired to the engine bay main harness X20 pin 8.
Took me hours to figure this out and scrounge pins from leftover plugs

Remaining tasks on my engineering list:
Weld engine mount gusset
Engine Number - another vicroads trip
Alignment specs print out
Install something to limit coilover lowering.
Secure fan wiring
And there's only 48hrs to the next engineering visit


Tools breakage report:
Garage creeper - Broken wheel/mount
Screwdriver aka prybar - snapped
9mm drill bit - snapped
Circlip pliers - bent
8mm ratchet spanner - broken

Hopefully my next update is a mod plated car that's tuned!

 

[octane_matty]

Clamps on clamps on clamps *Insert Oprah you get a clamp, you get a clamp*


New flex fuel sensor mount in the making
I first started with the mill but MT2 chucks aren't ideal for milling
The rest was done at 10pm at night with a holesaw, coping saw and a file
I hope my neighbors still like me


Evap solenoid mount - tapped the coil holders and simple piece of alloy


Coilover lowering limiters installed


Back on an alignment rack to get an alignment print out for the engineer

Turns out my first alignment was a waste of money , i expected the rear to be out after doing the diff but the front was all out of whack.

So after 4 hours at vicroads i finally have been issued a new engine number!!
It semed like a 4 hr episode of Utopia watching the request be handballed from manager to manager until someone actually had the access and know how to make it happen but at least i finally got there.
Hilarious seeing blokes double take when i open the bonnet in the inspection bay.

Diff is still puking oil yesterday, drained ~200ml of oil out and might need to remove some more or put a reservoir on the end of the diff breather to counteract the oil being whipped up the tube.
Hopefully that's not a deal breaker with the Engineer
As of this morning it's in the hands of the engineer and hopefully Monday i'll pick it up tuned and signed off fingers crossed

 

[Geoff289]

Finish line in sight I reckon.

 

[octane_matty]

Good/Bad news day!



E36 has passed certification
Certified for all mods possible including the seats... LG2,LK1,LS3,LS5,LS6,LA2,LB1,LB2 and LG1

With the seat bases turns out VSB14 points to ADR3x for seats -> ADR 3x mentions alternative recognized standards that are ECE 17 -> Seat bases are TUV approved, bit of google translate and the TUV certificate mentions it's tested and compliant with ECE 17
The bill for engineering cost more than the base car and then some

Now for the bad news..
They put a base tune in the ECU and before they even really got into some runs a noise started.
Bit of a metal'ish noise around Cyl 7 and sounds deep'ish in the engine

They isolated the cylinders/rockers and it still seemed to make the noise.
Removed belt, tried with the clutch in to eliminate the throwout bearing.

I can only hope it's something relatively simple because now that the engine number and engineers cert are issued, i have about 3 weeks to get a roadworthy cert and have it registered.

Time to start digging
New intake for a different sensor, something to do with speed density tuning
It looks pretty but i think it'll need a flex joint somewhere.


Never a good sign when theres bits of something hanging around on your rockers


Oddly between cyl 5/7 rockers they both have considerable side play on the trunnions, they mentioned the trunnion bearings were a little rough sometimes so maybe they adjusted them.
Bronze doesn't look great


The side play might be because i didn't press the bushing in far enough....i pressed them back in too tight and it felt like rocks
I'll try get them perfect clearance and re-test
Although maybe related i don't think it's the smoking gun

At this stage my guesses are:
Cam bearings wiped out
Lifter failed and it's munching the cam
The stock cam i threw back in was in pretty average condition so i'm not suprised if the cam bearings are destroyed. I just hoped it would last a bit longer until i had to buy a new cam.

I've already grabbed an inspection cam and inside the cylinder piston & walls look normal.
That's not to say rod bearing or wrist pin could be a problem too.
Although i could feel side play on the rockers, it's possible the lifter has eaten the cam and pushrods are now too short to keep the rocker stable.

Going to be a busy few weeks in the garage

 

[octane_matty]

GJ won't let me upload this video but heres a vid of the noise
https://1drv.ms/v/c/9f410c59a78210d2/IQTnG7dN9EyHR6pP42ya9wf8AXQFeDQsvUUY1NGzRhJGlbE

Lifters looked as expected, rough and used. Light scoring on the sides, cam looks ok, nothing seriously wrong

But cylinder 7 rings are having a hard time...


Looking back on my spec sheet, i set the top ring gap at 0.0185" which seems ok
(Calculated on 4.010 bore , these are oversize pistons)
Standard GM spec 0.004 per " bore = 0.016
Wiseco Street/Strip/NA spec 0.0045 per " bore = 0.018045
Wiseco Aluminium block spec 0.005" per " bore = 0.02005 <- maybe this is my problem and i'm too tight

piston to wall clearance is around 0.0046-0.005 which is even a little on the loose side.
Maybe i didn't debur? catch the ring on insertion?

Interested in any/all thoughts if you have experience with LS's

Given the engineers cert + new engine number are all tied to this block now i'm in a sticky situation of "better the devil you know..."
As much as another short block is tempting....it will probably be easier to do that after registration if needed.
The scratch is fairly deep unfortunately....but i think we're just gonna have to send it and hope it lasts.

Now we're down the rabbit hole and loading the parts cannon i've purchased:
4 sets of piston rings - cyl 7 is the worst, 5 has a little but nothing deep, haven't had the other head off yet.
GM LS7 lifters
GM lifter buckets
VCM 5SC camshaft 224/232, 114.5LSA Int 0.580" ex 0.590" - Yeah i should probably have got something more aggressive but i couldn't decide I also hate super choppy idle
new dual row timing chain kit
new pushrods
melling dual valve springs
65lb injectors

I have exactly 3 weeks from now to get this rebuilt, running and registered

 

[TwoBytes]

Great news on the engineering success, and good luck with the rebuild.

Gotta love the loaded parts cannon approach to troubleshooting!

 

[octane_matty]

Alrighty we're still tearing things down and making a mess

Quite a few rods with uneven wear



Main bearings wear


It appears everything is worn on the thrust(loaded) side of the bearings which is expected.
These are King XP bearings, supposably the coating isn't meant to wear off.

Crank looks fine, same as when it went in.


Cam looks as ugly as it went in, these spots look bad but you can't feel them at all.


Now inspecting the head
Cyl 5 exhaust valve looks like it had some water in the guides and its a little rusty. The valve was covered in a little milky dry oil which might actually explain the noise!


and behind the exhaust valve was this


Here's the theory:

1.) Small rocks of some sort have come from the intake and into cyl 5/7, mainly scratched cyl 7 bore

2.) Cyl 5 exhaust valve wasn't lubricated well causing some strange noises.

3.) Pushrods wrong length or poor quality trunnion bearings, lack of oil to trunnions caused trunnions to prematurely wear

This has resulted in bronze trash being pushed through all the bearings. Creating more trash in the system as the bearings wore.

Crank has measured 100% in spec
Bores are even within spec
Rod end bearings (the only other bronze bushing part) feel perfect

It seems the oil filter has done it's job as the cam bearings don't show any signs of wear like the mains.
Strange the filter media didn't have much in it other than bearing coatings and a few specs of swarf.

The piston skirt wear and uneven rod bearing wear is still concerning but it's most likely due to debris in the oil, oil not being up to the task or detonation.

I'm going to hone cyl 5/7, new rings
check ring gaps on all the other cylinders
new main bearings
new rod bearings
new trunnion bearings - i'm burnt by these bronze 'upgrades'
clean/check valve guides.
check pushrod length
clean clean clean clean clean clean clean and more cleaning.

Hopefully by end of the weekend this thing is running again.

 

[Geoff289]

Ouch!

 

[hewey]

Fingers crossed for you to get on top of it.

 

[octane_matty]

few days work update

Main bearing clearances on the new bearings were much tighter than expected 0.001-0.0015
I was very confused why they're so tight. These ACL bearings appear to run tighter than kings. I re-measured with the old bearings and got closer to 0.0015, my crank has been polished but still remains on the 'fat' end of factory specs. This is at the limit of what the plastiguage can measure so larger bearings are needed.

I'm starting to question the idiot that previously assembled the engine

GM spec is 0.0009-0.0025 - it's within spec but seems 0.001" per 1" of journal is a general rule


Ended up getting a set of Clevite H series 0.001" extra clearance main bearings and we're just over 0.002" across the mains.
0.0022-0.0025 is widely accepted for higher performace motors.

Rods have received a set of King standards - Softer than the previous XPs but i've recently become a hater of thick bearing coatings. The coating schmutz is everywhere in the engine

Rod bearings measured tight around 0.0019, would have loved 0.0020-21 but should be ok as is.
GM spec 0.0009-0.003

old vs new cam


Ahhh more bolt extraction fun
Pump had to be cleaned out and shimmed for install


Gotta be real careful with parts these days
New bolt that came with the timing chain kit vs previous
New bolts bottomed out in the block


Remember this trick, someday it will come in handy
Your old main bearings are useful for something


New valve guides in
New melling dual valve springs being installed


Back on the swing


General PSA: when looking up torque values or anything really, don't rely on the google AI result for accurate answers.
As an example i googled LS Main cap ARP side bolt torque, it could give you anything from 18ftlb to 80ftlb
The real specs are 20ftlbs - AI can't reason, it has no intelligence. It merely gives you what it 'thinks' is the next logical word.
I work in tech and it's amazing seeing all these reports of AI will replace x and y, i doubt it will.

Tool breakage report - 3x T40 torx bits, 1/4 extension, 1/2 to 1/4" adapter

Music of the week: Disturbed's new single - I will not break
such fitting lyrics for my engine "I will not break this timeeeeee"

Waiting on my new trunnion kit to arrive that should have been in stock yesterday
Hopefully fully buttoned up tonight/tomorrow assuming pushrod length is within spec.

 

[Geoff289]

Well, that's progress. Nice trick using the bearing to stop the flywheel from turning.

 

[octane_matty]

These are the new trunnions i've been waiting on
Supposably used by nascar/trophy truck teams.
Captured roller bearing instead of a solid bearing. I have a feeling the roller bearing will accept oil from the rockers much better.

After the bore being scratched and finding a rock behind the exhaust valve it was time to have a deep deep inspection of the intake.

I think i ejected one more tiny rock and this piece of metal.

I can only a assume it's a piece of the throttle body assuming the engine was out of a crashed car.

Had some issues checking pushrod length with the new lifters. I think many were stuck down and wouldn't spring back.

Ended up borrowing this engine oiler from my mechanic to push 30psi oil into the engine and it pumped up 15 of the 16 lifters. Good enough


Quality brand new hoses



Had some help from my little assistant over the weekend

Approx 3 days until my roadworthy deadline
Spent all weekend chasing ground/wiring issues
Car would crank but not start, all kinds of weird things happening.
Changed leads, swapped ground locations, reinstalled intake, re-plugged crank sensor etc etc
Changed some of the spark plugs back after probably fouling a new set.

Ended up being just needing a bit of throttle to start, Flex fuel sensor not grounded and was messing with the O2 sensor volatages.
Possible also the new Cam is making things a little difficult for the ECU so i smashed together some idle tuning changes with zero knowledge of what i'm doing

Dropped it off at my mechanic and he swapped fresh plugs again and said it drove/runs ok now!
Smells a bit like coolant burning he said...hopefully just some residual leakage or not fully bled

 

[zanyad]

Had some help from my little assistant over the weekend

 

[octane_matty]

Roadworthy list received

- All indicator globes faded
- RH stop light dim
- Reverse lights not working
- Headlight aim adjustment needed
- Wheels/Tyres protrude out past guards
- Wiper rubbers need replacing
- Windscreen washer jets need re-aiming
- Wiring on both sides of front bumper need securing
- All rear wiring needs securing
- All holes in front bumper need filling - including driving light holes
- Oil leak from differential breather RR
- Diff mounting bracket has two bolts without washers - fitted
- Rear brake hoses are resting against struts

 

[octane_matty]

Well it's been a busy few days to say the least... I realised my new engine no needed to be sighted sooner than thought....Wednesday is the day.

You've gotta pick your battles sometimes so time to start with these wheels poking out....


Any porsche fans here?
Welcome to RWB Eastern Melb





Not much of a gardener but Bunnings garden edging does the job

Forgot to grab some shots of progress but ended up being up until 5am Wednesday trying to sort out wiring issues.
Figured out my chassis harness isn't wired for reverse switch similair to manual cars. Missing X20 pin 10 plug to allow the T56 reverse signal to work.

Sorted that but then still had many issues with Brake lights/fog lights blowing fuses.

Eventually ran out of fuses and went to my mechanic in the morning for more. Figured out the bulb holders were actually shorting out the prongs inside causing fuses to blow.

Earlier in the week talking to my mechanic about the car not wanting to idle, he messaged a tuner asking how soon i could fit in.
Late Tuesday night i got a call saying there was a cancellation Wednesday morning and to bring it over.

On the dyno at Chequered Tuning
Have to say Kat and Trent were amazing to deal with given how unprepared i/and the car might have been

To give perspective on the turn of events.
Working late the night Tuesday till 5am Wednesday on wiring
3 hours sleep
Straight to mechanic to figure out the rest of my wiring issues.
Drove immediately to the Dyno

The worst part was i need to drive this car from the dyno directly to Vicroads to have the engine no sighted.
Nervous was an understatement i could barely watch when he started loading it

Not sure if i'll upload a rough video but on the dyno but it made 284rwkw before it started blowing some of my muffler packing out.
Little lower than expected but Trent was confident the exhaust is holding it back; less restrictive muffler and 100 cell cats would push it much closer to 300.
I didn't have time to stay for cold start idle tuning and road tests but I'll come back another day to sort out flex fuel & injectors too.

The drive to vicroads after the tuner was WILD. Trent mentioned it loved extra timing and It's a completely different car now

VicR never make it easy but they inspected the car with the intention to have it registered. At this time i didn't have the RWC sorted but they started the process given the new Engine No must be for a registered vehicle.

Back to the mechanics to get the Roadworthy checked over. Still some niggling issues but they passed it with a pinky promise i'd fix a few things later that night.

My mechanic wanted a drive after it was tuned. Jumped in the car and low oil pressure and battery low warnings came up on the Banks Datamonster gauge
At the time it was mostly a little panic but kudos to Banks for being able to set alerts like that.

Later that night fixing my last RWC items, reconnecting the battery Pos cable to the alteranator
Decided to investigate the diff which is still making some noise.

Yeeeeaahh....

Seems i've lost enough oil out the breather over the past few weeks to cook the diff or maybe it was due for failure. Plenty of sparkles in the oil and metal on the plug.

Not a major deal, slapped some fresh 80-140 in it and we'll hope it makes it's final trip to VicR, everything after that is a bonus.

Thursday morning finally the day....

It's done!!!

Thanks for reading

Few weeks we'll resume with alternate content completing the bathroom renovation content and complete the ebike!

 

[Geoff289]

Geez, I was getting stressed just reading about it. Big congratulations.

Reminds me of needing to finish the resto of my Mustang in time for it to be used as my daughter's wedding car about ten years ago. The consequences of failing to meet this very hard and fast deadline didn't bear thinking about. I thought I was cruising to have it done a month in advance with plenty of time for road testing but then spent about three weeks chasing a refusal to idle issue. Made it in the end, though.

Congrats again.

 

[hewey]

Huge congrats!! Sounds like a hell of a stressful process, but so good to see you get there in the end. Well done mate.

 

[octane_matty]

Alright time to finally fix this diff overflow problem


This is a proflow coolant overflow bottole, cut in half and shortened to about 160mm high
It has a tube on one of the fittings to handle overflow when it fills up.
It didn't fit perfectly behind the mudguard so i ended up cutting a hole in the plastic to mount it.

Completed the diff breather setup, new rear brake lines installed and replaced water in the radiator with fresh dexcool.
Took the E36 out on Sunday for a drive in the hills. Doesn't feel legal driving this thing around

A few wet roads made it tough work . All around the suspension or swaybars with 18s feels far too stiff. It's better around 80-100kph but 40-70 it feels jumpy and the rebound needs to be slowed.
Currently on full soft with 8kg/14kg, i think i'll try swap springs to 7.5kg/12kg to get use out of the compression knobs. Really wished i had seperate comp/rebound knobs to help troubleshoot.

On the dyno some of the muffler packing blew out. I'm not sure if it was the rear muffler or resonators but the drone has increased significantly Not sure if i'll redo the existing muffler with better packing or replace it entirely?Helm holtz resonator maybe?

There's more updates to come but my onedrive is experiencing ensh*tifcation , hidding the embed button to generate photo sharing URLs from me for a while and now the generate embeded link flatout doesn't work.

 

[octane_matty]

Wow this year is absolutely flying

Starting to get warmer in Melbourne almost feels like spring is here early.

Can't remember where i go to with the bike but it's painted, assembled and tested!!


If anyone happens to meet the person that decided on all these standards: i-spec ev, b spec, IS, i spec II whatever it is
Give them a knuckle sandwich for me....I'll bail you out

Just make a clamp with one threaded hole on the underside and standardise it.


Last two remaining problems on the build are chainstay protectors and water bottles

This is not even a full size bottle, it's a kids bottle no chance of fitting

I've been eye'ing a YT thirstmaster 2000 but YT have just entered administration...might be a while until theres new stock.

I haven't given it a good ride yet, just waiting on a tail light as chances are i'll be riding this at night 80% of the time.

Back to the E36....
It's had a few drives now, diff breather still leaking - first it was the reservoir, then hoses and fittings....
Unfortunately from previously running dry it appears the bearings are gone in the diff.
At 60-100kph the bearing noise is messing with the ambiance of driving a 90s euro

Turns out the local pick a part has recently received a 2003 ford explorer

Ford's have a spec card on the doors that gives you all you need to know..
Axle code there is D4 which denotes Limited Slip


Double check the tag

3L07
L means limited slip we're good to go


And we're done


Looks like someone has already taken the cover off this which could mean good or bad things
Either way this costs half as much as a rebuilt kit, and i'll have a spare to rebuild if it doesn't work out.

Cheers for reading

 

[octane_matty]

Welcome back to Spring in Melbourne!
It's only been a month and a half since my last post but it feels like 3!

I ended up not taking many progress shots of this but this is our main bathroom finally prepped for plaster.

I must have started this in mid April, the layout has changed significantly since the original plan. Sometimes you don't know what's structural until the plaster is off
Just lots and lots of adding studs, supporting the floor around the shower base etc.


Last week the weather finally changed in melbourne and we had a nice sunny 20 degree day
Quick oil change on the E36 - Found a couple of specs of metal in the filter....we're just gonna gloss over that given it's the first oil change since rebuild and wait for the second filter to give a true reading.

Took the E36 up the hills for a late lunch....

Turned a corner and BANG

Parked waiting for a mate with a flatbed

Figured the diff finally cooked at let go of the pinnion or something.

Well...it seems the CV flange bolts have ejected themselves actually

Suprisingly all the bolts still there....


Oops


Oops


oops

Unfortunately the CV is damaged slightly from the last bolt holding on.
I've dropped it off at the driveshaft joint to hopefully get new dustcap and boot.
The CV itself is also slightly out of round on the edge but might not be worth fixing that. The boots and dustcap are a couple hundred but the CV is very expensive to replace by the sounds of it. These axles now retail over 2k AUD each

No idea how the bolts came loose, there was loctite on them initially but maybe its worn away after being removed/attached multiple times. I have a feeling the CV grease has been slowly migrating out the dust cap holes onto the threads also.


Recent purchases: Hard tub lid for the Amarok

Next on the list:
Bathroom getting plaster this weekend.
Bulk waterproofing
Sand/Paint new tub lid.
Ride the new e-bike - Yeah i've been so time poor lately haven't had a chance to ride it yet

Cheers for reading

 

[octane_matty]

November already, this year is moving way too fast

Boys at GJ drivelines sorted me out with a new boot. Not sure why they were different before.
Ended up not having to replace the CV, they gave it a little love with a grinder and finessed the cover back into shape.


Started throwing it back in and noticed when the driveshaft ejected it's absolutely whacked the swaybar bracket.

The entire bracket was bent back, the triangular piece you see here is actually an addition brace i added.

Turns out some idiot didn't weld it in the first time


Pulled the mig out and threw some new weld in there.
Haven't had a chance to drive the E36 yet weekend weather has been pretty average.

It's been a while since Mrs Octane has been on a holiday and Little Octane hasn't been away from home much so it was time for a little holiday.

Spent a few days just out of Wadonga on a farm stay. Ended up bringing the Ebike along and got to try out the new Indigo Epic trail

I ended up riding the Beechworth to Yackandandah section, 8km uphill and about 14km down to Yack



The last semi-clean picture that will exist of this bike



The trail was pretty epic, probably not for beginner riders but absolutely worth the ride up.

Took only about 30% battery with my incredibly desk job unfit meatbag.
I've noticed the battery percentage jumps around alot...i assume it's very hard to track such small changes in the Lithium battery voltage.
Prior to this i went on a night ride came home with 70%, next day it showed 76%

I chose shimano gearset for this bike because it was cheap, I expect i'll change to SRAM at some point....it just doesn't feel 'crisp'
Also the cassette has too wide of a ratio that makes the chainline angle pretty extreme. I think i actually set the limiter to not even use the top ring as it's just not needed when you have power assist.

In other projects bathroom has finally received the first coat of waterproofing. Tiler has gone silent on me so i doubt this will be done until end of Jan at this stage.


In other projects: found some unexpected holes in our gutters and called out my plumber....ended up outlaying 6k for new colourbond gutters
Now the fascia boards are a little tweaked on the ends so looks like over christmas i'll be bogging/painting the entire fascia

cheers for reading

 

[Geoff289]

I've noticed the battery percentage jumps around alot...i assume it's very hard to track such small changes in the Lithium battery voltage.

That's my experience too. Mine also seems to have a bit of pessimistic forecasting in the algorithm or something. If I'm using a fair bit of juice, heading up a longish hill or something, it drops the battery percentage remaining down quite noticeably bur once I'm back on the flat or heading downhill it comes back up. Seems a bit like a distance to empty gizmo in a cheap car not really taking the long view of fuel consumption patterns.

 

[octane_matty]

Happy new year all
It's been a busy two months, non stop as always.

After my gutters were replaced, (i couldn't justify the extra few grand to get the fascia replaced) so time to whip out the paint brushes.

I should have taken a before picture but the grey was previously a dirty shade of the yellow. Suprisingly only took a day and a half get 95% of it done.


Being the festive season i decided it was time to upgrade the ambience on the back porch
16m of festoon lights, and had the powerpoint upgraded to a Arlec grid connect (Tuya) that works with Home assistant to control remotely.


As with every end of year holidays i have ambitious plans. This year probably more ambitious than most
Decided it's time to fix my terrible lawn/overgrown jungle of a backyard.


Mrs Octane has never really got much use out of the clothesline aka Spider home so it was time to dig it up.



It was only after digging up the first concreted post hole.....i found the second



After day 1 of the mini mover


Day two got off to a rough start


An overgrown bush 'fell' over in a storm the night before.
I recently sold my Makita 2 stroke chainsaw and replaced it with this battery model 405Z
It took about 2.5 sets of 5ah batteries to chop this up.


Eventually all the yard was relatively level and new garden wall in place


Just last weekend had 5 cube of topsoil delivered and 2 cube of rocks.


Meanwhile the tiler has been hard at work sorting out the Bathroom and our Kitchen splashback


And to finish of this post here's a blurry picture from a night ride on the ebike up to bourkes lookout
Impressive the ebike managed to keep me going up the steep zigzag track and only used about 30% battery for the ride.


Merry Christmas and Happy new year to all.
As always i started more projects than i finished in 2025
Cheers to hopefully completing some in 2026

 

[octane_matty]

Welcome to Feb

From a grainy sunset drive in the E36. Still had some problems with hot starts causing limp mode. I have a feeling it's the voltage dropping too much on starting and the throttle TPS freaks out.


In other news the E36 stopped leaking oil from the diff.....
Maybe the level has finally dropped enough that my catch/recovery can is working

Just almost clocked over 200km's on the ebike.
Had my first mechanical problem and busted a chain 5k into a ride So far as expected the Shimano 12sp was cheap for a reason. Hopefully the chain break was just unlucky....Time to refine the spares kit.

The next night picked the wrong track;
Almost 30 degrees at night, long grass and a narrow track on the edge of a mountain.
Nothing but a receipie for finding snakes


These formula Cura4s have been putting in WORK.


It's been far too hot lately but finally had a cool day to dig some more drainage into the back yard.


I've been starting painting the Bathroom and prepping the vanity for install.
Decided to go the cheaper route in this bathroom. $400 solid surface top + $200 marketplace vanity.
Just needs a little modification....


Cheers for reading

 

[hewey]

Looks like you're keeping busy. Backyard refinements are coming up great as are the home renos.

 

[octane_matty]

Well it's been a wild few weeks and it's about to get even more hectic i bet

Vanity is coming along slowly, just fixing up some mistakes on the drawer fronts.

The backyard has been neglected for a bit while i've been sorting some pieces for the bathroom.
But a long weekend came up i went for it

Garden edging to form a path


Path filled with leftover rocks, started moving the topsoil around



Finally levelled out the soil and seeded with some tall fescue


Upcomming projects:
Probably a new car? I'm in the process of trying to sell the Amarok for something more stupid, less reliable & fuel inefficient during an oil crisis. Selling cars seems to have got more painful now, I feel the art of negotiation and being true to your word is lost on some people.

Maybe convert my wheelbarrow to electric? I can still see piles and piles of rocks and dirt in my future

 

[Theodulf]

Selling cars seems to have got more painful now, I feel the art of negotiation and being true to your word is lost on some people.

Is this still available?

What's your best price?

$1500 cash this afternoon.

 

[octane_matty]

Is this still available?

What's your best price?

$1500 cash this afternoon.

Too real

2 offers for swapping v6 commodores
1 Hilux - I thought they are the best most reliable Ute?
Ba falcon turbo - tempting but cop bait

Best swap offer so far was a Disco 2TD5 with a xl1000v - unfortunately discos are too tall for my garage.

 

[octane_matty]

April update!
Well it's been a busy few weeks of multiple projects!

First up backyard:
Seeds have been sowed and now sprouting.
I went with a Tall fescue due to the shade. Poison for the broadleaf soon and a first cut.


Wheelbarrow upgrades have arrived

More to come on that soon.

Vanity drawer backing boards in.

Drawers are a work in progress....Made some happy accidents and decided to fill the mistakes with epoxy and gold glitter.


Now onto the car(s)
People driving me crazy on marketplace wanting it to come with a RWC so it was time to start fixing a few things.

Fresh headlights installed


At this stage i had a buyer locked in at a fair price and it was time to get cracking.
Sent it off to RWC tester for a report.
Few bulbs out, tyres sticking outside of guards, steering bushes needed replacing and new windscreen.

It's almost like this isn't the first time installing bunnings flares


Then while it was getting the steering bushes replaced.....apprentice dropped a jack on it
What grinds my gears the most here is they tried to sneaky fix it, called and booked the panel beater before telling me or calling me first.
If i wasn't selling it and need it back ASAP to sell i absolutely wouldn't have let them sort it.


Luckily the buyer was good about it and they have since taken it off my hands

Now the question is what comes next?

Here are the key requirements for a next car:
- Needs to be a little more soft than the Amarok
- Fuel economy not a big concern - i WFH 3-4 days a week
- Ideally Wagon/SUV so i pay less tolls as it's not an LCV
- Fast'ish - The amarok is quick for a ute but a little quicker would be fun.
- Some offroad capability - Overland more than comp truck
- Cheap - Ideally equal or less price than Amarok.

Months ago i was thinking about 100 Series Landcruisers or Lexus LX470s.
Great offroad capability, supple ride,terrible fuel economy.

An BMW M57 swap would fix the fuel economy and increase power 2x
Turns out i don't have the time for another project or any project of that scale right now and have you seen the prices of Landcruisers recently? 20-30k for a clapped out 350km 'all original parts' rust bucket.
Despite the driveline nothing about a Nissan Patrol interior appeals to me either. That steering wheel

90s stuff is getting a bit old now and safety for the young one is a concern.
So we're looking early 2000's.... middle management cars.
Something that gives off Charlie Sheen limo vibes..

X5 seems like the logical choice.... I know BMW's, Already has the M57. Classic average BMW interior quality. 'Some' offroad capability



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So here's my new car...


Here's my new whip "Pepper"

This is a 2010 Porsche Cayenne GTS the last of the 9PA generation.

Pros:
4.8L direct injection V8
Air suspension
Locking center differential /w low range
GTS factory bits:
Bodykit
Higher ratio 4.1 diffs
Brembos
Leather/Alcantara Sports seats.
Had a new driveshaft recently $$$$
Clean to the point of too clean in some areas (Maybe previous crashed and fixed?)
Cost $500 more than Amarok sold price not inc insurance/rwc/stamp duty costs.

Cons;
No service history
Tyres fairly low
No head unit - has a cd player - unsure if it included a mix tape.
Horrible fuel economy
Bore scoring is a problem with these engines
Possibly insane repair costs
It's not a turbo?
Exhaust must be missing cats or something... she's louder than the e36.

I specifically wanted a Turbo (Yeah way out of my budget) or a GTS for the lower ratio diffs.

Finding and buying a Cayenne was about as bad as selling a car on Marketplace. Given the rarity or 'seller type' everyone gives off 'i know what i've got' vibes.

there was 3 GTS's for sale in VIC
Car 1) 2009 model with very blurry pictures, none of the interior.
me: the pictures are very blurry, can you send some better ones and pictures of the seats?
seller: <sends pictures of his two other cars a merc and new porsche> I've got too many cars it's got to go!
He then continues to ignore/deflect any other questions about the car.
Turns out it's an S model with GTS kit/badges.

Car 2)
Seller tells me to meet him in a park - Off to a bad start.
I get to the park after 1.5hr drive.
He calls me "ahhh yeah the battery is dead"
I end up going over to his very nice house littered with cars in the driveway.
Battery flat, no fuel, no rego, sitting for a year or more?
Tyres are from 2021
Power steering whines, engine runs rough
Brakes not working! booster is gone or line leaks.

I'd seen enough in 20 mins after a quick drive around the block with no brakes...
me: yeah i just need to check the option codes...gotta be careful some cars are base model with GTS bits
seller: ahhh wow yeah that pretty ******, you want the real GTS always. This is a real GTS

me: *Checks option sticker*.... Cayenne S
I didn't have the heart to tell him my number was 1/3rd his asking price even then probably not worth it.

So i ended up buying this 3rd option that ran/drive and certainly seems very clean to the point where i'm suspicious.

Cheers for reading

 

[octane_matty]

Another month and some more progress on many side quests!

Say hello to my trusty standard issue Sherlock 100L wheelbarrow


Few bits of leftover steel

Few bits of scrap ply


If you're interested in replicating this
Wheelbarrow wheel & Throttle: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007636671936.html
Makita Battery Adapter: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010749058221.html
Throttle holder: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7354773

Pricing varies a bit but in total probably cost roughly $400 once you include the steel and bolts and nuts.
Haven't tested it under significant load yet but it pulls to about 8km/h pretty well.



Next up is the Cayenne needs a new head unit
Yeah i don't think the existing one ever worked for some reason...


Once i pulled this out behind the dash was the most disgusting hacked spaghetti i've seen.
After cutting out a significant amount of wiring i started installing the Xtrons unit
This is cayenne specific model no IQ94CYPP


I soon realised after installing this some hack has removed the factory amplifier and bypassed it in the boot so there's no sound
I ended up re-pinning multiple connectors eventually to feed audio into the bypass wiring.
Unfortunately this means only 4 or so speakers actually work for the moment.
It's been working well the past few weeks except i haven't got all the steering wheel buttons working just yet.


As mentioned before the Cayenne is LOUD
After some investigation it appears the exhaust valves are welded open in 'sports' mode.
Usually they're open on cold start then closed via a vacuum pump.


Unfortuantely didn't take many pictures of the process but bought a set of these and installed them
60mm electric valves, they're always closed.

Really tight space to work in so i ended up Mig'ing the final welds which was ugly to say the least.


Here's how it sounds now with exhaust valves closed the startup noise is still a little loud but driving it is 10x better.

Next up was a small 3d print for cayenne to fit drink bottles cups.
The previous small cup insert was super easy to remove and throw this 3d printed divider in.


Had a little spare time in the garage on the weekend so added some hooks to the Welding cart


And some welding rod storage


Thanks for reading

Cheers

 

[Geoff289]

Are those exhaust valves Varex items? I'm considering some of their mufflers.

 

[octane_matty]

Are those exhaust valves Varex items? I'm considering some of their mufflers.

nah, local options were at least 2x the price.
There's even cheaper options out there than this but i was after 60mm and default to closed with graduated opening.

These were $175 shipped

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010257618075.html

I tried finding valves to replicate the factory vacuum but couldn't find the right size.